Leonard Ripley Named Water Environment Federation Fellow
Congratulations to Treatment Lead Technical Professional Leonard Ripley, PhD, PE, BECC, on being named a Water Environment Federation Fellow – one of the highest honors in our industry.
Leonard has made significant contributions to the art and science of wastewater treatment and water pollution control throughout his career. Through his multitude of professional projects, research, exploration, testing and application of new and better treatment processes, along with his teaching, mentoring and advising of his fellow wastewater professionals, Leonard has set the standard of performance excellence for environmental engineering.
Over his 44-year career, he has developed two patented processes for anaerobic treatment of high-strength wastes, developed the widely used international standard for monitoring anaerobic digester performance (Ripley Ratio), and made contributions to anaerobic digestion/co-digestion applications in municipal resource recovery.
Leonard has achieved a significant body of successful projects for municipalities and private industry, having completed work on more than 400 projects in the past 30 years, primarily industrial and municipal resource recovery.
His tireless advocacy for research and development of new processes manifests in multiple ways. For example, he established the Freese and Nichols testing laboratory in Fort Worth and assists both clients and colleagues in developing research projects and testing protocols to establish sound scientific bases for implementing new technologies.
Leonard is a willing sounding board, providing respectful direction, clarity and information to assist clients and colleagues in their professional pursuits in wastewater projects. He has shared and inspired – through his publications, presentations, classroom teaching and collegial counseling – with gentle humor and robust enthusiasm.
Leonard’s career has improved resource recovery in Texas. His accomplishments have improved the art and science of resource recovery. And his ethical standards and dedication to client service have raised the level of professional practice.
Leonard will be honored during the WEF Awards and Presidential Celebration ceremony at the WEFTEC Conference Sept. 24 in Chicago.