This lecture will provide a distinct blend of theoretical and practical material on the global distribution of water, water quality indicators, surface/groundwater quality and pollution monitoring, and common water treatment processes and technologies. Such topics are relevant as the West—and many other parts of the world—face a historic drought, with water being a valuable resource and the impacts reverberating throughout local, regional, national, and international economies.

By presenting basic principles together with research-based applications and methods in the field of environmental chemistry, we will seek to comprehend water-related issues and their environmental and economic importance.

Grady Hanrahan is a Professor of Chemistry at California Lutheran University (CLU).
He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Analytical Chemistry from the University of Plymouth, England. With experience in directing undergraduate and graduate research, he has taught at California State University, Los Angeles, and CLU. His research interests span instrumentation design and development, chemometrics, computational neural networks, environmental analysis, and the use of swarm intelligence metaheuristics to model complex chemical and biological systems. He has written or co-written numerous peer-reviewed technical papers and is the author or editor of five books detailing the use of chemical separation methods and computational modeling techniques.

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.