Industry Great Lou Smith
The water industry on both sides of the border lost a tireless advocate and expert with the passing of Lou Smith on February 15. Smith’s career began with a water conditioning dealership in Ontario, Canada in 1950. That single shop expanded to three locations as Soft Water Supply, Ltd under the SERViSOFT banner. In addition, he established seven sub-franchised operations in Ontario centers. All were eventually sold to Culligan of Canada Ltd and Smith joined them as Consumer Division Manager. He became the first full time manager of the merged Canadian Association of Water Conditioning/Canadian Water Quality Association and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1996, at which time he became CWQA’s Technical Director. Here in the states, he served as President of the Water Conditioning Association International and on the U.S. Water Quality Research Council.
EQI Founder Richard P. Maas
Richard Preston Maas, Ph.D., died in December of last year due to a blood disorder. Well known to WC&P readers for his remarkable research (see Extractable Arsenic from Activated Carbon Drinking Water Filters, November 2004), Dr. Maas was the author of over 40 publications and 150 technical papers. Found and co-director of UNC Asheville’s Environmental Quality Institute, he also served as a frequent consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Maas held a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, a master’s degree in chemistry from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in environmental chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill. He joined the UNC Asheville faculty in 1987 as an assistant professor and became a full professor in the Department of Environmental Studies in 1998. He went on to chair that department from 1996-2002.