Water Quality Center People

Dr. Daniel Zitomer

Dr. Daniel Zitomer is Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Water Quality Center at Marquette University. He specializes in wastewater treatment and anaerobic biological process research. Dr. Zitomer has authored over 28 journal articles, proceedings papers, and technical reports. He presently teaches graduate classes on biological wastewater treatment and environmental chemistry. He has performed research for the National Science Foundation, State of Wisconsin, and others, and has over 12 years of experience consulting with entities such as Rohm and Haas Company, United Water Services, Glatfelter Paper, Earth Tech, Grande Cheese Company, and Triad Engineering.

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Dr. Zitomer

Dr. Michael S. Switzenbaum

Dr. Michael S. Switzenbaum is Professor and Executive Associate Dean at Marquette University where he teaches and performs research regarding anaerobic treatment, biosolids management, and microbiology applied to environmental engineering. Dr. Switzenbaum has over 28 years of experience in environmental engineering and is recognized internationally as an expert in environmental technology, having authored over 125 journal articles, proceedings papers, technical reports, reviews, and book chapters. He is a member of the International Water Association specialist group on anaerobic digestion and the Water Environment Federation residuals and biosolids committee. Dr. Switzenbaum has traveled and lectured extensively regarding environmental engineering, having made presentations or co-chaired short courses in the US, Brazil, China, Mexico, the Netherlands, and other countries.

Dr. Metin Duran

Dr. Duran’s teaching and research interests concentrate in application of biological processes for wastewater treatment, bioremediation, solid and hazardous waste management, and water quality control. He has been teaching undergraduate and graduate level environmental engineering courses as well as microbiology courses since he received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1996. Lately, he has been involved in research activities on microbial community structure of anaerobic and aerobic biological treatment processes, microbial source tracking by phenotypic methods, reductive dehalogenation of highly chlorinated organic pollutants, anaerobic digestion of treatment plant sludge at elevated temperatures, and biological processes for agricultural waste management. He is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Marquette University and is a member of the Water Quality Center research group.

Engin Guven

Dr. Engin Guven received his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2004. His research interest is biological treatment of industrial and hazardous wastes, thermophilic aerobic treatment, and enhancement of biomass settleability

Prasoon Adhikari

Prasoon Adhikari, a student from Nepal, is pursuing an MS degree in civil and environmental engineering at Marquette University. He completed his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Nepal Engineering College, Nepal. Prasoon is working on research titled “Municipal Anaerobic Digesters as Regional Renewable Energy Facilities”. The work is concerned with anaerobic co-digestion of municipal sludge and high strength wastewater, including fermentation waste from Lesaffre Yeast Corporation and I-house beer filter waste from Miller Brewing Company. Both wastes are high-strength organic wastes which, under correct conditions, can potentially result in significant methane and energy production Prasoon has taken classes including “ Industrial Wastewater Management” and “Biochemical Transformations in the Environment”. Prasoon also enjoys playing soccer and cricket at Marquette’s recreation center.

Farid “Fredy” Kade and his reactors

Farid “Fredy” Kade is from Aleppo, Syria, and is pursuing an M.S. degree in civil and environmental engineering at Marquette University. He has a B.S. in civil engineering from Aleppo University, Syria. Fredy’s thesis is titled “Enhancing Methane Production from Municipal Anaerobic Digesters”. The research includes investigation of temperature phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) and anaerobic digestion elutriated phase treatment. The technologies are expected to result in significantly more methane generation, better pathogen and solids destruction, and an overall more efficient process. Fredy has taken classes including “Environmental Engineering Laboratory” and “Biochemical Transformations in the Environment”. Fredy is also a basketball fan and enjoys playing ping pong and swimming.

Elsy Escobar

Elsy Escobar is studying for a Master's Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University. She is performing research for United Water, Inc. pertaining to phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater. She is from El Salvador and obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas (UCA), a Jesuit university in San Salvador, El Salvador. Her hobbies are reading and swimming.

Mike Dollhopf

Mike Dollhopf grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from Pius XI high school and UW-Milwaukee with bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology. He received his Master of Science degree from UW-Milwaukee in 1998 for research on metal reducing bacteria and developing electrochemical methods to detect metals in vitro and in situ. He spent most of his free undergraduate and graduate study time sampling lakes throughout Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan sampling and analyzing the chemical and microbial profiles of water columns and lake sediments. Mike spent three years at Michigan State University (where his wife Sherry attained her PhD.) learning new molecular techniques at the Center for Microbial Ecology while conducting research on chloroethene bioremediation. At MSU, he was involved with a multi-institute, multi-disciplinary study of chloroethene contaminated sites. This study was punctuated by a pilot study in which the group successfully bioremediated a contaminated site in Michigan via bioaugmentation using a microbial consortia the enriched from that site. Most recently, he spent three years at Florida State University analyzing the biogeochemistry of salt marsh sediments near Savannah, Georgia, and was also involved with a long term environmental monitoring project working for the National Estuarine Research Reserve conducting monthly monitoring of the chemistry of Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Mike and Sherry were happy to move back to Wisconsin to be close to family, and to make sure their son, Christopher, grows up a cheese loving Packer fan.