UWRC DIRECTOR William "Bill" Cooper

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Urban Water Research Center, Dr. Cooper joined UC Irvine on July 1st, 2006. His background includes working as a civilian for the U.S. Army at Ft. Detrick in the late 1970's. There, Cooper ran the water reuse program and also helped pioneer the first annual Water Reuse Symposium in 1979. Through the 80's and 90's Cooper served as Director of the Drinking Water Research Center at Florida International University, Miami, Florida, and as associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. In 1997, he was appointed Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, where, in addition, he was affiliated with the Center for Marine Science for six years.

His research interests have included analytical chemistry of chlorine residuals, disinfection byproducts and trace organics analysis. More recently, Cooper has focused on carbon cycling in coastal oceans and the application of free radical chemistry in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). As a result of his experience in free radical chemistry, he serves as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency and is involved in several international cooperative research projects. Most recently, he has been involved in the application of ozonation for ballast water treatment at full-scale on oil tankers. Additionally, Cooper will continue his research at UC Irvine in reaction rates and destruction mechanisms, and kinetic models for optimizing AOPs.

Professor Cooper's full resume may be viewed at: http://www.eng.uci.edu/files/William_Cooper_CV_2006.pdf