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Rittmann

Bruce E. Rittmann

  • Regents' Professor
School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical and Materials Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Bio
  • Expertise
  • Education
  • Honors & Distinctions
  • Selected Publications

Dr. Bruce Rittmann, director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology in the Biodesign Institute at ASU, is an international leader in the use of microbial communities to provide services to society. Those services include pollution clean up, treatment of water and wastewater, capture of renewable energy, and directly improving human health. Dr. Rittmann was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, a recipient of the Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology, a winner of the Huber Research Prize from ASCE, and one of the world's most highly cited researchers, according to ISI.

Environmental Biotechnology Biofilms Microbial Ecology

Ph.D. Environmental Engineering
Stanford University 1979
M.S. Environmental Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis 1974
B.S. Civil Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis 1974

Simon A. Freese Award and Lecture, American Society of Civil Engineers (2009)

Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Defining Research, Natural Science and Math, Arizona State University (2008)

Innovator of the Year, Arizona Technology Enterprises (2007)

New Innovator of the Year, Arizona Technology Enterprises (2006)

Honorary Professor, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, P.R. of China (2006)

Honorary Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. of China (2005)

Honorary Professor, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, P.R. China (2005)

Member, National Academy of Engineering (2004)

Honorary Member, World Innovation Foundation (2004)

Distinguished Lecturer, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2004)

Editor’s Award, J. Environmental Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers (2004)

Visiting Professor, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan (2004)

Faculty of 1000, Microbiology Section (2003)

ISI List of Most Highly Cited Researchers, Institute for Scientific Information (2002)

Guest Professor, Nanchang Institute of Aeronautical Technology, Nanchang, P.R. of China (2002)

Editor's Award, J. Environmental Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers (2001)

Visiting Professor, Institüt für Abfallwirtschaft und Alasten, Technical University of Dresden, Germany (2001)

Visiting Professor, Research Center for Environmental Quality Control, Kyoto University, Japan (1999)

1999 Award of Excellence in Research and Development, Ontario Ministry of the Environment; with R. K. Rowe and several colleagues at the U. Western Ontario (1999)

Visiting Professor, Research Center for Environmental Quality Control, Kyoto University, Otsu City, Shiga, Japan (1999)

Founders Award, USA National Committee, IAWQ; with H. Yu (1998)

Travel Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (1997)

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (1996)

CH2M-Hill Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with Eric Seagren (1995)

Montgomery-Watson Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with John Woolschlager (1995)

A. R. I. Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology, National Water Research Institute (1994)

Engineering Science Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with Wookeun Bae (1993)

J. M. Montgomery Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with Daniel Noguera (1992)

Walter L. Huber Research Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers (1990)

Academic Achievement Award, American Water Works Association; with Jacques Manem (1990)

CH2M-Hill Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with Jacques Manem (1989)

University Scholar, University of Illinois (1987)

Best Paper Award, Illinois Water Pollution Control Association; with E. Namkung (1987)

Xerox Faculty Research Award, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1985) 

Presidential Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation (1984) 

Chi Epsilon Honor Initiate, University of Illinois (1982)                                   

Engineering Science Award, Association of Environmental Engineering Professors; with Perry McCarty (1979)

E. O. Sweetser Award, Department of Civil Engineering, Washington University (1973)       

Tau Beta Pi (1972)

Bausch & Lomb Science Prize (1969)

Chung, J., C.-H. Ahn, Z. Chen, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Bio-reduction of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) using a hydrogen-gas based membrane biofilm reactor.  Chemosphere 70(3):  516-520

Chung, J., R. Krajmalnik-Brown, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Bio-reduction of trichloroethene using a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor.  Environ. Sci. Technol.  42(2):  477-483

Xing, D., N. Ren, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Genetic diversity of hydrogen-producing bacteria in acidophilic ethanol-H2 co-producing system analyzed by [Fe]-hydrogenase gene.  Appl. Environ. Microb. 74:  1232-1239

Rittmann, B. E., G. Galjaart, and S. Adham (2008).  Leading edge technologies for sustainable water provision.  Water21, February 2008, pp. 3-34

Nerenberg, R., Y. Kawagoshi, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Microbial ecology of a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor reducing perchlorate in the presence of nitrate or oxygen.  Water Research 42:  1151-1159

Lee, H.-S., P. Parameswaran, A. Kato Marcus, C. I. Torres, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Evaluation of energy-conversion efficiencies in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) utilizing fermentable and non-fermentable substrates.  Water Research 42:  1501-1510

DiBaise, J. K., H. Zhang, M. D. Crowell, R. Krajmalnik-Brown, G. A. Decker, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  The gut microbiota and its relationship to obesity.  Mayo Clinic Proc. 83(4):  460-469

Rittmann, B. E., N. Love, and H. Siegrist (2008).  Making wastewater a sustainable resource.  Water21, April 2008, pp. 22 – 23

Rittmann, B. E. (2008).  Opportunities for renewable bioenergy using microorganisms.  Biotechnol. Bioengr. 100:  203-212

Krasner, S. W., P. Westerhoff, B. Chen, G. Amy, S.-N. Nam, Z. K. Chowdhury, S. Sinha, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Contribution of wastewater to DBP formation.  Publ. 91206. American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver, CO

Rittmann, B. E., H.-S. Lee, H. Zhang, J. Alder, J. E. Banaszak, and D. Emon (2008).  Full-scale application of focused-pulse pre-treatment for improving biosolids digestion and converstion to methane.  Proc. 2008 Leading Edge Technology Conference (Zürich), on CD, International Water Association, London

Lee, H.-S., M. Salerno, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Thermodynamic evaluation of hydrogen production in glucose fermentation.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 42:  2401-2407

Torres, C. I., A. Kato-Marcus, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Proton transport inside the biofilm limits electrical current generation by anode-respiring bacteria.  Biotechnol. Bioengr. 100:  872-881

Sang, B.-I., E.-S. Yoo, B. J. Kim, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  The effect of carrier size on the performance of a three-phase circulating-bed biofilm reactor for removing toluene in gas stream.  J. Microb. Biotechnol. 18:  1121-1129

Rittmann, B. E., R. Krajmalnik-Brown, and R. U. Halden (2008).  Pre-genomic, genomic, and post-genomic study of microbial communities involved in bioenergy.  Nature Rev. Microb. 6:   604-612

Mathieu, J., J. Schloendorn, B. E. Rittmann, A. de Grey, and P. J. J. Alvarez (2008).  Microbial degradation of 7-ketocholesterol.  Biodegradation 19:  807-813

Rittmann, B. E., C. I. Torres, and A. K. Marcus (2008).  Understanding the distinguishing features of a microbial fuel ell as a biomass-based renewable energy technology.  Emerging Environmental Technologies, V. Shah, ed., Springer, pp. 1 – 28

Hasar, H., S. Xia, C.-H. Ahn, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Simultaneous removal of organic matter and nitrogen compounds by an aerobic/anoxic membrane biofilm reactor.  Water Research 42:  4109 – 4116

Torres, C. I., A. K. Marcus, P. Parameswaran, B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Kinetic experiments for evaluating the Nernst-Monod model for anode-respiring bacteria (ARB) in a biofilm anode.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(17): 6593-6597

Chung, J. and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Simultaneous bio-reduction of trichloroethene, trichloroethane, and chloroform using a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor.  Wat. Sci. Technol. 58(30):  495-501

Marsolek, M. D., C. I. Torres, M. Hausner, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Intimate coupling of photocatalysis and biodegradation in a photocatalytic circulating-bed biofilm reactor.  Biotechnol. Bioengr. 101:  83-92

Rittmann, B. E., H-S. Lee, H. Zhang, J. Alder, J. E. Banaszak, and R. Lopez.  Full-scale application of focused-pulsed pre-treatment for improving biosolids digestion and conversion to methane (2008).  Water Sci. Technol. 58(10):  1895 – 1902

Van Ginkel, S. W., C. H. Ahn, M. Badruzzaman, D. J. Roberts, S. G. Lehman, S. Adham, and B. E. Rittmann (2008).  Kinetics of nitrate and perchlorate reduction in ion exchange brine using the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR).  Water Research 42:  4197-4205