Leon Awerbuch
IDA Director, Chairman of IDA Technical Programs Committee

Biography

Leon Awerbuch has been involved in the desalination industry for more than 35 years. He joined Bechtel Group in 1972 in R&D followed by increased responsibilities for power and water programs as International Bechtel Co. Ltd Vice President and Senior Regional Representative for the Middle East. During his 35-year career with Bechtel, he was in charge of desalination programs involved in R&D, design and engineering as well as EPC of desalination and power projects.

Currently involved in providing technical and commercial consultancy to number of leading suppliers and utilities covering Reverse Osmosis and Thermal Desalination and Power Projects as well as assessment of new desalination technologies.

He is currently Board member of Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance (GCWDA) and advisor to MASDAR renewable desalination program, evaluator of solar-desalination proposals of U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

As a developer of LET Integrated Upgrading Systems using Nanofiltration membrane softening technology, he was granted numerous patents covering the MED-MSF-RO-NF Integrated Hybrid Technologies. Other patents cover Geothermal Energy and Flue Gas Desulphurization.

Mr. Awerbuch was one of the early pioneers in Hybrid Power-Desalination concepts, Desalination Aquifer Storage and Recovery (DASR) and Hybrid MSF-MED. The patented Integrated Hybrid MSF-NF project won the 2007 Global Water Intelligence Award for Innovation. Mr. Awerbuch also won the first prize for Innovation conferred by the Saudi Water and Electricity Forum in 2007. Based on his patents, LET was a first prize winner of Innovative Use / Application of Technology awarded by inaugural H20 Water Awards 2010 celebrating the outstanding achievements of individuals and organizations who contributed to the advancement of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region’s water industry.

Mr. Awerbuch is a Past President of IDA and was Chairman of six IDA World Congresses. He currently serves as a Director of the Association and has been a Chairman of IDA’s Technical Programs for the past 20 years.

Mr. Awerbuch holds 28 patents and has published over 90 technical papers. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from IDA at the 2007 World Congress in Grand Canarias and Life Achievement at the Inaugural Power Generation and Water Solutions Middle East Awards October 2009. In January 2015 Leon Awerbuch was voted one of Water & Wastewater International’s top 25 industry leaders.