Thomas Peter (Tom) Curtis

Department of Civil Engineering and Geosciences Cassie Building University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU Tel: (+44) 091 222 6690 (direct line) Fax: (+44) 091 222 6669 Email: Tom.Curtis@newcastle.ac.uk EDUCATION BSc (Hons) in Microbiology University of Leeds, UK (1983) M.Eng. Public Health Engineering University of Leeds, UK (1985) PhD, Public Health Engineering University of Leeds, UK (1991) APPOINTMENTS 2004- Present Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. 2001- 2004 Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. 1994 -2001 Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. 1991 -1993 Senior Scientific Officer, Department of Health. 1986 -1987 Hud-Hud Shand Construction, Aquaba, Jordan. 1983 -1985 Research Technician, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds. FIVE CLOSELY RELATED PUBLICATIONS Curtis, T.P. and Craine, N.G. (1998) The comparison of the bacterial diversity of activated sludge plants. Water Science and Technology 37, 71-78. Davenport, R.., Curtis, T.P., Goodfellow, M, Stainsby, F.M. and Bingley, M. (2000) The quantitative use of fluorescent in situ hybridization to examine relationships between mycolic acid-containing actinomycetes and foaming in activated sludge plants. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 66 11581166. Curtis, T.P., Sloan, W and Scannell, J.W. (2002) Estimating Prokaryotic Diversity and Its Limits PNAS 99 10494-10499 Coskunner, G., Ballinger, S., Davenport, R.J., Solera, R., Pickering, R., Head, I.M. and Curtis, T.P (2005) Agreement between theory and measurement in the quantification of ammonia oxidizing bacteria Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71 (10): 6325-6334 Sloan, W.T., Lunn, M., Woodcock, S. Head, I.M., Nee, S. and Curtis T.P. (2006) Quantifying the roles of immigration and chance in shaping prokaryote community structure http://wos.isiknowledge.com/?SID=X2hm7FfED1IAePAlknO&Func=Abstract&doc=1/1 Environmental Microbiology 8 (4): 732-740 FIVE OTHER SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS Miskin, IP, Gray, ND, Kornilova, O, Curtis TP and Head IM (2002) Occurrence and activity of Archea in activated sludge Environmental Microbiology 4 158-168

Rowan, A.K., Snape J.R. Fearnside, D., Curtis,,T.P., Barer, M.R., and Head, I.M. 2003 Composition and diversity of ammonia-oxidising bacterial communities in wastewater treatment reactors of different design treating identical wastewater. FEMS Microbial Ecology 43 195-206 Curtis TP, Head, IM, Graham, DW Ecological Theory: A bridge to the future Environmental Science and Technology 2003, 64A-70A Woodcock, S., Curtis, T. P., Head, I. M., Lunn, M. & Sloan, W. T. 2006 Taxaarea relationships for microbes: the unsampled and the unseen. Ecology Letters . 9, 805812. Curtis T.P., Woodcock, S., Lunn, M., Head, I.M., and Sloan, W.T., (2006)The extent of microbial diversity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 361 2023-2037 ACTIVITIES Tom Curtis is a UK Biology and Biotechnology Research Council research development fellow and the recent recipient of a Royal Academy of Engineering global research award. These personal awards support ambitious research 2 million pound research program funded by the EU and UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council which seeks to place the design and management of biological treatment systems, including microbial fuel cells, on a sound theoretical basis. He and his colleagues have developed a suite of technical, conceptual and mathematical tools for the characterization and prediction of the microbial composition of wastewater treatment plants. PRIZES 1991 - The Society for General Microbiologys Shell Prize for Microbial Ecology EDITORIAL BOARDS Water Research, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Nature Microbiology GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POST-GRADUATE RESEARCHERS (Last 4 years) Current Students:, , Stephen Woodcock, Rheanne Pickering, Mujalin Kumpugul, Andrew Goodhead, Sharon Velasquez, Beate Christensen Former students: (Last 4 years): Gulnur Coskuner, Hasfalina Che Man, Charlotte Weatherell, Paola Meynet Postdoctoral researchers- Current: Emma Bowen Russell Davenport, Angela Brown, Joana Baptista Postdoctoral researchers- (Last 4 years): Ian Miskin, Michael Milner COLLABORATORS (Last 4 Years) Sirajul Islam (ICCDR, Bangladesh), Bill Sloan (Glasgow University), Mary Lunn (Oxford University), Sean Nee (Edinburgh University), Pat Schloss (Wisconsin), Craig Criddle (Stanford), Brendan Bohannan (Oregon), Bruce Logan (Penn State), Duncan Mara (Leeds), Ian Head (Newcastle), Keith Scott (Newcastle University), Zaini Ujang (UTM Malaysia), Mike Manfield, (USW, Australia), Ian Head (Newcastle), David Graham (Newcastle and Kansas), Lise Ovreas (Bergen, Norway). GRADUATE ADVISORS MEng and PhD: Professor Duncan Mara

Learned Societies: International Water Association (associate editor, Water Research); Society for Applied Microbiology (former associate editor Journal of Applied Microbiology); Society for General Microbiology; American Society for Microbiology (Editorial Board Applied and Environmental Microbiology). Administrative achievements: HEFCE funded laboratory refit ( 1150, 000) Research Grants Obtained (PI unless stated otherwise) Research Councils Novel molecular approaches to understanding activated sludge wastewater treatment, EPSRC ROPA award 85,884, 1997-1999. Photochemical disinfection of water EPSRC 110,000 (PI, Paul Christensen; Department of Chemistry) 1996-1999. Microbial Diversity in Activated Sludge: basis for its variation and its relationship to design and operation. EPSRC and Shell and Severn-Trent , 220,000. 1997-2000 Microbial Diversity in Activated Sludge: EPSRC 19,839 2001 Deskilling Molecular Techniques for the Detection of Mycolata in Activated sludge 50,982 2000-2001 Use of Basic Theories in Ecology to improve Practice in Environmental Engineering EPSRC 48 000 2000 A tower reactor for the photochemical disinfection of water (EPSRC, 295 000) (PI, Paul Christensen; Department of Chemistry) 2001-2003 Confocal microscope for quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridisation (EPSRC, 215,000) (PI Prof T Page) Scale dependent modelling of community assembly in microbe populations 2002-2003 (NERC 60 000) W.T.Sloan, University of Glasgow Do Different Models of Prokaryote species abundance reflect freshwater quality 2003-2005 (NERC 160 000) BBSRC Research Development Fellowship, 2004-2007 (BBSRC 90,000) Enhancement of the biological treatment of contaminated waters by increasing microbial diversity 20032006 (BBSRC 230,000) EPSRC Platform Grant: General and Unifying Concepts for Wastewater Treatment Plant Design 20042008 (EPSRC 412,046)

Other Sources Cholera in Waste Stabilization Ponds, field site selection, 2000, University Research Committee, 1995-. The detection selective isolation and characterisation of actinomycetes associated with activated sludge plants. Severn Trent Water, 19,952 (with Mike Goodfellow, Department of Microbiology) 1995. An investigation of activated sludge diversity and community structure using rRNA technology, University Research Committee, 1995-1997, 34,500.

The rapid identification of foaming organisms in activated sludge. Severn Trent Water, 54,699 (with Mike Goodfellow, Department of Microbiology) 1995-1999. Are waste stabilization ponds barriers to, or reservoirs of, Cholera? How much V. cholerae is there in wastewater? ODA Health and Population Division, 238,302, 1997-2001. The ecology of mycolata in activated sludge, Severn Trent Water. 70,000 PI Paul Sallis. The biotreatment of nitrification and nitrification inhibition. Zeneca, Yorkshire Water 60,000, PI Ian Head How hard is the biomass working? Severn Trent Water 2004-2007 60 000 Microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment: Northumbrian Water/CASE: 2005-2008 90,000 Royal Academy of Engineering Global Research Fellow 2005-2006: 36000 ECOSERV, EU Marie Curie 2006-2009 1,400,000. PI Ian Head

Peer Reviewed Publications Oragui, J.I., Curtis, T.P., Silva, S.A. and Mara D.D. (1987) The removal of excreted bacteria and viruses from deep waste stabilization ponds. Water Science and Technology 12, 569-573. Curtis, T.P., Mara, D.D. and Silva, S.A. (1992) The influence of humic substances oxygen and pH on the effect of light on faecal coliforms in waste stabilization ponds, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 58, 1335-1343. Curtis, T.P., Mara, D.D. and Silva, S.A. (1992) The effect of sunlight on faecal coliforms in ponds: implications for research and design. Water Science and Technology 26, 1729-1738. Curtis, T.P., Mara, D.D., Dixo, N.G.H. and Silva, S.A. (1994) Light penetration in waste stabilization ponds. Water Research 28, 1031-1038. Younger, P.L., Curtis, T.P., Jarvis, A. and Pennell, R. (1997) Effective passive treatment of aluminiumrich acidic colliery spoil drainage using a compost wetland at Quaking Houses, County Durham, Journal of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management 11, 200-208. Goodfellow, M., Davenport, R., Stainsby, F.M. and Curtis, T.P. (1997) Actinomycete diversity in activated sludge plants, Journal of Industrial Microbiology 17, 268-280. Butterfield, I.M., Christensen, P.A., Curtis, T.P. and Gunlazuardi, J. (1997) Water Disinfection Using an Immobilised Titanium Dioxide Film in a Photochemical Reactor with Electric Field Enhancement, Water Research 31, 675-677. Goodfellow, M., Davenport, R., Stainsby, F.M., Curtis, T.P. and Upton, J. (1998) Activated sludge foaming, the extent of actinomycete diversity. Water Science and Technology 37, 511-519. Curtis, T.P. and Craine, N.G. (1998) The comparison of the bacterial diversity of activated sludge plants. Water Science and Technology 37, 71-78.

Baillinger, S.J., Head, I.M., Curtis, T.P. and Godley, A.R. (1998) Molecular microbial ecology of nitrification in an activated sludge process treating refinery wastewater. Water Science and Technology 37, 105-108. Davenport, R.J., Elliot, J.N., Curtis, T.P. and Upton, J. (1998) In situ detection of rhodococci associated with activated sludge foams. J. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 74, 1-8. Davenport, R.., Curtis, T.P., Goodfellow, M, Stainsby, F.M. and Bingley, M. (2000) The quantitative use of fluorescent in situ hybridization to examine relationships between mycolic acid-containing actinomycetes and foaming in activated sludge plants. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 66 11581166. Low, W.L., Chase, H.A., Milner, M.G. and Curtis, T.P. (2000) Uncoupled metabolism to reduce biomass production in activated sludge. Water Research 34 3204-3212 Harper J. C Christensen, P.A., Egerton T. A., ., Curtis T. P. Gunlazuardi J, The Effect of Catalyst Type on the Kinetics of the Photoelectrochemica Disinfection of Water Inoculated with E. coli (2001) Journal of Applied Electrochemistry', 31 623-628 Curtis TP, Walker G, Dowling GM, and Christensen PA (2002) Fate of Cryptosporidium oocysts in an immobilised titanium dioxide reactor with electric field enhancement. Water Research 36 2410-2413 Miskin, IP, Gray, ND, Kornilova, O, Curtis TP and Head IM (2002) Occurrence and activity of Archea in activated sludge Environmental Microbiology 4 158-168 Curtis, T.P., Sloan, W and Scannell, J.W. (2002) Estimating Prokaryotic Diversity and Its Limits PNAS 99 10494-10499 Ballinger, S.J., Curtis, TP, Godley, A.R. and Head I.M (2002) The effect of C/N ratio on ammonia oxidising bacteria community structure in a laboratory nitrification denitrification reactor Water Science and Technology 46 1-2 543-550 Rowan, A.K., Snape J.R. Fearnside, D., Curtis,,T.P., Barer, M.R., and Head, I.M. (2002) A comparison of the molecular ecology of autotrophic ammonia oxidising bacteria Water Science and Technology 46 1-2 319-322 Davenport, RJ and Curtis TP (2002) Are filamentous mycolata important in foaming? Water Science and Technology 46 1-2 529533 Coskunner, G and Curtis, TP Occurrence of nitrifying diversity in full scale activated sludge plants Journal of Applied Microbiology 93 431-437 Rowan, A.K., Snape J.R. Fearnside, D., Curtis,,T.P., Barer, M.R., and Head, I.M. 2003 Composition and diversity of ammonia-oxidising bacterial communities in wastewater treatment reactors of different design treating identical wastewater. FEMS Microbial Ecology 43 195-206 Curtis TP, Head, IM, Graham, DW Ecological Theory: A bridge to the future Environmental Science and Technology 2003, 64A-70A Weatherall, C.A. Elliott, D.J. Fallowfield, H.J. and Curtis, T.P. Theory based modelling of the algal concentration in waste stabilization ponds Water Science and Technology 48 (2): 219-226 2003 Brown R, Metcalfe AV. Curtis, TP (2002) Development of a low cost incubator for application in the field Waterlines 20 4 26-27.

Christensen PA, Curtis TP, Egerton TA, et al. (2003) Photoelectrocatalytic and photocatalytic disinfection of E-coli suspensions by titanium dioxide, Applied Catalysis B-environmental 41 (4): 371-386 Weatherell, C.A. Mara, D.D. Curtis T.P. (2005) Pro-poor sanitation technologies Geoforum in press Lunn, M., Sloan, W. T. & Curtis, T. P. Estimating Bacterial Diversity using Flat Clone Libraries and Sampling Concepts. Environmental Microbiology 6, 1081-1086 (2004). Curtis, T. P. & Sloan, W. T. Prokaryotic diversity and its limits: microbial community structure in nature and implications for microbial ecology. Current Opinion in Microbiology 7, 221-226 (2004).
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Ujang Z, Henze M, Curtis T, Schertenleib, R Beal, LL (2004) Environmental engineering education for developing countries: framework for the future Water Science and Technology 49 (8): 1-10 2004 McCarthy, AJ , Gray, ND,.Curtis, TP and.Head I M (2004) Response of the Soil Bacterial Community to Perturbation. The British Ecological Society Symposium Series. 44: In Press Curtis TP, Sloan WT (2005) Exploring microbial diversity - A vast below Science 309 (5739): 1331-1333 Curtis TP and Sloan WT Towards the design of diversity: stochastic models of community assembly in biological treatment systems. Accepted Water Science of Technology Akarsubasi AT, Ince O, Kirdar B, Oz NA, Orhon D, Curtis TP, Head IM, Ince BK (2005) Effect of wastewater composition on archaeal population diversity, Water Research 39 (8): 1576-1584

Coskunner, G., Ballinger, S., Davenport, R.J., Solera, R., Pickering, R., Head, I.M. and Curtis, T.P (2005) Agreement between theory and measurement in the quantification of ammonia oxidizing bacteria Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71 (10): 6325-6334 Rowan, A., Davenport, R.J., Curtis T.P. and Head, I.M Development of a rapid assay for determining the relative abundance of bacteria (2005) Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71 (12): 8481-8490 Sloan, W.T., Lunn, M., Woodcock, S. Head, I.M., Nee, S. and Curtis T.P. (2006) Quantifying the roles of immigration and chance in shaping prokaryote community structure Environmental Microbiology 8 (4): 732-740

Woodcock, S., Lunn, M., Head, I.M., and Curtis T.P. Sloan, W.T., Taxa-area relationships for microbes: the unsampled and the unseen. Ecology Letters In Press Curtis T.P., Woodcock, S., Lunn, M., Head, I.M., and Sloan, W.T., The extent of microbial diversity. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society In Press

Monographs and Book Chapters Curtis, T.P. (1992) A new approach for the incorporation of depth into waste stabilization pond design. IAWQ Specialist Group on Waste Stabilization Ponds, Newsletter No. 4. Curtis, T.P. and Mara, D.D. (1994) The Effect of Sunlight on Mechanisms for the Die-off of Faecal Coliforms in Waste Stabilization Ponds. ODA/Leeds University.

Younger, P.L., Curtis, T.P., Jarvis, A.P., and Pennell, R., 1997, Effective passive treatment of aluminium-rich, acidic colliery spoil drainage using a compost wetland at Quaking Houses, County Durham. In: Younger, P.L., (Editor), Minewater Treatment Using Wetlands. Proceedings of a National Conference held 5th September 1997, at the University of Newcastle, UK. Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, London. pp 181 - 189. Curtis, T.P. (1996) The fate of Vibrio cholerae in wastewater treatment plants. In: Ecology and the Ecology of Vibrio cholerae, Editors Drasar, B. and Forrest, B.D., Chapman and Hall, London. Curtis, T.P. (2003) Bacterial pathogen removal from wastewater treatment systems, in The Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology. Editors Mara, D and Horan, N. pages 477-490 Academic Press, London Weatherell, C.A and Curtis, T.P. (2005) The physical and chemical environment in Waste Stabilization Ponds Editor Shilton A, IWA London Curtis, T.P. and Mara DD (2005) Waste Stabilization Ponds in Wastewater Treatment in Developing Countries Editor Ujang, Z, IWA London