Each year, the American Membrane Technology Association and the American Water Works Association confer a number of prestigious awards to recognize exceptional individuals and organizations that are advancing the understanding and application of membrane technology to create safe, affordable and reliable water treatment solutions. This year’s winners were announced at the 2022 Membrane Technology Conferenced in February.
AMTA Awardees are determined by the AMTA Awards Committee. The MTC Awards are conferred annually by AMTA and the American Water Works Association and determined by the MTC Awards Committee. Awards are presented during the annual MTC Conference & Exposition.
MTC 2022 Awards
Membrane Facility Award. Recognizes an outstanding water/wastewater facility using membrane technology with high efficiency in an environmentally friendly approach. Winner: Robert W. Sokoll Joint Venture Surface Water Treatment Plant, Waxahachie, Texas, recognized as an outstanding municipal drinking water facility jointly owned by the City of Waxahachie, TX, and the Rockett Special Utility District. This water treatment facility provides drinking water and rural farm use water for about 50,000 customers.
Robert O. Vernon Operator of the Year. Recognizes outstanding contributions to water supply improvement by an individual working at a membrane filtration, desalination and/or water reuse facility. Winner: Brian Ward, Superintendent, City of Fargo Water Treatment Plant, in recognition of his outstanding service and dedication to membrane operations and for his leadership within the industry
MTC22 Best Paper Award. Recognizes the outstanding preparation of a technical paper. Winner: Andrew Safulko, Brown and Caldwell, for outstanding preparation of his technical paper, ‘Closed-Circuit High-Pressure Membrane Systems for the Separation of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances.’
MTC22 Best Poster Award. Recognizes the outstanding preparation of a technical poster. Winner: Stanton Smith (primary author) & Abdurrehman Rashid (speaker), Crosstek Membrane Technology, for outstanding preparation of a technical poster, ‘Retrofit of Hollow Fiber MBR with Submerged Ceramic Membranes for Fats, Oils and Hydrocarbon Management in Industrial Reuse Plant.’
Best Student Paper Award. Recognizes the outstanding preparation of a technical paper by a student. Winner: Rushabh Shah, University of Massachusetts, for outstanding preparation of a technical paper, ‘Flux and Antifouling Performance of Bioinspired Liquid-Infused Membranes.’
Best Student Poster Award. Recognizes the outstanding preparation of a technical poster by a student. Winner: Lucas Crane, Arizona State University, for outstanding preparation of a technical poster, ‘Urea Recovery and Fouling Mitigation of Fresh Human Urine Using Cross-flow Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration.’
Best Exhibit Award. Recognizes the outstanding preparation of an exhibit at the Membrane Technology Conference & Exposition. Winner: Avista Technologies, Inc.
AMTA 2022 Awards
Hall of Fame Awards. Recognizes a pioneering and/or lifetime contribution by an individual to membrane technology and water supply improvement. Winners: Ashwin M. Desai, in recognition of his contributions to the growth of large-scale reverse osmosis plants and innovations; Rick Lesan, in recognition of his creativity and innovation in the development and optimization of the spiral wound element, the first fiberglass pressure vessels, reverse osmosis membranes and manufacturing technology and Peter MacLaggan, in recognition of his leadership in the implementation and utilization of reverse osmosis technology for large scale projects.
AMTA Presidential & Distinguished Service Awards. Presented at the discretion of the AMTA President acknowledging the outstanding service of outgoing AMTA Board Members and recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to furthering the mission of AMTA.
AMTA Distinguished Service Award: Rebecca Wilder, AMTA Board of Directors, 2018-2022 & Executive Committee, 2021-2022
AMTA Presidential Awards: Michael Bourke, Wigen Water Technologies; Doug Eisberg, Avista Technologies, Inc.; Dave Holland, Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc.; Greg Madden, H2O Innovation and Ben Movahed, WATEK Engineering Corporation