Honorary Council
President and Chief Technology Officer of Leading Edge Technologies Ltd. (LET), Leon Awerbuch has been involved in the desalination industry for more than 40 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 theMiddle 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.
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 was elected to the Board of NWSIA at Conference in Key Largo, Florida 1975, and was elected Vice President and Director of NWSIA, WSIA and ADA, predecessors of AMTA. He was Past Chairman of Legislative and Government Relation Committee WSIA. He is co-author of the IDRA Constitution adopted at the merger of IDEA and NWSIA. Other professional recognition includes a Presidential Citation – NWSIA for Outstanding Service (1981), The American Desalting Association – Distinguished Service Award (1991-1993) and ADA Presidential Award – Distinguished Service Award (1996).
Mr. Awerbuch served as IDRA President from 1989-1991. Chairman of six IDRA World Congresses, he currently serves as a Director of the Association and was a Chairman of IDRA’s Technical Programs for 22 years. As such, he has organized and chaired over 40 conferences, forums, seminars and workshops around the world. He was co-chair of IDRA’s Energy and Environmental Task Force and serves as Dean of IDRA Desalination Academy.
Mr. Awerbuch received the Life Recognition Award from IDRA at the 2007 World Congress in Grand Canarias and the award for Life Achievement at the Inaugural Power Generation and Water Solutions Middle East Awards in October 2009. He holds 28 patents and has published over 90 technical papers. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the IDRA Journal on Desalination and Water Reuse, Desalination and Water Reuse (D&WR) Quarterly and Desalination & Water Treatment Science and Engineering Journal. He is also a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Middle East Research Center (MEDRC).
Mr. Awerbuch received a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from Warsaw Technical University. He has also undertaken Graduate Study toward PhD, Chemical Engineering, Warsaw Technical University and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York.