Khalil H. Mancy, Ph.D.

1999 Snyder Award Recipient

The Walter F. Snyder Award is conferred each year upon a professional who upholds the strong ideals and commitment to environmental health subscribed by the award's namesake. In presenting Khalil H. Mancy, Ph.D., with the Snyder Award for 1999, we recognize an individual who has made major scientific contributions to improve environmental quality

Dr. Mancy earned a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Cairo, Egypt in 1952. Accepting the position of Chief Chemist at the Cairo Water Company, he continued his education earning a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Cairo in 1956. In the fall of 1957, he was accepted as a graduate student at the University of North Carolina and awarded a master of environmental sciences and engineering degree in 1959.

Dr. Mancy was the first Ph.D. student advised by Professor Daniel Okun at the University of North Carolina. "His work as a doctoral student was exemplary," states Dr. Okun. In 1961, Mancy's doctoral research resulted in the development and application of the Galvanic Cell Oxygen Analyzer, which gave environmental scientists the ability to instantaneously measure dissolved oxygen concentrations in water systems (quiescent or flowing). Revenue from his patented invention was used to improve the facilities of the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Department at the University.

While Dr. Mancy was an undergraduate student, Hillel Shuval (visiting professor of environmental sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel) became good friends with Mancy. "A brilliant young Egyptian born graduate student," stated Professor Shuval. "We promised that some day we would work together to promote improvement in the quality of the environment in the Middle East and to promote mutual understanding and peaceful cooperation on shared environmental problems between Egypt, Israel, the Palestinians, the Jordanians and the other nations of the area for the benefit of the peoples of the region."

For over a decade, Mancy was the principal investigator for collaborative projects between Arab and Israeli institutions. The studies included investigations on the environmental health and socioeconomic impacts of wastewater reuse in aquaculture and agriculture applications, seafood safety, environmental protection, and the joint management of groundwater resources shared by the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"I can now say that Professor Mancy's blessed initiatives have made the almost unrealistic dream - that idealistic hope for better environmental quality in the Middle East in the spirit of peaceful cooperation - into a reality," stated Professor Shuval.

"A remarkable achievement of Dr. Mancy was his ability to bring Israeli and Arab scientists and engineers to work together in mutually beneficial projects," writes another colleague and supporter. "He was successful in securing funds and coordinating research in Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories. The goal was the 'Promotion of Peace Through Scientific Cooperation."

Currently a professor of environmental chemistry and environmental health at the University of Michigan, Mancy has over forty years of experience, both nationally and internationally, including major projects dealing with environmental health management and pollution prevention. He designed and implemented the scientific study of major rivers such as the Danube, Nile, Parana, Odra and Vistula river systems.

He has expertise in a variety of environmental fields, including water resources and water quality management, pollution control technology, marine pollution prevention, environmental exposure and health risk assessment, environmental quality monitoring, toxic chemicals, and hazardous waste management.

Mancy's research at the University of Michigan resulted in the development of membrane electrode systems for in situ measurement of Ozone and Chlorine Dioxide gases. More recently, he developed biofilm electrodes for the detection of a variety of toxic chemicals and viruses in water. These developments were published in peer reviewed journals and have been widely applied.

For thirty years, Mancy has participated in activities of NSF International in the development of voluntary standards. In 1970, he was the principal investigator for NSF's five-year study of water quality changes in distribution systems. A mobile monitoring laboratory was developed, and water quality changes were monitored in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Mancy has published over 100 papers and reports, co-authored 11 books, and given numerous invited lectures and presentations. He has directed more than two dozen students in their doctoral dissertations, as well as advising scores of Master's students.

Dr. Mancy's endless hours of dedication have brought him well-earned recognition for his work. His long list of awards include: Distinguished Alumni Award, The University of North Carolina; Distinguished Achievement Award, Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt; Research Achievement Award, Korea Institute of Scientific Research; Scientific Achievement Award, Ministry of Health, Venezuela; and Distinguished Achievement awards from the Swiss-Romance Chemical Society and the Polish Academy of Science.

At present, Dr. Mancy is working to develop private sector institutions, styled after NSF International, in the Middle East. He believes that such third-party organizations will significantly strengthen the local economy, environmental quality, and public health.

So brief a summary as this, one can appreciate the measure of a man about whom a colleague wrote: "Not many people have achieved such important and socially worthwhile goals in their life time. His inspired initiatives and leadership have helped hundreds of Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian environmental quality experts learn to work together for a common environmental quality goal. As these environmental quality experts from different nations learned to work together on joint projects, they developed a spirit of mutual respect and mutual understanding, which helped their nations of the Middle East learn to live together and solve their shared problems of environmental quality in the spirit of peaceful cooperation. For these achievements alone, Professor Mancy is most deserving of the highest awards and recognition."

For these contributions and others accumulated over a span of forty years, NSF International and the National Environmental Health Association take great pleasure in honoring Khalil Hosny Mancy by presenting him with the 1999 Walter E Snyder Award for Achievement in Attaining Environmental Quality.