In 1968 I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. I next studied Organic Geochemistry at Penn State and received my Master of Science in 1971. Then, in 1988 I earned a Ph. D. in Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Miami.
I shifted to the University of California at Irvine in 2006 to serve as the Director of the Urban Water Research Center and as Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I retain appointments in Chemical Engineering, as well as in the Department of Policy, Planning, and Design in the School of Social Ecology.
My present research interests include carbon cycles in oceanic and fresh water, the application of free radical chemistry for the treatment and environmental photochemical fate of emerging chemicals of concern and disinfection by-products, and, the application of advanced oxidation processes for the ship-board (oil tanker) control of invasive species.
I have published over 250 papers and book chapters, and edited 8 books. In November 2011 I was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
