Rolf is chief executive officer for AquaVitas. 

Rolf has had a lifelong commitment to understanding the intersection between human health and the environment that surrounds us. 

On the precipice of the discovery of COVID-19, Rolf published a book simply titled “Environment.”  In it he explains his raison d’etre: “The boundaries we internalize and observe are imaginary. The do not exist. The concept of self and the surrounding environment is a cherished delusion. The environment is not simply “out there.” We eat it. We breathe it. We drink it. We wear it. We create it. We and the environment are one and the same.” 

COVID, he says, “has reminded us that we have to live in harmony and responsibly with the resources that we have, and everything is at risk.”

Rolf Halden is a leading figure in the ever-emerging science of wastewater surveillance. He is the founding director of the Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering at Arizona State University. He is a professor in ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and a senior sustainability scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability. Professor Halden’s scientific discoveries and opinions have been covered in documentaries, radio shows, podcasts, and media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Scientific American, and Forbes. He serves on the Expert Team of the American Chemical Society and has been invited repeatedly to brief decision-makers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Academies, and members of U.S. Congress on issues pertaining to environmental health and sustainability. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, 15 patent applications, 160 conference papers, and presented over 110 invited lectures and keynote addresses at national and international scientific symposia. 

Today, Rolf’s Human Health Observatory includes 350 cities and reaches a quarter billion people.