Wentworth Sweeps Three of Four Categories at Muddy River Symposium
The Muddy River with Boston's Prudential Center in the background, as seen from the Forsyth Way footbridge near Wentworth's campus
Wentworth students took home the top prize in three out of four categories at the 20th annual Muddy River Symposium, which was held on April 7.
Hosted by the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Center for Sustainability and the Environment and the Muddy River Restoration Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee (MMOC), the symposium showcases student research from across the six-school COF consortium, with a focus on the Muddy River — the Boston waterway that runs through the Fenway and Brookline. This spring, teams presented posters in four categories: Water, Sustainability Science, Environmental Justice, and Local Social Action.
In the Water category, Wentworth students Sofia Henriques, Nico McLean, Zachary Askinasi, and Koda Mannino won for their project “The Salinity of Muddy River.”
A multi-institutional team including Wentworth students Ashley Quintal and Cash Eck won the Sustainability Science category for their project titled “DIY:GI—Achievable Green Infrastructure for Students.”
An all-Wentworth team — Ava Pendleton, Aaron Chmura, Cash Eck, and Sophie Vorperian — won the Francis Allou Gershwin Local Social Action Award, named for the late chair of the Muddy River Restoration MMOC. Their project, “The Course of the Stony Brook,” was completed during Wentworth’s Fall 2025 Environmental Forum, which was piloted as a new way for Wentworth students to fulfill their requirements for the university's minor in sustainability. The Wentworth Sustainability Committee was especially helpful in guiding that endeavor.
Congratulations also go to Wentworth students who presented posters on their projects that had been awarded $500 “mini grants” by the COF Center for Sustainability and the Environment. The Center awarded five mini grants this year—three to Wentworth teams, who described their work at the Symposium. Andrew Juscamaita and Jayden Lighty developed “HUGO Interactive Recycling Trash Can”; Liliana Santora, Dylan Carter, Anthony Gardner, and Michael Koutrouba presented on their project “Hydroelectric Power Generator”; and Kristine Antonio presented her solo project, 'Waste Sorting Education Web App.”
At the Muddy River Symposium, several additional Wentworth students presented on an array of research, designs, and prototypes, including Delaney Cruz Vasquez, Anabelle Mendez, Lainey Cooley, Emma Schaumloffel, Liam Hyde, Eliza Carter, Junior Maldonado-Soto, Patrick Mahlert, Isabel Vogel, and Ava Goldsmith. Many of these students are currently pursuing Wentworth’s minor in sustainability.
Currently serving as director of the COF Center for Sustainability and the Environment, Professor Devan Hawkins of MCPHS hosted the Muddy River Symposium and welcomed keynote speaker Emily Norton, Executive Director of the Charles River Watershed Association.
Congratulations to all the students for their impressive work and to the professors who have advised them. Abstracts can be found here.
