Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Spyros G. Pavlostathis is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Engineering at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. A recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship, Dr. Pavlostathis completed his MS and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at Cornell University after obtaining his Diploma in Agricultural Engineering at the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece. He is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer Member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES), and a Fellow of International Water Association (IWA), Water Environment Federation (WEF), and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Dr. Pavlostathis is internationally recognized for his expertise in the areas of environmental biotechnology and bioprocess engineering for the bioremediation of contaminated natural systems and the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, as well as the kinetics, modeling, and simulation of bioprocesses. His research includes bioenergy and biofuels; bioavailability, fate and biotransformation of recalcitrant organic compounds; the biotransformation of emerging environmental contaminants; disinfectant-induced antibiotic resistance; as well as microbial fuel cell and bioelectrochemical technology.

Dr. Pavlostathis has published over 180 peer-reviewed papers and authored over 250 publications including books or book chapters. Dr. Pavlostathis has organized or chaired over 50 conferences and conference sessions and frequently serves as a consultant, invited speaker and panelist on behalf of city, county, state and federal agencies in the US and abroad. An active member of several professional organizations, Dr. Pavlostathis has served on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Environmental Engineering, Water Science & Technology (Guest Editor), Biotechnology Letters, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Water Environment Research, Water Quality Research Journal, and Environment International.

Dr. Pavlostathis is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including: Greek National Scholarship Foundation; French Government Scholarship; Fulbright Scholarship; Kassimati Foundation Scholarship; Dutch National Science Foundation Fellowship; Water Environment Federation/Georgia Water & Pollution Control Association Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award; Georgia Institute of Technology/School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Best Paper Award; Georgia Institute of Technology/School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Sustained Research Award for Excellence in Environmental Research and Archival Publications; Visiting Scholar Fellowship at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK; Marie Curie Visiting Senior Research Fellowship at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland; the Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, Georgia Institute of Technology, Outstanding Faculty Award; Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal, Water Environment Federation; Honorary Doctorate Degree, Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece; Frederick George Pohland Medal, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists & Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors..

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Pavlostathis has been a dedicated educator of future environmental engineers, teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Committed to the mission of teaching, he remains actively engaged in the development of curriculum and is involved in the advisement of both graduate and undergraduate engineering students. In recognition of his experience and high standing in the education of aspiring engineers he has been invited to give over 40 short courses and lectures both nationally and worldwide. He has served abroad as an evaluator of engineering curricula and programs, as well as an external thesis reviewer. Through his research activities, he has mentored 23 post-doctoral fellows and visiting scholars, 17 Ph.D. and 25 MS students, who have gone on to work in consulting, state and federal regulatory agencies, as well as academia, and provided many research opportunities for undergraduate students.