Suthan Suthersan (10 June 1956 – 20 February 2017) was an

environmental engineer Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that encompasses broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and a ...

; he served as the chief technical officer and executive vice president of

Arcadis Arcadis NV is a global design, engineering and management consulting company based in the Zuidas, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It currently operates in excess of 350 offices across 40 countries. The company is a member of the Next 150 index. Arcadis ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

.(Acknowledgements)

Early life

Dr. Suthersan had his childhood education at the rural schools of Sri Lanka in Mankulam,

Kodikamam Kodikamam is a small town in the Jaffna peninsula of Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka The Northern Province ( ta, வட மாகாணம் ''Vaṭa Mākāṇam''; si, උතුරු පළාත ''Uturu Paḷāta'') is one ...

Valaichenai Valaichchenai ( ta, வாழைச்சேனை ''Valaichchenai''; si, වාලසේන / වාලච්චේන ''waalasena / Valaichchena'') is a town in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It could also be spelled as Valaichenai or Vala ...

, Wattegama and

Pesalai Pesalai ( ta, பேசாலை) is one of the well developed village in Mannar District and having a great culture in it and it's situated in the north-west of the island of Mannar in the Mannar District Mannar District ( ta, மன்னா� ...

due to his father's career at

Sri Lanka Railways The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...

. He joined

Jaffna Central College Jaffna Central College ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் மத்திய கல்லூரி ''Yāḻppāṇam Mattiya Kallūri'', JCC) is a national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1816 by British Methodist missionaries, it ...

for his secondary education. He entered the engineering faculty at the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

and went for his master's degree at the

Asian Institute of Technology The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), founded in 1959, is an Intergovernmental organization, international organization for higher education situated 40km north of Bangkok, Thailand. It specializes in engineering, technology, advanced technol ...

. He did his Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Career

He joined

Clean Harbors Clean Harbors, Inc. is an American provider of environmental and industrial services, including hazardous waste disposal for companies, including Fortune 500 companies, small waste generators and federal, state, provincial and local governments ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, a pure hazardous waste handling and removal company, and then the Groundwater Technology Inc. at their corporate office in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

. He later joined Geraghty and Miller which headquartered in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. There he had come under the guidance of David Miller; he introduced him to Steve Blake and both encouraged and enabled him to build the technical foundation to make Geraghty and Miller, which later became Arcadis North America.

Bibliography

References

External links

Suthan Suthersan: A Journey from Jaffna
(Dr. Suthersan's Blog)
Arcadis Mourns Loss of Chief Technical Officer Dr. Suthan S. Suthersan

NGWA mourns passing of Suthan Suthersan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suthersan, Suthan Environmental engineers 1956 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Jaffna Central College Asian Institute of Technology alumni Alumni of the University of Peradeniya University of Toronto alumni American people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Sri Lankan Hindus American Hindus Sri Lankan emigrants to the United States People from Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey