Karen Dannemiller, PhD

Dr. Karen Dannemiller is a professor at The Ohio State University with a joint appointment in Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering (70% FTE) and Environmental Health Sciences (30% FTE). She directs the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) research group with the goal to gain an improved understanding of chemical and microbial processes in our indoor environments that impact human health while fostering student engagement.

Her work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NASA, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, SOCHE/AFRL, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and internal Ohio State awards. She has received recognition as evidenced by invitations to give plenary talks at AEESP 2019, Healthy Buildings Summit 2019, Healthy Buildings Europe 2025, IICRC Annual Instructors Meeting 2026 and other events. She has had her work highlighted by various forms of media. She also received the BEWEL Leadership in Innovation award, the Lumley Engineering Research Award, NSF CAREER award, and was selected in the Frontiers of Engineering within the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists’ 40 under 40, and as the COE Innovation Scholar. Her students have won numerous awards, and she received the Distinguished Denman Research Mentor Award as well as the College of Engineering Faculty Mentoring Award. She is a member of the ISIAQ Academy of Fellows and was the President of the global Indoor Air 2024 Conference, ISIAQ’s flagship conference. 

Prior to her current position, she graduated with honors in chemical and biochemical engineering from Brown University and earned her MS, M.Phil, and PhD at Yale University in chemical and environmental engineering. She received the NSF GRFP award, and her dissertation was approved with distinction. During this time, she completed an internship at the California Department of Public Health. She was also a Microbiology of the Built Environment Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University.

Integration of engineering with microbiology to address emerging health challenges and environmental concerns; Phylogenetics, metagenomics, proteomics and transcriptomics