Our People
Meet Russell Ford
Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
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A passionate environmental engineer with more than three decades of experience, Dr. Russell Ford’s career has concentrated on improving drinking water quality and providing a positive impact on public health around the globe.
As our Global Director for Drinking Water & Reuse Solutions, Russell leads our drinking water business from both a technical and leadership perspective, bringing the best resources to deliver critical client solutions. Most recently, he’s finished the commissioning of a 60 million-gallons-per-day ozone facility for the removal of disinfection by-products, working on removing PFAS from groundwater systems and addressing water quality issues within water distribution systems.
He is also an adjunct professor at New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology where he teaches a variety of courses within the Civil, Ocean and Environmental Engineering department. As a dad to three kids, he’s very active in coaching and mentoring in youth sports, music and scouting activities.
“You should always learn something new every day, even if it is something you really didn’t want to learn.”
Dr. Russell Ford
Russell has received numerous professional awards and recognitions including the prestigious Fuller Award from the American Water Works Association and Black Engineer of the Year – Pioneer Award from the BEYA STEM – Career Communications Group. He was an invitee to the Frontiers of Engineering with the National Academy of Engineers and is an appointment member to the U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board Drinking Water Committee. Throughout his career Russell has worked to provide a positive influence on improving inclusion and diversity so that the next generation will have more opportunities.
His drinking water industry expertise comes from his utility, consulting and academic experience, which covers a wide range of treatment processes, as well as design, treatability testing and treatment plant startups. He’s advanced numerous innovative solutions to meet client needs around the globe by developing, evaluating and designing treatment processes that remove a variety of contaminants from drinking water.
Russell has conducted over 200 bench, pilot- and/or full-scale treatability tests to evaluate the impacts of coagulation and oxidant addition on the overall water treatment process. His wide range of water treatment experience includes plant design and multiple treatment processes such as coagulation, conventional and high-rate clarification, filtration, granular activated carbon, MIEX® process, membranes, ultraviolet, air stripping, advanced oxidation, and ozone. Russell has worked with numerous coagulants including alum, polyaluminum chloride, ferric chloride, ferrous sulphate, polymers (cationic, non-ionic and anionic) and aluminum chlorohydrate.
He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University and a master’s and PhD degree in environmental engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
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major career acknowledgements
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30
students taught by Russell on average/year
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45
years playing saxophone, including at Carnegie Hall
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lovely children and a supportive wife