Volunteer Water Information Network |
Richard Preston Maas
Author of over 40 publications and 150 technical reports, Dr. Maas was a founder and co-director of UNC Asheville's Environmental Quality Institute (EQI), which has served government agencies, non-profit organizations and the private sector as a center for education, research and technical assistance on environmental issues for the past 18 years. As one of the nation's largest repositories of lead contamination data, EQI has ongoing projects concerning the water quality of Western North Carolina streams and lakes, arsenic exposure from pressure-treated lumber and mercury exposure from fish consumption. Dr. Maas served as a frequent consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Maas was beloved by his students, and his classes in air and water pollution control, alternative energy, and environmental management helped launch many of them into successful environmental science careers.
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Richard (Rick) Preston Maas PhD., 54, passed away peacefully from a blood disorder on Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 at Memorial Mission Hospital . Dr. Maas held a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bucknell University , a master's degree in chemistry from Western Carolina University , and a master's degree in public health and a doctorate in environmental chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill. He joined the UNC Asheville faculty in 1987 as an assistant professor, moving up through the ranks to become a full professor in the Department of Environmental Studies in 1998. Dr. Maas served as chair of the department from 1996-2002. 
Memorial donations may be made to Clean Water for North Carolina, 29 1/2 Page Ave., Asheville, 28801; the Clean Air Community Trust, P.O. Box 2824, Asheville, NC, 28802; or to the UNCA Foundation for the Richard P. Maas Scholarship Fund, CPO 1800, One University Heights, Asheville, NC, 28804.