Dennis A. Clifford

Dr. Dennis A. Clifford a Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Houston and 1963 graduate of Michigan Tech, Dr. Dennis Clifford conducts research and teaches courses in Water Chemistry and Physical-Chemical Treatment Processes. He is a Professional Engineer with more than thirty years of experience in water and soil treatment focusing on the removal of inorganic and radioactive contaminants. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech, Dennis worked for nine years as an Instrument Engineer, Project Manager, and Laboratory Manager for the Dow Chemical Co., Fisher Scientific Co., and NUS Corporation.

He earned a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1973 and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the U of M. He was named Most Outstanding Graduate Student in Civil and Environmental Engineering while earning his doctorate in Environmental Engineering in 1976. Dennis has twice been named an Outstanding Teacher at the University of Houston, where he directed the Environmental Engineering Program for 10 years until being named Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in 1996.

Dennis has received five million dollars in research grants at UH, and has more than 100 publications to his name. He has given more than 50 invited lectures at universities and research institutes around the world. He has won Best Paper awards from the American Water Works Association and AIChE, and has been honored with the Flour Daniel Engineering Faculty Excellence Award, the University of Houston Sigma Xi Research Award, and the Halliburton Senior Research Award of the College of Engineering. Married to Joan Seeman, the 1962 Winter Carnival Queen at Michigan Tech, the couple have three children and four grandchildren.

From 2003 Induction to the Department of Chemical Engineering Academy