Takashi Asano

Abstract Title: Water Reuse

Takashi Asano is a pioneer and world-renowned authority in the field of water recycling and reuse. With more than 40 years of academic and professional experience in environmental and water resources engineering, his research and achievements have received international recognition. His contributions have been acknowledged with numerous awards, which include an honorary doctorate from the University of Hokkaido and the Jack McKee Medal of the Water Environment Federation. In 2001, he received
the prestigious “Stockholm Water Prize” for outstanding achievements in worldwide reuse from the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf.

His years of research and practical application in wastewater reclamation, recycling and reuse led to the safe use of reclaimed water, which resulted in California’s water recycling regulations and practices. These studies were used to promote water reuse in agricultural and landscape irrigation, groundwater recharge, industries and environmental improvement throughout the world. In particular, he has contributed to the development of integrated and efficient use of water for developing countries in the arid and semi-arid regions.

Born in Sapporo, Japan, Dr. Asano received his M.S.E. in Sanitary Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Michigan. In 2007, Dr. Asano along with F.L. Burton, H.L. Leverenz, R. Tsuchihashi, and G. Tchobanoglous published “Water Reuse: Issues, Technologies, and Applications”—a comprehensive textbook on water recycling and reuse for students, engineers, scientist and professionals.

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta has been with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for nearly 30 years and is currently the Interim National Program Director for the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Program. As the Interim Director, she is responsible for leading the development of research to achieve safe, resilient and sustainable solutions to the increasingly complex water challenges facing US regions, states, tribes, cities, and rural areas.

Dr. Orme-Zavaleta has experience in the areas of research, risk assessment, policy and regulation development, strategic planning, and program implementation. The focus of her work includes the evaluation of risks to human and ecosystem health, and the influence of environmental change on human health in response to a variety of stressors including chemicals, radionuclides, and microorganisms. Recently, she has been working to develop integrated risk analysis tools that evaluate the interactions between the environment and human activity.

Dr. Orme-Zavaleta received her Ph.D. in Wildlife Science and Public Health from Oregon State University.

Robert A. Underwood

Robert A. Underwood is a distinguished educator and the current president of the University of Guam. His commitment to high educational standards began as a classroom teacher in Guam’s public school system and progressed to a notable career at the University of Guam as a faculty member, Dean of the College of Education, Academic Vice President, and Director of the Bilingual Education Assistance for Micronesia. He is an acknowledged authority on the cultural, educational, and linguistic issues as well as federal-territorial relations in Guam and Micronesia.

As the Guam delegate to the US Congress from 1993 to 2003, he sponsored major legislation for Guam that resolved land disputes with the federal government, advocated for the extension of educational and social opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and emphasized the importance of Guam and the Asian Pacific region in national strategic policy.

Dr. Underwood received his MA in History from the California State University at Los Angeles, a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California, and graduated from the selective and innovative Program for Management Development offered at Harvard University to encourage a cutting-edge approach to leadership.

Mark Chappell

Mark Chappell is an expert in soil chemistry, and as a research physical scientist—and leader of the Soil and Sediment Geochemistry Team at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi—is researching the environmental fate of contaminants in soils and sediments. His research involves a variety of projects investigating the solid-phase speciation of soil metals, explosives, humic organic carbon phases, and nanomaterial interactions in complex environmental systems.

Dr. Chappell received a B.S. in Agronomy (Crop Science) from Brigham Young University, an M.S. in Soil and Plant Sciences from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Iowa State University. He has authored several publications on the interaction, fate, and transport of contaminants in soil and sediments.

Melissa Finucane

Melissa Finucane is a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her research focuses on how people judge situations, assess risks, and makes decisions as influenced by psychological, emotional, and socio-cultural factors, particularly regarding climate. She is currently the Lead Principal Investigator for the NOAA-funded Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program, which strives to enhance and facilitate the understanding, planning for, and responding to changing climate conditions by Pacific Island communities through integrated research, assessment, and outreach activities. Funding for research has also been through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations.

Dr. Finucane received an M.Psych. and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Western Australia. She has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Risk Analysis, and Social Science and Medicine.

Thomas W. Giambelluca

Thomas W. Giambelluca has over 30 years of experience conducting research on the climate and hydrology of Hawaii and other tropical regions. Since 1987, he has led the collaborative work on microclimate energy balance, and the impacts of global climate change, on the upper slopes of Haleakala Volcano, Maui. His team of researchers are studying cloud forest hydrology in native and invaded forests on Maui and the island of Hawaii, where he is operating two state-of-the-art eddy covariance flux towers in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In addition, his team is mapping patterns of mean rainfall, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and evapotranspiration in Hawaii. Dr. Giambelluca is also working extensively in other areas of the tropics, including Southeast Asia, where he is studying the impacts of expanding rubber cultivation on regional water and carbon fluxes.

Dr. Giambelluca received a B.S. (cum laude) in Geography and Mathematics from the University of Miami, an M.A. in Geography (Climatology) from the University of Miami, and a Ph.D. in Geography (Climatology) from the University of Hawaii.

Wojciech M. Jadwisienczak

Wojciech M. Jadwisienczak specializes in research that focuses on optical and electrical properties of semiconductor devices, phosphors, photonic crystals and waveguides, and the physics and spectroscopy of low dimensional structures. In particular, he is involved with the spectroscopy of III-nitrides doped with lanthanides. He recently initiated work on the development of solid-state deep UV light sources for germicidal applications.

Dr. Jadwisienczak is a member of the American Physical Society, Materials Research Society, and Optical Society of America, and has published more than 50 scientific papers. At the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) 2000 Spring Meeting in Strasbourg, France, he received the Young Scientist Award for the best paper presented at Symposium K: Rare Earth Doped Semiconductors.

Dr. Jadwisienczak received his M.S. in microelectronics from Nicolas Copernicus University in Poland and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University for the study of III-nitride semiconductors.

L. Stephen Lau

L. Stephen Lau is a professor emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of Hawaii. In September 1964, he and
Dr. Doak C. Cox founded the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) to address the goals of water legislation proposed by the US Congress under the Water Resources Research Act. Consequently, he served as the director of WRRC for almost 20 years from 1971 to 1990.

Recognition of Dr. Lau’s distinguished career includes a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and he has received the George Warren Fuller Award from the American Water Works Association. He has been a consultant to the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations, and has served on the Hawaii State Water Commission and advised the state’s Office of Environmental Quality Control.

Dr. Lau received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and authored many peer reviewed publications throughout his career. After his retirement, he co-authored “Hydrology of the Hawaiian Islands” with John F. Mink in 2006.

Martin Roush

Martin Roush was recently appointed as the General Manager for the Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA). Prior to his selection, he was the Chief Engineer for GWA for 2 years, and was credited as being instrumental in finding a solution to ensure GWA complies with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act while providing potable water and wastewater services to the island of Guam. He has accrued over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in the public sector in the areas of public works, water utilities, and wastewater utilities. More specifically, he has practical experience in development review and public works infrastructure planning and engineering, financing, design, engineering review, project management, and construction management. A few of his previous positions include the City Manager of Benson, Arizona, and the Public Works Director and Utility Director for Sahuarita, Arizona.

Mr. Roush has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona. He also holds professional licenses in both civil and electrical engineering.

John J. Sansalone

John Sansalone is a Professor of Engineering at the University of Florida Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) and also currently teaches at several universities across Italy. His research and teaching focuses on the effect of changes in the environment due to the presence or activities of humans on nature (e.g., environmental pollution) and the combination of hydrology, chemistry, and particle transport and thermal loads in our built environs. More specifically, Dr. Sansalone’s research examines a basic approach to monitoring and measuring urban hydrologic and soil phenomena, the development of materials such as engineered soil media and permeable pavement for in-situ mitigation, and the use of physical models of unit operations and process concepts to validate mathematically the mechanistic behavior of urban water treatment systems. He uses numerical tools, such as continuous simulation models and computation fluid dynamics, to examine, design, and analyze urban runoff and wastewater treatment systems.

Dr. Sansalone received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Edward T. Teixeira

Edward T. Teixeira is the Vice Director of the State Civil Defense and is responsible for coordinating Hawaii’s emergency management and homeland security activities. He is also in charge of the Civil Defense Division, located at the Birkhimer Emergency Operating Center in Diamond Head Crater.

The mission of the Civil Defense Division is to prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies caused by natural or man-made hazards. This mission is implemented through hazard mitigation, disaster preparedness, homeland security, emergency response, and disaster recovery programs.

During major disasters, Mr. Teixeira normally serves in the role of the State Coordinating Officer and the Governor’s Authorized Representative. In this capacity, he coordinates the State disaster response actions and works closely with the Federal Coordinating Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and with other officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

Richard Wallsgrove

Richard Wallsgrove is a Honolulu attorney with a legal practice that covers a broad spectrum of areas including business and commercial law, litigation, natural resources, technology and science, and energy. He is also working with the Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy to analyze climate adaptation tools for water resource management in Hawaii.

As a graduate student, Mr. Wallsgrove studied paleo-climate proxies using biochemical markers found in marine phytoplankton. His studies on alkenones may someday help researchers understand the role of greenhouse gases in Earth’s history. As a law student, he authored articles analyzing Hawaii’s shoreline issues, the development of sustainable energy resources, and Native Hawaiian rights.

Mr. Wallsgrove received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Hawaii, and graduated summa cum laude with a J.D. from the Williamson S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii. He recently taught a course at the law school that focused on encouraging technological, environmental, and social entrepreneurship in Hawaii.

Jan C. War

Jan War is currently the Operations Manager of the 847-acre Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) facility. With over 30 years of experience with NELHA in various capacities, he is considered an expert in the fields of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), mariculture, the utilization of deep ocean water, and the seawater air conditioning process. As such, he has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southeast Asia.

An Iolani (Honolulu, Hawaii) graduate, Mr. War has a B.S. in Biology, minoring in Chemistry and English Literature, from the University of New Mexico.