This year’s AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technology Conf-erence & Exhibition, held in San Antonio, Texas, drew 99 exhibitors and more than 1,000 attendees. The three-day event included over 150 technical presentations organized in three parallel tracks and was preceded by five technical workshops.
AWWA and AMTA will team up again next year to organize the 2014 Membrane Technology Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada.
AMTA announced the following awards at the conference:
Membrane Facility Award – City of Boca Raton, Florida, a 40 MGD NF membrane softening plant commissioned in 2005. CDM Smith was the engineer, Poole & Kent was the general contractor and the plant employed Hydranautics membranes.
Operator of the Year – Judy Adams, of Brownsville (Texas) PUB, was awarded the Robert O. Vernon award for service as chief operator for Brownsville’s three water treatment plants.
Hall of Fame – Ben Mohlenhoff of Aerex Industries was recognized for his involvement with the process design and technical review of more than 200 membrane treatment systems over the past 30 years, and Hany Said was recognized for his pioneering role with Envirogenics, as co-founder of American Engineering Services and as founder of AEWT, now part of the Biwater group.
Water Quality Person of the Year – Bob Yamada, of the San Diego County Water Authority, for his commitment and persistence in the approval of the Carlsbad Desal Project.
Outstanding AMTA Member Award – Avista Technologies for their support of the “Chatting with the Pioneers” program and the development of AMTA’s new website.
2013/2014 Fellowship Award – PhD candidates Jason Arena, of the University of Connecticut, and Michelle Marincel Payne, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This award is presented in conjunction with the National Water Research Institute.
Recognition & Service Awards – Professor Steven Duranceau, of the University of Central Florida, for his commitment to educate and share the wealth of his membrane experience; John Bruciak, of Brownsville Public Utilities Board and a former AMTA board member, for his contribution to desal, membrane technology and water supply improvement; John Potts, of Kimley-Horn & Associates and an AMTA director emeritus, for his contribution to desal, membrane technology and water supply improvement; and Ian Watson, of RosTek Associates, for his leadership over the past four years as AMTA’s first executive director.
Presidential Awards – Karen Lindsey, of Avista Technologies, for board service and leadership, and her willingness to help on special projects; Bob Oreskovich, of H2O Innovation, in recognition of his service as the chair of AMTA’s technology transfer committee; and Greg Wetterau, of CDM Smith, for his service as program chair of this year’s AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technology Conference.
Best Conference Paper – Jim Lozier and co-authors Michael Hwang and Ralph Williams, of CH2M Hill, received an award for the garrulously titled “RO Concentrate Treatment and Reuse to Achieve Sustainable Water Management Schemes for Industrial Facilities Located in Arid, Water Scarce Regions”.
Best Conference Poster – Fred Vance, of Kemira, for “New Investigations for Silica Fouling Control”.
Best Student Papers – Bryan Coday, from the Colorado School of Mines, for “Evaluating Membrane Performance in Osmotically Driven Membrane Processes”, and Anwar Sadmani, from the University of Toronto, for “Nanofiltration of Pharmaceutically Active Endocrine Disrupting Compounds as a Function of Compound Interactions with Surface Water Components”.