The Illinois Water Environment Association will host its 37th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Feb. 29 - March 2, 2016, at the iHotel in Champaign, Illinois. The conference theme is “Life is Good Water … Renew for the Future” and will include a full slate of technical tracks including: 

• Biosolids Resource Recovery and Planning 
• Emerging Technologies 
• Energy Management Systems 
• Laboratory Techniques and Systems 
• Nutrient Removal and Recovery 
• SCADA 
• Wastewater Treatment 
• Watershed Management 
• Wet Weather Management 

Several nationally recognized keynote speakers will enhance the conference’s technical program by sharing their experience, expertise and vision for the future of the water and wastewater industry. Presenters and keynote speakers include: 

Rajendra Bhattarai, P.E. 
Rajendra (Raj) Bhattarai is the division manager of the Austin Water Utility where he has worked since 1984. From 1980 to 1984 he worked for the Texas Department of Water Resources. Bhattarai has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, and a master's in environmental health engineering from the University of Texas at Austin 

N.T. Basta, Ph.D. 
Nick Basta is professor of soil and environmental science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University. His research program includes beneficial use of agricultural, industrial and municipal byproducts through land application and the fate of byproducts. Dr. Basta has more than 400 career publications, including 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in scientific journals. 

Jeff Eger 
Jeff Eger is HDR’s stormwater business class director. He is a nationally recognized leader in utility management who has been on the forefront of innovative practices throughout his 23-year career in the industry. Eger served as executive director of the Water Environment Federation, developing a new strategic direction for WEF, focusing on raising awareness of the value of water. 

Linda S. Lee 
Linda S. Lee is professor and associate head in agronomy at Purdue University, program head for the Interdisciplinary Ecological Sciences & Engineering Graduate Program, and a faculty affiliate of the Division of Environmental Ecological Engineering. She has garnered $10 million to support an innovative teaching and research program in environmental soil chemistry. 

Bob Mosher 
Bob Mosher has been with the Illinois EPA for 29 years with more than 26 years as the supervisor of the Water Quality Standards Unit. He is an aquatic biologist specializing in stream ecology and laboratory aquatic life toxicity studies. Current projects include development of water quality standards for nutrients, ammonia and E. coli bacteria for eventual adoption by the Illinois Pollution Control Board as well as water-quality standards implementation support for the NPDES Permit and 401 Water Quality Certification Sections of the Bureau of Water. 

Rod Reardon 
Rod Reardon is an environmental engineer with Carollo Engineers specializing in the study, design and operation of municipal wastewater facilities. Reardon serves as Carollo’s national wastewater technology leader. He received a bachelor's in chemical engineering and a master's degree in civil/sanitary engineering from Lehigh University. Reardon has been involved in the preliminary and final design of treatment facilities throughout the country ranging in capacity from 0.1 mgd to facilities treating more than 600 mgd. He is active in WEF and has authored manuals on topics ranging from nutrient removal to clarification. 

Scott Siders 
Scott Siders has more than 35 years experience in the environmental field, both in the private sector and with the USEPA's Superfund Analytical Services and Illinois EPA. He served as a laboratory accreditation officer for the Illinois EPA from 1991-2015, during which time he was an active member of the NELAC Institute. He is now the director of quality assurance for PDC Laboratories. 

About IWEA
IWEA is a member association of the Water Environment Federation and is dedicated to enhancing and protecting the Illinois water environment through education and collaboration. For more information, visit www.iweasite.org.