Anaerobic Treatment Short Course 2026

Professor and chair of civil, construction, and environmental engineering and director of the Water Quality Center at Marquette University, Dr. Daniel Zitomer specializes in wastewater treatment and anaerobic biotechnology. He has more than 30 years of experience consulting with entities such as Jacobs, United Water Services, Liberty Paper, and others. Zitomer has authored more than 100 journal articles, proceedings papers, and technical reports. He received the 2008 Gordon Maskew Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal and is a Fellow of the Water Environment Federation for outstanding service in engineering education. He is Chair of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University and presently teaches graduate classes on anaerobic biotechnology and biological wastewater treatment. He has performed research for the National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, State of Wisconsin, and others. 

Dr. Patrick McNamara is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University. His research focuses on antibiotic resistance in the engineered environment, treatment of micropollutants, and residuals and biosolids handling. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Marquette University (2006), M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Texas – Austin (2008), and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota (2012). He is an associate editor for the journal Biodegradation and serves as Chair for the AEESP Student Services Committee. He received the CSWEA Bill Boyle Outstanding Educator Award in 2018 and currently receives research funding from private foundations, utilities, and the NSF.  

Dr. V. P. Tale specializes in biological wastewater treatment systems and anaerobic digestion. Dr. Tale is a licensed professional engineer registered in the province of Ontario, Canada. He has worked as a Research Executive and Senior Scientist for biological waste treatment projects for large multinational corporations. Dr. Tale has been working in the anaerobic waste and wastewater treatment area for the past 20 years as a researcher, full-scale design engineer, and troubleshooting expert. In his current role with CRB Water, he works with numerous full-scale anaerobic reactors from varying industries such as pulp and paper manufacturing, agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, dairy and milk processing, ethanol manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, and others. Dr. Tale helps these reactors improve their efficiencies and reach their respective treatment goals. He earned his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2010, and his research focused on improving anaerobic digestion process efficiency. 

Vice President, MI2 Operating Systems

Jeff has more than 40 years of water, wastewater, and renewable energy operations experience. He has provided operations and technical support to food and beverage clients across the country, many of which included anaerobic processes. Jeff possesses operator licensing in multiple states. 

Christopher R Hatch, P.E., is the Director of Biotechnologies and Engineering for Chemtron/Riverbend out of St. Charles, MO.  Chris holds a BS in Civil Engineering with an Environmental Minor as well as a BS in Physics.  Chris has worked 26 years in industrial waste water treatment, starting at the City of Cedar Rapids Iowa, operating a 40 million gallon a day multi industrial aerobic facility with multiple treatment process types.  Later, he managed the construction, startup, and operations of one of North America’s largest Granular Anaerobic treatment facilities handling waste from a recycled paper mill and an enzyme factory.  Currently, he leads a team of 9 wastewater professionals, troubleshooting and optimizing biological processes across North America. 

Adam Klaas is the Director of Business Development at Unison Solutions, Inc., where he is responsible for sales, marketing, and promotion of the company’s biogas conditioning and upgrading technologies. Unison designs and manufactures biogas conditioning and upgrading systems serving landfill, municipal wastewater treatment, agricultural, and food processing markets.

Mr. Klaas joined Unison in 2006 and has held several technical and operational roles within the company, including Design Engineer, Project Manager, PLC Programmer, and Service and Start-up/Commissioning Technician. This hands-on technical background provides him with a deep understanding of biogas system design, operation, and implementation.

Prior to joining Unison, he worked as a Sales and Design Engineer for a Midwest-based manufacturer of industrial car shredding equipment.

Mr. Klaas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville.

Ben’s quest to design and operate the safest, most reliable, and highest producing bioenergy facilities in the world has now led him to PurposeEnergy. He began working with anaerobic bioreactors, developing novel technologies that increased biogas generation for food and beverage plants. Much of his early career focused on sustainable engineering for marginalized communities in Central America and India. Ben devised new methods to design anaerobic systems more effectively and led engineering design for bioenergy generation at world-scale chemical manufacturing sites. As part of the global goals in the petrochemical industry, Ben planned greenhouse gas reduction projects to achieve the 2030 targets. Throughout Ben’s career, he has prioritized connecting synergistic people and initiatives, including in the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry, where he led design for the largest producer of Dairy RNG in the U.S.  He is the founder of Go ByCycle. This simple yet profoundly impactful movement empowers people to bike for transportation.  For fun, Ben enjoys competitive long-distance running, anything outdoors with his two daughters, and listening to his wife sing.