Okun joined the ESE faculty in 1952 and chaired the department from 1955 to 1973. In 1973, he received the University's highest faculty tribute, The Thomas Jefferson Award, and was made a Kenan Distinguished Professor, a post he held until he retired in 1982.

 

"I am honored to hold the professorship that honors Dr. Okun," Miller said. "Dan was a man of passion for his causes; he had many. One of them was his continuing insistence that engineering be recognized as a strong focus within the department.  I feel certain Dan would have thought of the professorship as reminding people that we are one of the top-rated environmental engineering programs in the world and uniquely positioned within a school, not of engineering, but of public health."

 

Rimer, who called Miller "a major force in critically important areas of environmental engineering," noted that he has been prolific in publication, grant productivity, student mentoring and professional service. "Fate and transport of materials, including contaminants, in groundwater, one of his research interests, is of compelling significance in North Carolina and around the world," Rimer said. "His use of modeling to understand complex systems has been fundamental in understanding multidimensional environmental problems. I am confident that Dan Okun would have been very pleased for Casey Miller to bear his named chair."

 

Miller received Master of Science and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan. He joined the UNC faculty in 1985 after more than a decade of working as an engineer in private industry, and served as ESE department chair from 1999-2005. An editor of the journal Advances in Water Resources since 1997, Miller has served as consultant to industry, professional firms and private groups.

 

"Casey is a highly regarded researcher who has made contributions in theoretical, computational and experimental approaches to environmental engineering problems," said Michael Aitken, PhD, chair of the UNC environmental sciences and engineering department. "The Okun Distinguished Professorship is a well-deserved recognition of his accomplishments."