Water. desalination + reuse

IDA & AFFILIATES Escobar appointed as editor-in-chief of IDA journal Dr Isabel Escobar of the University of Toledo, Ohio, USA, has been appointed by the International Desalination Association (IDA) to succeed Dr Jim Birkett as editor-in-chief of the IDA Journal of Desalination & Water Reuse. Dr Escobar is based at the University of Toledo, where she is professor of chemical and environmental engineering and assistant dean for research development and outreach for the College of Engineering. She holds a PhD, MS and BSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Central Florida. Well-known for her research on membrane separation, Dr Escobar has published over 50 research papers and presented at over 100 national and international conferences. She has been lead principal investigator on 25 federally-funded grants and holds one patent for a breakthrough anti-biofouling feed spacer material. In 2011, she received the FRI/John G Kunesh Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers' Separations Division, awarded for significant discoveries, important research, or outstanding service to the separations community. Dr Escobar wrote two articles for the May/June 2009 issue of D&WR on Low-biofouling polypropylene feedspacers for reverse osmosis and Desalination using forward osmosis with nanofiltration membranes (as co-author). "In water-scarce regions, two sources of water are normally available: sewage and seawater," says Dr Escobar. "In the last decade, the reclamation of effluents has developed rapidly as an alternative to seawater desalination for irrigation and indirect potable water reuse." "However, much work is still needed to minimize waste, recover byproducts and minimize energy consumption. The IDA Journal of Desalination & Water Reuse will focus on these evergrowing technologies, their improvements and advances," she promises. Dr Isabel Escobar Tianjin is next IDA Academy venue Tianjin, China, is the venue for the next course in the schedule of the International Desalination Association (IDA) Academy, following the IDA World Congress. Topics in Tianjin on 25 October 2013 will include advanced membrane technologies and specialized topics, providing a comprehensive understanding of desalination processes and practices. One course will be taught in Chinese to benefit members of the Chinese desalination community. Academy teachers and courses are: l Dr Graeme K Pearce – Ultrafiltration/Microfiltration Membrane Water Treatment l Nikolay Voutchkov - Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Membrane Plants Design l David H Paul - Operational Aspects of RO and Membrane Plants Queries should be emailed to the Academy at academy@idadesal.org. n has also announced the first graduate of its online IDA International Reverse Osmosis Certification Program, Alain Richard of the Brazos Regional Public Utility Agency, Texas, USA. Course catalog and prices available at IDA's training website: www.wttionline.org/ida. AmErIcAn mEmbrAnE TEchnology AssocIATIon AmTA/nWmoA Utah workshop program published The American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) has published the program for its joint technology transfer workshop with the Northwest Membrane Operator Association (NWMOA) in December. Subtitled This is the Place - Let there be Membranes, the workshop will be held on 9-11 December 2013 at the Radisson Hotel, Salt Lake City Downtown, Utah. The workshop will focus on the application of membrane technologies in the Salt Lake Valley. Attendees will learn about microfiltration/ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis/nanofiltration and membrane bioreactor basics and application, regulations affecting membrane technology and troubleshooting treatment plant operations. They will also tour membrane-treatment facilities at local Jordan Valley's Southwest Groundwater Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and Holliday Water Company Microfiltration WTP, which will be featured among the technical program's several membrane plant case studies. The workshop brochure (pdf ) can be downloaded from the AMTA website, www.amtaorg.com. cArIbbEAn DEsAlInATIon AssocIATIon caribDA calls for 2014 conference papers The Caribbean Desalination Association (CaribDA) has issued a call for papers for its Biennial Conference & Exposition in June 2014. A three-day program of technical presentation and posters will be held on 24-27 June 2014 at Frenchman's Reef & Morningstar Marriott Beach Resort, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Abstracts have been invited on the subjects of desalination and waste water reuse and related topics (Technology & Innovations, Planning & Management, Finance & Economics, Regulations and the Environment, Seawater Reverse Osmosis Applications, Desalination using Green Energy, Thermal Desalination). The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 November 2013 and all papers will be due on 17 March 2014. Details are available on the CaribDA website, www.caribda.com. | 54 | Desalination & Water Reuse | August-September 2013

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