Reza Broun, a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, was awarded the SWANA scholarship, which is sponsored by SCS Engineers, on August 13, 2015. Broun is President of the University’s chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA) and is focusing his studies on Environmental Engineering.
Broun is studying the development and application of life-cycle assessment methods to sustainable technology, promoted by the Environmental Protection Agency. Life-cycle assessment is a technique used to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with processes in the solid waste industry. The assessment includes inventorying relevant energy, material inputs, and environmental releases to help landfill owners and operators determine the overall environmentally safest programs specific to their location and facility. The method is broadly applicable; Reza is focusing his applications in anaerobic and aerobic processes in bioreactor landfills, and the cost-effectiveness analysis of greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Broun’s application of life-cycle assessment is particularly useful in renewable energy and bioenergy from organic waste sectors.
“Environmentally sound waste process improvements come from people like Reza, who ask questions and creatively apply their education,” stated Robert Gardner, Senior Vice President and Scholarship Coordinator at SCS Engineers. “That’s how innovation happens and why we established The Robert P. Stearns/SCS Engineers scholarship.”
Broun is a member of SWANA, AWMA, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Cost Engineers (ACC), and Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). He has published Review of Soil Mechanics and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and presentations.
###
