Rate My Professor David Reckhow

David A. Reckhow is a Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a position reflecting his long-standing contributions to the Engineering faculty since joining in 1985. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University (1977), an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University (1978), and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1984). Before academia, Reckhow was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Compagnie Générale des Eaux' Anjou Recherche in Paris (1984-1985). At UMass Amherst, he progressed from Assistant Professor (1985-1990) to Associate Professor (1990-1998) and full Professor (1998-present). He served as Director of The Environmental Institute (2002-2005) and currently directs the Water Innovation Network for Sustainable Small Systems (WINSSS), an EPA-funded center. Additionally, he has been a Visiting Professor at Curtin University since 2015 and chaired the Northampton Board of Public Works for 15 years, overseeing the municipal water system.

Reckhow's research focuses on water quality and treatment, encompassing physical-chemical processes, disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation and control, ozonation, coagulation/flocculation, advanced oxidants such as ferrate and peroxone, natural organic matter characterization, and emerging contaminants like PFAS. His seminal publications include "Removal of Organic Halide Precursors by Pre-ozonation and Alum Coagulation" (JAWWA, 1984), "Chlorination Byproducts in Drinking Waters: From Formation Potentials to Finished Water Concentrations" (JAWWA, 1990), and "Chlorination of Humic Materials: Byproduct Formation and Chemical Interpretations" (ES&T, 1990), amassing over 12,500 citations per Google Scholar. He has secured major grants from NSF, EPA, AWWA Research Foundation, and others. Awards highlight his impact: NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989), multiple AWWA Academic Achievement Awards and Best Paper Awards (1985-2009), A.P. Black Research Award (2019), AEESP Outstanding Publication Award (2015), and UMass awards including Distinguished Faculty Lecturer (2017). Recent achievements include a U.S. Patent (12,030,794, 2024) for electrochemical water treatment. His work advances safe drinking water technologies, particularly for small systems.