Heck, Howell

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Emeritus Faculty | College of Engineering and Science: Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering

hheck@fit.edu

Personal Overview

Expert Witness “Southern Waste Systems v. City of Delray Beach", 2004.

“Annual Report for Closed Palm Bay Landfill WACS #16607”, Palm Bay Engineering Department, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.

"Preliminary Contaminant Assessment Report for a Closed Palm Bay Landfill", Palm Bay, 1988.

Gasoline Station Contamination Assessment Reports:

-Roseland Service Center, Sebastian Florida, Jan. 1994.
-Crews Cloverleaf Ranch, Fellsmere Florida, Dec. 1993.
-Sir Speedy Printing, Melbourne Florida, Oct. 1993.
-Lykes Brothers, Okeechobee Florida, Oct. 1993.
-Lykes Lake Placid Grove, Lake Placid Florida Apr. 1993.
-The Schenck Company, Rockledge Florida, Apr. 1993.
-UNOCAL 76 Truckstop, Wildwood Florida, June 1993.
-711 Washburn Road, Melbourne Florida, Feb. 1993.
-Riomar Bay Yacht Club, Vero Beach Florida, Feb. 193.
-Scott Properties, Cocoa Florida, Jan. 1993.
-Magnum Properties, Cocoa Florida, Jan. 1993.
-Eau Gallie Yacht Club, Indian Harbor Beach, Oct. 1992.
-Wooten Properties, Cocoa Florida, Aug. 1992.
-UNOCAL 76 Truckstop, Durbin Florida, Aug. 1992.
-60 Minute Cleaners, Vero Beach Florida, Aug. 1992.

Educational Background

B.S., Engineering University of Central Florida 1975
M.S., Environmental Engineering University of Arkansas 1979
Ph.D., Environmental Engineering University of Arkansas 1984

Professional Experience

1994-1998 Program Chairman, Civil Engineering Program, Florida Institute of Technology.

1992-1994 Consultant. Dr. Heck prepared CARÂ’s for petroleum contaminated sites.

1985-1996 Heck and Farnsworth Consulting Engineers. Dr. Heck designed, permitted, and reviewed water and wastewater treatment plants.

1981-Present Assistant/Associate Professor Civil Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Heck currently conducts research and teaches courses in Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Heck is a registered professional engineer in the state of Florida. He has directed contaminate investigation at sites contaminated with petroleum products and hazardous waste and served as the technical expert on the Brevard County Medical Waste Task Force. Recently Dr. Heck and a graduate student received an award from ASME for outstanding solid waste research. In addition to his research, Dr. Heck also develops courses in hazardous waste management.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Belanger, T. V., Heck, H. H., and S. Krupa "Submarine Groundwater Discharge in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida: How Important is it?Estuaries, In review 2004.

Belanger, T. V., Heck, H. H., Sohn, M. L., and M. Morris, "Selected Sediment Analysis to Answer Lake Management Questions: A Case study for Lake Panasoffkee, Florida", Chemistry and Ecology, Volume II, pp. 229-254, 1995.

Korzun, E. A. and H. H. Heck, "Sources and Fates of Lead and Cadmium in Municipal Solid Waste - A Need for Further Research." The Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Volume 40, Number 9, September 1990.

Korzun, E. A., N. T. Stephens and H. H. Heck, "The Impact of Increased Recycle Rates on Markets for Recycled Paper, Plastic, Metals, Glass, and Rubber in Florida", The Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, December 1989

Thibodeaux, L. J., Parker D. G., and H. H. Heck, "Chemical Emissions from Surface Impoundment's", Environmental Progress, Volume 3, Number 2, pp. 73-78, May 1984.

Heck, Howell H and M. Jubran. "Pyrolysis and Gasification of Municipal Solid Waste." MSW Management. (accepted for publication).

T.V. Belanger, H. H. Heck, M. L. Sohn and M. Morris. "Selected Sediment Analysis to Answer Lake Management Questions: A Case Study for Lake Panasoffkee, Florida." Chemistry and Ecology. 2 (1995): 229-254

Proceedings

Tomadakis, M. M., Heck, H. H., Jubran, M. E., and K. Al-Harthi, Utilizing Phosphogypsum Waste Towards Hydrogen Fuel Production by Pressure Swing Adsorption Separation of a Biodegradation Gas Product, AIChE Spring National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 2004

Cochran, K. T. Townsen, D. Reinhart, and H. Heck, C&D Debris Recycling Market Capacity in Florida, 14 th Annual Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Composting Symposium, SWANA, Orlando Florida, February 2003

Heck, H. H., D. R. Reinhart, T. Townsend, S. Seibert, S. Medeiros, K. Cochran, and S. Chakrabarti, A Photogrammetric Methodology For Estimating Construction and Demolition Waste Composition, 2002 Joint CSCE/EWRI of ASCE International Conference on Environmental Engineering, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, July, 2002.

Heck, H. H., and I. Major, Estimation of Restaurant Solid Waste Generation Rates, 2002 Joint CSCE/EWRI of ASCE International Conference on Environmental Engineering, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, July, 2002

Jubran, M. E., Tomadakis, M. M., and H. H. Heck, Design of an Efficient Pressure Swing Adsorption Process for the Seperation of H2S from CO2 and CH4, Annual AIChE Meeting, Miami Beach, Florida, 1998

Belanger, T. V., H. H. Heck and C. Kennedy, "Factors Affecting the Dissolved Oxygen Dynamics in the Kissimmee River System", North American Lake Management Society, 14th. International Symposium, Orlando Florida, November 1994.

Heck, H. H. and S. Su, "Mosquito Control in Stormwater Retention/Detention Impoundment's by Improved Habitat Design and Maintenance: Environmental Factors Affecting Mosquito Generation. Sixty FirstAnnual Meeting, Florida Anti-Mosquito Association, April 1990.

Heck, H. H. and T. V. Belanger, "Aeration Testing Results in Mosquito Impoundment", Annual Florida Anti-Mosquito Conference, April 1989.

Heck, H. H. and T. V. Belanger, "Aeration Methods and Costs in Low Dissolved Oxygen Demand Systems", Workshop on Salt Marsh Management and Research, Vero Beach, Florida, October 1988.

Belanger, T. V., and H. H. Heck, "Aeration Method Investigations in a Mangrove Dominated Mosquito Control Impoundment". American Water Resources, Wilmington, North Carolina, May 1988.

Heck, H. H., D. G. Parker, and L. J. Thibodeaux, "Measurement of Volatile Chemical Emissions From Aerated Stabilization Basins", 1981 National Conference on Environmental Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia.

Thibodeaux, L. J., D. G. Parker, H. H. Heck, and R. L. Dickerson, "Quantifying Organic Emission Rate From Surface Impoundment's with Meteorological and Concentration Profile Measurements", 1981 Annual Meeting of the Institute of Chemical Engineers, New Orleans, LA.

Research

Dr. Heck's current funded research is concentrated on the utilization of landfill gas towards high-BTU methane and low-cost hydrogen fuel production. This research is funded by the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management.

Dr. Heck’s research activities are focused in two distinct areas, solid waste management and ground water seepage measurement. In the area of waste management, he has completed studies on the composition, energy content, disposal rates, and recycling rates of municipal solid waste. He is currently investigating construction, demolition, and renovation waste generation and composition. He has also conducted numerous assessments of contaminate fuel storage sites. In the area of seepage, he has investigated seepage rates in the Kissimmee River, the Calossahatchee River, and the Mosquito Lagoon.

He is currently investigating seepage rates in the Jensen Beach, Florida, area on the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon. The seepage rate measurements are then used in regional water budget models.