Dr. Hanadi Rafai, PE, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering; Director, Environmental Engineering Graduate Program; Associate Dean

Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture , Department of Architecture

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• Areas of expertise

  • Ground water flow and transport modeling
  • Risk assessment
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Hazardous waste
  • Hydrology
  • Water quality

• Awards

  • John and Rebecca Moores Professorship
  • Member, Task Force on Bacteria TMDLs, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), 2006-2007.
  • Invited Panelist, The State of Research within the Galveston Bay Ecosystem, The 7th Biennial State of the Bay Symposium, January 25, 2005.
  • Editor-in-Chief, Bioremediation Journal, Taylor and Francis, January 2002-present.
  • Recipient of the 2001 Wesley W. Horner Award for Best Paper from the American Society of Civil Engineers for Rifai et al., Modeling Natural Attenuation of Fuels with BIOPLUME III, ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, 126(5): 428-438, 2000.
  • Member, Texas Natural Resource and Conservation Commission (TNRCC) Committee developing Natural Attenuation Guidance under the Texas Risk Reduction Rules (TRRP) program (TRRP-33), 2000-2001.
  • Member, U. S. EPA Science Advisory Board Environmental Engineering Committee (FY00) – Natural Attenuation Subcommittee, 2000-01.
  • Invited Panelist, DuPont Workshop on Modeling and Management of Emerging Environmental Issues, Simulation of Halogenated Hydrocarbons in the Subsurface Panel, 2000.
  • Guest Editor, Special 3-Part Issue on Natural Attenuation, Bioremediation Journal, 1998-1999. Associate Editor, Bioremediation Journal, CRC Press, 1997-2001.
  • Co-Chair, ASTM Committee on Remediation by Natural Attenuation Standard for Chlorinated Solvents and other Compounds, 1998-2000.

  More awards in faculty website above.

• Publications

  • Desai, A., and H. S. Rifai, Bacteria Diurnal Sag: A High Resolution Framework for Fecal Water Quality Monitoring, Environmental Science and Technology Special Issue, submitted May 2010.
  • Howell, N. L., H. S. Rifai, and L. Koenig, Comparative Distribution, Sourcing, and Chemical Behavior of PCDD/F and PCB in an Estuary Environment, Environmental Science and Technology, submitted May 2010.
  • Suarez, M. P., D. Lakshmanan, H. S. Rifai, K. E. Dean, and L. Koenig, Transport of Dioxin in the Houston Ship Channel Part I: Hydrodynamics and Water Quality Simulations, ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, Submitted April 2010.
  • Suarez, M. P., D. Lakshmanan, H. S. Rifai, R. M. Palachek, and L. Koenig, Transport of Dioxin in the Houston Ship Channel Part II: Linked Mass Balance- Load Allocation Tool, ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, Submitted April 2010.
  • Desai, A. M., H. S. Rifai, T. M. Petersen, and R. Stein, Mass Balance and Water Quality Modeling for Load Allocation of Escherichia coli in an Urban Watershed, ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, Submitted 2009.
  • Desai, A. M., and H. S. Rifai, Variability of Escherichia coli Concentrations in an Urban Watershed in Texas, ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, Accepted May 2010.
  • Lakshmanan, D., N. L. Howell, H. S. Rifai, and L. Koenig, Spatial and Temporal Variation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Houston Ship Channel, Chemosphere, 80(2); pp. 100-112, 2010.
  • Petersen, T. M., H. S. Rifai, and R. Stein, Modeling Escherichia coli and its Sources in an Urban Bayou with Hydrologic Simulation Program in Fortran (HSPF), ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, (Accepted, 2009).
  • Dean, K., M. P. Suarez, H. S. Rifai, R. M. Palachek and L. Koenig, Bioaccumulation of Polychlorinated Dioxins and Furans in Catfish and Crabs along an Estuarine Salinity and Contamination Gradient, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 28(11), 2307-2317, 2010.
  • Desai, A., H. S. Rifai, E. Helfer, N. Moreno, and R. Stein, Statistical Investigations into Indicator Bacteria Concentrations in Houston Metropolitan Watersheds, Water Environment Federation, (Accepted, 2009).

  More publications in faculty website above.

• Patents

  • None available.

• Grants and Funded Research

  • (Total Awarded: $21,126,586, Rifai credit: $10,578,002)
  • STEP Forward: STEM Talent Expansion Program for Women and Under Represented Group Recruitment and Retention Development at the University of Houston, National Science Foundation, $1,999,955, co-P.I., 25% credit, w. S. Long, F. Claydon, and K. Zerda, 2009-2014.
  • NUE: Development of the NanoEngineering Minor Option (NEMO) at the University of Houston, National Science Foundation, $199,988, co-P.I., 20% credit, w. D. Litvinov, F. Claydon, S. Long, and P. Sharma, 2009-2010.
  • New, GK-12 Program at the University of Houston: Innovations in Nanotechnology and Nanosciences using a Knowledge, Applications, Research, and Technology (KART) Approach, National Science Foundation, $2,999,995, co-P.I., 20% credit, w. P. Sharma, F. Claydon, S. Long, and G. Chiappetta, 2009-2013.
  • Hurricane Ike: Lessons Learned and Steps for the Future Critical Infrastructure Sustainability and Resilience, Houston Endowment, $150,000, P. I., 65% credit, w. T. Colbert, Architecture, UH (Joint Project with B. Bedient and J. Blackburn at Rice University), 2009-2011.
  • REU Civil Infrastructure Engineering, National Science Foundation, $270,000, co-P.I., 20% credit, w. Y.L. Mo, Wang, Hsu, and Vipulanandan, 2008-2010.
  • Historical Data Analysis and Refinement of Dissolved Oxygen Modeling of Dickinson Bayou, TCEQ/EPA, $120,000, P.I., 57% credit, w. CDM, Inc., 2009-2010.
  • Watersheds for the Future: Houston 2035, Houston Endowment, $200,000, P. I., 100% credit (Joint Project with B. Bedient at Rice University), 2008-2010.
  • Total Maximum Daily Load Analysis and Load Allocations of Indicator Bacteria in Dickinson Bayou Tidal (Segment 1103) and Associated Tributaries (Segments 1103A, 1103B, 1103C, and 1103D), TCEQ/EPA, $371,000, 59% credit, w. CDM, Inc., 2007-2010.
  • Total Maximum Daily Loads for PCBs (Polychlorinated Bi-phenyls) in the Houston Ship Channel System, TCEQ/EPA, $1,542,000, P. I., 65% credit, w. PES, Inc., 2006-2011.

  More funded research in faculty website above.

   

• Curriculum Vitae

  • Hanadi Rifai CV

• Contact information