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Dr. Francis De Los Reyes III
Dr. De Los Reyes is interested in the interface between microbial ecology and environmental engineering. At this interface, molecular techniques are utilized as powerful tools for the analysis of microbial populations in engineered and natural treatment systems. Environmental process engineering is approached from a fundamental standpoint- combining the insights from molecular (DNA- and RNA-based) approaches with innovative process experiments and modeling. Recent research includes structure-function studies in wastewater treatment systems, landfills, soils, and decentralized sanitation systems.
- PhD, Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- MS, Civil Engineering, Iowa State University
- BS, Agricultural Engineering, University of the Philippines at Los Banos
Dr. de los Reyes is an Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Associate Faculty of Microbiology, and Training Faculty of Biotechnology at North Carolina State University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on wastewater treatment plant design, environmental biotechnology and microbiology, fundamentals of environmental engineering, and water and sanitation for developing countries. His research focuses on biological processes and combines modeling, bioreactor experiments, and molecular microbial ecology tools in addressing fundamental and practical issues in environmental biotechnology and environmental engineering. He has conducted workshops for wastewater treatment plant operators and professionals in the US and the Philippines. He has also worked in water and sanitation issues in developing countries, and has collaborations in the Philippines, India, China, and Montenegro.
In 2009, he was awarded a TED Fellowship (www.ted.com). In 2008, he was named a Balik-Scientist awardee of the Philippine Government, and Outstanding Alumnus of the University of the Philippines. He has received the US National Science Foundation CAREER Award. His students have won state (NC AWWA/WEA), national (WEF) and international (IWA) awards for research presentations and posters. Current and past research projects include: molecular analysis and modeling of the competition between filaments and floc-formers in activated sludge, ecophysiology of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in microbial floc, swine waste treatment system for nitrogen removal, fate of bioagents in landfills, microbial characterization of landfills, molecular techniques for groundwater remediation sites, foam control methods, factors affecting fats, oils, and grease deposits in sewers, wastewater treatment for rural areas, water reuse systems, and novel molecular techniques for detecting denitrifiers.
Dr. de los Reyes is on the editorial board of Water Research and Phil. Science Letters. He has been a consultant for industry, engineering firms, and public utilities on activated sludge operation, solids separation problems, and molecular microbiology techniques.
Recent Research Projects for De Los Reyes
- Research Study on a Potentially Cost Saving Wastewater Treatment Additive — 02/23/11 - 02/23/12 Details
- Microbial Risk Assessment of Graywater Reuse using Quantitative Molecular Approaches — 03/01/11 - 02/29/12 Details
- Alternative Water & Waste Management Processes for Local Governments Study — 12/10/08 - 09/30/09 Details
- Fate of Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Deposit Forming Precursors in Sewer Systems — 03/01/09 - 02/28/11 Details
- Protecting Receiving Waters: Removal of Biochemically Active Compounds from Wastewater by Ozonation and Activated Carbon Adsorption Processes — 03/01/09 - 12/31/10 Details
- Identifying and Quantifying Functionally Active Denitrifying Microbial Populations in Complex Environments Using Catabolic Gene Expression Analysis — 05/15/09 - 04/30/12 Details
- Decision Support Tool Guidance Document for Management of Debris from Incidents of National Significance — 09/05/08 - 01/31/11 Details
- Effects of Biological Drain Products on Grease Interceptors: Microbiological and Chemical Characterization — 08/01/07 - 06/01/09 Details
- Hydrogen Production at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill: A Proposal to Explain Landfill Behavior — 02/14/07 - 12/31/08 Details
- Impacts of Sampling and Handling Procedures on DNA- and RNA-based Microbial Characterization and Quantification of Groundwater and Saturated Soil — 03/19/07 - 03/18/10 Details
- Project ICEB: Developing an Interdisciplinary Course in Environmental Biotechnology — 09/01/05 - 08/31/08 Details
- Master Agreement - Scientific, Technical, Research, Engineering, and Modeling Support (STREAMS) — 09/27/05 - 09/26/10 Details
- Study of Landfill Gas as a Pathway for Chemical and Biological Contaminants — 08/25/04 - 12/31/09 Details
- Ecophysiology of Nitrifying and Denitrifying Microbial Communities and their Interactions in Microbial Flocs — 08/15/04 - 07/31/09 Details
IN CCEE, Dr. De Los Reyes is affiliated with
Water Resources, Coastal & Environmental Engineering
Research Publications
Upcoming Courses
Taught By De Los Reyes
- CE 573 - 601 — Fall '12 Biological Principles of Environmental Engineering
- CE 596 - 003 — Fall '12 Special Topics in Water Resource and Environmental Engineering