Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Faculty

Environmental chemistry; chemistry and photochemistry of tropospheric cloud and fog drops and aerosol particles; interactions between these condensed phases and the gas phase.

Research interests focus on the fate, transport, and exposure to chemicals in both indoors and multimedia environments within the context of environmental epidemiology and risk assessment.

Water quality, air quality, trace metal analysis, trace organic analysis, water resources.

Hanson’s research and extension program is focused on management of weeds in agricultural production systems with the goal of increasing economic and environmental sustainability of annual and perennial cropping systems.  This work includes both applied and basic research approaches to integrated pest management solutions for weeds and other pests using a variety of chemical and non-chemical approaches. Much of our current research is focused on herbicide issues including: weed control efficacy, herbicide-resistant weeds, herbicide fate in soil, and crop injury resulting from herbicide drift or other routes of exposure.

Flow and transport processes in groundwater and in the vadose zone; non-point source pollution of groundwater; groundwater remediation; groundwater resources management; geostatistics; stochastic analysis; numerical modeling. Projects: groundwater quality impacts from confined animal facilities; nitrogen fluxes in a deep heterogeneous vadose zone; transport of Cryptosporidium parvum in unconsolidated sediments; stochastic analysis of salinity migration in deep aquifer systems; conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater resources; fate and transport of emerging contaminants.

Develop new and modify existing analytical methods for the determination of pesticides in the environment. These include, but are not limited to: fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, water, air and soil matrixes. Our primary analytical tools are gas and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometers (GC-MS and LC-MS/MS).

Aqueous organic geochemistry, molecular methods development, carbon cycling, river biogeochemistry, tannin diagenesis, photochemistry and transport of lignin/terrigenous organic matter, mineral protection and interaction with organic matter, dissolved/particulate interactions.

Stable and radioactive isotope studies in humic chemistry and microbial biomass dynamics, carbon sequestration in managed and natural ecosystems, influence of sustainable agriculture practices on long-term soil fertility and water quality, sources of nitrate in ecosystems, denitrification, root turnover and plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere.

Bioassay and chemical analysis of environmental complex mixtures; analysis of airborne particle and vapor-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Occupational and environmental exposure and biological monitoring of airborne toxicants.

Professor Kleeman’s research is focused on the study of urban and regional air quality problems with an emphasis on the size and composition of atmospheric particles and gas-to-particle conversion processes. These issues are important because research has found that airborne particles with diameters less than 2.5 microns cause adverse health effects. The size and composition of particles found in the atmosphere also determines much of the visibility reduction observed in large cities.

The main theme of our research program is the application of synthetic organic chemistry to the study of sustainable energy and materials, molecular electronics, medicinal chemistry, and fundamental aspects of molecular structure. Current work is focused in five main areas: (1) chemical conversion of biomass into organic molecules of interest as fuels, polymers, and value-added products; (2) concise natural product synthesis; (3) design and synthesis of topologically interesting organic molecules; (4) design and synthesis of novel p-type dopants for organic semiconductors; (5) synthesis and evaluation of small organic molecules for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial health effects.

The Nicklisch Lab is interested in understanding how and to what extent environmental chemicals can enter and accumulate in humans and other organisms. Our main focus is on studying how different types of transport proteins interact with these chemicals and if we can test for and design more “green” chemicals that are better eliminated. The lab has a traditional protein biochemistry format with some mild flavors of molecular biology and analytical chemistry.

Dr. Nguyen’s research investigates how atmospheric chemistry governs the composition and properties of air pollutant mixtures, such as their radiative effects on climate and toxicological effects on human health. A primary goal is to understand the oxidation mechanisms occurring in the gas phase, aerosol particles, and fog/cloud droplets. Ultimately, these mechanisms will be integrated into computational models used to simulate the atmosphere.

Investigating how interactions between bacteria, minerals, humic substances, and contaminants in natural environments influence biogeochemical cycling and environmental quality. Examples of my research interests include: (1) determining reaction rates of contaminant oxidation/transformation at mineral and bacteria surfaces; (2) studying the fate, transport, and reactivity of agricultural antibiotics in soils located near concentrated animal feeding operations; (3) elucidating the role of bacterial surface biomolecules in cell adhesion and biomineralization/dissolution reactions; (4) investigating the role of extracellular polymeric compounds in heavy metal biogeocycling; and (5) identifying persistent degradation products of primary pollutants and determining their bioavailability.

4145 Meyer Hall

(530) 754-2454

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The Poulin Lab is interested in the environmental chemistry and toxicology of metal contaminants in the environments, with an emphasis on mercury. At the field scale, our research aims to identify the key processes controlling the transformations of mercury in managed aquatic systems (e.g., wetlands, reservoirs); this information informs system management to decrease methylmercury exposure at the organism level. Other research interests include (1) interactions between dissolved organic matter and natural and engineered nanoparticles, (2) organic sulfur chemistry, and (3) mechanisms of metal detoxification in organisms.

Dr. Runnebaum’s research has focused on catalytic conversion of biomass-derived compounds to biofuels, elucidating structure-reactivity relationships in delaminated zeolites, and catalyst design and synthesis.

Research currently focused on investigating (1) the metabolic actions of toxic chemicals in aquatic animals using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics (environmental metabolomics); (2) the biochemical actions of toxic chemicals in aquatic animals using in vivo NMR; (3) the kinetics and biotransformation of pesticides and petroleum hydrocarbons in aquatic animals; (4) the influence of surfactants on the bioavailability of petroleum hydrocarbons in aquatic systems; (5) the dissipation of herbicides via volatilization, soil sorption, photodegradation and microbial degradation under rice field conditions; and (6) the fate of pesticides and petroleum hydrocarbons in marine mussels and sediments. Member of the Graduate Groups in Agricultural & Environmental Chemistry, Ecology, and Pharmacology & Toxicology.

Current efforts focused on solving chemically-based problems in agriculture. Research activities involve the development and integration of predictive chemical kinetics, modeling strategies and field/in situ results as they relate to quantitatively understanding the interaction of molecules with their surroundings. He investigates molecules that are produced naturally as well as those that are produced by humans.

Physical/chemical methods of soil and groundwater treatment, green chemistry, fate, transport, transformation and effects of environmental contaminants, sorption/desorption processes in soils and sediments, relationship between natural organic matter structure and sorption reactivity.

Current research centers on the characterization, production, and environmental fates of atmospheric condensed phase pollutants and their impacts on climate and human health. Research topics include: aerosol mass spectrometry, data analysis and interpretation, and studies of fog and cloud chemistry