Research isn’t always about studying things that fit into neat “categories”. Sometimes you find yourself going off on a bit of a tangent. So, here is a sampling of some of our tangents…

Metal speciation and sorption studies

We are working to determine how metals interact with various natural sorbents present in aqueous and soil systems.

Measurement of triclosan in environmental surface waters

In collaboration with Dr. Steven Goldsmith from the Department of Geography and the Environment, we have measured triclosan in surface waters in the Brandywine watershed in eastern Pennsylvania to assess its transport across rural and urban watersheds.

Development of solid-state actinometers for use in snowpacks

Former postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Glenn Rowland, developed a solid-state actinometer system that can be used to probe light penetration depths in irradiated snowpacks in a straightforward system that is relatively easy to deploy. This was used during our fieldwork activities in Barrow, Alaska.

Nanoparticle-mediated Pollutant Photo-remediation

In collaboration with colleagues in the College of Engineering, we have investigated photochemical degradation of pollutant and chemical warfare agent surrogates in the presence of various nanoparticles, including TiO2, ZnO, iron nanoparticles, and copper nanoparticles and studied the effects of environmental variables such as pH, temperature, salt concentration, organic matter concentration, etc.