WRITTEN BY JAMES M. SYMONS SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY

GORDON G. ROBECK, an internationally known expert in drinking water research and treatment, died on February 21, 1993. Gordon was born February 3, 1923, in Denver, Colorado. He earned a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1944 and an S.M. in sanitary engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950.

Gordon spent his entire professional career in public service, working for the federal government. He joined the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) in 1944 and remained there until 1974, rising to the rank of sanitary engineering director (navy captain). From 1970 to 1974 he was detailed from the PHS to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He resigned from the PHS in 1974 and joined the EPA, where he worked until retirement in 1985. When he retired, he was a member of the Senior Executive Service.

Gordon's major professional affiliation was the American Water Works Association (AWWA). He worked through the chairs of the Water Quality Division, becoming chairman of the division in 1970. He was then appointed the liaison member of the Technical and Professional Research Committee of the Water Quality Division and was its vice-chairman. Later (1986–1988) he was the liaison member of the Water Quality Division to the AWWA Research Foundation's Research Advisory Council. In addition, he served on many AWWA committees.