Barlaz wins AAEES Gordon Maskew Fair Award

Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Distinguished University Professor Dr. Morton Barlaz won the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) Gordon Maskew Fair Award. AAEES serves the environmental engineering profession through its many programs including professional certification and seminars, as well as its role in the accreditation of environmental engineering degrees.

Barlaz was chosen based on his contributions to the status of the environmental engineering or science professions by exemplary professional conduct, recognized achievements in the practice of environmental engineering and science, and significant contributions to the control of the quality of the world’s environment.

​​I am truly honored that my colleagues in environmental engineering have judged that I am worthy of such a prestigious award.”

– Dr. Morton Barlaz

Barlaz will be acknowledged at the 2023 AAEES Awards Ceremony and Conference in April. 

The Gordon Maskew Fair Award honors one of the pioneers of environmental engineering, Dean Fair. 

“In addition to [Fair’s] own exemplary career, his living legacy includes hundreds of prominent practicing engineers and eminent professors who continue to emulate his values,” said Dr. David A. Vaccari, president of AAEES. “He taught his students not only the technical aspects of the field but inspired them to use their skills to protect and enhance environmental quality.”

Barlaz, who has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and has made hundreds of presentations all over the world, has been involved in research on various aspects of solid waste since 1983, including research on biological refuse decomposition, methane production, and the biodegradation of hazardous wastes in landfills. He has participated in two state-of-the-practice reviews of bioreactor landfills. His research forms the basis for much of the work done to assess the impact of landfills on methane emissions inventories. Barlaz is also recognized for his research on the use of life-cycle analysis to evaluate environmental emissions associated with alternate solid waste management strategies, and he was awarded a Presidential Faculty Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Most recently, he has been working on the processes that contribute to heat accumulation in landfills.

This post was originally published in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering.