When Bruce E. Rittmann revisited Dishui Lake in Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area this April, the trip held special meaning — it marked 24 years of his deep collaboration with China's scientific and academic community.

A leading figure in global environmental engineering, Rittmann is a member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States and a Regents Professor at Arizona State University. His work focuses on microbial ecological regulation in sewage treatment and groundwater remediation. In 2018, he won the Stockholm Water Prize.

Flashback to 2005: As Lin-gang Special Area began to take shape, Rittmann, then newly appointed honorary professor at Tongji University, turned his attention to a critical challenge: restoration of the water quality of Dishui Lake, an artificial lake in the center of Lin-gang, and its surrounding rivers.

Two decades on, Rittmann's China ties run deeper. He has worked with nearly all of China's renowned universities and research institutions in the field of environmental studies. In 2024, he was granted the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. His breakthroughs, including a hydrogen-powered biofilm tech that purifies water while cutting carbon, now benefit the entire Yangtze River Delta region.

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