Dr. Smolen joined Lithochimeia, Inc. after his retirement from Oklahoma State University, where he served for approximately 20 years as Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and Water Quality Coordinator for the Division of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources. Dr. Smolen’s experience includes research and teaching in the area of water quality, watershed hydrology, watershed modeling, sediment and erosion control, and storm water management. He has conducted research on agricultural water quality, evaluating cropland and animal waste management practices and their water quality impacts. Dr. Smolen has worked as a consulting expert and an expert witness on several occasions in Oklahoma, giving depositions and testimony at trial.
Prior to coming to Oklahoma in 1990, Dr. Smolen worked in Virginia and North Carolina. As a graduate research assistant in the early 1970s he developed monitoring protocols for the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory in Northern Virginia. From 1975 to 1983 he established the agricultural water quality research program at Virginia Tech. From 1983 to 1990 at NC State University, he led the Water Quality Group and directed the National Water Quality Monitoring Program,which was jointly sponsored by the U.S. EPA and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. In this capacity he provided technical assistance and review to EPA and USDA in the management of 20 Rural Clean Water Program projects around the country. In 1987 he developed the initial EPA guidance for targeting 319 Nonpoint Source Projects. While at NC State University he developed the North Carolina Erosion and Sediment Control Planning and Design Manual and the North Carolina Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual, documents that are frequently referenced by EPA in their guidance for stormwater management. In Oklahoma he conducted research and educational programs on poultry waste application, agricultural nonpoint source, management of runoff from nurseries, and groundwater protection. In addition he has conducted short courses on stormwater management for engineers, managers, and developers.
Dr. Smolen holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech, a MS from University of Tennessee, and a BS from the University of Rochester. He has numerous publications on water quality, watershed management, stormwater management, and other areas of water resources. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in water quality and water resources.