Department hosts environmental engineering conference
 he department will host a unique conference this
August aimed at linking up many of the department’s environmental
engineering students who have graduated over the years.
The conference is the brainchild of Emeritus
Professor Paul “Mac” Berthouex, who retired in 1999
after 28 years on the College of Engineering faculty, specializing in
water quality and wastewater treatment. Berthouex lives in Madison and
maintains on active schedule, and thought a conference might be worth
organizing after perusing his Christmas cards last year from former
students.
“They always say how much they liked Madison
and miss Madison and want to come back,” he said. “I believed
them, so I thought I’d give them a professional excuse to come
back.”
His idea: Organize a conference dubbed “International
Issues in Environmental Engineering and Education.” Working with
the department’s data base of alumni, Berthouex combed records
for home, business and E-mail addresses to contact alumni throughout
the world. He’s contacted more than 500 graduates, and has heard
from former students that word of mouth has spread it even further.
For Berthouex, it’s appropriate that the department
host such a conference. UW-Madison developed one of the first environmental
engineering programs in the country, dating back to the development
of hydraulic engineering programs in the early 1900s. Along with Harvard
University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UW-Madison
pioneered environmental engineering, and its graduates dot the professional
and academic landscape. “We have a lot of people who have been
around for a long time,” he said.
Berthouex has kept the conference topics open-ended,
deliberately encouraging “anyone what wants to talk” to
lead a seminar or give a speech. Topics will likely include the impact
of technology on water quality, environmental issues confronting developing
countries, and sustainable development. In particular, Berthouex said
he is interested to hear “how you do it” stories from those
involved in environmental engineering projects. “It’s turned
out to be a terrific program,”
he said. “It’s amazing the range of work (our former students)
are doing. Most of these people who have been out there for at least
five years are doing things they didn’t learn in school.”
The conference will be held from Aug. 10-12 at the
UW-Madison Pyle Center. E-mail Berthouex at berthoue@engr.wisc.edu
or go online at conferencing.uwex.edu/pyle.cfm
for more details.
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