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Bio

Joel Ducoste, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Success. As the Associate Dean, Dr. Ducoste provides leadership in faculty reappointment, promotion and tenure, the post-tenure review process, workshop and coaching opportunities, and the recognition of awards to support faculty success in the different realms of faculty responsibilities.

Dr. Ducoste is a board certified environmental engineering member with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and is a recognized expert in modeling water and wastewater treatment processes using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). With over 200 peer reviewed publications and research reports, Dr. Ducoste current research interests include physico-chemical processes in water treatment, computational fluid dynamics modeling, water/wastewater process optimization, wastewater sewer collection system sustainability, renewable energy, plant biosystems engineering, solid waste process modeling, and disinfection of pathogenic aerosols.

Dr. Ducoste has received a number of awards including an NSF Career Award, a Fulbright fellowship, National Academy of Engineering Frontier of Engineering participant, Visiting Professorships at Ghent University, South East University, and Yangzhou University, NC State mentoring awards, elected Fellow of both the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), and received the WEF Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal.

He has served on EPA Science Advisory Boards (2009-2018) and the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Safe and Sustainable Water Resources committee (2018-2022). He was elected to serve on the Board of AEESP (2017-2020) and was also the 2020-2021 President of AEESP. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. He received a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

After 5 years in industry at CH2M Hill as a senior process engineer and as an advance-manufacturing engineer at GE Aircraft Engines he joined NC State.

Area(s) of Expertise

Dr. Ducoste is interested in the operation, design, and optimization of drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. He achieves these goals by incorporating novel experimental techniques and validated numerical models in the analysis of unit processes. He has research experience in the operation and design of chemical mixing, flocculation, sedimentation, and chemical and UV 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). He has developed CFD models for analysis of chemical and UV disinfection reactors, rapid mix chambers, flocculation basins, filtration systems, wastewater activated sludge systems, waste stabilization ponds, secondary clarifiers, and food waste systems. Dr Ducoste is also interested in modeling cellular regulatory and metabolic pathways and interfacing product formation to produce bioreactor models using CFD.