Dr. Barbara C. Benson is a retired Assistant Professor and adjunct faculty at the University of Louisiana (UL) Lafayette. She is a recognized expert in automated bioreactor engineering design and modeling. Her research interests include environmental engineering for bio-fuel production and water quality maintenance. She has taught various environmental science and process technology courses including Hazardous Waste Management, Watershed Management, Coastal Sciences, Alternative Energy, Safety and Monitoring. In 2013 she developed an Associate Degree program in Energy and Chemical Process Technology in the Department of STEMs Transportation and Energy at South Louisiana Community College in Crowley. La. She acquired a Doctorate of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University (2003). Her dissertation was on the optimization of the light dynamics in the hydraulically integrated serial turbidostat algal reactor (HISTAR). She has produced over seventeen refereed publications on her research pertaining to reactor design, water quality and bio-fuels from algae. She received the “Superior Paper of the Year” award 2008 for the international journal “Aquaculture Engineering”. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Louisiana Engineering Society, Rotary and Phi Kappa Phi.