International Desalination Association recognises his 'extensive contributions' The International Desalination Association (IDA) has presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Jim Birkett in recognition of his extensive contributions in the fields of desalination and water reuse. The award was conferred at the IDA World Congress 2013 in Tianjin, China. Widely considered one of the desalination industry's most respected professionals, Dr Birkett has more than four decades of experience in the study of desalination, advanced water treatment, and membrane separation industries and technologies. He was the first elected president of IDA. He later served as treasurer and was a director for many years. From 2009-2013, he served as chairman of the editorial boards for the IDA Journal of Desalination and Water Reuse.
Dr Birkett has also served on the editorial boards of numerous other desalination publications and was a contributing editor to the Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources. IDA's de facto historian, Dr Birkett began his career at the international consulting firm Arthur D. Little, Inc. (ADL) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and for 26 years, worked with ADL's foreign and domestic, industrial and government clients. In 1988, he left ADL to establish his own firm, West Neck Strategies, in Nobleboro, Maine, USA. He continues to consult, lecture and publish widely in his fields of interest. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, where he earned his BA, and Yale University, from which he received his MS and PhD degrees in physical chemistry.
The International Desalination Association is a non-profit association that serves more than 2,400 core members in 60 countries and reaches an additional 4,000 affiliate members. Its membership comprises scientists, end-users, engineers, consultants and researchers from governments, corporations and academia. The IDA is associated with the United Nations as part of a growing international network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
