Biography

        Dr. Chawla received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Wayne State University in 1978 and has over 40 years of experience in teaching, research and industrial consulting in the fields of chemical and environmental engineering.  He has authored or co-authored over 100 technical papers and made numerous technical presentations of his work in these fields at national and international conferences.  His publications have included research studies in the areas of air pollution, physical, chemical and biological treatment of hazardous wastes, surfactant and cosolvent assisted bioavailability enhancement, combustion and incineration chemistry and kinetics, kinetic modeling, measurement and monitoring of low level organic pollutants in air and water, photochemical smog formation, disinfection of water and wastewater, and hazardous waste treatment in aqueous and soil systems.  He has edited Environmental Conference Proceedings and was the Founding Editor of Literature Watch, a monthly publication of Hazardous Materials Control Resources Institute.

       Dr. Chawla has served and advanced the chemical and environmental engineering professions in various ways: through contributions in the organization of regional and national conferences; by chairing technical sessions at the national and international professional meetings; and by serving on many technical and advisory committees, including science advisory committee of the EPA’s Hazardous Substance Research Center, Cairo Environmental and Energy Conference and AAAS Environmental Fellows Selection Committee.

       Over the last forty years, Dr. Chawla has been principal investigator for over 20 different environmental research and development grants or contracts over $20 million, funded by EPA, NSF, DOE, DOD, NRC, and private industries.  He has supervised and/or served on thesis committees of over 25 graduate students in chemical and environmental engineering.

       Dr. Chawla has developed courses and teaching aids for environmental and engineering education, and has conducted teaching workshops and taught short courses at the high school and practicing engineer's levels.  He has received many university and national awards and commendations, including Ralph Teetor Award for Outstanding Teaching from the National Society of Automotive Engineers, and Howard University Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award.

       Dr. Chawla is a member of several honor and professional societies in chemical and environmental engineering fields including AIChE (Fellow), ASEE and Omega Xi Epsilon and Sigma Xi. He is a technical reviewer for several professional journals, and a reviewer for the NSF, NRC, DOE and EPA research proposals and fellowships.