The National Ground Water Assn. (NGWA) honored several industry professionals with 2016 awards.
Daniel B. Stephens, Ph.D., PG, PHg, founder and principal hydrologist of Daniel B. Stephens & Associates Inc., received the 2016 Keith E. Anderson Award for outstanding contributions to NGWA. Prabhakar Clement, Ph.D., of Auburn University in Alabama, received the 2016 John Hem Award for Excellence in Science & Engineering, which is given for significant, recent scientific or engineering contributions to the understanding of groundwater.
Burnet Chalmers, president of the Milby Co. in Elkridge, Md., is the 2016 recipient of the Supplier of the Year Award, recognizing volunteerism and leadership in serving the association, and promoting groundwater and groundwater issues to the industry and public. Chuck Mills, president of Mills Machine Co. Inc. in Shawnee, Okla., is the 2016 recipient of the Manufacturers Div. Special Recognition Award, honoring an individual’s accomplishments in the groundwater manufacturing industry including improvements, education, and patents and technology.
Stephens’ contributions to NGWA include serving on the NGWA board of directors, scientists and engineers board of directors, Membership Standing Committee, Policy and Code of Regulations Standing Committee, and Scientists and Engineers International Committee. He also has led several NGWA short courses and given more than 20 presentations at NGWA events. Stephens has authored or coauthored 10 papers for NGWA’s two peer-reviewed journals, Groundwater and Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation.
“Throughout the [past] 42 years, Dan has served with energy and dedication, bringing forth his extensive hydrologic and geological experience, as well as his passion for protecting groundwater, to advance the goals of NGWA,” said nominator W. Richard Laton, Ph.D., PG, CHG, CPG, of California State University, Fullerton.
Clement developed the three-dimensional MODFLOW family numerical code RT3D and a series of analytical solutions for solving different types of coupled reactive transport equations. Because of this expertise, he was invited to serve on the National Research Council committee that produced “Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune: Assessing Potential Health Effects” based on a study completed to resolve a highly controversial groundwater contamination problem at the U.S. Marines Corps base in North Carolina.
“Professor Clement is an internationally known groundwater scientist, contributing significantly to the groundwater community over the past two decades,” said nominator Chunmiao Zheng, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama. “Among others, he has made intellectual contributions to the following two key groundwater topics: modeling bioreactive transport processes and managing saltwater intrusion processes.”
Mills has contributed to NGWA by serving on the NGWA board of directors, manufacturers board of directors, Finance and Budget Standing Committee, and Public Awareness Committee.
“Chuck has been instrumental in designing and manufacturing innovative custom drilling tools and bits to increase productivity and efficiency for drillers,” said nominator John Harris of Mills Machine Co. Under Mills’ leadership, his business has become a multi-million dollar company that provides a complete line of specialty boring tools and accessories in the U.S. and an estimated 70 international markets.
NGWA will present the awards during 2016 Groundwater Week, Dec. 6 to 8 in Las Vegas.
Source: National Ground Water Assn.
