John Todd and Beth Josephson. 1998. 
The design of living technologies for waste treatment  
In: Integrated Bio-Systems in Zero Emissions Applications.
Proceedings of the Internet Conference on Integrated Biosystems.
Eds: Eng-Leong Foo & Tarcisio Della Senta. 1998 http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/todd 
 
About the Authors
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About the Authors 

John Todd, Ph.D.,  
President of Ocean Arks International, 
1 Locust Street, Falmouth, MA 02540, 
USA  
E-mail: jtodd@CAPE.COM 
Beth Josephson, Ph. D. 
E-mail:  bjosephs@jazz.cape.com 

 
Dr. John Todd was trained in agriculture, parasitology, and tropical medicine, and received his doctorate in fisheries and oceanography. His early work involved the behavioral ecology of fishes and was summarized in his Scientific American article, "The Chemical Languages of Fishes" (May 1971). He was an Assistant Professor of Ethology at San Diego State University and an Assistant Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution until 1973. In 1969 he co-founded the New Alchemy Institute to create a science and practice based upon ecological precepts. He was its President until 1981. In 1980 he founded Ocean Arks International, and in the same year received, with Nancy Jack Todd, the Swiss Threshold Award for their "contributions to human knowledge". Throughout the 1980's he developed an ecological design field which included energy, architecture, waste, food and ocean transport components. This work was published in a series of books: "The Village as Solar Ecology" (1980); "Tomorrow is Our Permanent Address" (1980); "Reinhabiting Cities & Towns: Designing for Sustainability" (1981); "Bioshelters, Ocean Arks, City Farming: Ecology as the Basis of Design" (1984). The latter has been revised and published as "From Eco-Cities to Living MachinesTM" (1994).  

In 1984 he began developing technologies for treating wastes and purifying water. In 1987 he was recognized by the United Nations Environmental Program for his "contributions toward protecting the Earth's environment". In June of 1989 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected Dr. Todd to receive the Chico Mendes Environmental Merit Award for his work with Living MachinesTM for waste treatment. In October of 1990 he received the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award for Innovations in Design, and in July of 1994, Dr. Todd received the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design, being the first biologist to receive either of these prestigious awards. In July of 1996 he was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Achievement Award for his innovations in wastewater treatment and aquaculture.  

Dr. Todd is the author of over two hundred technical and popular articles on biology and planetary stewardship. He sits on a number of environmental and technical boards and is a Professor at the University of Vermont. Dr. Todd co-founded Living Technologies, Inc., an ecological design, engineering and construction firm in Burlington, Vermont, USA. He was also instrumental in founding Living Technologies Limited in Findhorn, Scotland and is a Fellow of the Findhorn Foundation. In May 1998,  Dr. Todd and Nancy Jack Todd will receive the Lindbergh Award in recognition of their work in technology and the environment.  
http://www.livingmachines.com/abouttechnologies/bio1.html  

Dr. Beth Josephson worked as associate director of Ocean Arks until 1996, and assisted in the design and operation of many of the early Living Machines. 


Abstract
This article elucidates the emerging principles required for the design of task-oriented mesocosms.  
Twelve key factors are discussed including mineral diversity, nutrient reservoirs, steep gradients,  
high exchange rates, periodic and ramdom pulses, cellular design and mesocosm structure,  
subecosystems, microbial communities, photosynthetic bases, animal diversity, biological  
exchanges beyond the mesocosm, and mesocosm/macrocosm relationships. The fields of  
ecological design and engineering are developing efficient living technologies for environmental  
repair, waste treatment, food production and infra-structure integration.   

A living machine for the treatment of sewage and the production of fish and horticultural products,  
operational since 1989, produces high quality water irrespective of season or input variation.  
BOD5, COD, TSS, nitrification, phospohorus uptake, metals sequestering and coliform reduction  
data depict a robust, self-organizing technology capable of handling the mixed waste stream of a  
New England industrial city.