Pump Person of the Week – Paul Ruzicka

For the third time in five years, Paul Ruzicka, global COE residential, commercial waste water and chief engineer, Xylem Applied Water Systems, has been recognized for his outstanding contribution and service to the Hydraulic Institute (HI) with the 2015 HI Technical Member of the Year award.

Ruzicka was honored during the organization’s annual meeting in February in St. Petersburg, Florida. HI is the largest association of pump industry manufacturers and producers in North America.

Ruzicka, a veteran in the industry and 24-year member of HI, has participated in dozens of seminars and rulings, including the recently issued Department of Energy (DOE) ruling on pumps that affects the HVAC industry.

Xylem and other industry stakeholders took an active role in discussions between HI and the DOE to articulate the significance of energy savings through pump efficiencies and pump systems as a whole. The new pump-related ruling defines standards for efficiency and testing procedures, which begin in 2020, will reduce US energy consumption.

We recently asked Paul:

What is it about the pump industry or your job that excites you most?

I really enjoy helping develop new industry standards through my involvement with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Hydraulic Institute (HI). These organizations contribute to improvements in pumping systems, pump performance and recently reduction of energy use for pumps. These standards are an excellent source of knowledge for writers of specifications, users and manufactures of pumps. Recently, I was involved in the development of new efficiency standards for clean-water pumps with the Department of Energy. It is one of the many rewarding experiences I’ve had as an engineer.