Daniel Barton Oerther (born October 11, 1972) is an American professor. He is best known for leadership bridging engineering and nursing to advance environmental health practice through science diplomacy. Oerther uses 16S ribosomal RNA-targeted techniques for fundamental studies of the ecology of bacteria in engineered and natural systems.[1] He promotes transdisciplinarity among engineers, nurses, and sanitarians[2][3][4] to improve access to clean water, nutritious food, and energy efficiency in developing communities.[5][6] Oerther practices innovation in the scholarship of teaching and learning, including modified mastery learning.[7][8][9]

Daniel Oerther
Born
Daniel Barton Oerther

(1972-10-11)October 11, 1972
NationalityAmerican
Other namesDan Oerther
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Alma materNorthwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Known forGRoWES project, COAST parametric insurance product, Modified mastery learning
AwardsPohland Medal, AEESP (2017), Leal Award, AWWA (2018), Quinn Award, ASEE (2019), Wald Award, NLN (2019), Fair Medal, WEF (2020)
Scientific career
FieldsEnvironmental Health Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology, Sustainable Development, Mastery learning
InstitutionsUniversity of Cincinnati, Missouri University of Science and Technology, United States Department of State, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists
ThesisUsing molecular signature methods to measure the in situ physiology of Acinetobacter spp. in enhanced biological phosphorus removal activated sludge (2002)
Doctoral advisorLutgarde Raskin
Doctoral studentsPascal Saikaly, Regina Lamendella
Websitepeople.mst.edu/faculty/oertherd/index.html

Life and education edit

Born in Columbus, OH, Oerther grew up in Louisville, KY, and graduated from Saint Xavier High School. He earned a Baccalaureate of Arts (BA) in Biological Sciences (1995) and a Baccalaureate of Sciences (BS) in Environmental Engineering (1995) from Northwestern University. He earned a Masters of Science (MS) in Environmental Engineering (1998) and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) (2002) from the University of Illinois. He completed post-doctoral training in microbial ecology at the Marine Biological Laboratory, environmental health at the University of Cincinnati, public health at Johns Hopkins University, and public administration at Indiana University.

Employment edit

University of Cincinnati edit

Oerther served as head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati[10] He created a campus-wide minor in sustainability[11] and founded a student chapter of Engineers Without Borders.[12] Nancy L. Zimpher recognized Oerther with the President's Excellence Award in 2007.[13]

Missouri University of Science and Technology edit

In 2010, Oerther joined the faculty of the Missouri University of Science and Technology as the John A. and Susan Mathes Endowed Chair of Environmental Engineering. He promoted the Solar Village,[14] and established the Diplomacy Lab program on campus.[15] Mun Choi recognized Oerther with the President's Award for Cross-Cultural Engagement in 2017 and the University of Missouri System's C. Brice Ratchford Fellowship in 2019 for advancing the institution's land grant mission[16]

United States Department of State edit

 
Daniel Oerther at the United States Department of State in 2015

From 2014 to 2019, Oerther was a Foreign Affairs Officer at the United States Department of State in the Secretary's Office of Global Food Security.[17] He represented the United States at the Second International Conference on Nutrition,[18] the launch of the Blue Growth Network in St. George's, Grenada, the second Our Ocean Conference in Valparaiso, Chile,[19] and the 43rd plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security in Rome, Italy. Ambassador Nancy Stetson recognized Oerther with a Meritorious Honor Award for his efforts to create COAST.[20] Oerther's additional recognitions from the State Department include the 2005 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar to the Indian Institute of Science, India, the 2012 Fulbright-ALCOA Distinguished Chair to the Federal University of Western Para, Brazil,[21] and the 2019 Fulbright Scholar to King's College London, UK.[22]

American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists edit

 
Daniel Oerther addressing the 2016 AAEES Spring Meeting

In 2013, Oerther was elected Treasurer of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.[23] He served as president in 2022,[24] and he currently serves as Executive Director.[25] His awards from the academy include the 2016 Superior Achievement Award for, "Improved water quality in Ixcan, Guatemala." Throughout 2020, Oerther served as the academy's Kappe Distinguished Lecturer.[26]

Appointments edit

Chartered Institute of Environmental Health edit

In 2020, Oerther joined the board of trustees of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).[27][28] In August 2022, the CIEH announced Oerther's appointment to chair the board of trustees beginning in January 2023.[29][28] Two months later, in March 2023, 84.5% of members supported a motion of no confidence in Oerther and the board of trustees.[30] Oerther did not resign but was removed as chair[31] and the CIEH announced a second Special Meeting to be held on 27 April 2023.[32] This time 88.3% of CIEH members supported a further motion of no confidence in Oerther and the remaining trustees.[33] On 1 November 2023, the chair of the CIEH announced that Oerther's fellow trustees had agreed, with immediate effect, to cease paying travel costs for trustees living overseas to attend meetings in the UK.[34] Oerther is the only trustee who will be affected by this policy change. On 11th December 2023, the chair of the CIEH in a blog announced that Oerther had left the Board of Trustees.

Engineers Without Borders USA edit

In 2020, Oerther was appointed to the board of directors of Engineers Without Borders – USA.[35] In 2022, he was elected Treasurer.

Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commission edit

In 2020, Oerther was appointed to the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commission by Governor Mike Parson (R).[36] In 2022, he was elected chair of the commission.

Fellowships edit

In the United States, Oerther is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2016), the Academy of Nursing Education of the National League for Nursing (2018),[37] and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2020).[38]

In the United Kingdom, Oerther is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2017), the Royal Society for Public Health (2017),[39] the Society of Environmental Engineers (2018),[40] the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (2018),[41] and the Society of Operations Engineers (2020).

Additional appointments edit

Oerther is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Environmental Engineering, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[42] Previously he was an Associate Editor of the journal, Water Environment Research, published by the Water Environment Federation, and a member of the International Advisory Board of the journal, Perspectives in Public Health, published by the Royal Society for Public Health.

Oerther is a visiting professor at the Institute of Science and Technology for Advanced Studies and Research, Gujarat, India; an adjunct professor in the School of Life Sciences, Manipal University in Karnataka, India; a Faculty Consultant at Future University in Egypt. He was previously an adjunct professor at UFOPA and a visiting scholar at King's College London.

Oerther was a member of the board of directors and the chief information officer of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2007-2010).[43]

From 2013 to 2021, Oerther was a member of the board of directors of the Sigma Theta Tau International Building Corporation.[44] He served as Treasurer from 2019 to 2021.

Selected work edit

Oerther co-led studies to address food deserts in urban Cincinnati,[45] and rural Missouri. And he has worked to eliminate childhood stunting in Brazil, Guatemala, and South Africa through the Global Research on WaSH - water, sanitation, and hygiene - to Eliminate childhood Stunting (GRoWES) project.[46]

Oerther helped to design, finance, construct, and equip community health clinics in Tanzania[47] and Ghana.

Oerther helped bring clean drinking water and community latrines to villages in Kenya,[48] Tanzania, and India.

Oerther co-founded PulaCloud, LLC to bring entry-level jobs in human computation supporting the knowledge-economy to Kenya and to rural Missouri.[49]

Oerther and his family demonstrated small-home living in Missouri.[14]

Oerther helped to design and launch a parametric insurance product, which aims to formalize the artisanal fishing sector throughout the Caribbean as a way of improving governance and sustainable management of catch fisheries via COAST - the Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability faciliTy.[50][51]

Scholarly activities edit

Environmental biotechnology edit

Oerther is part of a team of faculty working in the field of environmental biotechnology – where 16S ribosomal RNA-targeted techniques and microbial genomics are used to advance the understanding of ecology in engineered and natural systems used by environmental engineers and scientists to treat water, soils, and gases.[52] His contributions have included:

Interprofessional environmental health edit

Oerther works with teams of engineers, nurses, and other health care professionals to work alongside developing communities around the world as part of community-based participatory research (CBPR).[56] His contributions have included:

Scholarship of teaching and learning edit

Awards edit

Oerther's awards include:

 
Daniel Oerther thanking the crowd at the AWWA annual meeting 2018 in Las Vegas
 
Daniel Oerther addressing the 2019 NLN Convocation

Bibliography edit

Oerther has more than 130 publications listed on Scopus. These publications have been cited more than 2,500 times, and Oerther has an h-index of more than 20. Examples of his most-cited articles include:

  • Alm, Elizabeth; Oerther, Daniel; Larsen, Neils; Stahl, David; Raskin, Lutgarde (1996). "The oligonucleotide probe database". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 62 (10): 3557–3559. Bibcode:1996ApEnM..62.3557A. doi:10.1128/aem.62.10.3557-3559.1996. PMC 168159. PMID 8837410.
  • Choi, H.; Zhang, Kai; Dionysiou, Dionysious; Oerther, Daniel; Sorial, George (2005). "Effect of permeate flux and tangential flow on membrane fouling for wastewater treatment". Separation and Purification Technology. 45 (1): 68–78. doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2005.02.010.
  • Lamendella, Regina; Santo Domingo, Jorge; Ghosh, Shreya; Martinson, J.; Oerther, Daniel (2011). "Comparative fecal metagenomics unveils unique functional capacity of the swine gut". BMC Microbiology. 11: 103. doi:10.1186/1471-2180-11-103. PMC 3123192. PMID 21575148.

References edit

  1. ^ Bonfield, Tim (November 20, 2002). "Research millions pay off". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, OH, USA. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ^ McGill, Natalie (November 1, 2016). "Oerther named nursing group honorary fellow". The Nation's Health. Washington, DC, USA: American Public Health Association. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  3. ^ Smethurst, Steve (May 1, 2019). "Interview: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Look, Listen, and Learn". Environmental Health News Magazine. London, England, UK: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Knight, Andrew (December 1, 2020). "Interview: Professor Daniel Oerther Environmental Engineer". SOE News. London, England, UK: Society of Operations Engineers. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Improved water quality for Ixcan, Guatemala". Environmental Engineer and Scientist. Annapolis, MD, USA: American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. April 1, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Peale, Cliff (April 22, 2008). "Universities study how to save energy, teach others". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, OH, USA. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "2004 AEESP Awards - AEESP/Wiley Interscience Award for Outstanding Contributions to Environmental Engineering and Science Education" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. January 1, 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "2014 AEESP Award Recipients - Excellence in Environmental Engineering Education (E4) Award" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. January 1, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "2017 AEESP Award Recipients - Fredrick George Pohland Medal" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
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  15. ^ "S&T diplomacy lab projects need student help". Missouri University of Science and Technology. August 21, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
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  21. ^ "Daniel Oerther on Fulbright-ALCOA Distinguished Chair at University of Western Para, Brazil" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  22. ^ "Oerther Selected for Fifth Fulbright Award". Missouri University of Science and Technology. March 5, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "Oerther elected treasurer of AAEES". Missouri S&T eConnection. November 14, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  24. ^ "Oerther assumes presidency of environmental academy". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  25. ^ "Professor Named Executive Director of American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. February 7, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  26. ^ "Oerther named Kappe distinguished lecturer". Missouri University of Science and Technology. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  27. ^ "Charity Overview: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health". Register of Charities. Charity Commission for England and Wales. April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  28. ^ a b Will Dalrymple (October 1, 2022). "Interview: Becoming a Node". Operations Engineer. London, England, UK. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  29. ^ Ross Matthewman (August 11, 2022). "Professor Daniel Oerther appointed as new Chair of the CIEH Board of Trustees". CIEH Press Release. London, England, UK. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
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  33. ^ https://www.cieh.org/media/8214/cieh-special-meeting-results-27-april-2023.pdf
  34. ^ "News from the Board: A new blog series from the Chair of the Board".
  35. ^ "Oerther elected to board of Board of Directors Without Borders". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  36. ^ Smith, Ashley (December 17, 2020). "Gov. Parson announces 8 appointments to boards, commissions". KFVS. Cape Girardeau, MO, USA. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  37. ^ "National League for Nursing Welcomes New Class into the Academy of Nursing Education". National League for Nursing. July 19, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  38. ^ "Congratulations to the AEESP Fellows, Class of 2020" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  39. ^ "Member spotlight July 2019". Royal Society for Public Health. July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  40. ^ "Daniel Oerther named fellow of three societies". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  41. ^ "Daniel Oerther named fellow of three societies". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  42. ^ Banks, M. Kathy (December 1, 2006). "Editor's Note". Journal of Environmental Engineering. 132 (12): 1553. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2006)132:12(1553).
  43. ^ "Daniel Oerther Joins Missouri University of Science and Technology" (PDF). Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. September 1, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  44. ^ "STTI honorary member named Jefferson Science Fellow". Sigma Theta Tau, Reflections in Nursing Leadership. March 17, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  45. ^ Campbell, Polly (May 21, 2009). "Making your eating more earth friendly". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  46. ^ "Missouri S&T professor receives President's Award for Cross-Cultural Engagement". University of Missouri System. May 12, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  47. ^ "Tanzanian health center wins award". Missouri University of Science and Technology. March 8, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  48. ^ Mollohan, Kate (August 1, 2007). "Healthy Water in Ohio and Abroad, Thanks to Ohio Engineers". Ohio Engineer. Columbus: Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  49. ^ "Missouri EDGE, Missouri S&T partnership helping in Kenya". Rolla Daily News. Rolla, MO, USA. August 23, 2012. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  50. ^ "Caribbean To Benefit From Fisheries Sector Disaster Insurance". The Gleaner. Kingston, Jamaica. May 5, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  51. ^ a b Oerther, Daniel (March 1, 2022). "A Case Study of Community-Engaged Design: Creating Parametric Insurance to Meet the Safety Needs of Fisherfolk in the Caribbean". Journal of Environmental Engineering. 148 (3). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001971. S2CID 245439085. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  52. ^ Rittmann, Bruce E.; Hausner, Martina; Loffler, Frank; Love, Nancy G.; Muyzer, Gerard; Okabe, Satoshi; Oerther, Daniel B.; Peccia, Jordan; Raskin, Lutgarde; Wagner, Michael (February 15, 2006). "A vista for microbial ecology and environmental biotechnology". Environmental Science & Technology. 40 (4): 1096–1103. Bibcode:2006EnST...40.1096R. doi:10.1021/es062631k. PMID 16572761.
  53. ^ Lamendella, R.; Li, K. C.; Oerther, D.; Santo Domingo, J. W. (November 16, 2012). "Molecular diversity of Bacteroidales in fecal and environmental samples and swine-associated subpopulations". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 79 (3): 816–24. doi:10.1128/AEM.02535-12. PMC 3568562. PMID 23160126.
  54. ^ Saikaly, P. E.; Oerther, D. B. (December 14, 2010). "Diversity of dominant bacterial taxa in activated sludge promotes functional resistance following toxic shock loading". Microbial Ecology. 61 (3): 557–67. doi:10.1007/s00248-010-9783-6. PMID 21153808. S2CID 38062767.
  55. ^ Matar, G. K.; Bagchi, S.; Zhang, K.; Oerther, D. B.; Saikaly, P. E. (June 20, 2017). "Membrane biofilm communities in full-scale membrane bioreactors are not randomly assembled and consist of a core microbiome". Water Research. 123: 124–133. Bibcode:2017WatRe.123..124M. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2017.06.052. hdl:10754/625148. PMID 28658633.
  56. ^ Oerther, Daniel (July 2019). "An example of convergence: Guatemala Research on WaSH (GRoW)". Journal of Advanced Nursing. 75 (11): 2264–2266. doi:10.1111/jan.14144. PMID 31287172.
  57. ^ Voth-Gaeddert, L. E.; Stoker, M.; Cornell, D.; Oerther, D. B. (January 5, 2018). "What causes childhood stunting among children of San Vicente, Guatemala: Employing complimentary, system-analysis approaches". International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 221 (3): 391–399. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.01.001. PMID 29325698.
  58. ^ Divelbiss, D. W.; Boccelli, D. L.; Succop, P. A.; Oerther, D. B. (January 9, 2013). "Environmental health and household demographics impacting biosand filter maintenance and diarrhea in Guatemala: an application of structural equation modeling". Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (3): 1638–45. doi:10.1021/es303624a. PMID 23153353.
  59. ^ Voth-Gaeddert, Lee E.; Cudney, Elizabeth A.; Oerther, Daniel B. (August 1, 2018). "Primary Factors Statistically Associated with Diarrheal Occurrences". Environmental Engineering Science. 35 (8): 836–845. doi:10.1089/ees.2017.0338.
  60. ^ Voth-Gaeddert, L.E.; Jonah, C.; Momberg, B.; Said-Mohamed, S.A.; Oerther, D.B.; May, J. (2020). "Assessment of environmental exposure factors on child diarrhea and systemic inflammation in the Eastern Cape". Water Research. 169: 115244. Bibcode:2020WatRe.16915244V. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.115244. PMID 31707177. S2CID 207948418.
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  63. ^ "Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) Diplomacy: Preliminary Results from an Initial Pilot Course". American Society for Engineering Education. June 1, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  64. ^ The Genomic Revolution Implications for Treatment and Control of Infectious Disease: Working Group Summaries. National Academies Press. 2006. doi:10.17226/11615. ISBN 978-0-309-10109-7. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  65. ^ "2011 Frontiers of Engineering Education". The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  66. ^ "Steven K. Dentel award for global outreach". Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. June 16, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  67. ^ The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (2016). Art, Design and Science, Engineering and Medicine Frontier Collaborations Ideation, Translation, Realization: Seed Idea Group Summaries. National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/23528. ISBN 978-0-309-44347-0. PMID 27631039. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
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  72. ^ "WEF announces 2020 awards for education". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  73. ^ "Oerther named Diplomate Laureate". Phelps County Focus. Rolla, MO, USA. February 23, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.

External links edit