Prior to earning his doctorate, Dr. Coats spent 13 years working as a professional engineer designing municipal water and wastewater systems. Dr. Coats is a licensed professional engineer in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. At the UI, Dr. Coats has focused his efforts on advancing microbial processes for resource recovery from organic-rich waste streams, and on developing an enhanced understanding of microbial wastewater treatment processes. Dr. Coats’ research team also has conducted extensive research into the wastewater treatment process known as enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), with a particular emphasis on process optimization to reliably achieve better quality effluent.