During the Fall 2001 semester, two E&EM doctoral candidates, Teresa Pohlman and Abdulaziz Al-Buainain, successfully defended their doctoral research proposals before examining committees.
On August 27, 2001, Teresa defended her proposal regarding the development of a new paradigm to assist Department of Defense agencies in selecting optimal remedies under the Comprehensive Environmental Restoration, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). Teresa, a former Chief of the Environmental Division, United States Air Force, in Washington, D.C. is an acknowledged expert on that topic. In her position as Air Force Environmental Division Chief, which she recently left to pursue a Senior Executive Service development program, Teresa was responsible for worldwide Air Force policy, budget oversight, and execution of all aspects of environmental programs for the Air Force, including environmental cleanup, environmental compliance, pollution prevention, and the conservation of natural and cultural resources.
In her federal government service, which she entered in 1979, Teresa has served as the Central Region Program Manager on the Air Force Base Conversion Agency staff, where she was responsible for all aspects of base closure conversion and property disposal issues; as an Environmental Engineer at the Headquarters, Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Alexandria, Virginia, where she developed proposals, policies, and regulations pertaining to the Installation Restoration Program; and as theProject Manager for the Chemical Warfare Protective Dive Suit research and development project, where she served as the Navy's key liaison to organizations and agencies worldwide for hazardous waste and contaminated water and chemical warfare agent diving issues. Teresa also has served with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Kennedy Space Center), Rockwell International, Pacer Systems, Inc. and Columbia Research Corporation during her career to date.
Teresa is the recipient of the Air Force’s Civil Engineer Outstanding Senior Civilian Manager of the Year for 1998 and the Meritorious Civilian Award and the 1997 Air Staff Goethals Medal for Engineering Achievement. She is a fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Businesswomen's' Association and the National Association of Female Executives.
Abdulaziz Al-Buainain successfully defended his doctoral dissertation proposal in November 9, 2001. In his research, Aziz is focusing on the development of a new model to help improve the disposal of construction wastes in developing countries. Aziz, who is from Qatar, hopes that the results of his research will assist governments, contractors and other organizations with this important problem throughout the Middle East.
