Lehigh University Senior Research Scientist Arup K. SenGupta, a professor emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the 2025 recipient of the Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

SenGupta, an ASCE Fellow, is an internationally recognized water scientist whose research has led to sustainable solutions for removing arsenic, fluoride, and other contaminants from drinking water around the world. His pioneering work in ion exchange science has also advanced technologies for desalination, wastewater reclamation, and carbon capture.

The Freese Award was established in 1975 and honors the legacy of Simon Wilke Freese, a civil engineer and ASCE Fellow whose career included designing more than 100 municipal water and sewer systems and over 200 dams and reservoirs. It is supported by Freese and Nichols, the engineering firm where Freese became a partner in 1927.

Each year, ASCE’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute selects an honoree based on a review of professional achievements and peer recommendations to receive the award and deliver the lecture. SenGupta was recognized with the Freese Award “for advancing and expanding the field of ion exchange science and technology, and for applying it to the development of sustainable technologies and new materials.”

He will present the Freese Lecture via video conference at 11:20 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 21, on the topic of “Development and Global Application of Hybrid Ion Exchange Processes in Sustainable Water Treatment: From Decontamination to Desalination,” as part of the 2025 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (May 18-21, in Anchorage, Alaska).

In his lecture, SenGupta will highlight the development of innovative, sustainable water treatment technologies aimed at addressing global water scarcity. He will also discuss how hybrid ion exchange processes—now used worldwide—can transform wastewater into usable water and remove harmful contaminants, offering practical solutions for communities facing water challenges.

Read more about SenGupta’s research and accomplishments on his faculty profile.

Related Links

• Faculty Profile: Arup K. SenGupta

• ASCE Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture

• EWRI 2025 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress