Namsoo S. Suk, Ph.D.

West Trenton, N.J. –  Namsoo S. Suk, Ph.D. has been named as the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Director of Science and Water Quality Management.  In his new position, Suk’s responsibilities include leading DRBC science and technical teams to: develop and apply hydrodynamic and water-quality models; conduct and coordinate monitoring and assessment activities; develop and update the Commission’s water-quality standards; and collaborate with the regulatory, stakeholder, and other scientific communities to meet the Commission’s clean and sustainable water goals.  


“Dr. Suk brings to his new position a wealth of extensive experience that will support the Commission’s water resource management and science programs,” said DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini.  


Suk joined the DRBC in 1998 as a water resource engineer/modeler and has held various positions of increasing responsibility with the Commission.  He earned his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., where he completed his dissertation on “Suspended Solids Flux Between Salt Marsh and Adjacent Bay: A Methodology for Long-Term Continuous Measurements.”  


Additionally, he earned his M.S. in Civil Engineering from Rutgers and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.  Since he has been with the DRBC, Suk has worked with Commission staff and external experts on: numerous water resource models; pollution waste load allocations; implementation of DRBC’s Water Quality and Special Protection Waters regulations; and collaborative implementation of the basin states’ and federal water quality regulations.  With more than a dozen publications to his credit, Suk regularly delivers technical presentations to academic and professional organizations in the region. 


Suk is replacing Thomas J. Fikslin, Ph.D., who has worked with DRBC since 1989, initially on assignment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as a member of the Commission’s staff since April 1993.  Fikslin is retiring at the end of the month after 43 years of environmental contributions to the country and region through his work at the Commission and the U.S. EPA.

The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources of the Delaware River Basin without regard to political boundaries.  The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government