Pedro J. Alvarez
George R. Brown Professor of Engineering
Director, Nanosystems Engineering Research Center on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT)
Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering; Professor of Chemistry
Research Summary
Professor Alvarez’s research interests include environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology, bioremediation, fate and transport of toxic chemicals, water footprint of biofuels, water treatment and reuse, and antibiotic resistance control.
Brief Bio
Pedro J.J. Alvarez is the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, where he also serves as Director of the NSF ERC on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT). Dr. Alvarez received the B. Eng. Degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. His research interests include environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology, bioremediation, fate and transport of toxic chemicals, water footprint of biofuels, water treatment and reuse, and antibiotic resistance control.
Professor Alvarez was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2018 for “contributions to the practice and pedagogy of bioremediation and environmental nanotechnology”. Previously, he was awarded the 2014 AAEES Grand Prize for Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science and honored as the 2012 Clarke Prize laureate. Additional past honors include the AEESP Frontiers in Research Award, the WEF McKee Medal for Groundwater Protection, the SERDP cleanup project of the year award, and various best paper awards for research with his students. He is a past president of AEESP and currently serves on the advisory board of NSF Engineering Directorate and on the editorial board of Environmental Science and Technology. Dr. Alvarez is also a past member of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board and an honorary professor at Nankai and Zheijan universities and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, and at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil.