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Timothy Ellis

Associate Professor
Environmental Engineering

375 Town Engineering
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
(515) 294-8922

tge@iastate.edu

Curriculum Vitae:

Education

• Ph.D., Clemson University, 1995, Environmental Systems Engineering
• M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1988, Environmental Engineering
• B.S., Drexel University, 1984, Civil Engineering

Record of Professional Experience

• 2001 - present, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University
• 1995-2001, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University
• 1990 - 1991 Senior Environmental Engineer. Engineering-Science, Inc. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Designed interim and permanent extensions to the Mafraq Sewage Treatment Works, an 82 mgd wastewater reclamation facility including primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment with full effluent reuse.
• 1989 - 1990 Project Engineer. Engineering-Science, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia. Lead process engineer for the design of a new 7.5 mgd surface water treatment plant, involving rapid mix, flocculation/sedimentation, filtration, and eight separate chemical feed systems. Provided preliminary through final design documents.
• 1984 - 1987 Operations Engineer. City of Baltimore, Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, Baltimore, Maryland. Participated in 201 Facility Plan implementation, process selection, design review, and plant start-up. Projects included computer automated activated sludge facility construction, tertiary filtration design, and biological nutrient removal process selection.

• 1981 - 1983 Project Engineer (Coop). Wilson T. Ballard Company, Owings Mills, Maryland. Performed sanitary sewer system evaluation study (SSES) for the Back River Conveyance System. Assisted in highway layout and design for I-270 in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Honors and Awards

• Anderlik Award for Teaching Excellence, CCEE, Iowa State University, 2005

• Engineering Student Council, Outstanding Faculty Award, ISU, COE, 2001, 2002
• Student Activities Committee, Outstanding Advisor Recognition Award, ISU, COE, 2001
• 1999 Charles W. Schafer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service in the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Iowa State University.
• 1999 Leadership through Engineering Academic Diversity (LEAD) Faculty Staff Involvement Award, College of Engineering, Iowa State University.
• 1996 Recipient of National Research Council's Collaboration in Basic Science and Engineering award for research project development at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary.
• 1985- Zone Representative, Professional Wastewater Operations Division, Water 1987 Pollution Control Federation (currently Water Environment Federation).
• 1983 Samuel J. Leonard Scholarship Award for academic achievement. Drexel University.
• 1983 Chi Epsilon Honor Society for Civil Engineers, Drexel University.
• 1983 Certificate of Appreciation, National Society of Professional Engineers.

PATENTS

Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) Principal Inventor - T. G. Ellis, Co-inventor - K. F. Mach. U.S. Patent No. 6,709,591.  Issued 2004.

Selected Refereed Journal Publications 

Ellis, T. G. and Evans, K. M. (2007) A new high rate anaerobic technology, the static granular bed reactor (SGBR), for renewable energy production from medium strength waste streams, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, in press.

Evans E. A. and Ellis, T.G. (2007) Industrial wastewater treatment with the static granular bed reactor versus the UASB, Industrial Wastewater, 5, No. 6, 10.

Ellis, T.G., Huang, X., and Kaiser, S.K. (2006) Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate and alkyl sulfate biodegradation in laboratory and field activated sludge systems, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 95, 551.

Ellis, T. G. and Evans, E. A. (2006) Analyzing an anaerobic alternative. A pilot-scale study of a static granular bed reactor, Water Environment and Technology, 18, No. 3, 69-73.

Koh, S.  H.  and  Ellis, T. G. (2005) Protocol for Early Detection and Evaluation of Inhibitory Wastewater Using Combined Aerobic Respirometric and Anaerobic Batch Techniques, Water Environment Research, 77, 3092-3100.

Byram, H. S., Svatos, R. L., Evans, E. A. and Ellis, T.G. (2004) Midwest ethanol producer solves wastewater problems, Industrial WaterWorld, editorial feature, March 2004 issue.

Evans, E. A., Ellis, T.  G., Gullicks, H., and Ringelestein, J. (2004) Trickling filter nitrification performance characteristics and potential of a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment facility. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 130, 1280-1288.

Eliosov, B. and Ellis, T. G. (2004) Use of extant kinetic parameters to predict effluent concentrations of specific organic compounds at full scale facilities. Water Environment Research, 76, 444-452.

Vandenburgh, S. R., and Ellis, T. G. (2002) Effect of varying solids concentrations and organic loading on the performance of temperature phased anaerobic digestion. Water Environment Research, 74, 142-148.

Goudar, C. T., and Ellis, T. G. (2001) Explicit oxygen concentration expression for estimating extant biodegradation kinetics from respirometric experiments. Biotechnology and Bioengineering,75, 74-81.

Schmit, K. H., and Ellis, T. G. (2001) Comparison of temperature-phased and two phase anaerobic co-digestion of primary sludge and municipal solid waste, Water Environment Research,73, 314-321.

Miles, A., and Ellis, T. G. (2000) Struvite precipitation potential for nutrient recovery from anaerobically treated wastes, Water Science and Technology, 43, No.11, 259-266. [4]

Vandenburgh, S. R., and Ellis, T. G. (2000) TPAD performs well with prethickened loads in Iowa State study. Biosolids Technical Bulletin, 6, No. 5,7-12.

Ellis, T. G., Higgins, M. J., Kaiser, S. K., Lay, J.-J., and Schmit, C. G. (1999) Activated sludge and other aerobic suspended culture processes. Water Environment Research, 71, 618-638.

Ellis, T. G. and Anselm, C. V. (1999) Effect of batch discharges on extant biodegradation kinetics in activated sludge systems. Water Environment Research, 71, 290-298.

Dugba, P. N., Zhang, R., Rumsey, T. R., Ellis, T. G. (1999) Computer simulation of two-stage anaerobic sequencing batch reactor system for animal wastewater treatment. Transactions of the ASAE, 42(2), 471-477.

Ellis, T. G., Higgins, M. J., Kaiser, S. K., Cowan, R. M., and Schmit, C. S. (1998) Activated sludge and other aerobic suspended culture processes. Water Environment Research, 70, 473-495.

Dague, R. R., Banik, G.C., and Ellis, T. G. (1998) ASBR treatment of dilute wastewater at psychrophilic temperatures. Water Environment Research, 70, 155-160.

Ellis, T. G., Smets, B. F., and Grady, C. P. L. Jr. (1998) Effect of Simultaneous Biodegradation of Multiple Substrates on the Extant Biodegradation of Individual Substrates. Water Environment Research, 70, 27-38.

Banik, G. C., Ellis, T. G., and Dague, R. R. (1997) Structure and Methanogenic Activity of Granules from an ASBR Treating Dilute Wastewater at Low Temperatures. Water Science and Technology, 36, #6/7, 149-156.

Cowan, R. M., Alagappan, G., Ellis, T. G., Higgins, M. J., and Uberoi, V. (1997) Activated sludge and other aerobic suspended culture processes. Water Environment Research, 69, 462-487.

Ellis, T. G., Barbeau, D. S., Smets, B. F., and Grady, C. P. L. Jr. (1996) Respirometric technique for determination of extant kinetic parameters describing biodegradation. Water Environment Research, 68, 917-926.

Ellis, T. G., Smets, B. F., Magbanua, B. S. Jr., and Grady, C. P. L. Jr. (1996) Changes in measured biodegradation kinetics during the long term operation of completely mixed activated sludge (CMAS) bioreactors. Water Science and Technology, 34, 5/6, 35-42.

Cowan, R. M., Ellis, T. G., Higgins, M. J., Alagappan, G., and Park, K. (1996) Activated sludge and other aerobic suspended culture processes. Water Environment Research, 68, 451-469.

Smets, B. F., Ellis, T. G., Brau, S., Sanders, R. W., and Grady, C. P. L. Jr. (1995) Quantification of the kinetic differences between communities isolated from completely mixed activated sludge systems operated with or without a selector using a novel respirometric method, Water Science and Technology, 30, 11, 255-261.

Barbeau, D. S., Ellis, T. G., and Grady, C. P. L. Jr. (1995) Oxygen leakage during respirometric measurements: A caution on the use of PTFE tape. Water Research, 29, 1211-1212.

Ellis, T. G., Soulsby, M. R., and Harper, P. D. (1992) Selection and design of sequencing batch reactors for treatment capacity enhancement in Abu Dhabi. Water Science and Technology, 26, 5/6, 1105-1114.

Roth, M.J., and Ellis, T.G. (2004) Onsite pilot demonstration of the static granular bed reactor, CD-ROM Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation 72^nd Annual Conference and Exposition. Water Environment Federation, New Orleans, LA, October, 2004.

Wongkarnka, M., Park, K. Y., Eliosov, B., Ellis, T.G., van Leeuwen, H. (2003) Treatment of Food Processing Wastewater Using Aerobic Yeast, Proceedings of Asian WaterQual2003, Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Bangkok, October 2003.

Mach, K.F., Evans, E., Roth, M.J, and Ellis, T.G. (2003) Fundamentals of the Static Granular Bed Reactor, Proceedings of Asian WaterQual2003, Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Bangkok, October 2003.

Koh, S. H. and Ellis, T. G. (2002) Protocol for Early Detection and Evaluation of Inhibitory Wastewater Using Combined Aerobic Respirometric and Anaerobic Batch Techniques, CD-ROM Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation 72^nd Annual Conference and Exposition. Water Environment Federation, Chicago, IL, October, 2002.

Mach, K. F. and Ellis, T. G. (2002) Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (Fame) Analysis of High Rate Anaerobic Wastewater Treatement Systems, CD-ROM Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation 72^nd Annual Conference and Exposition. Water Environment Federation, Chicago, IL, October, 2002.

Eliosov, B., Ellis, T. G., Wongkarnka, M., and van Leeuwen, J. (2002) Bioconversion of Waste Organic Matter into a Microbial Biomass Protein, CD-ROM Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation 72^nd Annual Conference and Exposition. Water Environment Federation, Chicago, IL, October, 2002.

Ellis, T. G. (1987) Potential of biogas in developing countries. In: Resource Mobilization for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Developing Nations. F. W. Montanari, T. P. Thompson, T. P. Curran, and W. Saukin (Eds.), ASCE, New York, 535-543.