Jeanne M. VanBriesen, Ph.D., P.E., F.EWRI, F.ASCE, the Duquesne Light Company professor of civil and environmental engineering, professor of engineering and public policy, and director of the Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental Systems (Water QUEST) at Carnegie Mellon University, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
VanBriesen’s research is in environmental systems, including biotransformation of recalcitrant organics, detection of biological agents in drinking water and natural water systems, speciation-driven biogeochemistry of chelating agents and disinfection by-products, and impacts of energy extraction. She has published more than 60 scientific articles and given more than 150 professional presentations. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Colcom Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, the Packard Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance. She has supervised 18 Ph.D. dissertations and six M.S. theses.
She has served on the boards of the Association for Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, and the Ohio River Basin Consortia for Research and Education. She is currently serving on the USEPA Science Advisory Board.
VanBriesen has received numerous awards, including the 2015 ASCE Margaret S. Petersen Award, the 2015 Carnegie Science Center Environmental Award, the 2013 Philip L. Dowd Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon, the 2009 ASCE Pittsburgh Chapter Professor of the Year, and the 2007 Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Professional Research Award. She was a selected presenter at the National Academy of Engineering Indo-US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium on Infrastructure in 2008, and an invited speaker at the National Academy of Engineering Education Symposium in 2010. She was also selected as a National Academy of Engineering Gilbreth Lecturer in 2011.
VanBriesen holds a B.S. in education and an M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Northwestern University. She is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Delaware.
