William Jewell, Ph. D.   Professor   Profile and CV	202 Riley Robb   wjj1@cornell.edu   Web site
Energy independent, pollution free farms

Biography

After receiving the Ph.D., Dr. Jewell did postdoctoral research at the University of London and the Water Research Center, Stevenage, England, and he taught at the University of Texas and the University of Vermont before coming to Cornell in 1973. He has been a consultant to private industrial firms, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United Nations, and several foreign governments. Jewell belongs to a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and he has participated actively in their national committee work.

Research Interests

"Our research can be divided into two general areas: development of new pollution control processes that involve living systems, and development of alternative energy systems. The latter usually involves the recovery of resources from aqueous media, such as the recovery of biogas and/or a soil conditioner from animal wastes. More recently, this has been expanded to include the treatment of toxics. Most of our efforts are focused on achieving a fundamental understanding of how microbial systems interact with pollutants. A clearer knowledge of these mechanisms has led to new processes and approaches-using highly efficient microbial, plant, or soil systems-that are applicable to the control of environmental quality.

"A common characteristic of our studies is the attempt to solve broad environmental or energy problems while minimizing investments, energy use, land area, etc. This orientation has led to the optimization of immobilized microbial reactors for managing biochemical reactions, the design and construction of full-scale, low-cost bioreactors, and the development of pollutant-assimilation capacities in soils and plants.

"We have had one of the larger research programs at Cornell. Our early work on farm-scale energy systems has resulted in adoption of more than one hundred digesters throughout the United States, with about half using a design similar to the one we developed. Our patented attached microbial film reactors were the first of their kind and have been shown to be able to purify most wastewaters while producing a substitute natural gas. Our land-treatment work helped identify new directions for research, and led to the first major textbook in the field and new educational programs for practicing engineers. Studies of the management and use of sewage sludge led to a patented process capable of turning industrially contaminated material into a sludge that is safe for agricultural use. Work with an advanced hydroponic system has demonstrated that useful and potentially valuable plants may be able to replace many pollution-control unit processes. New applications of attached microbial films have shown that many man-made toxic organics, such as trichloroethylene, can be biodegraded to their elemental constituents. We plan further studies of plants and pollution-control systems-research aimed at an enhanced understanding of attached-film reactors, and development of processes that can convert energy crops to biogas."

Current Research Projects

Evaluation of Anaerobic Digestion for Groups of Dairy Farms in Upstate New York

Energy and Biomass Recovery from Wastewater (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority)

Methylotrophs for Biological Pollution Control: Film Reactor Kinetics and TCE Removal (Gas Research Institute)

Professional CV

Education:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Engineering, 1969, University of London
• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, 1968, Stanford University
• M.E., Sanitary Engineering, 1964, Manhattan College
• B.S., Civil Engineering, 1963, University of Maine
  

Current Positions:

• Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-5701
• President, Microgen Corporation, 218 Cayuga Heights Road Ithaca, New York 14850

Research Interests:

• Biological and chemical mechanisms involved in pollution control
• Ecological engineering
• Biotreatment of toxics
• Energy conservation in waste treatment and generation via anaerobic fermentation
• Natural system treatment
• Disposal of wastes.

Professional Societies:

• American Society of Agricultural Engineers
• American Society of Civil Engineering
• American Society of Microbiology
• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
• Water Environment Federation

Selected Publications:

• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, B.K. Richards, F.G. Herndon, T.E. White, C.C. Nicholson, W.A. Chrusciel, and K.G. Lindenauer. "Engineering Design Considerations for Methane Fermentation of Energy Crops-Fundamental Considerations." Annual Report, First Year (GRI-91/0010). Prepared for Gas Research Institute, Chicago, IL. 152 pp. January 1991.
• Jewell, W.J., Y.M. Nelson, D.E. Fennell, S.E. Underhill, M.S. Wilson, and T.E. White. "Methanotrophs for Biological Pollution Control: Feasibility of Developing an Attached Microbial Film Reactor and Kinetics of TCE Removal." Final Report (GRI-91/0012). Prepared for Gas Research Institute and Radian Corporation. 221 pp. February 1991.
• Jewell, W.J., D.E. Fennell, J.M. Gossett, Y.M. Nelson, S.E. Underhill, T.E. White, and M.S. Wilson. "Methanotrophs and Methanogens for Pollution Control-PCE, TCE Removal from Groundwater and Macro Nutrient Removals from Wastewater." Annual Report, April 1, 1989-March 31, 1990. (GRI-91/0011). Prepared for Gas Research Institute. 250 pp. August 1991.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, B.K. Richards, F.G. Herndon, and T.E. White. "Engineering Design Considerations for Methane Fermentation of Energy Crops-Fundamental Considerations." Annual Report-Third Year, January 1, 1990-December 31, 1990. (GRI-91/0358). Prepared for Gas Research Institute.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, F.G. Herndon, T.D. Nock, B.K. Richards, T.E. White, W. Chrusciel, and C.C. Nicholson. "Engineering Design Considerations for Methane Fermentation of Energy Crops-Fundamental Considerations." Annual Report-Second Year, January 1, 1989-December 31, 1989. (GRI-91/0275). Prepared for Gas Research Institute. 215 pp.
• Jewell, W.J., S.R. Carter, K.H. Chu, D.E. Fennell, Y.M. Nelson, T.E. White, and M.S. Wilson. "Methanotrophs for Biological Pollution Control: TCE Removal and Nutrient Removal with the Expanded Bed." Annual Report, April 1, 1990-December 31, 1990. (GRI-91/0274). Prepared for Gas Research Institute and Radian Corporation.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, and B.K. Richards. "Energy Production from Biomass and Wastes: Present Limitations and Potential Improvements." pages 7-36. Keynote Paper. Third FAO/CNREE Workshop, Biotechnologies for Pollution Control and Energy. Edited by: W. Baader. Braunschweig, Germany. May 5-7, 1992. 544 pages.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, and B.K. Richards. "Engineering Design Considerations for Methane Fermentation of Energy Crops." Chapter in Methane from Biomass-Science and Technology. W.H. Smith, Editor. Elsevier Applied Sciences. 1992.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, T.D. Nock, E.E. Hicks, and T.E. White. Energy and Biomass Recovery from Wastewater: Piloting Resource Recovery Wastewater Treatment." Final Report, September 1986-December 1990. (GRI-93/0192.1) Gas Research Institute. 370pp. April 1993.
• Jewell, W.J., R.J. Cummings, T.D. Nock, E.E. Hicks, and T.E. White. "Energy and Biomass Recovery from Wastewater: Piloting Resource Recovery Wastewater Treatment." Final Report, September 1986-December 1990. (GRI-93/0192.2) Gas Research Institute.
• Jewell, W.J., S.R. Carter, D.E. Fennell, E.E. Hicks, Y.M. Nelson, T.D. Nock, B.K. Richards, and M.S. Wilson. "Methanotrophs for Biological Pollution Control: TCE Removal and Nutrient Removal with the Expanded Bed." Two year final report, January 1, 1991-December 31, 1992). Report Number GRI-93/0455. Gas Research Institute, Chicage, IL. 315pp. 1993.
• Jewell, W.J., L.D. Albright, R.J. Cummings, E.E. Hicks, T.D. Nock, and B.K. Richards. "Saline Gas-Produced Water Treatment with Macrophytes in a Hydroponic System." Report Number: GRI-94/0048. Gas Research Institute, Chicago, IL. Feb.,1993.
• Jewell, W. J. and T. D. Nock. "Biological Treatment of Pulp and Paper Sludges Using Anaerobic Digestion." Final Report. New York State Center for Advanced Technology-Biotechnology Program. Cornell University. July, 1994.
• Jewell, W.J., K.P. Thompson, E.E. Hicks, R.J. Cummings, and T.D. Nock. "Energy and Biomass Recovery from Wastewater." Final Report. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Albany, NY. Report Number 95-7. June 1995.
• W. J. Jewell, P.E. Wright, N. P. Fleszar, G. Green, A. Safinski, A. Zucker. "Evaluation of Anaerobic Digestion Options For Groups of Large Dairy Farms in Upstate New York." Final Report. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. March, 1997. 275 pages.