The Remarkable (and Still Evolving) Career of Prof. Lou Theodore

Louis Theodore may be a retired professor, but he is anything but the retiring type. After a distinguished career teaching chemical engineering at Manhattan College and serving as director of the Graduate Program (primarily responsible for his program achieving a No. 2 national ranking) Lou has continued to lead an extraordinarily productive life as educator, scholar, author, basketball fan, coach, consultant mentor, grandfather—and most recently, inventor. At 87, he is hardly slowing down. In today’s episode, Lou describes a life story that started out in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen and took him to the top of a complex scientific field as an internationally recognized expert in environmental management. Lou has written 131 text and reference books, covering an expansive range of topics, including environment ethics, air pollution control equipment, nanotechnology, and most recently, a second edition of “Introduction to Environmental Management,” which he co-wrote with his wife, Mary. He currently serves as a part-time consultant to Theodore Tutorials, a firm specializing in providing training needs to industry, government and academia. Along the way, Lou has also maintained his lifelong passion for basketball, supporting youth leagues and publishing a decidedly non-technical book, “Basketball Coaching 101,” an eclectic compendium of personal stories, a short history of the game and a spray of tips and commentary from other coaches, player, writers and fans. (Not surprisingly, he’s working on a second edition of this book, too.) Lou’s life highlights the importance of keeping close social connection over the year, with colleagues, former students and basketball players—long-standing friendships as well as new ones. And as a testament to his enduing curiosity and creativity, Lou has just been awarded two U.S. patents relating to processes for obtaining drinking water from geothermal energy and the combustion of fossil fuels. There’s a growing shortage in potable water across the planet, and Lou is intent on joining the search for solutions.