Operations Director
Dave is an environmental engineer and materials scientist with a background that spans water/wastewater treatment to nuclear waste disposal. He comes to us from Washington State University, where he was responsible for coordinating and advancing a number of faculty development and research initiatives at the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. Prior to that, he conducted his doctoral research on the waste valorization of aluminosilicate wastes from primary materials production, and the use of similar sodalite and cancrinite materials for radioisotope immobilization and disposal. Before embarking on the study of mineral waste forms, Dave worked in R&D as a process engineer on a number of wastewater treatment technologies at Duke University and RTI International. Some of these projects included forward osmosis / membrane distillation systems for oil & gas produced waters, anaerobic membrane bioreactors for biofuels wastes, scaling-resistant conductive membranes for brines, and supercritical water oxidation for the elimination of municipal sewage sludge. He is excited to be a part of the M-WET team, helping our scientists advance the study of membranes for the benefit of both water and energy systems.
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"The Director is assisted by a full-time, dedicated Operations Manager/Director (OM). The OM has scientific cognizance of the Center’s subject matter and is responsible for day-to-day management of Center operations, including communications.”
"The OM: (1) generates research highlights for DOE, in coordination with project and GAP leaders; (2) ensures that all PIs and participating institutions provide necessary input for Center and DOE reports; (3) organizes logistics, together with the Senior Administrative Associate, for the annual all-hands meeting and other recurring meetings, including setting agendas and recruiting presenters/speakers; (4) oversees and manages the Center website and data repository; (5) documents all project and funding decisions (e.g., rationale for resource distributions among Center PIs, basis for selection of projects for flexible funding, deliverables expected from such projects, etc.); and (6) disseminates guidance from BES to M-WET members to ensure compliance.”