Dr. Ihab H. Farag
Research/Scholarly Activities
Environmental
Engineering/Technology Research Activities
Dr.
Farag professional and research efforts has focused on applied research and technology
transfer to benefit industry in NH, nationwide and internationally. He has been
active in Biofuels Projects, Biodiesel from microalgae, Pollution Prevention
applications as evidenced by the experience and the success of the NH Pollution
Prevention Partnership, the Partnership with EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard,
projects with several industries addressing cleaner production, pollution
prevention, risk screening, ISO 14000/ EMS, the cooperative effort with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Office of Emergency
Management (OEM) to organize chemical hazard and risk reduction workshops and
offer training in EPCRA, CAMEO and ALOHA. Dr. Farag initiated and directed an
EPA-sponsored pilot project on Compliance Leadership
through Environmental Assessments and Negotiations - Pollution Prevention
(CLEAN-P2) for metal finishers. He also directed a US-AEP project in
Thailand to bring the concepts of sustainable and cleaner production to the
Thai universities, government, and industry. He has initiated the International
Pollution Prevention Partnership (IP3) in Thailand, and the Thai Cleaner
Production/Pollution Prevention Internship (CP/P2I) Program. He has also worked
closely with the European Pollution Prevention Roundtable, and has organized
Cleaner Production study tours for groups from the Middle East, Eastern Europe,
and Asia Pacific. He has initiated a joint US-Bulgaria NSF-sponsored project to
characterize the biological treatment of industrial wastewater in an innovative
three-phase fluidized bed reactor. He is currently directing a joint US EPA-UNH
project to do technology transfer and technical support of the Pollution Prevention Assessment
Framework (P2 Framework), which is a set of tools to do chemical risk
assessment and screening in the absence of data. In addition, Dr. Farag is
directing a joint program with US EPA to assess the persistence,
bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT) of
chemicals in the absence of data, and to support the OECD Tools for R&D Screening
Initiative of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Program.
Collectively,
these efforts focus on practical interventions to help industry to improve
their operations in ways that reduce the volume and/or toxicity of waste,
minimize hazards and risk. They typically include;
1- joint
industry/government public/private partnerships or working groups,
2- creatively
identifying measures which are in industry's interest to implement,
3- use
of students, or employees seeking to establish an extra credential, to develop
and implement realistic process modifications to achieve pollution reduction,
risk reduction, energy efficiency, and
4- workshops
hosted by industry to showcase successes. The result has been environmental
improvements which often actually save money for industry. Performance is
evaluated in terms of changes made, not paper proposals.
Collaboration
with Industry
Dr.
Farag is directing a joint program with US EPA to assess the persistence,
bioaccumulation and toxicity of chemicals in the absence of data. He has worked
with over 90 facilities to address issues related to the persistence,
bioconentration potential, and chronic toxicity of organic chemicals, in the
absence of data.
Dr.
Farag has also established the NH Pollution
Prevention Internship Program. He was successful in securing funding from
the US EPA and the NH DES to initiate the program. This program has served as a
model for many other states.
Collaboration
with Federal/State partners
Dr.
Farag has a strong record of partnering with Federal and State partners to do
collaborative efforts. His funded projects (totalling over $1.8M) are mainly
focused on pollution prevention, and risk screening and reduction. In addition,
Dr Farag has initiated many projects to provide environmental assistance to
small and medium size manufacturers in New Hampshire.
The following appeared in Foster Democrat, Thu Dec. 29, 1994
last updated Sat Nov. 15, 2003