January 26, 2024
Climate Science to Actionable Urban Solutions, Dr. Ashish Sharma, Adjunct Professor/Climate and Urban Sustainability Lead, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

February 23, 2024  
Global Climate Change Impacts on Aquatic Communities of the Chicago Wilderness Area and Implications for Restoration Strategies, James Bland, Director, Environmental Products and Services, Inc., Third Lake, Illinois

March 29, 2024      
Interspecies Competition Between Nitrobacter and Nitrospira in Mainstream Nitritating Biological Nutrient Removal, Jason Mellin, Environmental Research Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRD

April 26, 2024             
20 Years of Stormwater Management for Cook County, Illinois, by the MWRD, Joseph Kratzer, P.E., CFM, Managing Civil Engineer, Stormwater Management Section, Engineering Department, MWRD

May 31, 2024 
Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing on Farmland for Reducing Environmental Impacts, Dr. Yi Wang, Associate Professor/Sustainable Vegetable Production & Precision Agriculture, Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Madison

June 28, 2024               
Environmental Pathogen Engineering, Charles N. Haas, Ph.D., L.D. Betz Professor of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

July 26, 2024               
A Pilot Study on Biotrickling Filters Using Synthetic Media for Design of Full-Scale Odor Control Facilities, Warner Song, Ph.D., P.E., Senior Engineer, Wastewater Research Section, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Whittier, California

August 23, 2024           
Phosphorus Assessment and Reduction Plan Study for the Chicago Area Waterway System, Rishab Mahajan, P.E., CFM, Senior Engineer, Geosyntec Consultants, Chicago, Illinois

October 25, 2024    
Sludge Densification Full-Scale Study at Metro Water Recovery in Denver, CO, Rudy Maltos, Ph.D., P.E., Staff Engineer, Technology and Innovation Division, Metro Water Recovery, Denver, Colorado

November 8, 2024 (rescheduled from September 27)
Roadmap for Achieving Energy Management Vision and Goals: South Platte Renew Improves Energy Efficiency While Addressing Regulatory Challenges and Aging Infrastructure in Colorado, Elizabeth W. Keddy, PE, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Hazen and Sawyer, Tampa, Florida.

November 22, 2024     
Environmental Justice in Action at the MWRD, Edward Coleman, Human Resources Manager and Lolita Thompson, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer, Environmental Justice Section, MWRD

December 13, 2024      
Hydraulic Modeling of Transient Events in the MWRDGC Tunnel and Reservoir Plan System, Mason Throneburg, Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Confluency, Chicago, and Louis Storino, P.E., BCEE Managing Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRD

January 27, 2023
Updates on the Biosolids Management Program at the MWRD, Ahmad Laban, P.E., Managing Engineer, Maintenance and Operations Department, and Theresa Johnston, Senior Environmental Soil Scientist, Monitoring & Research Department, MWRDGC

February 24, 2023
Converting Rectangular and Circular Primary Tanks into an AAA Settler, Dr. Bernhard Wett, ARAconsult Gmbh, Innsbruck, Austria

March 31, 2023
The 50 Year History of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), Patrick Jensen, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer, and Brian Wawczak, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRDGC

April 28, 2023
USACE Planning Assistance to States, Chicago River Restoration Framework, Chuck Shea, P.E., PMP Project Manager, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District Office

May 26, 2023 
Revolving Algal Biofilm System for Nutrient Removal and Recovery, Dr. Zhiyou Wen, Director, Center for Crops Utilization Research, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

June 30, 2023 
Understanding and Embracing Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics, Dr. Kathryn B. Newhart, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York

July 28, 2023 
More Than Just Energy Savings: Understanding the Benefits of Low DO Operation Dr. Mark Miller, P.E., Senior Process Engineer, and Don Esping, Process Engineering Lead, Brown and Caldwell, Charlotte, North Carolina

August 25, 2023
Innovative City Adaptations to Climate Change, Dr. Şevin Yildiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Policy, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

September 29, 2023 
Relating SARS-CoV-2 RNA Measured in Chicago-area Wastewater Treatment Plant and Cook County COVID-19 Public Health Data, Dr. Niall M. Mangan, Assistant Professor of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

October 27, 2023 
Near to Real-Time Flood Forecasting: Towards Digital Twins at Urban Scales

November 17, 2023
Updates on the MWRDGC’s Phosphorus Removal Efforts, Dr. Joseph Kozak, P.E., Principal Environmental Scientist, Environmental Monitoring and Research Division, Monitoring & Research Department, MWRDGC

December 15, 2023 
The MWRD’s Update on the Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Dr. Kuldip Kumar, Principal Environmental Scientist, M&R Department, MWRDGC

January 28, 2022
Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19 – A Regional Effort, Rachel Poretsky, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

February 25, 2022
Regulating the Water Environment at the District and Beyond: A Brief Evolutionary History, Greg Yarnik, Supervising Environmental Specialist, Industrial Waste Division, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRDGC

March 25, 2022
Determination of Watershed Specific Release Rates, Greg Byard, Project Manager, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois

April 29, 2022
Use of Integrated Planning to Facilitate a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Renewal, Rajeev Kapur, Water Resources Program Manager, Clean Water Services, Regulatory Affairs Department, Hillsboro, Oregon

May 27, 2022
Operating the Stickney Water Reclamation Plan to Meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Limit for Total Phosphorus, Joseph Kozak, Principal Environmental Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, and Joseph Cummings, Managing Engineer, Maintenance and Operations Department, Stickney Area, MWRD

June 24, 2022
How Are Biosolids Used and Managed in the United States? Results of the Second Comprehensive National Biosolids Survey, Ned Beecher, Special Projects Manager, North East Biosolids and Residuals Association, Tamworth, New Hampshire

July 29, 2022
Infiltration and Inflow Control at the City of Naperville, Tony Conn, Sr., Water Distribution & Collection Manager, Naperville Public Utilities-Water, Naperville, Illinois

August 31, 2022
Sustainable Water Supplies for Semi-arid Cities, Richard G. Luthy, Ph.D., Silas H. Palmer Professor, Department Civil Engineering, and Director, Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure, Stanford University, Stanford, California 

September 30, 2022
Side-stream Enhanced Biologic Phosphorus Removal (S2EBPR) Pilot Test at the Calumet Water Reclamation District, Cindy Qin, Senior Environmental Research Scientist, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRD 

October 28, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Digital Twin Development Implementation and Results for the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Singapore, Bruce R. Johnson, Jacobs, Denver, Colorado 

November 18, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Flood Reduction from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Regional Stormwater Projects, Greg Koch, Principal Civil Engineer, Michael Cosme, Senior Civil Engineer, Justin Kirk, Senior Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, MWRD

December 9, 2022 - VIRTUAL
Water Quality in the Calumet Waterway System after the Thornton Composite Reservoir Went Online, Dustin Gallagher, Associate Aquatic Biologist, and Nicholas Kollias, Aquatic Biologist, Monitoring and Research Department, MWRD

January 24, 2020
Pursuit of Energy Neutrality at the Downers Grove Sanitary District, Nick Menninga, General Manager, Downers Grove Sanitary District, Downers Grove, Illinois

February 21, 2020
Update on the District’s Stormwater Management Program, Joseph Kratzer, Managing Civil Engineer, Engineering Department, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

September 25, 2020
The Response of Microbial Communities in the Chicago Area Waterway to Major Infrastructure Changes in the Region, Dr. Cristina Negri, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois, and Dr. Jack Gilbert, Professor, University of California, San Diego, California

October 30, 2020
Advances in Kinetics, Mechanisms, and Detection of Viral Pathogens toward Developing Smart Water Disinfection Systems, Benito J. Mariñas, Ph.D., Ivan Racheff Endowed Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

November 20, 2020
Leading Water and Wastewater Utility Innovation, Jason Carter, Water Strategy and Innovation Leader, Arcadis, Birmingham, Alabama

December 11, 2020
Fox River Water Reclamation District’s Efforts on Reducing Phosphorus Discharge Load, Beth Vogt, P.E., Technical Services Director, Fox River Water Reclamation District, South Elgin, Illinois