Dr. Willie F. Harper, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering within the Graduate School’s Department of Systems Engineering and Management, visited the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) in Tokyo, Japan during the spring of 2014 as a Fulbright scholar.
Dr. Harper worked with Dr. Akihiko Terada on resource recovery from wastewater treatment plants. He performed research to improve understanding of the negative environmental impacts that may be associated with treating wastewater. There was a particular focus on the nitrous oxide gas that is produced during the course of removing nitrogen from wastewater. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas, 300-fold stronger than carbon dioxide. This research is making numerous contributions to our understanding of the microbiology and chemistry associated with wastewater treatment and it describes a novel mechanism responsible for producing nitrous oxide in wastewater.
Dr. Harper’s research uses biotechnology for environmental applications related to water quality and ongoing projects focus on microconstituents, biosensing, and resource recovery. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has been honored with several awards, including the 2011 Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Professional Research Award, 2006 NSF Faculty Early CAREER Award and the 2013 Fulbright Scholar Award.
Dr. Harper earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (1992); a Masters in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University (1993); and earned his PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (2002). Dr. Harper is interested in biotechnology for environmental applications related to water quality. Prior to joining AFIT in 2012, he served on the faculty at Auburn University and the University of Pittsburgh.
Pictured above: Discussions with professionals in the wastewater industry. Dr. Harper of AFIT (tan jacket) and Dr. Terada of TUAT (blue jacket) discuss wastewater treatment plant operations with staff at the Arakawa Wastewater Treatment Plant (Saitama Prefecture).
