MONTANA STATE UNIV, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, 2004, Ph D

UNIV OF COPENHAGEN, ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY, 1999, MS

UNIV OF COPENHAGEN, ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY, 1997, BS

My research is directed at 1) determining reactions influencing the fate of contaminants, nutrients, and organic carbon in water, soil and plants, and 2) treatment and reuse of agricultural and produced water for irrigation of crops. In addressing these topics, one must consider the complete system rather than solely a simplified fraction of the environment. However, due to the extreme heterogeneity of water, soil and plants, identifying key-reactions influencing the (bio)degradation, (bio)reduction, and (bio) availability my research focuses on both simplified systems, often composed of a single mineral and solution reactant, and natural soil/water & agricultural systems. I use a multitude of traditional analytical methods in combination with various chromatographic (e.g. GC, HPLC and IC), spectroscopic (e.g. FTIR, XPS), and microscopic (e.g. SEM, TEM and AFM) methods, including state-of-the-art techniques such as synchrotron radiation-based X-ray techniques and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS), to elucidate (bio)degradation products, chemical states of trace elements, structural states of minerals, plant uptake of contaminants, and the fate of water contaminants in environmental and agricultural settings. The ability to identify organic metabolites, the chemical state of trace elements and potential “host” mineral-phases is essential for ascertaining the health risk associated with, for instance, reuse of treated industrial/agricultural water for crop irrigation.

Faculty at CSU (2006-present)
Postdoc fellow at Stanford University (2004-2006)
PhD Student at Montana State University (2000-2004)
MS and BS Student at University of Copenhagen (1993-1999)