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H ARV EY F. L U D W IG
1916–2010
Elected in 1969
“For advances in environmental engineering research and
development in water and waste-processing methods.”
BY DANIEL GUNARATNAM
SUBMITTED BY THE HOME SECRETARY
HARVEY F. LUDWIG had a “presence” as a personality and
an engineer. He was born in 1916 in Canada and grew up in
Los Angeles (1920–1936).
Many outstanding engineers and scientists have shaped the
environmental engineering field since its inception. Harvey
F. Ludwig was a legend. His 70-year career of continuing
contributions and leadership helped shape the modern
practice of environmental engineering. Dr. Ludwig obtained
his B.S. degree in 1938 in civil and sanitary engineering from
the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.S. in 1941.
During World War II he was a commissioned officer of the
U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS).
In 1946 he started a consulting practice and in 1949 became
an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1951 he became assistant chief engineer of the USPHS
(under Dr. Mark Hollis). In this position he presided over
the development of institutions (i.e., laws, federal agencies,
programs) that were the foundations for what emerged in
final form in the 1970s (and have continued to evolve). At the
same time, Dr. Ludwig oversaw research funding at various
universities across the country that fueled research and
graduate programs which led to a “flowering” of the field that
has continued.
163
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164 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
In 1956, Dr. Ludwig resigned from the USPHS and started
Engineering-Science, Inc. (ES). His modus operandi was to hire
mostly M.S. and Ph.D. students recruited from his network
of academic colleagues who would adapt their research
knowledge into practice. At that time, hiring engineers
with graduate degrees was more unusual than common.
ES expanded rapidly with offices in key cities in the United
States, including a research laboratory and office in Oakland
(1956), later in Washington, D.C. (c. 1966), headed by his
longtime USPHS associate Gordon MacCallum, and then in
Austin, Texas, started by Dr. Davis Ford (1968). The firm grew
rapidly with important projects throughout the country, and it
started to develop an international clientele. Dr. Ludwig was
by this time (1969) a legend in environmental engineering.
In the same time, the field was experiencing a golden age—
research was advancing knowledge, graduate programs were
spreading, the practice was flourishing, and the public had
adopted a widespread environmental ethos that was being
translated by politicians into laws and policy. At that time,
ES was, arguably, at the crest of this movement. It was one
of the most visible firms in the field and at the forefront of
innovation. This was due not only to Dr. Ludwig individually
but also to the way he had structured the firm with both
depth and breadth of expertise and leadership. In addition,
Dr. Ludwig had extensive involvement with professors from
throughout the country.
ES was actually, though, part of a larger corporate structure.
One entity was a construction company that had financial
difficulty. The “way out” was a buyout offer in 1968 by Zurn
Industries of Erie, Pennsylvania. The new corporate structure
did not work out, and Dr. Ludwig left the firm in 1972 to set
up his own consulting practice in Washington, D.C. ES was
later purchased by its employees and remained prominent in
the field through 2004, when its identity was assimilated fully
by Parsons, an international construction company.
In 1973, Dr. Ludwig’s private practice led him to Bangkok
where he started a new firm, Seatec International, which has
influenced environmental engineering throughout Southeast
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H ARV EY F. L U D W IG 165
Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and the
Philippines), China, South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka), South Korea, and Taiwan. While there he championed
the case for adapting environmental standards and designs to
match the socioeconomic context of developing countries—as
opposed to imposing the design approaches of industrialized
countries. He worked with multilateral banks (the World Bank
and the Asian Development Bank), and bilateral institutions,
such as the U.S. Agency for International Development
and others. He proceeded to revise their procedures to fit
appropriate environmental standards that were more workable
in developing countries. His contribution to the Asian
Development Bank to prepare guidelines for environmental
impact assessments for all sectors of projects was simply
outstanding. In his final years he championed the integration
of environmental issues into all economic development to
ensure that environmental issues were mainstreamed into
economic plans.
Dr. Ludwig was a mentor to countless practicing engineers
in both the United States and Asia. He was known for his
high standards in writing, in professional practice, and in
getting a job done. To quote Professor Donald Anderson, in
1965, when he headed the Oakland office of ES, “When you
work for Harvey Ludwig. . . ,” much was expected. He was
instrumental in founding what is now the American Academy
of Environmental Engineers (a certifying organization) in
1956 and sponsoring the founding of the Association of
Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)
in 1963. In 1966 his firm ES initiated the sponsoring of a “best
thesis” cash award within AEESP. Dr. Ludwig’s rationale was
that the significant cash ($1,000 at that time) added prestige
to the award. The award has continued under the auspices
of other firms, with inclusion of both master’s and doctoral
theses.
As of 2008, Dr. Ludwig had some 358 publications, ranging
from research on coagulation (1941) to strategies for saving
the forests in Southeast Asia (2005). In addition, he wrote
eight textbooks on environmental engineering. Four of his
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166 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
papers won awards: the American Water Works Association
John M. Goodell Award, with W. F. Langelier, in 1942; the
Water Environment Federation’s Harrison Prescott Eddy
Medal in 1954; and the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE) Rudolph Hering Medal in 1955. Personal achievement
awards included an honorary doctoral degree from Clemson
University in 1965; election to the National Academy of
Engineering in 1969, shortly after its founding; the AEESP’s
Founder’s Award; the American Academy of Environmental
Engineers (AAEE) Honorary Member Award in 1999; the
University of California College of Engineering Alumnus of the
Year Award in 1999; the AEESP/AAEE Special Joint Award in
2005 for services as a principal founder of both organizations
at Clarkson University; and various other awards in Bangkok
and Southeast Asia.
As implied, the passing of Harvey Ludwig leaves a void
in the profession and in his family, which included his wife,
Vanida, and four daughters, a son, five grandchildren, and
two great-grandchildren. Harvey was a wonderful husband
and a good father to his children. He continued to disseminate
his frequent e-mails (to over 60 friends, family members, and
colleagues) to within a few weeks of his passing on April
24, 2010. He had opinions on every issue, including global
warming, economic crises, education, the European Union,
graft and what to do about it, appropriate technologies,
environmental standards for developing countries, and more.
He tried to advance the issue of appropriate technologies for
developing countries at every opportunity, including writing
textbooks on the topic. Harvey as a personality and as an
engineer was not only a legend but also an institution whose
influence continues.
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