University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering

Lutgarde Raskin

Lutgarde Raskin
Lutgarde Raskin (PhD 93)
Professor
University of Michigan

CEEAA Distinguished Alumni Award, 2019

For pioneering research at the forefront of the use of microbial ecology to advance biological processes, wastewater treatment and hygiene in water distribution systems; for establishment of strategic industrial partnerships between academic researchers and practitioners to ensure implementation of the new technologies; and for devotion to developing, implementing and leading many scientific outreach projects for grammar, middle and high school students.

Biography

Lutgarde (Lut) Raskin is the Altarum/ERIM Russell O’Neal Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan. She is a pioneer in molecular microbial ecology applied to water quality control and anaerobic bioprocesses. Her current research focuses on drinking water systems and resource recovery from waste streams. 

Raskin is passionate about graduate education and has mentored approximately 15 postdocs and 90 graduate students, including 25 PhD students. She received BS and MS degrees from the KU Leuven in Belgium and a PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois). Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2005, she was a faculty member for 12 years in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois. She is excited about visiting Illinois in April 2019 as the 2018-19 Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Distinguished Lecturer. 

She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the International Water Association, and the Water Environment Federation. Past honors include the University of Michigan Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, the International Society for Microbial Ecology-International Water Association BioCluster Award, the AEESP Frontier Award in Research, the American Society of Civil Engineers Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the Water Research Foundation Paul L. Busch Award, and a U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She is an Associate Editor for Environmental Science & Technology and serves on the Board of Directors of the AEESP.