RICHARD R. PARIZEK - HYDROGEOLOGIST SERVING SOCIETY

Richard R. Parizek has brought his hydrogeologic expertise to bear on dozens of problems at the local, national, and international levels. He has served as an educator and an advisor to students, citizens, and nations. Dr. Parizek’s involvement in nuclear issues began with Project Ketch, a part of the Plowshares initiative. He served on the Waste Isolation Systems Panel, studying host lithologies for radioactive waste isolation including bedded salt, domal salt, basalt, and tuff. He participated in investigations at West Valley, New York, Chernobyl, and the Savannah River Site. In 1997 President Clinton appointed him to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, a federal agency created by Congress to provide independent scientific and technical oversight of Department of Energy activities associated with isolation of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Dr. Parizek’s hydrogeologic studies extend far beyond the nuclear arena. He served on a panel of the International Joint Great Lakes Commission that was among the first to systematically analyze the impacts of non-point source pollution. With Larry Lattman, he developed the fracture trace technique for locating water resources, a method that has been applied widely with great success. His modification of the suction lysimeter to allow for sampling deep unsaturated zone water has become standard. The Living Filter concept for land treatment of sewage effluent arose from his early recognition of the remediation potential of soil microbes. Acid mine drainage can be devastating to the environment, and Dr. Parizek investigated solutions to this problem using alkaline abatement, accompanied by studies of unsaturated zone flow, exothermic reactions and gas convection. He served as principal advisor to students who developed and used numerical models to investigate fundamental hydrogeologic processes including heat transport, solute transport, saltwater intrusion, glaciation, and multiphase flow in fractured unsaturated rocks. All the while he has served his local central Pennsylvania community through regular hydrogeologic field trips and other activities. Dr. Parizek’s scientific and educational endeavors demonstrate his belief that all humankind can benefit from hydrogeologic understanding and awareness.