Gregor Ethan Rubin Posadas

M.S. · E.I. · ENV SP

PhD student in Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, in the Nelson Research Group (opens in a new tab) and the Liberatory Infrastructures Lab (opens in a new tab), with a Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering.

About

I am a first-year PhD student in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Prof. Kara Nelson and co-advised by Prof. Maya Carrasquillo, who leads the Liberatory Infrastructures Lab (opens in a new tab). I came to Berkeley from Boise State University, where I earned my bachelor's and master's degrees in Civil Engineering and studied the performance of retrofit oxygenation technologies in wastewater treatment and the behavior of emerging contaminants across wastewater unit processes.

I was born in and grew up there for most of my life, apart from short stretches in and , before moving to Idaho in 2019. My father was a physicist and a teacher who believed science should serve people, and that is still the reason I do this work. I am broadly interested in water governance and in how the way water systems are organized and managed shows up in their infrastructure and in the service households actually receive. I hope to eventually return to the Philippines to contribute to water infrastructure development and sector reform.

From 2025 to 2026 I was a research fellow at the Water Finance Exchange (WFX) (opens in a new tab), a non-profit technical assistance organization, where I studied barriers to technology adoption among small and rural water systems in the United States. As an Engineer-in-Training I have consulted on wastewater treatment and data analysis, and I served six years as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Outside of research I help develop BahaWatch (opens in a new tab), a community flood-sensing project in the Philippines led by Noam Anglo, and I enjoy cooking, photography, piano, and long games of Civilization VI.

Email me Download CV (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ORCID (opens in a new tab) LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
Gregor Posadas smiling in a cream barong Tagalog against a grey studio backdrop
In a , 2023.

Now

UC Berkeley

Civil & Environmental Engineering

PhD student since Fall 2026 · Chancellor's Fellow

The line so far

  1. The PhilippinesBorn and raised. Later, lead graphic designer for Dice & D-Pads in Quezon City, 2020 to 2023.
  2. Boise, Idaho · 2019Moved to Idaho and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve as a combat engineer. B.S. Civil Engineering, 2023, cum laude.
  3. Boise State · 2023 to 2025Graduate research assistant on wastewater oxygenation and emerging contaminants. M.S. Civil Engineering, 2025, 4.0 GPA.
  4. Water Finance Exchange · 2025 to 2026Research fellow on technology adoption and regionalization in small and rural U.S. water systems.
  5. Berkeley, California · 2026PhD, Environmental Engineering. Water governance and infrastructure, with an eye on the Philippines.

Writing, speaking, and outreach

I write occasionally on Medium (opens in a new tab) about water, infrastructure, and the Philippines. In May 2025 I was Pinoy Scientists (opens in a new tab)' featured scientist and wrote a daily series on Philippine infrastructure and the role of Filipino engineers in national development. A few of the cards from that week:

  • Engineering can't fix what politics keeps breaking. A man in an orange poncho wades through a flooded street. Flood control has a ₱1.14 trillion budget, but the streets still look like this.
  • Infrastructure must benefit the people it serves. 64% of Filipinos do not own a car, yet road infrastructure receives 31.4% of the infrastructure budget. Photo of Metro Manila traffic.
  • The government loves starting new projects but is terrible at completing existing ones. Quote from GlobalSource Partners analysts on the ever-lengthening list of flagship projects.
  • Engineering delivers clean water; governance decides who gets it. A 2023 report quoted a Cavite resident calling PrimeWater's supply unusable, with fees up to 300% higher after privatization.
  • Filipinos face the consequences of mismanaged energy infrastructure. In 2020 about 1.6 million households lacked electricity; rates of about $0.20 per kWh are the highest in ASEAN.
  • You can't build a nation without the people who know how to build it. Entry-level engineers earn ₱16,000 to ₱22,000 a month, and engineers make up 28% of Filipino science and technology professionals working abroad.
  • When infrastructure isn't built for climate change, the most vulnerable suffer the most. In 2024 green investment dropped 12% and renewables made up only 22% of the energy mix.
  • Quality over quantity. The Philippines spent over ₱1.5 trillion on infrastructure in 2024, but roads still flood and bridges still collapse. We don't need more ribbon cuttings; we need systems that serve.
  • To my fellow Filipino scientists and engineers dreaming of a better future. Gregor in a maroon shirt and blue gloves sits on a lab stool, looking out across the benches.
  • Science without compassion is a blueprint for a world the poor will never get to live in. Be the change you want to see in the world. Two children carry sacks through a garbage dump. Photo from GERPHIS, Poverty in the Philippines.

Each card opens at full size. The photographs on the cards are credited to their photographers on the cards themselves.

On stage

In November 2023 I told a story at The Story Collider (opens in a new tab)'s Veterans in STEM show at Boise State, about joining the Army Reserve to pay for an engineering degree and carrying my father's vision home.

Gregor at the microphone in a black Army Reserve polo, one arm extended mid-story, an Idaho flag and an American flag on either side
Mid-story, Boise State, November 2023.

On Medium

  1. Reflections on National Development (opens in a new tab)

    Photographs and notes on poverty and development in the Philippines

    Mar 2025

  2. A Critique of Urban Planning in the Philippines (opens in a new tab)

    Where Philippine city planning falls short

    Feb 2025

  3. Deciding whether to pursue capitalist realism or true idealism (opens in a new tab)

    An essay on pragmatism and idealism

    Feb 2025

Off the clock

Away from the lab I cook, take photos, and sometimes work on my car. Also sped up, also silent.

  • Under the hood.
  • A brake job.
Emailgregorposadas@berkeley.edu ORCID0009-0003-4541-7379 (opens in a new tab) Water Finance ExchangeResearch fellow profile, 2025 to 2026 (opens in a new tab) LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/gregorposadas (opens in a new tab) Instagram@grgrpsds (opens in a new tab) Facebookfacebook.com/gregor.posadas (opens in a new tab) GitHubgithub.com/gregor-posadas (opens in a new tab) Mediummedium.com/@gregorposadas (opens in a new tab) Nelson Research GroupCurrent members page (opens in a new tab) Liberatory Infrastructures LabProf. Maya Carrasquillo's lab (opens in a new tab) Pinoy ScientistsFeatured scientist, May 2025 (opens in a new tab) The Story Collider"Full Circle", a story about service and engineering (opens in a new tab)