Andrew J Whelton

Andrew J Whelton is a Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University's College of Engineering, with concurrent appointments in Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering. He serves as Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Lead for the Center for Plumbing Safety, focusing on water quality, chemical contamination, and public health in building plumbing systems.

• Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering
• Professor, Sustainability Engineering
• Professor, Environmental Engineering
• Director, Healthy Plumbing Consortium
• Lead, Center for Plumbing Safety

His research spans environmental engineering and public health, with key themes including chemical contamination from plastic pipe degradation, post-disaster water system recovery, wildfire-related water quality impacts, and microbial risks in premise plumbing. Recent work addresses crises like the East Palestine chemical spill and Maui wildfires, while also developing predictive models for water quality and evaluating sustainable infrastructure materials.

Scientific awards and recognitions include:

• Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Grants from NSF for disaster-related studies
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) support for building water quality programs
• Leadership in interdisciplinary consortia focused on plumbing safety
• Development of novel tools for water quality monitoring and remediation

His publications reveal trends in:

• Chemical leaching from plastic piping materials
• Environmental justice in water contamination crises
• Integration of machine learning for water quality prediction
• Microbial ecology in stagnant plumbing systems
• Policy recommendations for disaster response
• Sustainable material innovation for infrastructure