Ian Ross, Ph.D.

Ian Ross, one of the world’s most accom­plished PFAS experts, serves as the global PFAS practice leader at CDM Smith. For three decades, Ian has specialized in the delivery of management strategies and treatment approaches for multiple xenobiotics . With a strong technical background, he focuses on developing cost-effective solutions for conven­tional and emerging cont­a­m­i­nants.

Ian is just as passionate about solving cont­a­m­i­na­tion issues today as he was when he started his scientific explo­rations on the shores of Wales in 1992. “I was throwing cont­a­m­i­nated soil in flasks to see if bacteria could be isolated as they had adapted to biodegrade anthro­pogenic  chemicals,” Ian says of his early years. 

Since then, he has published more than 100 articles, book chapters, conference posters, guidance documents and peer-reviewed journal articles, many of which include ground­break­ing research into PFAS. He began researching and designing PFAS treatment solutions as early as 2005, first encoun­ter­ing these chemicals when a major fire tore through an oil storage facility in Hert­ford­shire, England. It was then that he realized these extremely persistent chemicals would be widely distributed in water bodies as they were present in fire­fight­ing foams.

“One thing you can say about PFAS is that they’re not going away,” he says. “I don’t see the concerns over PFAS slowing down.” 

Ian helps ensure that CDM Smith performs at the leading edge when developing risk management strategies and remediation for the assessment and restoration of cont­a­m­i­nated sites. He has established treata­bil­ity and research and development facilities and worked with academic insti­tu­tions to supervise multiple research projects. He has inter­na­tional experience with cont­a­m­i­nated management projects in multiple regulatory settings from working across Europe, US, Canada, China, the Middle East, South Africa and Australia. As a result of these activities, he has won several national / inter­na­tional innovation awards for cont­a­m­i­nated site management.