University News
Roger Viadero Named IES Director
May 25, 2007
MACOMB, IL - - Roger Viadero has been named the director of Western Illinois University's Institute for Environmental Studies (IES), effective July 1, according to College of Arts and Sciences Dean Inessa Levi.
Viadero will succeed Thomas Dunstan, WIU biology professor emeritus acclaimed for his lifelong work with birds of prey, who has been serving as the IES acting director since September 2006.
Viadero has served as director of the West Virginia University Center for Environmental Research, an interdisciplinary environmental research unit, since May 2005. In September 2005, he was among just four WVU faculty members honored with the inaugural Robert C. Byrd Professorship Award for outstanding professional accomplishments and distinction in scholarly activities.
He joined the WVU faculty in 1998, and is a Robert C. Byrd Associate Professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Viadero's research focus is in aquatic environmental engineering, remediation of impaired ecosystems and aquacultural engineering. He has also conducted extensive work on the physical and chemical treatment and disposal of hazardous, nuclear, and mixed wastes; as well as water reclamation and reuse.
Viadero is also a Senior Fellow of the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) of George Washington University, where he participates in roundtable sessions with senior government officials, collaborates with the HSPI steering committee to publish policy papers and conducts homeland security-related research.
"We are delighted with the addition of Dr. Viadero to our team," Levi said. "With his strong background in environmental issues, his past external funding and experience in forensics, his impact on the IES will be immeasurable."
Western's new IES director has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals; and he holds several national-level leadership positions, including vice president of the Aquaculture Engineering Society. He is also an American Fisheries Society Certified Fisheries Professional and is a contributing editor to Government Engineer: the Journal for Public Infrastructure.
"Coming to Western Illinois University is a great opportunity to seek out new challenges," Viadero said. "There are tons of opportunities to involve the WIU campus, community leaders and government organizations in environmental issues for the region. There will also be many occasions for faculty from across the campus to collaborate on scholarly activities. The Institute for Environmental Studies will be a fantastic focal point for people to come together to work on issues."
Previously, Viadero served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. He has held fellowships through the University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Energy; and he was an Honors Intern for Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director William Sessions, assigned to the FBI's Forensic Science Research and Training Center in Quantico, VA.
Viadero is a graduate of Mary Washington College (VA), where he earned a bachelor's degree (1993) in physics. He earned his master's degree (1994) in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Ph.D. (1997) in environmental engineering from West Virginia University.
Copy by Jeff Dodd, Assistant to the Director of Marketing, College of Arts and Sciences
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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