2025 Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award
Lyman A. Ripperton (1921–1978) spent his career as a practitioner in education and research for air pollution control. He left the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District in 1958 to assume a teaching and research position in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he initiated an air pollution education program that developed into one of the foremost of its kind in the United States. The Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award is presented to an individual who has inspired students to achieve excellence in their professional and social endeavors. It recognizes the ability that only a few educators possess: to teach with rigor, humor, humility, and pride. Recipients of this award are educators we would have chosen as our teachers if we had a choice. They are known by the accomplishments of their students.
Dr. Mingming Lu is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, at the University of Cincinnati (UC). She has been a teacher, mentor, and researcher since 2001. Dr. Lu received a BS and a MS in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from George Institute of Technology. Dr. Lu’s research is in pollution characterization and waste upcycle. With training in air pollutant formation pathways from pyrolysis and oxidation processes, Dr. Lu characterized diesel and biodiesel emissions, the destruction of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) and PFAS (per/poly fluorinated alkyl substances), investigated waste upcycle through chemical recovery approaches, such as making biodiesel and biochar from waste feedstocks. Her research has been funded by the NSF, the US EPA, NIOSH, Ohio DOT, the Ohio BWC etc. Dr. Lu’s group has published over 180 journal papers and conference proceedings.
Dr. Lu has developed a passion in teaching, a passion in sustainability and a passion in student mentoring. She has taught 16 different courses from freshmen to graduate levels, and from lectures to laboratory, and study abroad. She constantly upgrades her courses to reflect current research and current events to better serve the students. Dr. Lu has mentored 37 PhD and MS students through research, together with 38 undergraduate students. More than 60% of these students are female or from underrepresented groups. She also mentored 20 teachers K7-12 to enrich their STEM curriculum with the example of making biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
Dr. Lu has been an active member of A&WMA for more than 20 years. She is currently the chair of the Sustainability and Resource Conservation Division and a member of the EAC committee. She served various roles in A&WMA including TCC Chair, Chair of the EAC committee (2013-16), and session chairs in multiple ACEs.
As the faculty advisor of the Univ. of Cincinnati’s student chapter of A&WMA, Dr. Lu is highly motivated to connect her students with the rich professional resources of her organization. She invites professional members to speaker to her students, encourages students to publish their work with the Journal and EM, and fundraises for them to attend ACE to present and network. During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Dr. Lu helped put together a team of graduate and undergraduate students for the Environmental Challenge International (ECi) competition. Team B.E.S.T. (Bearcat Environmental Solutions Team) has a winning record in ECi so far: second place in 2020, first place in 2021, second place in 2022, and third place in 2024.
Dr. Lu received the American Chemical Society’s CEI (Committee on Environmental Improvement) Award for Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education in 2013. She received the CEAS (UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science) Master Educator Award 3 times. The first time was in 2015 for mentoring an interdisciplinary student commercialization team to make biodiesel from waste feedstocks. The second time was in 2021 for implementing COVID-19 into the curriculum and mentoring the ECi team that won the first place, and the third time in 2023 for teaching a sustainability class that won the UC Forward Faculty Award for Collaborative Experiential Learning.
Dr. Lu is deeply indebted to A&WMA for its strong support for students, for the generous awards and many opportunities to develop their professional skills. She is very grateful to be part of such a great organization that offers rich professional resources she can tap into as an educator.
Mingming Lu
