University News
Viadero Named Director of New WIU Ph.D. Program
February 21, 2014
MACOMB, IL - Western Illinois University Institute for Environmental Studies Director Roger Viadero has been named director of the school's new Ph.D. program in environmental science.
Sue Martinelli-Fernandez, dean of WIU's College of Arts and Sciences, said Viadero's history makes him a perfect fit for the position.
"Clearly, Dr. Viadero's credentials and experience are outstanding," Martinelli-Fernandez said. "I thank him for his hard work and for his leadership in bringing this excellent program to fruition."
The new program will begin taking students in Fall 2014 at WIU's Quad Cities Campus.
"Roger's experience and background have prepared him well to lead this new doctorate program," said WIU Provost and Academic Vice President Ken Hawkinson.
Viadero came to Western in July 2007, after having served as director of the West Virginia University Center for Environmental Research, an interdisciplinary environmental research unit, since 2005. In September 2005, Viadero was among four WVU faculty members honored with the inaugural Robert C. Byrd Professorship Award for outstanding research accomplishments and distinction in scholarly activities.
Viadero is a Phi Beta Kappa 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.
He 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 Intern for Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director William Sessions, assigned to the FBI's Forensic Science Research and Training Center.
Prior to being named president of the Aquacultural Engineering Society (AES) in 2008, Viadero served as its second and first vice president in 2006 and 2007. Prior to being elected to the AES executive committee, Viadero served on AES board of directors from 2004 to 2006. He has held numerous national-level leadership roles in aquaculture, fisheries, and aquatic science.
Viadero is on the editorial board of Elsevier Science's Journal of Aquacultural Engineering; he was a member of the Aquaculture Effluents Task Force of the Federal Joint Subcommittee (USEPA/USDA) on Aquaculture, and he is recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) in aquaculture management by the U.S. Department of Commerce. He is also an Ecological Society of America Certified Senior Ecologist (CSE), an American Fisheries Society (AFS) Certified Fisheries Professional and is a senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
"I'm tremendously excited that Western is able to offer this distinctive new program," said Viadero. "As the only state supported university in Illinois with a campus located on one of the world's largest and most environmentally significant river systems, our students will have a unique experience to study and work in the heart of a 'living laboratory.' We are also fortunate to be supported by outstanding facilities being built at WIU-QC's new riverfront campus. These include new research and teaching laboratories that will help ensure our students have every advantage to grow as scholars while making a positive impact on the environment and the quality of life for those in the Upper Mississippi River basin and beyond."
For more information on the new doctoral program at WIU, visit wiu.edu/cas/ies.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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