Glen Daigger

My research has focused on the fundamental science and engineering supporting the advancement of technologies and practices which have been transformational for environmental engineering. These have included topics such as wastewater nutrient removal and recovery (biological and chemical), treatment process optimization and control (particularly biological treatment systems), control of activated sludge bulking and foaming, which can be debilitating and lead to excessive treatment costs if not properly addressed and the highly efficient coupled, attached and suspended growth systems.

• American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Water Works Association
• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)
• Chi Epsilon
• International Water Association (IWA)
• National Academy of Engineering
• Sigma Xi
• Tau Beta Pi
• Vice President International Association for Coastal Reservoir Research, 2020 – Present
• Water Environment Federation (WEF)

• Gordon Maskew Fair Award, AAEES, 2022
• Elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineers, 2020
• Received the Gascoigne WWTP Operational Improvement Medal, Water Environment Federation, 2018
• Singapore Water Academy Fellow, 2017
• Received Frederick George Pohland Medal, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, 2016
• Life Member, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2016
• Named Most Influential Individual in Water for 2015 by Water and Wastewater International
• Named Distinguished Fellow, International Water Association, 2014
• Richart Lecture, University of Michigan, 2013.
• McCarty Lecture, Stanford University, 2013.
• Elected Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineering, 2012.
• Named Water Environment Federation Fellow, 2012.
• Named Distinguished Engineering Alumni, Purdue University, 2012.
• Presented the Tsuan Hua Feng Distinguished Lecture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, October, 2011.

• Yang, C., G. T. Daigger, E. Belia, B. Kerkez, “Extracting Useful Signals From Flawed Sensor Data:  Developing Hybrid Data-Driven Approaches with Physical Factors,” Wat. Res., 185, 2020.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116282
• Liang, S., Y. Yu, A. Kharrazi, B.D. Fath, C. Feng, G. T. Daigger, S. Chen, T. Ma, B. Zhu, Z. Mi, Z. Yang,, “Network Resilience of Phosphorus Cycling China has Shifted by Natural Flows, Fertilizer Use and dietary Transitions Between 1600 and 2012,” Nature Food, 1, June 2020, 365-375.  doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0098-6
• Cao, Y., M. C. M. van Loosdrecht, and G. T. Daigger, “The Bottlenecks and Causes, and Potential Solutions for Municipal Sewage Treatment in China,” Wat. Pract. & Tech. 15(1), 2020.160-169.  doi: 10.2166/wpt.2020.006
• Yang, C., W. Barrott, A. Busch, A. Mehrotra, J. Madden, and G. T. Daigger, “How Much Data is Required for a Robust and Reliable Wastewater Characterization?,” Wat. Sci. & Techol., 79(12), 2298-2309, 2019, doi: 10.2166/wst.2019.233
• Wang, X., G. Daigger, W. Vries, C. Kroeze, M., Yang, N.-Q. Ren, J. Liu, and D. Butler, “Impact Hotspots of Reduced Nutrient Discharge Shift Across the Globe with Population and Dietary Changes,” Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10445-0, 2019
• Campbell, K., J. Wang, G. Liu, G. Daigger, “Activated Sludge Morphology Significantly Impacts Oxygen Transfer at the Air-Liquid Boundary,” Wat. Envir. Res., 91, 500-509, 2019
• Houweling, D. and G. T. Daigger, Intensifying Activated Sludge Using Media-Supported Biofilms, IWA Press, London, 2019
• Daigger, G. T., S. Sharvelle, M. Arabi, and N. G. Love, “Progress and Promise Transitioning to the One Water/Resource Recovery Integrated Urban Water Management Systems,” J. Environ. Eng., 145(10, 04019061-1 – 04019061-10, 2019, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001552
• O’Callaghan P, Daigger G, Adapa L, Buisman C. Development and Application of a Model to Study Water Technology Adoption and Dissemination. Water Envir. Res., 90, June, 2018, 563-574
• Liang, S., Qu, S., Zhao, Q., Zhang, X., Daigger, G., Newell, J., Miller, S., Johnson, J., Love, N., Zhang, L., Yang, Z., Xu, M.,  “Quantifying the Urban Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus: The Case of the Detroit Metropolitan Area,” Envir. Sci. & Tech., Accepted, 2018
• Wang, X., G. Daigger, D-J. Lee, J. Liu, N-Q Ren, J. Qu, G. Liu, D. Butler, “Evolving Wastewater Infrastructure Paradigm to Enhance Harmony with Nature,” Science Advances, In Press, 2018
• Daigger, G. T., E. Redmon, and L. Downing, “Enhanced Settling in Activated Sludge:  Design and Operation Considerations,” Wat. Sci. & Techol., 78(2), 247-258, 2018.  DOI: 10.2166/wst.2018.287
• Yeshi, C., B. H. Kwok, M. C. M. van Loosdrecht, G. Daigger, H. Y. Png, W. Y. Long and O. K.n Eng, “The influence of dissolved oxygen on PN/A performance and microbial community of the 200,000 m3/d activated sludge process at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant (2011 to 2016), Wat. Sci & Tech., 78(3), 634-643 2018
• Zodrow, K. R., Li, Q., Buono, R. M., Chen, W., Daigger, G., Dueñas-Osorio, L., Elimelech, M., Huang, X., Jiang, G., Kim, J-H., Logan, B. E., Sedlak, D. L., Westerhoff, P., and Alvarez, P. J. J., “Advanced Materials, Technologies, and Complex Systems Analyses: Emerging Opportunities to Enhance Urban Water Security, Env. Sci. Technol., 51, 10274-20281, 2017, DOI:  10 1021/acs.est.7b01679
• Boltz, J.P., B. Smets, B. E. Rittmann, M. C. M. van Loosdrecht, E. Morgenroth, G. T. Daigger, “From Biofilm Ecology to Reactors:  A Focused Review,” Wat. Sci. Technol., 75(8), 1753-1760, 2017.  doi: 10.2166/wst.2017.061
• Cao, Y., M. C. M. van Loosdrecht, and G. T. Daigger, “Mainstream Partial Nitritation-Anammox in Municipal Wastewater Treatment:  Status, Bottlenecks, and Further Studies,” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 101, 1365-1383 DOI 10.1007/s00253-016-8058-7, 2017
• Catley-Carlson, M., G. T. Daigger, and C. van Steendam, A Better Water future for Flanders: “Not too much; not too little”, Royal Flemish Academy 2016 Thinkers Programme, 2016
• Hauduc, H., Takács, I., Szabo, A., Murthy, S., Daigger, G. T., Spérandio, “A Dynamic Physiochemical Model for Chemical Precipitation,” Water Research, 73, 2015, 157-170