Professional Preparation
| Undergraduate Institution | Degree | Major | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer polytechnic Institute | B.S. | Mechanical Engineering | 1988 |
| Graduate Institution | Degree | Major | Year |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | M.Eng. | Mechanical Engineering | 1989 |
| University of Illinois | Ph.D. | Environmental Engineering | 1996 |
| Professional Engineer Registration | Location | Year | |
| EIT | Ohio | 1991 | |
Dr. Ducoste is an associate professor in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at North Carolina State University. He has research experience in the operation and design of chemical mixing, flocculation, sedimentation, and disinfection processes in drinking water treatment. Dr. Ducoste is an expert in modeling water and wastewater treatment process fluid mechanics using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Dr. Ducoste has developed CFD models for analysis of chemical and UV disinfection reactors, wastewater secondary clarifiers, rapid mix chambers, flocculation basins, food waste systems, and filtration systems. He has been successful in obtaining highly competitive grants from national foundations such as the American Water Works Research Foundation (AWWARF) and Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF). He has completed AWWARF projects on developing an integrated disinfection design framework (IDDF) model, on the hydraulic characterization of UV reactors, and on the application of UV disinfection for large water treatment plants. He is currently principal investigator (PI) on the evaluation of CFD for modeling UV-initiated advanced oxidation processes. He is also PI on WERF's project that's investigating fats, roots, oils, and grease (FROG) in centralized and decentralized systems.
Dr. Ducoste has also been successful in receiving highly competitive grants from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF). He received a Faculty Early Career Development (Career) Award from NSF, which is the highest honor given by NSF to young university faculty in science and engineering. Ducoste is using the award to integrate research and education to pioneer innovative techniques for comprehensive characterization of disinfection processes using CFD. Dr. Ducoste is also a Co-PI on a second NSF project that is investigating the influence of local environmental conditions on the eco-physiology of microorganisms in biological flocs. Before his appointment at the university, Dr. Ducoste was a senior process engineer at CH2M HILL's Water Business Group. He continues to participate as a senior consultant with this firm and other nationally and internationally recognized firms in water and wastewater projects related to the application of CFD for analyzing designs and troubleshooting treatment problems. Dr. Ducoste also has experience in the design and construction of manufacturing processes for Fortune 100 companies.
Dr Ducoste's current research interests include advanced water/wastewater treatment modeling, computational fluid dynamics modeling, physico-chemical processes in water treatment, experimental fluid dynamics, solid/liquid separation processes, rapid mixing and flocculation design, water treatment process scaleup, and water/wastewater process optimization. In particular, Dr Ducoste has a special interest in understanding and elucidating complex chemical and biological processes using numerical techniques.
Appointments
- Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University(2004 - Present)
- Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, North Carolina State University(1998 - 2004)
- Water Treatment Process Engineer, CH2M HILL(1996-1998)
- Graduate Research Assistant, University of Illinois(1991-1996)
- Manufacturing Engineer, GE Aircraft Engines(1989-1991)
Professional Activities/Awards
- National Science Foundation Career Award(2001-2006))
- Ralph Metcalfe Chair at Marquette University (Visiting lecturer award)(2000)
- Winner, American Water Works Association LARS-Ph.D. Scholarship(1994)
- Winner, University of Illinois SURGE Fellowship(1992-1996)
- Winner, National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering Fellowship-Ph.D.(1991-1992)
- Winner, National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering Fellowship-M.S.(1988-1989)
- Member, Pi Tau Sigma, Mechanical Engineering Honor Society(1987)
- Winner, Kodak Scholarship(1985-1988)