About Dr. Larry W. Moore

Dr. Moore received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of South Alabama in 1973 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Mississippi State University in 1974 and 1983, respectively. He worked with the Mississippi Bureau of Pollution Control from 1974 to 1978, writing NPDES permits for industries. During the last 33 years, Dr. Moore has taught undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering courses at the University of Memphis. Dr. Moore has a passion for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. He has helped (through the UT Center for Industrial Services) to solve industrial wastewater problems at about 200 Tennessee industries in the last 33 years.

Dr. Moore is a life member of the Water Environment Federation and the Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association (KTWEA). Dr. Moore served on the Technical Program Committee for the KTWEA for many years and has been a very active member of the Pretreatment Certification Committee since 2000. Dr. Moore was President of the KTWEA in 2002 and received the Leary Jones Award in 2009. This award is the highest recognition given by the KTWEA and was given to Dr. Moore for his many years of service to the KTWEA and to the wastewater profession. As a Leary Jones Award recipient, Dr. Moore is now a member of the Kentucky-Tennessee Wastewater Hall of Fame. Dr. Moore has also served on the Tennessee Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Board since 2007.

Research Interests

Water Quality Modeling of Streams

• In 2004, he conducted an evaluation of water quality in the Loosahatchie River via an extensive field data collection effort.

• Dr. Moore used the field data to perform water quality modeling of the river to determine discharge standards for eight rapidly growing municipalities northeast of Memphis.

Optimization of Municipal & Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs)

• He has conducted biological wastewater treatability studies for industries and cities. The primary purpose of the research was to enhance BOD, TSS, and nitrogen removal in the full-scale treatment process or to reduce the impact of industrial pollutants on the municipal wastewater treatment facility.

• He has conducted engineering research investigations to evaluate operating problems at a 140 million gallon per day (mgd) WWTP (pure oxygen activated sludge process) and made changes to the plant's operating protocol to solve those operating problems.

• Dr. Moore recently had an applied research contract (through the University of Memphis) to provide operational guidance for the 90 mgd Maxson WWTP in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Moore created a new plant operations spreadsheet that is used daily at the Maxson WWTP to provide important operating and performance data. Dr. Moore reviewed this information daily and made recommendations for adjusting WWTP operating parameters to improve plant performance and effluent quality. As part of the contract with the City of Memphis, Dr. Moore also provided operator training for the city's wastewater operators.

Energy Conservation at Municipal WWTPs

• From 2010 through 2015, Dr. Moore conducted several energy conservation projects for municipal water and wastewater treatment plants in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Because several of these treatment plants were able to achieve significant energy savings, he is now doing energy studies at twenty-four other water and wastewater treatment plants in Alabama and Tennessee. This work is being funded by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the United States Department of Energy (USDOE). The USEPA and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are assisting Dr. Moore in this effort.

Publications/Presentations

Moore, L.W., "Pretreatment Case Study," Thirteenth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Knoxville, Tennessee, July 17-20, 2016.

Moore, L.W., "Pollution Prevention in the Metal Finishing Industry," Thirteenth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Knoxville, Tennessee, July 17-20, 2016.

Moore, L.W., "Pharmaceutical Industry Wastewater Management," China-US Joint Workshop – Environmental Remediation and Watershed Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China, March 18-20, 2016.

Moore, L.W., "Theory and Design of Aeration Systems," China-US Joint Workshop – Environmental Remediation and Watershed Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China, March 18-20, 2016.

Moore, L.W., "Pollution Prevention in the Food Processing Industry," Twelfth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Covington, Kentucky, July 26-29, 2015.

Moore, L.W., "Heavy Metals Removal," Twelfth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Covington, Kentucky, July 26-29, 2015.

Moore, L.W., "Activated Sludge: Understanding the Process and Satisfying Oxygen Needs," 2015 Tribal Utility Summit, Rock Hill, North Carolina, April 8, 2015.

P. Shack and L.W. Moore, "Pretreatment Dynamics: Aligning the Control Authority's Perspective with the Industry's Perspective," 87th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, New Orleans, September, 2014.

Moore, L.W., "Pretreatment Case Study," North Carolina Pretreatment Consortium, Wilmington, North Carolina, September, 2014.
P. Shack and L.W. Moore, "Industrial Pretreatment Perspectives," Eleventh Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Louisville, Chattanooga, TN, July 20-23, 2014.

Moore, L.W., Keynote Speaker: "Impacts of Industrial Wastewater on POTWs," North Carolina Pretreatment Consortium, Ashville, North Carolina, September 23, 2013.

Moore, L.W., "Impacts of Industrial Wastewater on POTWs," Tenth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Louisville, Kentucky, July 14-17, 2013.

Moore, L.W., "Understanding Your POTW More Fully," Tenth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Louisville, Kentucky, July 14-17, 2013.

Moore, L.W., "Activated Sludge Fundamentals and Process Control," 56th Mississippi Water Environment Association Annual Meeting and Technical Conference, Olive Branch, Mississippi, July 11-14, 2012.

Moore, L.W. and A. Cannella, "Effluent Disinfection Challenges at the Moccasin Bend WWTP, Chattanooga," Ninth Water Professionals Conference, Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association, Memphis, Tennessee, July, 2012.

Current and Previous Students

Fereshteh Nourizonouz (M.S. – 2016)
Research topic: Use of Chemical Coagulation to Enhance Primary Clarifier Performance at the Maxson Wastewater Treatment Plant

David Hilgeman (M.S. – 2013)
Research topic: Chemical Treatment of Sludge Return Streams at the Maxson WWTP

Bjorn Carlsson (M.S. – 2013)
Research topic: A Statistical Analysis of the Beneficial Effects of Ferrous Chloride at the T.E. Maxson Treatment Plant

Parsa Pezeshk (M.S. – 2011)
Research topic: Pulp and Paper Wastewater Color Removal

Cheol Park (Ph.D. – 2007)
Research Topic: Upgrading Lagoons Using a Floating Rotating Biological Contactor

Opportunities for Prospective Students

Teaching and research assistant positions may be available. Dr. Moore welcomes inquiries from students interested in pursuing graduate study in Environmental Engineering at The University of Memphis.

Teaching

Courses Taught at the University of Memphis

• Environmental Systems Engineering (undergraduate)

• Physical-Chemical Treatment (undergraduate/graduate)

• Biological Wastewater Treatment (undergraduate/graduate)

• Water Treatment Plant Design (graduate)

• Wastewater Treatment Plant Design (graduate)

• Advanced Physical-Chemical Treatment (graduate)

• Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment (graduate)

• Industrial Wastewater Treatment (graduate)

• Water Quality Modeling of Streams (graduate)

• Solid Waste Management (graduate)

• Civil Engineering Design (undergraduate)

• Engineering Economy (undergraduate)

• Environmental Engineering Design (undergraduate/graduate)

Honors and Awards

• Superior Performance in University Research (1985)

• Superior Performance in University Research (1986)

• Superior Performance in University Research (1987)

• Superior Performance in University Research (1989)

• Civil Engineering Outstanding Research (1990)

• Kentucky-Tennessee Wastewater Hall of Fame (2009)

• Life Member of the Water Environment Federation (2016)