research overview
- Professor Ryan and his students are examining the fate and transport of contaminants in natural waters.
- Contact Info
Ryan, Joseph N.
Positions
- Assoc Faculty Director, Environmental Engineering Program (EVEN)
- Professor, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Research Areas
Research
keywords
- contaminant fate and transport in natural waters
Publications
selected publications
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conference proceeding
- Transport of selected hydraulic fracturing fluid organic compounds through aquifer sediment in laboratory columns. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2013
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journal article
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Wildland-urban interface wildfire increases metal contributions to stormwater runoff in Paradise, California.
Environmental Science Processes and Impacts.
2024
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Composition and Origin of Surface Casing Fluids in a Major US Oil- and Gas-Producing Region.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
17227-17235.
2022
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Mine Water Use, Treatment, and Reuse in the United States: A Look at Current Industry Practices and Select Case Studies.
391-408.
2022
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Vulnerability of Groundwater Resources Underlying Unlined Produced Water Ponds in the Tulare Basin of the San Joaquin Valley, California.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
14782-14794.
2021
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Public data from three US states provide new insights into well integrity.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA.
2021
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Microbial and Biogeochemical Indicators of Methane in Groundwater Aquifers of the Denver Basin, Colorado.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
292-303.
2021
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Geochemical Factors Controlling Dissolved Elemental Mercury and Methylmercury Formation in Alaskan Wetlands of Varying Trophic Status.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
6203-6213.
2019
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Degradation of polyethylene glycols and polypropylene glycols in microcosms simulating a spill of produced water in shallow groundwater.
Environmental Science Processes and Impacts.
256-268.
2019
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Increased exposure of plankton to arsenic in contaminated weakly-stratified lakes.
Science of the Total Environment.
1606-1614.
2018
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Water Stress from High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Potentially Threatens Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Arkansas, United States.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2349-2358.
2018
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Effects of Sulfide Concentration and Dissolved Organic Matter Characteristics on the Structure of Nanocolloidal Metacinnabar.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
13133-13142.
2017
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Temporal characterization of flowback and produced water quality from a hydraulically fractured oil and gas well.
Science of the Total Environment.
369-377.
2017
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Inhibition of Biodegradation of Hydraulic Fracturing Compounds by Glutaraldehyde: Groundwater Column and Microcosm Experiments.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
10251-10261.
2017
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Spatial Dependence of Reduced Sulfur in Everglades Dissolved Organic Matter Controlled by Sulfate Enrichment.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3630-3639.
2017
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Surface Casing Pressure As an Indicator of Well Integrity Loss and Stray Gas Migration in the Wattenberg Field, Colorado.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3567-3574.
2017
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Unconventional oil and gas spills: Materials, volumes, and risks to surface waters in four states of the U.S..
Science of the Total Environment.
369-377.
2017
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Unconventional oil and gas spills: Materials, volumes, and risks to surface waters in four states of the US.
Science of the Total Environment.
369-377.
2017
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Identification of polypropylene glycols and polyethylene glycol carboxylates in flowback and produced water from hydraulic fracturing.
Journal of Hazardous Materials.
11-17.
2017
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Estimating mercury emissions resulting from wildfire in forests of the Western United States.
Science of the Total Environment.
578-586.
2016
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Water acquisition and use during unconventional oil and gas development and the existing data challenges: Weld and Garfield counties, CO.
Journal of Environmental Management.
36-47.
2016
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Groundwater methane in relation to oil and gas development and shallow coal seams in the Denver-Julesburg Basin of Colorado.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA.
8391-8396.
2016
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Colloid Mobilization in a Fractured Soil: Effect of Pore-Water Exchange between Preferential Flow Paths and Soil Matrix.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2310-2317.
2016
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Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
118-138.
2016
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Identification of polypropylene glycols and polyethylene glycol carboxylates in wastewater from hydraulic fracturing.
Journal of Hazardous Materials.
2016
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Formation of Mercury Sulfide from Hg(II)-Thiolate Complexes in Natural Organic Matter.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
9787-9796.
2015
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Colloid Mobilization in a Fractured Soil during Dry-Wet Cycles: Role of Drying Duration and Flow Path Permeability.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
9100-9106.
2015
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A Framework for Identifying Organic Compounds of Concern in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Based on Their Mobility and Persistence in Groundwater.
Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
158-164.
2015
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Mobilization of Microspheres from a Fractured Soil during Intermittent Infiltration Events.
Vadose Zone Journal.
2015
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Effects of Iron on Optical Properties of Dissolved Organic Matter.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
10098-10106.
2014
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Colloid-Facilitated Mobilization of Metals by Freeze-Thaw Cycles.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
977-984.
2014
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In-Stream Attenuation of Neuro-Active Pharmaceuticals and Their Metabolites.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
9781-9790.
2013
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Effects of chlorine and other water quality parameters on the release of silver nanoparticles from a ceramic surface.
Water Research.
4032-4039.
2013
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Colloid transport in saturated porous media: Elimination of attachment efficiency in a new colloid transport model.
Water Resources Research.
2952-2965.
2013
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Comparison of electrical conductivity calculation methods for natural waters.
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods.
952-967.
2012
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Copper(II) Binding by Dissolved Organic Matter: Importance of the Copper-to-Dissolved Organic Matter Ratio and Implications for the Biotic Ligand Model.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
9948-9955.
2012
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Effect of Dissolved Organic Carbon on the Transport and Attachment Behaviors of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and Carboxylate-Modified Microspheres Advected through Temperate Humic and Tropical Volcanic Agricultural soil.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2088-2094.
2012
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Fate of 4-Nonylphenol and 17β-Estradiol in the Redwood River of Minnesota.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
860-868.
2012
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A new method of calculating electrical conductivity with applications to natural waters.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
369-382.
2012
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Formation of Nanocolloidal Metacinnabar in Mercury-DOM-Sulfide Systems.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
9180-9187.
2011
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Metallothionein-Like Multinuclear Clusters of Mercury(II) and Sulfur in Peat.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
7298-7306.
2011
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Role of Biofilms in Sorptive Removal of Steroidal Hormones and 4-Nonylphenol Compounds from Streams.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
7275-7283.
2011
- Changes in soil-mercury binding capacities in forested watersheds following natural and prescribed wildfire. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2011
- Effect of dissolved organic matter on the release of trace elements from coal ash. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2011
- Fate of 17b-estradiol and 4-nonylphenol in the Redwood River of Minnesota. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2011
- Mobilization of cesium and strontium in a vadose zone by cation exchange, organic matter, and colloids: A laboratory and field study. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2011
- Role of desorption kinetics on colloid-facilitated transport of cesium and strontium. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2011
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Electrical conductivity method for natural waters.
Applied Geochemistry.
S227-S229.
2011
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Methods for evaluating in-stream attenuation of trace organic compounds.
Applied Geochemistry.
S344-S345.
2011
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Biodegradation and Attenuation of Steroidal Hormones and Alkylphenols by Stream Biofilms and Sediments.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
4370-4376.
2011
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Effects of Humic Substances on Precipitation and Aggregation of Zinc Sulfide Nanoparticles.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3217-3223.
2011
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Influence of Dissolved Organic Matter on the Environmental Fate of Metals, Nanoparticles, and Colloids.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3196-3201.
2011
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Comparison of transport and attachment behaviors of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and oocyst-sized microspheres being advected through three minerologically different granular porous media.
Water Research.
5334-5344.
2010
- Growth and aggregation of ZnS nanoparticles during coprecipitation with aquatic humic substances. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. A345-A345. 2010
- Effect of organic loading on the transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and oocysts-sized microspheres through three minerologically different granular porous media. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2010
- Identification of metacinnabar in mixed mercury, sulfide, and dissolved organic solutions through chromatographic concentration and EXAFS. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 2010
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Influence of organic matter on the transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in a ferric oxyhydroxide-coated quartz sand saturated porous medium.
Water Research.
1104-1113.
2010
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Modifying the Surface Charge of Pathogen-Sized Microspheres for Studying Pathogen Transport in Groundwater.
Journal of Environmental Quality.
2210-2217.
2009
- Mercury(II)-sulfur binding in peat. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. A926-A926. 2009
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Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 3. Use of microspheres to estimate the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts.
Water Resources Research.
2008
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A critical review of three methods used for the measurement of mercury (Hg2+)-dissolved organic matter stability constants.
Applied Geochemistry.
1583-1597.
2007
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Effect of desorption kinetics on colloid-facilitated transport of contaminants: Cesium, strontium, and illite colloids.
Water Resources Research.
2006
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Introduction to special section on colloid transport in subsurface environments.
Water Resources Research.
2006
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Colloid deposition on non-ideal porous media: The influences of collector shape and roughness on the single-collector efficiency.
Geophysical Research Letters.
2005
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Assessing the vulnerability of a municipal well field to contamination in a karst aquifer.
Environmental and Engineering Geoscience.
319-331.
2005
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Effect of ferric oxyhydroxide grain coatings on the transport of bacteriophage PRD1 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
6412-6419.
2005
- Interactions between dissolved organic matter and mercury in aquatic environments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. A540-A540. 2005
- The influence of dissolved organic matter on cinnabar dissolution. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. A540-A540. 2005
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Dissolution of cinnabar (HgS) in the presence of natural organic matter.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
1575-1588.
2005
- Effect of cation desorption kinetics on the colloid-facilitated transport of cesium and strontium.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U653-U654. 2005
- Effect of porous media grain size and sorting on straining of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in saturated porous media.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U639-U639. 2005
- Use of carboxylated polystyrene microspheres to assess the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in karstic limestone of the biscayne aquifer (Northwest Well Field, Miami, FL). ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U638-U638. 2005
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Transport of Cryptosporidium oocysts in porous media:: Role of straining and physicochemical filtration.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
5932-5938.
2004
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Deposition and mobilization of clay colloids in unsaturated porous media.
Water Resources Research.
2004
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Use of PRDI bacteriophage in groundwater viral transport, inactivation, and attachment studies.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology.
3-16.
2004
- Colloid movement in unsaturated porous media: Recent advances and future directions. Vadose Zone Journal. 338-351. 2004
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Fate of volatile organic compounds in constructed wastewater treatment wetlands.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2209-2216.
2004
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Conservative and reactive solute transport in constructed wetlands.
Water Resources Research.
2004
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Colloid transport in a geochemically heterogeneous porous medium: aquifer tank experiment and modeling.
Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.
161-182.
2003
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Binding of mercury(II) to aquatic humic substances: Influence of pH and source of humic substances.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2436-2441.
2003
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Interactions between dissolved organic matter and mercury in the Florida Everglades.
European Physical Journal: Special Topics.
29-32.
2003
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The promise of bank filtration.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
422A-428A.
2002
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Mercury(II) sorption to two Florida Everglades peats: Evidence for strong and weak binding and competition by dissolved organic matter released from the peat.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
4058-4064.
2002
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Binding of mercury(II) to dissolved organic matter: The role of the mercury-to-DOM concentration ratio.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3564-3570.
2002
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Virus transport in physically and geochemically heterogeneous subsurface porous media.
Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.
161-187.
2002
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Field and laboratory investigations of inactivation of viruses (PRD1 and MS2) attached to iron oxide-coated quartz sand.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2403-2413.
2002
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Mobilization of natural colloids from an iron oxide-coated sand aquifer: Effect of pH and ionic strength.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
314-322.
2002
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Particle release and permeability reduction in a natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) and sand porous medium.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
4502-4508.
2001
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Effect of basin physical characteristics on solute fluxes in nine alpine/subalpine basins, Colorado, USA.
Hydrological Processes.
2749-2769.
2001
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A novel two-dimensional model for colloid transport in physically and geochemically heterogeneous porous media.
Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.
173-199.
2001
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Sensitivity analysis and parameter identifiability for colloid transport in geochemically heterogeneous porous media.
Water Resources Research.
209-222.
2001
- Mercury(II) sorption to two Florida Everglades peats.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U340-U340. 2000
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Relative insignificance of mineral grain zeta potential to colloid transport in geochemically heterogeneous porous media.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2143-2148.
2000
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Silica-coated titania and zirconia colloids for subsurface transport field experiments.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
2000-2005.
2000
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Determination of hydrologic pathways during snowmelt for alpine/subalpine basins, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Water Resources Research.
63-75.
2000
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Inhibition of precipitation and aggregation of metacinnabar (mercuric sulfide) by dissolved organic matter isolated from the Florida Everglades.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
1418-1423.
1999
- Inhibition of precipitation and aggregation of metacinnabar (HgS) by humic substances isolated from the Florida Everglades. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U746-U746. 1999
- Silica-coated titania and zirconia particles for particle transport field experiments.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U776-U776. 1999
- Surfactant-induced colloid release from mineral surfaces: The significance of surfactant type and concentration on release behavior.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U731-U731. 1999
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Bacteriophage PRD1 and silica colloid transport and recovery in an iron oxide-coated sand aquifer.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
63-73.
1999
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Enhanced dissolution of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) by dissolved organic matter isolated from the Florida Everglades.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
3305-3311.
1998
- Enhanced dissolution of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) by aquatic humic substances.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U785-U785. 1998
- Interactions of dissolved organic carbon with mercury in the Everglades, Florida.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. U765-U765. 1998
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Particle and plutonium mobilization in macroporous soils during rainfall simulations.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
476-482.
1998
- Dynamic light scattering and particle size distributions in natural waters.. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 19-ENVR. 1997
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Transport and recovery of bacteriophage PRD1 in a sand and gravel aquifer: Effect of sewage-derived organic matter.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
1163-1170.
1997
- The use of tritium to determine the mean residence time of the unsaturated zone groundwater at Yucca mountain. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 20-GEOC. 1996
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Colloid mobilization and transport in groundwater.
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects.
1-56.
1996
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Role of organic acidity in sorption of natural organic matter (NOM) to oxide surfaces.
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects.
297-307.
1996
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The reversibility of virus attachment to mineral surfaces.
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects.
205-221.
1996
- ATTACHMENT AND RELEASE OF VIRUSES FROM MINERAL SURFACES - THE ROLE OF THE SECONDARY MINIMUM. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 142-ENVR. 1995
- THE ACIDITY OF ORGANIC-MATTER AND ITS ROLE IN ADSORPTION TO OXIDE SURFACES. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 251-ENVR. 1995
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EFFECT OF SOLUTION CHEMISTRY ON CLAY COLLOID RELEASE FROM AN IRON OXIDE-COATED AQUIFER SAND.
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington).
1717-1726.
1994
- EFFECTS OF IONIC-STRENGTH AND FLOW-RATE ON COLLOID RELEASE - RELATING KINETICS TO INTERSURFACE POTENTIAL-ENERGY (VOL 164, PG 21, 1994). Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 536-536. 1994
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EFFECTS OF IONIC-STRENGTH AND FLOW-RATE ON COLLOID RELEASE - RELATING KINETICS TO INTERSURFACE POTENTIAL-ENERGY.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science.
21-34.
1994
- EFFECT OF CHEMICAL PERTURBATIONS ON VIRUS ATTACHMENT AND DETACHMENT - RELATING KINETICS TO INTERSURFACE POTENTIAL ENERGIES. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 172-ENVR. 1994
- EFFECT OF OZONE ON THE COLLOIDAL STABILITY OF PARTICLES COATED WITH NATURAL ORGANIC-MATTER. ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts. 82-ENVR. 1993
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SAMPLING COLLOIDS AND COLLOID-ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS IN GROUND-WATER.
Ground Water.
466-479.
1993
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EFFECT OF IRON DIAGENESIS ON THE TRANSPORT OF COLLOIDAL CLAY IN AN UNCONFINED SAND AQUIFER.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
1507-1521.
1992
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EXTRACTION OF IRON-OXIDES FROM SEDIMENTS USING REDUCTIVE DISSOLUTION BY TITANIUM(III).
Clays and Clay Minerals.
509-518.
1991
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COLLOID MOBILIZATION IN 2 ATLANTIC COASTAL-PLAIN AQUIFERS - FIELD STUDIES.
Water Resources Research.
307-322.
1990
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METAL AND NUTRIENT BEHAVIOR IN THE RARITAN ESTUARY, NEW-JERSEY, USA - THE EFFECT OF MULTIPLE FRESH-WATER AND INDUSTRIAL-WASTE INPUTS.
Chemical Geology.
133-149.
1990
-
Wildland-urban interface wildfire increases metal contributions to stormwater runoff in Paradise, California.
Environmental Science Processes and Impacts.
2024
Teaching
courses taught
-
CVEN 4424 - Environmental Organic Chemistry
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020
Examines the fundamental physical and chemical transformations affecting the fate and transport of organic contaminants in natural and treated waters. Emphasizes quantitative approach to solubility, vapor pressure, air-water exchange, sorption, hydrolysis and redox reactions, and photodegradation. Same as EVEN 4424. -
CVEN 5404 - Water Chemistry
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Introduces chemical fundamentals governing the chemistry of natural and treated waters. Topics include thermodynamics and kinetics of acid and base reactions, carbonate chemistry, air-water exchange, precipitation, dissolution, complexation, oxidation-reduction, and sorption. -
CVEN 5424 - Environmental Organic Chemistry
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2024
Examines the fundamental physical and chemical processes that impact the fate and transport of organic contaminants in natural and engineered systems. Emphasizes both equilibrium and kinetic aspects, including solubility, vapor pressure, air-water exchange, sorption, abiotic redox reactions, and photodegradation. -
CVEN 6954 - Master's Thesis
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Spring 2020
- -
EVEN 1000 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Primary Instructor - Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Introduces first-year students to the environmental engineering program from an academic and a career perspective. Covers air quality, applied ecology, chemical processing, energy, engineering for developing communities, environmental remediation, and water resources and treatment. Includes reading and writing on the history of environmental engineering, major environmental issues, and professional ethics. -
EVEN 4100 - Environmental Sampling and Analysis
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Introduces students to techniques for characterization of surface water, subsurface water, soils and sediments, and air and planning of sampling and analysis efforts. Laboratories include stream sampling, drilling, monitoring well installation, water level, slug tests, air sampling. -
EVEN 4404 - Water Chemistry
Primary Instructor - Fall 2024
Introduces chemical fundamentals of inorganic aqueous compounds and contaminants in lecture and laboratory. Lecture topics include thermodynamics and kinetics of acids and base reactions, carbonate chemistry, air-water exchange, precipitation, dissolution, complexation, oxidation-reduction and sorption. Same as CVEN 4404. -
EVEN 4414 - Water Chemistry Laboratory
Primary Instructor - Fall 2024
Reinforces chemical fundamentals of inorganic aqueous compounds and contaminants from CVEN/EVEN 4404 in laboratory experiments and reports. Topics include acids and bases, carbonate chemistry (alkalinity) and other water chemistry characteristics (hardness, dissolved oxygen); precipitation, complexation and oxidation-reduction reactions; and laboratory techniques and reporting. Same as CVEN 4414. -
EVEN 4424 - Environmental Organic Chemistry
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Examines the fundamental physical and chemical transformations affecting the fate and transport of organic contaminants in natural and treated waters. Emphasizes quantitative approach to solubility, vapor pressure, air-water exchange, sorption, hydrolysis and redox reactions, and photodegradation. Same as CVEN 4424. -
EVEN 4990 - Senior Thesis 2
Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
Continuation of EVEN 4980. Consists of final phase of faculty-supervised research, the preparation of a written thesis, and an oral defense of the research to a committee. -
EVEN 6940 - Master's Candidate for Degree
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
Registration intended for students preparing for a thesis defense, final examination, culminating activity, or completion of degree. -
EVEN 6950 - Master's Thesis
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
Background
education and training
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1992
- M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1988
- B.S., Princeton University 1983
awards and honors
International Activities
geographic focus
- Chile Country
- France Country
- Tajikistan Country