UCLA C&EE Student and Professors Earn 2020 WEF Award for Published Papers

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) has announced the 2020 WEF Awards recipients for published papers. The WEF Published Papers Awards recognize WEF members for valuable research that has the potential for broad contribution to industrial wastewater management.

UCLA student Renjie Li, with Professors Jennifer A. Jay and Michael K. Stenstrom, have earned the Eddy Wastewater Principles/Processes Medal for their paper “Fate of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in water resource recovery facilities” by Renjie Li, Jennifer A. Jay and Michael K. Stenstrom, Water Environment Research, Volume 91, January 2019.

The authors critically researched and provided new insights into the fate of antibiotic-resistant genes and bacteria during wastewater treatment in water resource recovery facilities. This research has shown that the activated sludge process and disinfection in a water resource recovery facility are the two most important components for removal/reduction of antibiotic resistance from wastewater. The insight that the long sludge retention time as the key parameter to influence decrease or increase of antibiotic resistance in reclaimed water in the activated sludge process is inconclusive dispels the common myth otherwise. The subject matter of this research is relevant and timely for human and ecosystem health protection. The problem of antibiotic resistance in the environment is likely to become a global threat due to increased use of antibiotics and their release into the environment.

The Eddy Medal honors Harrison Prescott Eddy, a prominent engineer and a pioneer in the field of wastewater treatment. The medal is awarded for research that makes a vital contribution to the existing knowledge of the fundamental principles or process of wastewater treatment, as comprehensively described and published in a Federation periodical.