40, Irvine ... Professor in UC...

40, Irvine ... Professor in UC Irvine’s Samueli School of

Engineering ... Has led the scientific inquiry into causes of

bacterial outbreaks off Newport Beach and Huntington Beach ...

Studied pollution in the Santa Ana River during a $5.1-million study

during the summer of 2001 that was funded by the Orange County

Sanitation District ... First to theorize that the sanitation

district’s wastewater plume was causing contamination in the surf

zone, but recently backed off that stance ... Initially called the

so-called outfall pipe “the smoking gun” ... Has received a series of

high-profile research grants to study water-quality in the Back Bay,

Newport Harbor and other local waterways ... Graduated from Caltech

... Wife, Lisa, and two children ... Unranked last year