James L. Barnard is a South African born engineer living in the United States who is known globally as the pioneer of biological nutrient remover, a non-chemical means of

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

to remove

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

and phosphorus from used water. Barnard was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2021 for the development and implementation of biological nutrient removal in water treatment.

Biography

Barnard is recognized internationally for developing th
BARDENPHO Process (BARnard DENitrification and PHOsphorus removal)
Phoredox (later AO and A2O), the Modified Balakrishnan/Eckenfelder (later called the MLE) process and the Westbank Process. He is currently employed as Global Practice and Technology Leader b
Black & Veatch
in Kansas City, MO USA. Barnard has done process design for more than 140 nutrient removal plants and extensions around the world, and introduced BNR to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with the design of the Palmetto plant in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the Kelowna plant in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Most designs for high efficiency nitrogen removal in the USA are now based on these models. He served as External Examiner for Ph.D. candidates from the Universities of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

and

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

in Norway. He also served as adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and taught courses in biological nutrient removal at the University of Queensland Winter School for ten consecutive years.

Education

* B.Sc. B.Ing.

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, South Africa, 1956 * B.Sc. (Eng) (Hon)

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

, South Africa, 1967 * M.S. Environmental Eng.

University of Texas Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, 1969 * Ph.D.

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, 1971

Awards and accolades

Barnard's research has featured in 60 international publications. He was awarded the Camp Medal from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Imhoff/Koch award of the International Water Association and the Clarke Prize of the National Water Research Institute. He has been elected as a Distinguished Member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

, A Fellow of WEF and was the recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize at

Singapore International Water Week The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) is a conference in Singapore for the global water industry. SIWW's flagship programmes include The Water Leaders Summit, the Water Convention, the Water Expo, Business Forums, Hydro-Gen and Industria ...

in 2011. Barnard has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg, colloquially known as UJ, is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant fundi ...

, Stellenbosch University and the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

. He is a member of the Distinguished Group of Professionals of the

International Water Association The International Water Association (IWA) is a self-governing nonprofit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, connecting water professionals and company, companies to find solutions to the world's water challenges. It has Employme ...

and has received a Gold Medal from the South African Academy of Science and Arts. Barnard is also a member of the

(2021).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, James Living people South African engineers University of Pretoria alumni Stellenbosch University alumni Cockrell School of Engineering alumni Vanderbilt University alumni University of British Columbia alumni Year of birth missing (living people)