Research and Development - Senior Technical
Staff Profiles
Colin Fricker, Ph.D., ASI Technical Director
Dr. Fricker, who directs all laboratory operations at ASI, has been associated with ASI since 2002. He
has more than thirty years experience in environmental microbiology in public and private sectors. Dr.
Fricker was the Microbiology and Commercial Manager at Thames Water, Reading, UK until 1999. Since
then, Dr. Fricker founded CRF Consulting and has provided microbiological testing and consulting
services to the water, and wastewater industries internationally, particularly with regard to
Cryptosporidium. Dr. Fricker participated in the development of USEPA Method 1622 for the
detection of Cryptosporidium in water. In addition to Dr. Fricker’s extensive experience in laboratory
methods for the detection and identification of Cryptosporidium, he is an inventor of the largest selling
commercially available test for the detection of coliforms and E.coli in drinking water.
At ASI, Dr. Fricker is responsible all microbiological laboratory testing and training. In addition to his
laboratory responsibilities, Dr. Fricker also provides consulting services to ASI clients regarding all
microbiological issues associated with public water supply. Dr. Fricker has a particular interest in the
regrowth of coliform bacteria in water distribution systems, and is currently serving as Principal
Investigator for ASI’s AWWARF grant titled Significance of Current Methods and Monitoring
Strategies for E. coli and Total Coliform Measurements (AWWARF #4024). He has worked with
many utilities throughout the world on coliform issues.
Courtney Audy, Quality Assurance Officer
Mrs. Audy heads ASI’s Quality Assurance Program, which covers all areas of laboratory operations.
Mrs. Audy received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Colorado. Since 2005,
Mrs. Audy has worked as a professional microbiologist in a commercial laboratory environment,
initially specializing in cellular fatty acid analysis and identification of bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. In
2006, she became the Director of a commercial laboratory Proficiency Test (PT) program for
microbial water analysis, with responsibility for maintaining all aspects of design and implementation
of the PT program as well as researching and validating new PT tests the laboratory was considering.
Subsequently, Mrs. Audy became the Quality Control Manager for all laboratory operations. Under
her direction, the laboratory earned National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference
(NELAC) accreditation for the PT program through the American Association for Laboratory
Accreditation (A2LA). Mrs. Audy later became a member of the NELAC Microbiology
Subcommittee which was charged to develop new protocols and acceptance criteria for the PT
program and was selected to present the subcommittee’s recommendations to the PT Board. Mrs.
Audy joined ASI in 2008 as Quality Assurance Officer.
Aaron Margolin, Ph.D., Affiliated Scientist, Virology
Dr. Margolin, Chair of the Microbiology Department at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), has
collaborated with ASI since the early 1990s. Dr. Margolin joined the UNH faculty in 1988 and has
established his laboratory as one of the premier environmental virology research laboratories in the
United States. In 1989, Dr. Margolin became the Science Advisor to the Winchester Engineering and
Analytical Center of the Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Microbiology. His
major area of expertise is the spread of human infectious organisms, particularly viruses, via fecal
contamination of water, food and medical devices. He has held many research grants from USEPA
and AWWARF. Dr. Margolin is an associate member of the Environmental Research Group at UNH,
an interdisciplinary group studying disinfection, filtration and other water treatment strategies related
to pathogens in all types of water.
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