Andrew Ernest

PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION 
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, December 1991. Dissertation title: Mathematical Model of Particle Mediated Transport in Aquatic Systems, Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas) M.S. in Civil Engineering, May 1985. Specialization: Groundwater transport modeling and structural analysis, University of Southwestern Louisiana (Lafayette, Louisiana) B.S. in Civil Engineering, May 1984. Emphasis: Computational methods in structural analysis and bridge design, University of Southwestern Louisiana (Lafayette, Louisiana)
APPOINTMENTS 
2016-Present Professor, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
(Edinburg, Texas) 2009-Present President and CEO, Open Environment, PLLC (Bowling Green, Kentucky) 1997-Present Partner, Ernest & Sons Civil and Environmental Engineering Consultants,
(Austin, Texas) 2016- 2018 Chair, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg,
Texas) 2012- 2016 Professor, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, and Director,
Environmental Institute, The University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) 2003- 2012 Associate Dean, Ogden College of Science and Engineering, and Director, Center
for Water Resource Studies, Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, Kentucky) 1991-2003 Various appointments: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor & Chair, 
Environmental Engineering; Founding Operations Director, Coastal Oilspill Simulation System; Founding Director, South Texas Environmental Institute; Founding Director, Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology: Research on Sustainability of Semi-Arid Coastal Areas; Texas A&M University – Kingsville
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS 
  • Professional Engineer. Texas (#83476) and Kentucky (#24824)
  • Board Certified Environmental Engineer. American Academy of Environmental Engineers, (#02-20050).
  • Diplomate, Water Resource Engineer. American Academy of Water Resource Engineers.
PRODUCTS 
Relevant Products
Ernest, A. N. S., “Water Training Institute: A Path to a Sustainable Workforce”, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators 25th Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, 10/2010 Ernest, A. N. S., J. R. Fattic, N. -B. Chang, S. Chitrapu, and K. P. Davenport, “WRMT Case Study: GIS
With Rule Based System”, 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky, American Society for Engineering Education, 06/2010.
Ernest, A. N. S., “Water/Wastewater Technician Training Institute: A Model for Adoption and
Replication”, Association of Boards of Certification Annual Conference, Jacksonville, Florida, Association of Boards of Certification, 01/2010. Ernest, A. N. S., J. R. Fattic, J. Kays, A. Cranford, C. Wade, and K. Andrew, “Water/Wastewater
Technician Training Institute: The First Year Retrospective”, WEFTEC 2009, Orlando, Florida, Water Environment Federation, pp. 7787-7801, 01/2009. Ernest, A. N. S., J. R. Fattic, and S. Reid, “An Integrated Systemic Approach to Developing a
Professional Water and Wastewater Workforce”, 2008 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition: American Society for Engineering Education, 22/06/2008
Other Significant
Chang, N. -B., N. P. Pongsanone, and A. N. S. Ernest, “A rule-based decision support system for sensor deployment in small drinking water networks”, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 29-30, pp. 28 -37, 7/2012. Chang, N. -B., N. Prapinpongsanone, and A. N. S. Ernest, “Optimal Sensor Deployment in a Large-scale Complex Drinking Water Network: Comparisons between a Rule-based Decision Support System and Optimization Models”, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 4/2012. Ernest, A. N. S., J. R. Fattic, and G. Xing, “A Decision Support System for Managing Water Distribution
Systems Decontamination”, Water Security Conference 2011, Nashville, Tennessee, American Water Works Association, 09/2011. Chang, N. -B., N. P. Pongsanone, and A. N. S. Ernest, “Comparisons between a rule-based expert system and optimization models for sensor deployment in a small drinking water network”, Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 38, issue 8, pp. 10685 -10695, 8/2011. Ernest, A. N. S., J. R. Fattic, N. -B. Chang, S. Chitrapu, and K. P. Davenport, “WRMT Case Study: GIS
With Rule Based System”, 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky, American Society for Engineering Education, 06/2010.
SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES 
Commissioner, Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission, appointed by Governor Ernie Fletcher, 26
July 2005. Board Member, Kentucky Board of Certification of Wastewater System Operators, 22 September 2005; Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 2002-2005 Member Steering Committee, Kentucky Division of Waters Capacity Development Member Steering Committee, Kentucky Watershed Member Advisory Committee, Mammoth Cave International Biosphere Reserve.