Each year, the Distinguished Lecturer is selected by the Lecturers Committee of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), in recognition of his or her excellence as both a researcher and educator and ability to give engaging oral presentations to members of the environmental engineering community and the general public. The Distinguished Lecturer visits at least 12 institutions and gives at least one talk from two lecture topics. The Distinguished Lecturer proposes the two topics, and each institution chooses one of these as the formal presentation. All travel expenses for the Distinguished Lecturer are paid for by the AEESP Foundation, and visited institutions must contribute a fee to help support these costs. Host institutions may arrange for presentation of both lectures, but in such cases, any additional housing and boarding costs must be borne directly by the host institution. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Suggestions for choice of the Lecturer may be submitted to the chair of the AEESP Distinguished Lecturers Committee at any time, but with the understanding that final selection is entirely in the hands of the committee and that this committee may already have qualified nominees in mind from suggestions made in previous years. The Distinguished Lecturer Committee usually makes its decision for the coming academic year by January or February.