James L. Barnard, Ph.D., Pr.Eng., BCEE, is the inventor of the Bardenpho, MLE and Phoredox (aka AO and A2O) processes, brought the BNR technology to Northern America, has more than 50 years experience in the field. He has been involved in the design of more than 140 BNR plants across the world. He has been with Black & Veatch for the last 23 years and works from Kansas City MO.

Leon S. Downing, Ph.D., P.E. is a Principal Process Engineer and Innovation Leader with Black & Veatch from Madison, Wisconsin. Downing provides technology leadership in support of Black & Veatch process engineering and applied research projects globally. Dr. Downing has spent the last 15 years working with process and operational changes focused on energy efficiency, nutrient removal, and resource recovery. He is currently serving as the Principal Investigator for Water Research Project 4975, which focuses on developing practical considerations for fermentative enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Dr. Downing is also a co-Principal Investigator on Water Research Project 5083, where low energy biological nutrient removal process are being investigated. Between these two research projects, design guidelines for the next generation of biological nutrient removal facilities will be developed for the industry.