PEDRO J. J. ALVAREZ, Ph.D., P.E., NAE

George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Director, NSF ERC on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT)

Director, Rice WaTER Institute 

Houston, TX 77251-1892
Tel: (713) 348-5903
E-mail: alvarez@rice.edu

Selected Publications
Conference Proceedings and Other Technical Publications
Conferences and Sessions Chaired
Environmental Impact Studies
Patents
Invited Lectures

General

Prof. Alvarez’s research focuses on environmental sustainability through bioremediation of contaminated aquifers, fate and transport of toxic chemicals, water footprint of biofuels, microbial-plant interactions, water treatment and reuse, and environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology.

EDUCATION

B.Eng. 1982 Civil Engineering McGill University, Montréal
Certif. 1988 Haz. Waste Mgmt. U. of California, Riverside
M.S.E 1989 Environmental Engrg. U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Ph.D. 1992 Environmental Engrg. U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor

POSITIONS

2024-present Dir. Rice WaTER Institute Rice University, Houston, TX
2015-present Founding Dir. NEWT ERC Rice University, Houston, TX
2004-present G.R. Brown Professor Rice University, Houston, TX
2005-2015 CEE Dept. Chair Rice University, Houston, TX
2012-2014 Founding Director E2i Rice University, Houston, TX
2001-2003 Professor The University of Iowa, Iowa City
1999 Visiting Professor EAWAG, Switzerland
1998-2003 Associate Director Center for Biocatalysis & Bioprocessing
1997-2001 Associate Professor The University of Iowa, Iowa City
1993-1997 Assistant Professor The University of Iowa, Iowa City
1985-1988 Environ. Engineer Tetratech Inc., San Bernardino, CA

EDITORIAL

2007-Present Executive Editor, Environmental Science and Technology
2005-2006 Associate Editor, ASCE J. Environ. Engrg.
2003-2006 Field Editor, European Journal of Soil Biology
2002-2006 Editorial Board, Biodegradation
1998-2002 Editorial Board, Journal of Environmental Science and Health
1996-2002 Editorial Advisory Board, Advances in Environmental Research

SELECTED ACTIVITIES

• Registered Professional Engineer, TX License # 110611; MI License # 6201035419; IA License # 12575, Registered Groundwater Professional, Iowa # 1681
• Conference Chair, Leading Edge Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatment, International Water Association (IWA), 7/11 (Amsterdam), 7/10 (Phoenix), 6/17 (Florianopolis), 5/18 (Nanjing).
• National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: Water Science and Technology Board (1/21-12/23); NRC CLEANER committee 12/05; Delegate to US-Iran Engagement in Science, Engineering and Health 9/09; Chemical Sciences Roundtable on Challenges in Characterizing Small Particles 10/10; Pueblo Chemical Agent Pilot Plant Committee 05/12.
• Delegate to COP15 (Global Climate Forum in Copenhagen), 12/09
• Member, Academic Relations Committee, Water Environment Federation (WEF)
• Member, Publications Committee, American Academy of Environ. Engineers (AAEE)
• Member, Hazard Assessment and Control of Toxic Substances in Water Committee, also Nanomaterials in the Environment Committee; IWA, 7/00-present.
• Panel member, NCEES Environ. Engrg. minimum competency requirements, 11/04.
• Expert Committee, Mexican Petroleum Institute, Biotechnology Program, 2/00-2/04.
• AWWARF Project Advisory Committee, 1998, 2010
• Advisor, State of Iowa: Brownfields Committee,1997; UST Committee, 1993, 1995.
• Consultant, Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roseau, 1991
• Consultant, City of Ann Arbor, MI, 1991(Designed groundwater monitoring plan)

SELECTED HONORS AND AWARDS
2023 Outstanding Achievement Award, China Chemical Society.
2023 Thompson Reuter’s Highly Cited Researcher (consequently, since 2014)
2022 Distinguished Fellow of IETI (International Engineering and Technology Institute)
2022 Elected to Chinese Academy of Engineering
2022 ACS Southwest Regional Partners in Progress & Prosperity (P3) Award (with M. Reynolds & M. Wong)
2021 ASCE Simon Freese Award
2021 NSF Engineering 40th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture
2020 ES Nano best papers: DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00143C and DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00827F
2020 ES&T best feature article: DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05041
2020 Advisory Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2019-now Board of Directors, Houston Endowment Inc.
2019 William Mong distinguished lecture, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong
2018 Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
2018 Perry McCarty AEESP Founders’ Award for Outstanding Contributions to Env. Eng. Education & Practice
2018 Brown and Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award for Remediation
2017 Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Distinguished Lecturer
2017 Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization tribute conference session, Marina del Rey, CA.
2017 Distinguished Scientist (Einstein Prof), President’s International Fellowship Initiative Program, China
2016-2019 Advisory Committee, Directorate for Engineering of the National Science Foundation (and ERE)
2014 AAEES Grand Prize, Excellence in Env. Eng. And Science University Research Award
2014 Plenary (Kavil Foundation) lecture, 248th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco
2014 Honorary Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
2012 The Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for Outstanding Research in Water Sci. & Technol.
2012 South Texas Section AIChE’s Best Fundamental Paper Award
2011-2014 Science Advisory Board to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
2011 Dean of Engineering’s Lecture, Columbia University
2010 Most cited paper in the past 5 years, Waters Research (Wat. Res. 40(19):3527-3532)
2010 Top-10 most read paper, ACS Nano (ACS Nano, 2010, 4 (7), pp 3580–3590).
2010 Honorary Professor, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
2009 Professor of the Year, ASCE & Chi Epsilon Student Chapters, Rice University
2008 Frontier in Research Award, Assoc. of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
2008 Founding Member, Nicaraguan National Academy of Sciences
2008 John Henske Distinguished Lecture, Yale University
2007 McKee Medal for Groundwater Protection, Restoration or Sustainable Use (WEF)
2006-2012 Board of Directors, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
2006 Honorary Professor, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
2005-2006 President, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
2003-2006 Board of Directors, Nicaragua’s Water Management Agency (ENACAL)
2003 Consul of Nicaragua for Iowa (ad honorem)
2002 Research project of the year award, SERDP cleanup division, Department of Defense.
2000 Awarded the Button of the City of Valencia, Venezuela, by the Mayor of the City
1998 The UI Collegiate Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Iowa
1997 Participant, National Academy of Engineering’s Symposium: Frontiers of Engrg.
1996 Awarded the Alejo Zuloaga Medal by the Universidad de Carabobo, Venezuela
1995 Inducted into the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, Diplomate Status
1995 Career Award, National Science Foundation.
1995 Appointed Adjunct Professor, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
1994, 2002 Elected to the University of Iowa Faculty Senate
1992 The Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
1991 The Outstanding Achievement Award in Environmental Engineering, U. of Michigan

• Fellow of AAAS (2012); ASCE (2005), ALF (2008), AEESP (2015), Leopold Leadership Foundation (2008), WEF (Founding Fellow, 2011), IWA (2011)
• Best paper award, ES&T Letters, (1), 26−30, 2014; Most downloaded paper in 2014 in Water Research (Wat. Res. 47, (12), 3931–3946); 2nd best feature (Environ. Sci. Technol. 48: 8298–8306); Most cited paper in Water Research in the last 5 years (Wat. Res. 44:2894-290). ES Nano best papers: DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00143C and DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00827F ES&T best feature article: DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05041
• Best student papers: Battelle 2017 Bioremediation Conference, Miami (Ya He); Battelle 9th International Conf. on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, Monterey, 2014 (Mengyan Li); Ralph Budd Ph.D Thesis Award, Rice University 2008 (Delina Lyon); Battelle 8th International Conf. on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, Monterey, 2012 (Jie Ma); San Diego, 2000 (Todd Dejournett); Battelle 6th Bioremediation Symposium, San Diego, 2000 (Todd Dejournett); WEF 70th Annual Meeting, Chicago (Eric Aitchison), 1997; EPA HSRC for Regions 7&8, Kansas City, 1993 (Brad Helland); Other student awards: ACS Environmental Chemistry Graduate Student Award, 2011 (Li Dong); best poster at IWA Leading Edge Technologies, Zurich, 2008 (Katherine Zodrow); best dissertation from Brown School of Engineering, 2007 (Del Lyon); best poster at EPA International Applied Phytotechnologies Conference, Chicago, 2003 (Roopa Kamath).

AFFILIATIONS
AAAS, AAEE, ACS, AEESP, ASCE, ASM, IWA, Leopold LF, SHPE, WEF, Chi Epsilon, and Tau Beta Pi.

COURSES TAUGHT
Environmental Biotechnology Environmental Molecular Biology
Foundations of Bioremediation Intl. Perspectives in Climate Change: COP15
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Principles of Environmental Engineering
Intl. Perspectives: Water Resources Planning Engineering I
Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development Experiments in Environmental Engineering.