Domenico Grasso

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Dr. Domenico Grasso (b. 1955 Worcester, Massachusetts) is the Dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Vermont. He holds a B.Sc. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. from Purdue University and a Ph.D. from The University of Michigan. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Connecticut and Texas, and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.

Prior to joining UVM, Dr. Grasso was Rosemary Bradford Hewlett Professor and Founding Director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College [1], the first engineering program at a women’s college in the United States; and Professor and Head of Department in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He has been a Visiting Scholar at UC-Berkeley, a NATO Fellow, and an Invited Technical Expert to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna Austria.

He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Environmental Engineering Science [2], and has served as Associate Editor of Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, Vice-Chair of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board [3] and President of the Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors [4]. He was recently appointed by Vermont Governor James Douglas to Chair the Vermont Environment and Engineering Advisory Council. He has authored more than 100 technical papers & reports, including four chapters and two books. Federal, state and industrial organizations have supported his research work. He has served on advisory boards at Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, WPI, and the National Academy of Engineering.

In 1998, Professor Grasso served on a World Bank funded international team of scholars that established the first environmental engineering program in Argentina. In 2000, The Water Environment Federation named him a “Pioneer in Disinfection”. He recently chaired a U.S. Congressional briefing entitled “Genomes & Nanotechnology: The Future of Environmental Research”. Dr. Grasso was co-founder [5] along with Dr. Sally Ride, the first American women astronaut, of TOYChallenge, a national toy design challenge for 5th-8th graders to excite them about science, engineering, and the design process in a fun, creative, collaborative process, relevant to everyday life.

An environmental engineer who studies the ultimate fate of contaminants in the environment and develops new techniques to reduce the risks associated with these contaminants to human health or natural resources, Professor Grasso’s research focuses on molecular scale processes that underlie nature and behavior of contaminants in environmental systems. He views engineering as a bridge between science and humanity, making it particularly well suited for incorporation into a liberal arts universities. His classes, although technically rigorous, also explore the societal and philosophical issues facing engineers and scientists. He authored "Holistic Engineering" [6] an influential essay that helps better define engineering for the 21st century.

Domenico Grasso is married to Susan Hull Grasso, also an engineer. Together they have four children, Benjamin, Jacob, Elspeth, and Caitlín.