Rate My Professor Becca Muenich

Becca Muenich serves as Associate Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. A Northwest Arkansas native, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2009. She then pursued graduate studies at Purdue University, obtaining her Master of Science in Agricultural and Biological Engineering in 2011 and her Doctor of Philosophy in the same field in 2015. Before joining the University of Arkansas in August 2023, Muenich was an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University in the School for Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, where she developed over 15 years of expertise in researching environmental factors affecting water supplies and quality in agricultural, urban, and integrated systems. At the University of Arkansas, she teaches the sustainable watershed engineering course and continues her research through projects funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineering with Nature program and the National Science Foundation's Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability program.

Muenich specializes in watershed modeling for surface hydrology and water quality, aiming to identify sustainable management solutions for agricultural and urban systems. She has produced over 50 peer-reviewed publications, including highly cited works such as "A quantitative approach to evaluating ecosystem services" (Logsdon and Chaubey, Ecological Modelling, 2013), "Multiple models guide strategies for agricultural nutrient reductions" (Scavia et al., Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2017), "Evaluating the impact of legacy P and agricultural conservation practices on nutrient loads from the Maumee River Watershed" (Muenich, Kalcic, and Scavia, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016), and "Consumers' perception of urban farming—An exploratory study" (Grebitus, Chenarides, Muenich, and Mahalov, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2020). As principal investigator or co-principal investigator, she has secured more than $17 million in extramural funding. Muenich has mentored five postdoctoral scholars, seven Ph.D. students, 14 master's students, and over 36 undergraduates. Her academic leadership and impact are evidenced by awards including the Purdue University Agricultural and Biological Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award, induction into the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers in 2020, the France A. Cordova Leadership in Action Award, the Emily M. Wadsworth Graduate Mentoring Award, and Purdue's Agricultural and Biological Engineering Outstanding Service Award from her graduate studies. She currently holds the position of Provost's Fellow for Honorific Awards at the University of Arkansas for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years.