Congratulations to Dr. Dietrich: Honored as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Distinguished Alumna for 2015

Dr. Andrea Dietrich (member of Water INTERface Program) has been recently honored as the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Distinguished Alumna for 2015. The Distinguished Alumna is awarded in recognition of outstanding career achievements in teaching, research, and service. Dr. Dietrich earned her Ph.D. in 1987 from UNC. Her doctoral research studied biochemical transformations of nitro-polyaromatic hydrocarbons to amino-aromatics that attack DNA to form adducts and mutations in cells.

Dr. Dietrich has served at Virginia Tech since 1988 and she is now a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Dr. Dietrich has been a well-recognized water scientist in promoting safe and palatable drinking water nationally and internationally. Beyond research, she is also actively engaged in interdisciplinary education and served as the co-Director of Water INTERface Graduate Education Program. In addition, she serves as a consultant to industry for monitoring and identifying tastes and odors in drinking water. She is energetically engaged with global colleagues through the International Water Association (IWA) where serves as the chairperson of the IWA Specialist Group on Tastes, Odours, and Algal Toxins in the Sources of Water. She is active in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Among her many recognitions, Dietrich has been honored with the Civil and Environmental Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, American Water Works Associations Golden Spigot Award, Dean’s Excellence in Research Award, Visiting Scientist with NASA, and two Science, Technology, and Policy Fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Dietrich has actively maintained her connections with UNC faculty and students through joint student conferences and professional societies. In the future, Dr. Dietrich will continue cooperate with UNC and other universities to solve drinking water quality problems and contribute to public health.