Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/107143
IDA IDA appoints Awerbuch as Academy dean The International Desalination Association (IDA) named Leon Awerbuch the interim dean of the IDA Desalination Academy, which held its first courses in conjunction with the 2012 Singapore International Water Week (1-5 July 2012). Awerbuch is a past president and currently a director of IDA, and also co-chairs IDA's Leon Awerbuch Technical Programs Committee. President of Leading Edge Technologies, Ltd, he was previously employed by International Bechtel Co Ltd. as a business development manager. Since joining Bechtel in 1972, he has been involved in research and business development, particularly in the fields of desalination, water technology and power. Awerbuch holds 23 patents and disclosures and has published over 80 technical papers. His education covered chemical engineering and chemistry with a master degree and chemical engineering PhD program from Brooklyn Polytechnic and studies in mathematics at Warsaw University. He is a registered professional engineer in California and Wisconsin, USA. "IDA is committed to ensuring that the Desalination Academy provides the best and most comprehensive curriculum of any training program available to our industry. The appointment of Leon Awerbuch to the position of Interim Dean clearly demonstrates our vision and further differentiates the Academy as a global institute for specialized training in desalination and a higher school for special study in this field," said Patricia A Burke, IDA secretary general. The academy's inaugural courses were presented on 4-5 July at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, followed by a behindthe-scenes tour of the SingSpring Desalination Plant on 6 July. Course topics ranged from in-depth examination of membrane and thermal technologies, to costing strategies and plant operations. The faculty members (master teachers) of the academy are leading experts in their fields, distinguished by their combination of theoretical and practical knowledge and experience. Master teachers for these inaugural courses were Lisa Henthorne, Dr Mark Wilf, Nikolay Voutchkov, David H Paul, Dr Corrado Sommariva and Leon Awerbuch. The next courses will be presented on 5 December 2012 in Jeddah in conjunction with Saudi Water & Power Forum 2012. Mike Dixon awarded IDA 2012 Fellowship Award Dr Mike Dixon has been named by the International Desalination Association's 2012 Fellowship Award. Dixon has recently joined NanoH2O as senior applications engineer, based at the El Segundo production facility in Los Angeles, California. Previously, he was the research and development (R&D) Mike Dixon engineer for the South Australian Water Corporation's Adelaide Desalination Project (ADP), where his role was to formulate and manage the R&D plan requirements for the Project, review contractor compliance for the delivery of the on-site full-scale R&D facility and laboratory, review membrane research developments worldwide, and develop a membrane and desalination R&D strategy for SA Water. In addition to working in membrane and desalination research, he has experience in ion exchange chemistry and activated carbon adsorption including the combination of these technologies with membrane processes The 2012 IDA Fellowship Program will be hosted by the Ministry of Electricity & Water in Kuwait with sponsorship from Alghanim International, Kuwait. The IDA Fellowship Award, which recognizes individuals with exceptional professional achievements and dedication to advancing desalination and water reuse, includes a monetary prize of US$ 10,000 as well as an attachment with the ministry. Dixon's work role is to formulate and manage the R&D plan requirements for the Project, review contractor compliance for the delivery of the on-site full-scale R&D facility and laboratory, review membrane research developments worldwide and develop a membrane and desalination R&D strategy for SA Water. In addition to working in membrane and desalination research, he has experience in ion-exchange chemistry and activated-carbon adsorption including the combination of these technologies with membrane processes. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide and also holds an Honors degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry and a Bachelor of Technology in Forensic and Analytical Chemistry. With more than 35 publications in international journals and conference proceedings, Dixon is also a reviewer for Journal of Membrane Science, Desalination, Water Research and several other international journals. He is co-investigator on six current National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia R&D projects and on one Australian Research Council project. He has strong collaborations with the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science & Technology and is well networked with Australian and international universities in membrane and desalination research. Dixon is the Asia-Pacific Special/Technical Program Coordinator for IDA's Young Leaders Program and was Convener of the Australian Water Association (AWA) Young Water Professional group in South Australia from 2009 – 2011. For additional information about the IDA Fellowship Program, please visit www.idadesal.org or contact Leslie Merrill at lmerrill@idadesal.org. AMerIcAn MeMbrAne Technology AssocIATIon AMTA elects Patel as president for 2012/13 Mehul Patel of the Orange County Water District was elected president of the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) for 2012/13 at the association's board meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, on 18 July 2012. At the same meeting the board announced that Ian Watson would be retiring on 1 January 2013 from his position as AMTA executive director. A search for a replacement has begun. Other AMTA officers elected were Greg Wetterau of CDM Smith as first vice president; Lynne Gulizia of Toray Membrane USA as second vice president; Steve Malloy of Irvine Ranch Water District, California, as treasurer, and Karen Lindsey of Avista Technologies Inc as secretary. Ian Watson, who served the board for 4 years, will continue his involvement with AMTA, which now spans some 40 years, including predecessor organizations. He will also continue with his consulting work in the application of membrane technology for drinking, process and wastewater solutions. August-September 2012 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 49 |