Rate My Professor Charles Haas

Charles Haas, PhD, serves as the LD Betz Professor of Environmental Engineering at Drexel University since 1991 and was Head of the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering from 2002 to 2021. His distinguished career includes prior roles as Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1981 to 1990, where he advanced from Assistant to full Professor and served as Acting Chairman of the Pritzker Department of Environmental Engineering in 1989-1990. Earlier positions encompass Visiting Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988-1989 and Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1978 to 1981. Haas holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1978), an MS in Environmental Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (1974), and a BS in Biology from the Illinois Institute of Technology (1973).

Haas specializes in water treatment, risk assessment, bioterrorism, environmental modeling and statistics, microbiology, and environmental health, pioneering quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to advance water and wastewater treatment practices aimed at minimizing human exposure to pathogenic microorganisms. He co-authored the seminal book Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2014) with J.B. Rose and C.P. Gerba. Key publications include 'Risk assessment of virus in drinking water' (Risk Analysis, 1993) and numerous peer-reviewed papers contributing to over 21,000 citations and a high h-index on Google Scholar. His influence is evident in editorial roles, committee service, and applications of QMRA to food safety, indoor air quality, and recreational exposures. Among his major honors are election to the National Academy of Engineering (2021) for contributions to engineering research; Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association (2020); AP Black Research Award from the American Water Works Association (2018); Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize (2017); Society for Risk Analysis Distinguished Achievement Award (2016); and fellowships from the American Society of Civil Engineers (2010), Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2013), American Academy of Environmental Engineers (BCEEM, 2007), Society for Risk Analysis (2002), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002), and American Academy of Microbiology (1997).