CIT's Dave Dzombak Honored as Distinguished Lecturer

The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) has selected Carnegie Mellon's Dave Dzombak as their 2010-2011 Distinguished Lecturer. Dzombak is the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Environmental Engineering and director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research.

The AEESP provides education in the sciences and technologies of environmental protection. It was founded in 1963 and began the Distinguished Lecture Series in 1969 to facilitate interaction between researchers and educators. The organization's Distinguished Lecturer Committee meets annually to select the honored lecturer. They receive recommendations and choose the individual who is both a renowned researcher and educator with demonstrated oral presentation abilities.

Dzombak was notified last January by the committee chair of their decision to honor him as this year's Distinguished Lecturer. "I was totally surprised!" said Dzombak after hearing the news. "The Carnegie Mellon CEE Department, jointly with the University of Pittsburgh CEE Department, has hosted AEESP Distinguished Lecturers for many years, and I have been quite involved with these many visits. I never thought about myself as being the touring lecturer, however. It is quite an honor."

Distinguished Lecturers visit a number of institutions throughout the academic year. Before the tour, the lecturers propose two topics related to their field of research, and participating institutions choose one to be presented on their scheduled lecture date.

Dzombak is scheduled to visit 18 institutions through April 2011. One of his lecture topics is The Need and Challenge of Alternative Sources of Water for Use in Electric Power Production, which provides an overview of the water‐energy challenge facing the U.S. and examines the need for and challenges of using alternatives to freshwater for power plant cooling. The other is Geologic Sequestration of CO2: Evaluating and Monitoring Seal Rock Integrity, which presents an overview of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the challenge of risk assessment in relation to deployment of the technology.

Dzombak's tour began in September of this year with a joint lecture sponsored by Lafayette College and Lehigh University. He is keeping a journal so that he can write an overview of his experience when he finishes the tour in April. "The experience has been very enjoyable and stimulating," said Dzombak. "It is interesting to see the unique features of the various environmental engineering and science programs, and I have very much enjoyed participating in meetings with undergraduate and graduate students at each stop."