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| Vol. 18, No. 38 | Aug. 5, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 38 | Aug. 5, 1999 |
Some 25 years ago, Chin-Pao Huang, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering, told his first-ever doctoral student, Herschel A. Elliott, that "education is more than simply a transfer of information."
The comment "stuck with me, because I saw that this concept was C.P.'s guiding philosophy, and he had a profoundly positive impact on my life," said Elliott, now a professor and chairperson of the Environmental Pollution Control Program at Pennsylvania State University.
"His availability and willingness to discuss my research results were remarkable, particularly since I was often one of 10 or so graduate students he was mentoring simultaneously!" Elliott recalled recently.
"His constant encouragement and receptiveness to my ideas created an atmosphere that was conducive to learning and professional development, and his personal concern for the welfare of his graduate students led to a close personal relationship. As a result, my graduate experience was pleasurable and rewarding."
Many others have moved through Huang's office since then-some 80 master's and doctoral-level students to date. Fourteen are now working at universities in the United States, Taiwan, Korea and Brazil. Others are serving in industry or governmental positions.
Huang's skill at guiding his students toward successful careers recently earned the 1999 Gordon Maskew Fair Medal from the Water Environment Federation. To be conferred Oct. 12 at the WEF annual meeting in New Orleans, the award recognizes his outstanding efforts to train future engineers.
"The University of Delaware has given me a great opportunity to work with some of the most promising and bright students in the field of environmental engineering," Huang said of his award. "I am grateful for the University's support. It has truly been an honor, working with my graduate students."
Former student Allen Davis, AG '84, EG '86M & '89 PhD, now an associate professor at the University of Maryland, says Huang is an ideal role model for young engineers. "His approach is to work hard, to publish results, to be aggressive in obtaining research funding and to network with others in the field," Davis reports. "That's what he does, and that's the formula for success. It has worked for me, too."
Huang received his Ph.D. in aquatic chemistry from Harvard University in 1971-a few years after the retirement of his award's namesake, the late Harvard faculty member, Gordon Maskew Fair, a pioneer in the field of environmental engineering. Huang also holds a master's degree in environmental engineering from Harvard (1967) and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the National Taiwan University (1965).
His research interests include industrial wastewater management; aquatic chemistry; soil clean-up; and the chemistry and control of heavy metals in the environment.
Currently, for example, he serves as the principal investigator on a U.S. Department of Energy project to perfect an electrokinetic method for on-site remediation of contaminated soil. He also is investigating a sonochemical process for treating wastewaters, a project sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Huang's previous awards have included a 1996 Gold Medal for research from the Chinese Institute of Environmental Enginering (Taiwan). He arrived at UD in 1974, after serving with Michigan State University, Wayne State University and Harvard University. 
