Gunther Craun was born in a small village in Bohemia during World War II and immigrated with his mother to Virginia in 1948. He grew up in Waynesboro. In 1961, he attended VPI, as it was known then, as a member of F Company in the Corps of Cadets. He became interested in a career in public and environmental health largely because of the influence of Professor Ernest Jennelle, who taught courses in these subjects.



After graduating in 1965, he served with the Public Health Service’s Office of Indian Health in Oklahoma and Regional Office in Chicago. In 1969, he returned to Virginia Tech to continue his graduate studies with Professor Jennelle. He then moved to Cincinnati to join Gordon Robeck and Lee McCabe, two leading researchers in water quality and public health, at the Public Health Service’s Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center.



During December 1970 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created, and he was assigned to the EPA. Mr. Craun spent the next 20 years in the EPA’s drinking water program and office of research and development where he planned, directed and conducted a research program to assess health effects associated with drinking water contaminants. He served as coordinator of the Environmental Epidemiology Program in the Health Effects Research Laboratory and assistant to the director of the Drinking Water Research Division. He attended Harvard University where he received his MPH in 1980 and his SM in epidemiology in 1984.



In 1971, he helped establish the current U.S. waterborne disease surveillance program. A report that he co-authored with Lee McCabe on the causes of waterborne outbreaks was part of the Congressional testimony in support of the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act. In 1992, he was awarded the EPA’s silver medal for meritorious service based on his research on waterborne disease risks and how to reduce them. His work has contributed to an increased awareness of endemic and epidemic waterborne risks not only in the U.S. but also in many other countries. He continues to be active in waterborne disease surveillance activities, recently participating in the most current analysis of the U.S. statistics. He has written numerous articles and edited several books on water-related health topics.



Mr. Craun established an international consulting firm in 1993, and his work has taken him to Asia, Europe, and throughout North and South America. He is currently collaborating on water-related health issues with researchers at the EPA’s National Environmental and Health Effects Research Laboratory in Chapel Hill, National Institute of Public Health in Prague, and National Institute of Public Health in Budapest. He is president of Gunther F. Craun & Associates in Staunton, Va.



Mr. Craun is registered as a professional engineer in Virginia and a diplomate with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. Among his numerous professional activities, he was a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of American Water Works Association, 1993-1999, and Standing Panel on Water System Security Research, National Research Council, the National Academies, 2003. He is currently the chair for EPA’s peer review panel for the epidemiologic studies that are being conducted to assess health risks associated with water recreation. He has also served on advisory and review committees for various organizations including the National Research Council and Academy of Sciences, EPA, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, Peace Corps, Great Lakes Environmental Center, and International Life Sciences Institute.



Mr. Craun resides with his wife Mary in the historic Newtown District of Staunton. They are grandparents of four potential “Hokies:” Nate, Milo, Andrew, and Anna. They are the parents of three children: Michael who resides in Waynesboro with his wife Elisabeth Balam; Matthew who resides in the Washington, DC, area with his wife Shirley Liu; and Emily who resides in Staunton with her husband Jesse O’Brien. Matthew and Shirley Liu, who both received their MS degrees at Virginia Tech,  met each other while at Blacksburg.