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14 Fundamentals of Water Treatment Unit Processes: Physical, Chemical, and Biological

sight architecturally? Was a landscape architect involved? Are
persons working at the plant motivated when they enter the BOX 1.2 HARVEY F. LUDWIG
premises? Do the mayor and council view the plant with ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER CONSULTANT
pride? Are peers pointing to the plant as a showcase for the
On May 29, 1965, Harvey F. Ludwig (b. 1916) was
industry? Esthetic appeal is sometimes discounted by designers
awarded a doctorate by Clemson University. The cit-
and owners. Community pride is nearly always associated with
ation read, in part,
public facilities, not to speak of operator morale.
engineer, teacher, public servant and world-renown
1.5.1.5 Regulations
authority on environmental and sanitary engineering,
There are two aspects to regulations: (1) those that specify his advancement of the engineering profession in the
effluent requirements, and (2) those that specify design. Com- field of environmental health, his scholarly research,
pliance with the former is essential. Variance is provided for and his outstanding leadership in scientific affairs on a
the latter subject to reasonable rationale or pilot plant results. national and international basis.
Design guidelines by state regulatory agencies are sometimes
controversial. At the time such guidelines were instituted,
which go back to the 1930s and possibly earlier, the art of
plant design was not very far along. At that time, most of the
expertise regarding design resided among the engineering
staff of the state health departments (Ongerth, 1999). As
educational institutions developed a cadre of professionals in
the field, however, the design capabilities expanded among
those in consulting engineering.

1.5.1.6 Institutions
An ‘‘institution’’ is defined here as a ‘‘device of society to
manage itself’’ (my interpretation of the term based upon fre-
quent use by a sociologist colleague). Among the institutions in
environmental engineering one might include: laws and regula-
Harvey F. Ludwig, c. 1968
tions, the traditions of excellence, practice and lore, education,
training, certifications, the licenses to practice, manufacturers,
The citation was at year 27 of what has become a 70-
research, government laboratories, the awarding of degrees,
year career of continuing contributions and leadership
construction companies, consulting engineering firms, etc. The
that has helped shape the modern practice of environ-
respective purposes of these institutions are primarily technical,
mental engineering. Dr. Ludwig obtained his BS degree
but they function in a social context.
in 1938 in civil and sanitary engineering from the
University of California, with MS in 1941. During
1.5.1.7 Consulting Engineering World War II Dr. Ludwig was a commissioned officer
Consulting engineers design systems that provide water sup- of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). In 1946, he
ply, treat drinking water, industrial wastes, and municipal started a consulting practice and in 1949 became an
wastewaters, and assess the impacts of discharges on receiv- associate professor at the University of California. In
ing water. Any task that contributes to a solution to an envir- 1951, he became Assistant Chief Engineer, USPHS
onmental problem is within the purview of practice. (under Dr. Mark Hollis). In this position, he presided
Consulting engineering has long been regarded as the citadel over the development of the institutions (i.e., laws,
of technical expertise, ethics, and professionalism. Many con- federal agencies, programs) that were the foundations
sulting engineering firms and engineers within various firms for what emerged in final form in the 1970s (and have
have had careers that match this description. continued to evolve). At the same time, Dr. Ludwig
To give a sense of the nature of consulting engineering oversaw research funding at various universities across
and the practitioners, Box 1.2 provides a glimpse through the the United States that fueled research and graduate
70-year career of Harvey F. Ludwig. Box 1.3 describes some programs that led to a ‘‘flowering’’ of the field that
of the changes in the character of consulting engineering has continued. In 1956, Dr. Ludwig resigned from the
practice that has evolved since about 1980, i.e., as interpreted USPHS and started Engineering-Science (ES). His
by the author. Box 1.4 adds commentary about a ‘‘golden’’ modus operandi was to hire mostly MS and PhD stu-
age of environmental engineering that coincided largely with dents recruited from his network of academic col-
the environmental movement, also as interpreted by the leagues who would adapt their research knowledge
author. These are not the only views of these three areas and into practice. At that time, hiring engineers with gradu-
are likely to induce alternative or complementary perspectives ate degrees was more unusual than common.
from others.