Emily Tow joined the Olin faculty in 2019 after earning her doctorate at MIT in Mechanical Engineering. This year she is teaching Quantitative Engineering Analysis (QEA) and Transport Phenomena. She also leads the Clare Boothe Luce Program at Olin, a research program for women students.

It wasn’t an accident that Tow chose Olin for her first teaching position. Instead, it was a mission-driven decision. “I believe in changing engineering education in support of changing the world.”

At Olin, Tow’s passion for thermal science, teaching and sustainability drive her work. Her lab’s current research focuses on improving energy efficiency in water reuse, and she is working with four students to develop a low-energy batch reverse osmosis system for increasing water recovery from contaminated agricultural runoff.

Tow donates to Olin, with emphasis on the Aaron Hoover Fund, because she wants to be part of an effort to meet the full financial need for women students of color.