University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering

Detlef R. U. Knappe

Detlef R. U. Knappe
Detlef R. U. Knappe (BS 89, MS 91, PhD 96)
Professor
North Carolina State University

CEEAA Distinguished Alumni Award, 2024

For fundamental and applied contributions related to source water protection by identifying contaminants through targeted and non-targeted analyses, and on the development of treatment approaches for the remediation of regulated and unregulated contaminants. Dr. Knappe is an internationally recognized leading scholar whose work on drinking water quality and treatment has had tremendous impact on public awareness and protection of public health. Dr. Knappe’s research on emerging contaminants, such as PFAS, has reached town councils, drinking water providers, regulators and the public. His work has been covered by a number of national and international news services. 

Biography

Detlef Knappe is the S. James Ellen Distinguished Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State University. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he joined the NC State faculty in 1996. Detlef’s research interests broadly encompass drinking water quality and treatment with the goal of reducing human exposure to organic contaminants. His research group has advanced fundamental understanding of activated carbon adsorption. Also, his work on the occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane has directly influenced state and national policy and led to substantial improvements in drinking water quality for more than a million North Carolinians. He is the Deputy Director of NC State’s Superfund Center “Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS” and is a member of NC State’s Center for Human Health and the Environment. He serves on the North Carolina Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board (jointly convened by the Departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Human Services) and as Associate Editor of AWWA Water Science. He is a recipient of the Borchardt-Glysson Water Treatment Innovation Prize and AWWA’s A.P. Black Research Award.