Barlaz named CCEE department head

Dr. Morton Barlaz has been named head of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) at North Carolina State University, effective August 1.

He replaces Dr. George List, who has led the department since 2005.

Barlaz, an internationally renowned expert in the field of solid waste management, is currently a professor in the CCEE department and director of its environmental engineering laboratory. He has been a faculty member at NC State since 1989 and served as the associate head of the department from 1998 to 2006.

His research in microbial ecology and degradation processes in landfills is considered by many to be the most important work in the field today, and his work on the application of life-cycle analysis to solid waste management is also widely recognized.

Barlaz has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and has received numerous research and education awards. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $8 million in grants and contracts throughout his career. These include a National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Faculty Fellow Award in 1992 and many other awards from NSF, the Environmental Protection Agency and other competitive federal and industrial sources.

Barlaz was the recipient of the Distinguished Individual Achievement Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America in 2004 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors in 2003 and 2009. The American Academy of Environmental Engineers designated Barlaz as a Kappe Lecturer in 2010.

In addition, Barlaz is also a member of a variety of professional societies including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society for Microbiology, and Sigma Xi.

Barlaz earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1978. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1985 and 1988, respectively.