First Cliff Randall Lecture to occur Oct. 15

8 Oct 2010

James L. Bernard, of Black and Veatch, will present the inaugural Clifford W. Randall Distinguished Lecture on Friday, Oct. 15 on “A History of Biological Phosphorous Removal.” The lecture will be held in 190 Holden Hall at 2:30 p.m.

Bernard, a leader in the global practice and technology of advanced biological treatment, is responsible for developing the Bardenpho, MLE, and Phoredox (AO, A2O) processes for biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal. He has spent most of his career in the design and operation of such plants and the related process units and working with operators to achieve ultimate success.

Bernard has taught at many universities nationally and internationally. He has received a number of global awards for his work, including the Clarke Prize in 2007 for his work to promote the idea and use of wastewater as a resource. In 2008 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg.

Barnard is a graduate of University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, the University of Texas at Austin, and Vanderbilt University.

The Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech established the Clifford W. Randall Lecture Series to honor the long and dedicated career of service of Randall to the environmental and water resources engineering program and to the environmental engineering profession overall.

As an emeritus faculty member, Randall has spent time promoting biological nutrient removal (BNR). Recently, he collaborated on completing a revision of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) BNR manual, and made key presentations at three BNR workshops sponsored by EPA and participated in a webinar for the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.

Also among his recent achievements, Randall was selected to present the 2009 Water Environment Federation/Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists Lecture at the WEF Annual Conference. He was also the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Joan Hodges Queneau Palladium Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies & Audubon Society, awarded at a National Academy of Science’s banquet.

Randall was also reappointed to the Science Advisory Committee of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.