Hans van Leeuwen

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Johannes "Hans" van Leeuwen (born 1946 in Gouda) is a Dutch-American professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University and an entrepreneur.

Biography

Van Leeuwen lived in the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and has been residing in the United States since 2000. He is currently working as a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Together with Balaji Narasimhan, he was given a Vlasta Klima Balloun Professorship at Iowa State University.[1]

Education

  • University of Pretoria (South Africa), 1988 - D Eng, environmental engineering
  • University of Pretoria, 1983 Graduate Diploma of Tertiary Education
  • University of Pretoria, 1979 - MS, engineering, water utilization
  • University of Pretoria, 1975 BS, chemical engineering.

Research

His research includes the recovery of byproducts from liquid wastes and sludges, fungal treatment of food processing wastewater, and reuse applications of residues from water softening. He has several patents to his name. He has developed processes for creating new products at ethanol plants, purifying alcohol, and keeping exotic species out of coastal waters through disinfestation of ballast water with bromine production through ozonation.

He has focused his attention on making added-value products from crops, including animal feed, food, ethanol and purer potable alcohol. He developed a new animal feed, potentially a new human food source, by developing a process for cultivating fungi on corn processing leftovers being commercialized. His ozonation process disinfestates ships' ballast waters of feral species to avoid introduction into coastal waters by shipping and has been applied on oil tankers.

Awards and honors

  • Innovator of the Year, R&D Magazine, 2009; earlier awardees: Larry Page,Google, Burt Rutan and Elon Musk, space pioneers, Dean Kamen (Sedway)
  • Global Grand Prize for Applied Research, International Water Association, September 2012

R&D 100 Awards as team leader

  • Mycofuel fungal process for biodiesel from processing wastes, 2009
  • MycoMax fungal process for additional ethanol plant coproduct, 2008

Grand Prize University Research – American Academy of Environmental Engineers

  • Fungal pilot plant for animal feed production, 2011, Honor Award
  • Bio-oil from an integrated fungal lignocellulosic biorefinery, 2009
  • Fungal process for ethanol plant stillage beneficiation, 2008
  • Ethanol purification with ozonation and activated carbon, 2007

Honorary member, Japan Industrial Water Association, 2002

References