In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized clean water and sanitation as fundamental human rights. Water is necessary for survival, but untreated “raw” water carries disease-causing pathogens that can make us sick and kills more than 500,000 people annually.
It is in this high-stakes environment that Dr. Samuel Hodges, a professor in CBU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, does his research, which was recently featured in the Nov. 22, 2024, issue of Science, one of the world’s premier scientific journals.
After growing up watching his father’s work in construction, Hodges was drawn to the areas of engineering and physics and planned to focus on international development. As he considered the work, he identified a new interest.
“I felt confident that I could build a building that would not fall down,” said Hodges. “But I wasn’t confident that the water supply for that building would be safe enough to drink. That sent me in the direction of studying water and water quality.”
In the United States, recognized efforts to treat community drinking water began when chlorine was added to Jersey City’s water supply in 1908. Over the decade that followed, thousands of other communities adopted the practice. Deemed “one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century” by the CDC, water chlorination and treatment led to dramatic drops in illness and disease in the U.S.
Chlorine works because it kills bacteria and viruses present in the water, but its reaction with naturally occurring material in the water leaves behind disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
As a PhD student at the University of Arkansas, Hodges focused his research on DBPs and identifying different ways to sample drinking water—knowledge that would serve him well.
Beginning 40 years ago, concerns over the carcinogenicity of chlorination byproducts led many cities and towns to pivot to chloramination—treating drinking water with a chlorine and ammonia mix. While chloramination did not produce the same quantity of DBPs, there was one unknown molecule identified in the early 1980s that stumped researchers and engineers—until now.
As Hodges was working toward his doctorate, his advisor, Dr. Julian Fairey, had the opportunity to take a sabbatical in Switzerland to work to isolate the mystery molecule with chemists at ETH Zurich’s Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics.
Initially concerned that his advisor would be in a time zone that was seven hours ahead, Hodges embraced an opportunity to join a collaborative effort that led to the identification of chloronitramide anion, a potentially hazardous molecule that will be extensively studied for its toxicity. The discovery was featured in Science journal with Hodges as a co-author.
CBU congratulates Professor Hodges on this significant accomplishment and contribution to public safety.
“We are faced with so many things that can cause harm,” said Hodges, who identifies mentoring students as one of his favorite parts of his role at CBU. “Understanding what they are and where they come from is a starting point to eliminate dangers. When correctly understood, information can help us solve challenges and problems to make people’s lives better.”
Along with completing his doctorate at the University of Arkansas in 2023, Hodges earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. His office is in the Nolan Engineering Center.
