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Roger Viadero, director of Western Illinois University's Institute for Environmental Studies
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Viadero Elected President of Aquacultural Engineering Society

February 22, 2008

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MACOMB, IL - - Roger Viadero, director of Western Illinois University's Institute for Environmental Studies (IES) and a professor of biology, was installed as the president of the Aquacultural Engineering Society (AES) Feb. 11 at the organization's annual meeting in Orlando, FL. Viadero previously served on the AES board of directors (2004-2006) as the society's second vice president (2006).

AES is a professional organization for engineers and applied scientists that serves as a focal point for the identification, study and subsequent solution of problems associated with the production, processing and distribution of aquatic organisms and products derived from these sources. As president, Viadero plans to strengthen ties between industry, academic institutions and government stakeholders to promote the standardization of practices; to continue to expand the society's international presence; and to further the advancement of technical knowledge in new and emerging fields.

Viadero's research expertise ranges from studies on recirculating aquaculture systems used to rear yellow perch to work on the reduction of environmental stressors on trout raised in flow-through aquaculture platforms. Sponsors of Viadero's work include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the Northern Regional Aquaculture Center.

He has held numerous national-level leadership roles in aquaculture and aquatic science. Viadero is on the editorial board of Elsevier Science's Journal of Aquacultural Engineering; he is 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.

Viadero is an American Fisheries Society (AFS) Certified Fisheries Professional and is a member of the Aquacultural Engineering Society, American Fisheries Society, the World Aquaculture Society, American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Chemical Society. In January, Viadero was promoted to senior member status in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

He came to Western Illinois University in July 2007, after having 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 had joined the WVU faculty in 1998.

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.

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.

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