Dr. Seagren is a professor of environmental engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University, where he has been on the faculty since 2010. Previously, Dr. Seagren was on the faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park, for thirteen years. Dr. Seagren's broad area of research is the science and sustainable application of the field of environmental biotechnology (i.e., the use of microorganisms to improve environmental quality). Specifically, he is active in four highly interdisciplinary areas of research: (1) in situ bioremediation of contaminated subsurface environments; (2) development of in situ biological treatment systems for stormwater runoff, such as bioretention; (3) evaluation and development of biogeoenvironmental applications, including the bioimprovement of soil properties; and (4) evaluation and improvement of municipal wastewater treatment processes for biosolids. Dr. Seagren’s research contributions in these areas have been recognized with the 1995 AEEP/CH2M Hill Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Association of Environmental Engineering Professors, a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 2001, and the 2005 Rudolph Hering Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Prior to starting his first faculty position at the University of Maryland, Dr. Seagren was a post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University, and earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering, with distinction, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, an M.S. in Sanitary Engineering at Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
During his career, Dr. Seagren has served as a member on various campus committees at the Department, College and University level, as well as for professional organizations and conferences. Some of his current activities include serving on the Transportation Research Board’sStanding Committee on Geo-Environmental Processes, and the Civil Engineering Industry Advisory Board of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Seagren is a member of the Water Environment Federation, American Society for Microbiology, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the American Society for Engineering Education.
