Chris Baxter, Ph.D.
President, HYDRANNT Consulting Inc.
cwbaxter@hydrannt.com

Dr. Baxter has spent the past eight years developing and implementing ANN technologies in the drinking water treatment industry. He holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Environmental Science from Queen's University (Kingston, Canada) as well as M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Science from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada). Dr. Baxter is the principal author of the recently published American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) report, Artificial Intelligence Systems for Water Treatment Plant Optimization, which details the use of ANNs in process modeling, forecasting, and control. He also co-authored the first major industry report on ANN modeling, Process Modeling and Control of Enhanced Coagulation, also published by AwwaRF. These reports, as well as Dr. Baxter's extensive journal publications, conference proceeding publications, and book chapters constitute the most comprehensive body of knowledge of ANN applications in the water supply industry.

Dr. Baxter's experience with the ANN technology has led to the development of the following successful ANN models and applications, among others, for North American water utilities:

• Models for the removal of color by enhanced coagulation
• Models for particle removal through coagulation and filtration
• A system for pilot-scale data analysis for the coagulation and filtration processes
• Virtual laboratory and scenario analysis applications for particle and color removal
• Water demand forecasting tools
• Tools for the analysis of pilot-scale data
• Advanced data cleansing and data mining applications
• Operator training and decision verification modules
• Advanced process control systems for the coagulation process
• Risk analysis applications