ASCE has honored Allen P. Davis, Ph.D., P.E., BC.WRE, F.ASCE, with the 2026 Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture for his extraordinary accomplishments in using fundamental scientific principles and current research findings to solve the most challenging environmental engineering problems.
Davis is one of the world’s foremost experts in water quality, examining interactions and fates of inorganic pollutants in natural and engineered aquatic systems. For nearly three decades, he has been investigating sources and treatment of pollutants in urban stormwater runoff with a focus on bioretention and related passive, nature-based technologies.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2022 University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and the 2010 A. James Clark School of Engineering Faculty Outstanding Research Award, recognizing exceptionally influential research accomplishments related to urban stormwater quality, its management, and the concept of low-impact development.
Davis also serves as the editor of ASCE’s Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment; chair of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine study on Improving the Next-Generation EPA Multi-Sector General Permit for Industrial Stormwater Discharges; is a National Research Council Committee Member for Review of EPA's Economic Analysis of Final Water Quality Standards for Nutrients for Lakes and Flowing Waters in Florida; was appointed by Governor of Maryland to the BayStat Program Scientific Advisory Panel; and is director of Maryland Water Resources Research Center, which directs federal appropriation for individual research.
He has authored or co-authored over 144 refereed publications, where his work is well-cited (over 15,000 citations).
The Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture is awarded to a distinguished environmental engineer whom the ASCE Executive Director will invite to deliver a lecture at a given meeting of the Society.
