Roger W. Babcock Jr.
Professor of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering
Office: Holmes Hall 346
Phone: (808) 956-7298
E-mail: rbabcock@hawaii.edu
Related Web Page: Water Resources Research Center
Areas of Specialty and Research Interest
- Environmental engineering: Biological wastewater treatment
- Membrane bioreactors
- Wastewater recycling/reuse
- Green roofs
- Genetic fingerprinting for assessing bacterial diversity
- On-site wastewater treatment
- Environmental water quality
Education
- Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 1991
- M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1989
- B.S., Civil Engineering, University of California, Davis, 1987
Professional Registration
- Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Civil Engineering: No. 51325, California; No. 12133 Hawaii
Experience
- Assistant, Associate and Full Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995-present
- Associate Director – Engineering, National Science Foundation (NSF) MarBEC Engineering Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1999-2001
- Visiting Scholar, Institute for Process Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, Germany, 1994
- Project Engineer, Carollo Engineers, Walnut Creek, California, 1992-93
Courses Taught ( in the last five years)
- CEE330: Environmental Engineering (S’15, S’16, S’17, S’18, S’19, S’20)
- CEE431: Water and Wastewater Engineering (F’15, F’16, F’17, F’18, F’19, F’20)
- CEE489B: Surveying & AutoCAD (F’15, F’16, F’17, F’18, F’19, F’20)
- CEE489C: Professional Ethics (F’15, F’16, F’17, F’18, F’19, F’20)
- CEE499: Special Problems (F’15, S’16, F’16, S’17, F’17, S’18, F’18, S’19, F’19, S’20)
- CEE490: Senior Design Project (S’15, S’16, S’17, S’18, S’19, S’20)
- CEE634: Biological Treatment
- CEE635: Environmental Chemistry
Professional Activities
- Secretary, the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies (HCES), 2019-2020
- Member/Chair, Board of Certification of Operating Personnel in Wastewater Treatment Plants, State of Hawaii, 1996-2003, 2011-2019
- Member, UH Manoa Faculty Senate, 2001-2002
- President, College of Engineering Faculty Senate, 2006-2007
- Chair, UH Manoa General Education Ethics Board, 2005-2007
- Faculty Advisor, ASCE Student Chapter, 2001-2003, 2005-present
- Member, UH Manoa Graduate Council, 2006-2012, 2016-2019
- Member, UH Ethics Committee, 2008-present
- Chair, Civil Engineering Graduate Program, 2009-2020
- Treasurer, Secretary, Vice-President, President Elect, President, Past President, ASCE Hawaii Section, 2006-2012
- Technical Program Chair, EWRI World Congress, 2008
- Technical Program Co-Chair, EWRI World Congress, 2009
- Director, HI Statewide Wastewater Operator Training Center, 2010-present
- Secretary/Treasurer, Vice-President, President, Past President, Hawaii Water Environment Association of WEF, 2016-2020
Awards
- 2020 Recipient of Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
- State of Hawaii Engineer of the Year, 2019
- ASCE Student Chapter Faculty Advisor Award, 2002, 2018
- ASCE Faculty Advisor Certificate of Commendation, 2003, 2004, 2008
- College of Engineering Faculty Service Award, 2018
- Manoa Sustainability Teaching Award, 2006
- ASCE Hawaii Section, Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award, Best Study/Research Project, 2009
- Hi Chang Chai Excellence in Teaching Award, 2009, 2015, 2018, 2021
- Order of the Engineer, Outstanding Link Coordinator, 2014
Research Grants
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in tubular photobioreactor systems,” funded by National Science Foundation MarBEC Engineering Research Center, November 1998-October 2001.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Evaluation of potential irrigation impacts on groundwater,” funded by DOD – Army COE, Waterways Exp. Sta., April 2003-April 2004
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Pilot-scale regeneration of granular activated carbon,” funded by Board of Water Supply, City/County of Honolulu, November 2002-December 2004
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Sequential anaerobic-aerobic biodegradation of PCBs and PAHs in phytoremediation cuttings using slurry reactors and composters,” funded by Environet Inc., May 2002-October 2003.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Honolulu membrane bioreactor pilot test,” funded by WateReuse Foundation/Kennedy-Jenks/City-County of Honolulu, June 2003-May 2007.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Identification and control of membrane bioreactor biofouling organisms using genetic fingerprinting,” funded by USGS, Water Research Institute Program, March 2006-February 2008.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Hilo landfill leachate treatability study,” funded by Hawaii County/ERM Inc., June 2008-December 2009.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Measurement of phytoremediation and biodegradation of RDX, HMX, DNT and related compounds in the tropical environment,” funded by DOD-ESTCP/Environet Inc., February 2007-August 2010.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (co-PI) “On-site sewage disposal system inspection protocol development,” funded by Hawaii Department of Health, June 2008-November 2010.
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Green roof design study,” funded by UH Manoa Facilities, September 2011-June 2012
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Sediment Retention at Honokwai Structure #8,” funded by State of Hawaii, DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources, October 2013-September 2014
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Evaluation of several types of granular activated carbon (GAC) for adsorption of Trichloropropane (TCP) in different matrices,” funded by AECOM Inc, December 2013-December 2014
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Performance of a residential wastewater system study”, funded by Envirocycle Worldwide Inc, July 2012-March 2015
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Nutrient and sediment contributions from urban storm water,” funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, November 2014-June 2017
- Wastewater treatment for point source processing and reuse
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (co-PI) “Assessing the vulnerability of coastal wastewater infrastructure to climate change,” funded by Sea Grant, University of Hawaii, February 2016-July 2018
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Demonstration study of high-rate flotation/contactor treatment of raw wastewater,” funded by RM Towill Corp, March 2016-May 2019
- Babcock, R.W.Jr. (PI) “Investigation of cesspool upgrade alternatives for Upcountry Maui,” funded by Department of Health, SDWB, June 2018-June 2019
Selected Publications
- Babcock, R. W. Jr., McNair, D.A., Edling, L.A., and Nagato, H. (2004) Evaluation of a system for residential treatment and reuse of wastewater. J. Environ. Engin. ASCE 130(7): 766-773.
- Khan, E., Babcock R. W. Jr., Hsu, T.-M., and Lin, H. (2005) Mineralization and Biodegradability Enhancement of Low Level p-Nitrophenol in Water Using Fenton”s Reagent. J. Environ. Engin. ASCE131(2): 327-331.
- Babcock, R. W. Jr., Lin, B., and Spengler, S. (2006) Use of boron as a tracer for recycled water in brackish aquifers. J. Environ. Eng. ASCE 132(8): 862-871.
- Jiang, P., Chen, H.-T., Babcock, R. W. Jr., and Stenstrom, M. K. (2009) Modeling ozone mass transfer in reclaimed wastewater. Wat. Environ. Res. 81:57-68.
- Leu, S-Y, Babcock, R. W. Jr., Tzeng, C.J., and Stenstrom, M.K. (2009) Modeling the Performance of Hazardous Wastes Removal in Bioaugmented Activated Sludge Processes. Wat. Environ. Res. 81:2309-2319.
- Lamichhane K and Babcock R W Jr (2012) An economic appraisal of using source separation of human urine to contain and treat endocrine disrupters in the USA. J Environ. Monitoring 14: 2557-2565.
- Lamichhane K, Babcock R W Jr, Turnbull S J, and Schenck S (2012) Molasses enhanced phyto and bioremediation treatability study of explosives contaminated Hawaiian soils. J. Hazard. Mater. 243: 334-339.
- Lamichhane K and Babcock R W Jr (2013) Survey of attitudes and perceptions of urine-diverting toilets and human waste recycling in Hawaii. Sci. of Total Environ. 443: 749-756.
- Payne Z M, Lamichhane K, Babcock R W Jr, and Turnbull S J (2013) Pilot-scale in-situ bioremediation of HMX and RDX in soil pore water in Hawaii. J. Environ. Sci.: Process Impacts. 15 (11): 2023-2029.
- Huang T, Jia R, Xia S, and Babcock R W Jr (2014) Effect of various parameters on microbial communities in membrane bioreactors treating municipal wastewater. Frensius Environ. Bul. 23(4): 976-985.
- Li Y and Babcock R W Jr, (2014) Green roof hydrologic performance and modeling: A review. Wat. Sci. Tech. 69 (4): 727-738.
- Li Y and Babcock R W Jr, (2014) Green roofs against pollution and climate change. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 34 (4): 695-705.
- Babcock R W Jr, Lamichhane K M, Cummings M J, and Cheong G H (2014) Condition Assessment Survey of Onsite Sewage Disposal Systems (OSDS) in Hawaii. Wat. Sci. Tech. 70 (6): 1083-1089.
- Babcock R W Jr, Senthill A, Lamichhane K, Agsalda J, and Lindbo G D (2015) Onsite aerobic cyclic biological treatment unit provides enhanced nitrogen removal, Wat. Sci. Tech. 71 (12): 1831-1837.
- Li Y and Babcock R W Jr, (2015) Modeling Hydrologic Performance of a Pilot Green Roof with HYDRUS-2D, J. Environ. Eng. ASCE 141 (11): 04015036-1-9.
- Babcock R W Jr, Wellbrock A, Slenders P, and Radway J (2015) Improving mass transfer in an inclined tubular photobioreactor, J. Appl. Phycol. DOI 10.1007/s10811-015-0763-6.
- Xu-Sadri H, Babcock R W Jr, Lamichhane K (2015) Analysis and comparison of the bacterial community in membrane bioreactors and other treatment systems, Int. J. Wat. Wastewater Trt. 2(1): doi http://dx.doi.org/10.16966/2381-5299.112.
- Babcock R W Jr, Wellbrock A, Slenders P, and Radway J (2016) Improving mass transfer in an inclined tubular photobioreactor, J. Appl. Phycol. 28 (4): 2195-2203
- Postacchini L, Lamichhane KM, Furukawa D, Babcock R W Jr, Ciarapica FE, Cooney MJ (2016) Life cycle analysis of primary clarifier effluent treatment, Wat. Sci. Tech. 73(10): doi: 10.2166/wst2016.087
- Li Y and Babcock R W Jr (2016) A simplified model for modular green roof hydrologic analyses and design, Water 8(8): 343.
- Lamichhane KM, Lewis K, Rong K, Babcock R W Jr, Cooney MJ (2017) Treatment of high strength acidic wastewater using passive pH control, J Wat. Process Eng., doi: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2017.06.014
- Babcock R W Jr, Harada B K, Lamichhane KM and Tsubota K T (2017) Adsorption of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) to meet an MCL of 5 ppt. Environ. Pollution. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.09.085