Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor and UB graduate who helped uncover the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, will return to UB on Oct. 20 as part of the university’s Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water (RENEW) Distinguished Lecture Series.

Widely known as the “Hero of Flint,” Edwards will speak at 11 a.m. in the Student Union Theater, North Campus. Refreshments will be served at 10:30 a.m.; a fireside-style discussion will take place following the lecture from noon to 12:30 p.m.

The lecture is free and open to the public; those attending are asked to RSVP.

Edwards, who graduated from UB in 1986, is the Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech.

His team of scientists assisted Flint residents with an emergency research effort that uncovered high lead levels in the city’s drinking water after 18 months of exposure. The discovery led to state and local officials’ first public acknowledgement of the contamination.

Edwards also played a key role in uncovering a lead contamination crisis in water pipes in Washington, D.C., from 2001-04.

His work has led to new federal laws to protect the public from lead in water hazards. In 2004, Time magazine dubbed Edwards “The Plumbing Professor” and listed him among the four most important innovators in water from around the world.

In awarding him a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, the MacArthur Fellows Program noted: “A civil engineer, Marc Edwards is playing a vital role in ensuring the safety of drinking water and in exposing deteriorating water-delivery infrastructure in America’s largest cities.”

In 2016, he was named one of the most influential people in the world by both Fortune and Time.