Libsyn Directory

429 The Life and Career of Jim Lukanich

Release Date: 07/18/2025

455 Mentors, Mindset, and the CWT: Owning Your Water Career with Nella Fergusson

Scaling UP! H2O

“So one thing I never do is try to start giving remediation or advice before I truly have understood and diagnosed the problem.” Mentorship and certifications don’t replace experience—but they can accelerate it when paired with the right mindset and a disciplined approach to learning. (District Manager, Southern California, ), lays out what “growing up” in industrial water treatment actually looks like: repeated exposure to real problems, strong diagnostic habits, and a willingness to keep learning long after year one. Learning that keeps...

454 Water Recycling, Innovation, and Industry Wisdom with Dr. Kelle Zeiher

Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial cooling is one of the biggest levers industrial facilities can pull on water use—and it’s getting harder to ignore as data centers and other high-heat operations grow. Returning guest (Project Manager at ) breaks down what water reuse looks like when you move past slogans and into the realities of pretreatment, concentrate management, footprint, and cost. Cooling water reuse: the scale of the opportunity Dr. Zeiher reframes “drought” beyond rainfall, emphasizing aquifer recharge and the limits of focusing only on household restrictions. She...

453 Water Risk, Governance, and Community Engagement with Dr. Annette Davison

Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial water professionals sit at the intersection of risk, regulation, and community trust. In this episode, (“the water risk doctor”) joins Trace Blackmore to show how disciplined governance, clear supply chain thinking, and community engagement can turn fragmented water systems into coherent, defensible risk management frameworks. Water risk from source to customer Annette starts with a simple question most customers never ask: “Where’s your water coming from?” She walks through a conceptual supply chain from source to end point—collection, transfer, treatment,...

452 UV Innovation and Whole-Building Water Safety with Ron Blutrich

Scaling UP! H2O

Entamoeba histolytica nearly ended Ron Blutrich’s scientific career. Instead, it pushed him to rethink how we protect people in multi-family buildings, senior facilities, and dense urban centers from invisible microbiological risks in their drinking water. In this episode, he joins host Trace Blackmore to unpack what whole-building UV can (and can’t) do for Legionella, biofilm, and real-world water safety. When One Bad Cup of Water Redefines a Career In the middle of his PhD in molecular genetics, Ron drank from an under-sink reverse osmosis tap at an Airbnb and...

451 Building a Culture of Innovation and Customer Service with Frank Lecrone

Scaling UP! H2O

What happens when you build a company around one niche, listen obsessively to customers, and never stop improving? In this episode, host Trace Blackmore finally sits down for a full-length conversation with , Founder, President, and CEO of . What started in a small 60' x 60' space in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with three employees, maxed-out credit cards, and endless Staples runs has grown into a 300+-person organization serving industrial water professionals around the world. Frank shares how AquaPhoenix became “the booth everyone wants to be next to” at...

450 Wastewater Advocacy and Innovation with Robin Deal

Scaling UP! H2O

“The More You Know” - Robin Deal A million-gallon-a-day perspective, distilled into actionable steps. , AquaPure Product Manager at unpacks how seasoned pros can squeeze more performance—and less sludge—out of industrial wastewater systems without compromising compliance or plant uptime. From “clear water in a jar” to stable discharge in the field Robin details a practical jar-testing workflow: start from upstream processes, target pH using hydroxide/sulfide solubility curves, choose the right coagulant (aluminum, iron, calcium, lanthanum, or organics),...

449 Michael Bourgeois on AWT Partnerships and Professional Growth

Scaling UP! H2O

Get stuck in – Michael Bourgeois, CWT How do standards get written in ways that working water treaters can actually meet? In this conversation, AWT Past President, current Related Trade Organization (RTO) Committee Chair, and Chemco Products Company Operations Manager, , explains how AWT’s liaisons collaborate with peer organizations, so guidance reflects field reality—operations, risk, and achievable compliance. From Field Bags to Board Rooms: Why RTOs Matter Bourgeois outlines the purpose of AWT’s RTO structure: volunteer liaisons track and influence work at groups...

448 2025 Halloween Special

Scaling UP! H2O

Holidays don’t usually line up with release day—but this year they did. In this Halloween special, Trace uses the horror-movie trope of the “scary boiler room” to deliver practical, field-tested reminders for safer sampling, clearer thinking, and better decisions in high-heat, low-light spaces. Boiler Rooms, Myths, and Real Risks From Nightmare on Elm Street to Tower of Terror, pop culture loves dim steam, tight corridors, and clangy pipe-labyrinths. Trace contrasts that imagery with what matters to pros: light, ventilation, a stable work surface, and time for...

447 Unlocking Team Potential with Culture Index with Randi Fargen

Scaling UP! H2O

Hiring in industrial water is slow, specialized, and expensive to get wrong. In this conversation, executive advisor explains how a two-question, 5–7 minute Culture Index survey becomes an ongoing management and coaching system—not just a hiring screen—so owners cut turnover risk, speed onboarding, and improve day-to-day communication. From “assessment fatigue” to a usable language Most teams dread long assessments. This survey takes minutes and measures four primary traits—autonomy, sociability, pace/patience, conformity—plus three...

446 Leveraging the Culture Index for Business Success with Danielle Scimeca and Conor Parrish

Scaling UP! H2O

How do you make “right person, right seat” a repeatable system—not a hope? ’s (President) and returning guest (Chief Growth Officer) share how the Culture Index became a decisive tool for coaching, hiring, and a company-wide restructure. If you lead field service, customer service, or operations in industrial water, this conversation offers practical patterns you can apply the next time a role feels misaligned or a 1:1 stall on surface-level updates. From intuition to instrumentation Trace opens with the origin story and quickly moves to why Danielle and Conor adopted...

More Episodes

“You can’t learn it all in one year. You can’t even learn it all in ten.” That single statement from Jim Lukanich captures the spirit of this unforgettable episode.

Returning to the Scaling UP! H2O Podcast for the first time since Episode 10, Jim Lukanich joins host Trace Blackmore to reflect on a remarkable 44-year career in the water treatment industry. From his early days at U.S. Steel to leading technical innovation at Buckman Laboratories, ChemCal, U.S. Water, and Kurita, Jim has been a force for mentorship, learning, and raising the bar in technical excellence.

Building a Career, One Problem at a Time

Jim walks us through the formative moments of his career — the gritty hands-on learning at US Steel, the cultural differences he encountered at Nalco, and the breakthrough growth and global travel that defined his time at Buckman Labs. He shares how relentless reading, teaching, and real-world problem-solving built the foundation of his expertise.

More than just a technical expert, Jim is a storyteller. His accounts of teaching microbiology in Brazil pre-internet — with nothing but overhead projectors and thousands of peer-reviewed articles — highlight just how much dedication the field once required (and still does).

Educator, Mentor, Technologist

This episode shines as Jim reveals his unexpected passion for teaching and how that eventually connected him with the Association of Water Technologies (AWT). From correcting pronunciation quirks to co-writing the Certified Water Technologist (CWT) exam, Jim’s teaching legacy spans thousands of students and professionals around the world.

Listeners will appreciate Jim’s honest take on what separates industry veterans who grow from those who stagnate — and the importance of actively seeking knowledge beyond routine routes.

Beyond Retirement: Knowledge that Lasts

Now officially retired, Jim isn’t finished contributing. He shares future plans for limited consulting and speaks candidly about what it means to truly mentor someone — and what many water professionals are missing out on if they don’t.

This is more than a career retrospective; it's a call to honor the past by preparing for the future — with integrity, curiosity, and generosity.

Conclusion: Wisdom Worth Passing Down

Jim’s impact isn’t measured just by how many systems he’s treated or miles he’s flown — but by the lives he’s touched and the minds he’s sharpened. For any professional looking to improve technical depth, leadership, or mentoring, this episode is a must-listen.

Listen now to learn from one of the water industry's most respected mentors. Explore more episodes, sharpen your skills, and consider becoming the mentor you once needed.

Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Timestamps

03:44 - Trace shares some Water facts and World Vision 6k Recap

06:40 - Water You Know with James McDonald

07:04 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

17:30 - Interview with returning guest, Jim Lukanich

24:27 - Jim shares how teaching at Buckman became a passion

45:00 - Learning daily builds deep expertise over time

Quotes

Jim Lukanich: “I’ve read thousands of peer-reviewed technical papers—not the BS in magazines—but real science.”

Jim Lukanich: “You can’t learn it all in a year. You can’t learn it all in 10. I’ve been doing this for 44 years, and I still read technical papers.”

Trace Blackmore: “You were the one who made me want to teach water treatment. You brought energy to technical education.”