Maya Trotz is a Guyanese environmental engineer and academic at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

Early life

Maya Trotz was born to Ulric and Marilyne Trotz on 25 February 1973 in Kitty, Georgetown in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. Her father Ulric was a chemist and involved in the establishment of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Guyana. Her mother died in 2021 from Covid-19, after which she urged officials to take further precautions to improve the response to Covid-19 in the Caribbean.

Education

Trotz's primary education was at St Margaret's Primary and she then went on the Queen's College. Whilst Trotz had an interest in the arts she decided to pursue the sciences. Trotz majored in

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) with a minor in Theatre. It was during this time that she discovered

Environmental Engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

leading to her post-graduate study of the subject at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Career

On completion of her doctoral research, Trotz joined the

as an assistant professor in 2004. She is now a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. Trotz has undertaken research with organisations such as the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

, the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

and Guyana Water Incorporated. Trotz's research centres around environmental engineering and education as a tool for sustainable development and widening participation. She has participated in research focused on the Americas and the Caribbean in particular. In 2013 Trotz was one of the founders for the Caribbean Science Foundation, originally starting in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, the foundation is now active in twelve Caribbean countries. She was also on the governing council of the foundation. During this time she was also part of the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge, named in recognition of the financial contribution to the foundation from Sagicor. Trotz is also a board member for Fragments of Hope Corp, a non-governmental organisation which is dedicated to scalable solutions for coral reef restoration in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. In 2018, Trotz became the president of the

Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) is made up of professors in academic programs throughout the world who provide education in the sciences and technologies of environmental protection. The headquarters are lo ...

(AEESP), becoming the first African American woman to do so.

Awards

In 2014 Trotz received the AEESP Award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Engineering and Science Education. In 2021 Trotz received the Steven K. Dentel AEESP Award for Global Outreach due to her "extensive" and "sustained portfolio of accomplishments".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trotz, Maya Guyanese women academics Environmental engineers 21st-century women engineers Living people 1973 births People from Georgetown, Guyana Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Stanford University alumni University of South Florida faculty Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Guyanese emigrants to the United States