Paul Westerhoff
Professor, Arizona State University
Mr. Paul Westerhoff, Ph.D., PE, BCEE is a Professor and Senior Advisor on Science and Engineering to the ASU Vice Provost. Mr. Westerhoff joined ASU in 1995 as an environmental engineer and is part of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering in the recently formed School of Sustainable Engineering and The Built Environment at Arizona State University (ASU). He has served as the Department Chair and School Director and now focuses on teaching and research in the area of emerging contaminants and innovative treatment processes for clean water. His research group has over 185 peer reviewed journal publications and an H-index >50. In addition, Paul is currently Director of the USEPA Network on the LifeCycle of Nanomaterials and Deputy Director for the NSF Engineering Research Center on NanoEnabled Water Treatment Technologies. His current research interests include: – Innovative treatment processes using nanotechnology – Sources and characterization of natural organic matter (NOM) in natural systems – Formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during water treatment – Detection and exposure assessment to engineered NANOMATERIALS in the environment – Removal of arsenic and metals from drinking water – Control and treatment of alga-derived taste and odors (T&O) in potable water supplies – Indirect reuse of treated wastewater – Recharge of aquifers with surface water – Use of photosynthetic microalga for controlling greenhouse gases (CO2) – Management and treatment of nitrate (NO3–) in drinking water supplies His research focuses water issues involving Arizona, but these tend to address many global challenges as well. This research leads to a number of multidisciplinary research activities with biologists, botanists, chemists, and geologists. Undergraduate and graduate (master and Ph.D.) students and post-doctoral researchers are involved in funded research from local and national agencies including the NSF-sponsored Central Arizona Project Long-Term Ecological Research and NSF-sponsored Decision Center for Desert Cities.