Richard J. Reeder, Nicholas S. Fisher, Clare P. Grey, Gary Halada, Christopher Jacobsen, John B. Parise, Brian Phillips and Martin A. Schoonen of SUNY Stony Brook, James Kubicki of Penn State University and Daniel R. Strongin of Temple University are jointly supported by the Division of Chemistry and the Division of Earth Sciences for their interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at significantly advancing our understanding of the fundamental molecular basis for the sequestration of hazardous contaminants and radionuclide species in natural geomaterials and engineered materials. This award includes collaborations with five scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven receiving parallel funding from the DOE. The team will be focusing on molecular-scale reaction mechanisms that govern the interaction of selected contaminant species (including actinides, toxic metals and metalliods, CFC's) with minerals and mineral-like phases. Enhanced understanding of the stability and lability of molecular contaminant species bound by mineral and organic phases is needed to ensure effective long-term sequestration of contaminants. The collaborations between researchers at Stony Brook, Brookhaven and selected industrial partners offers unique interdisciplinary training opportunities for the students and postdoctoral researchers involved with this work.
Environmental Molecular Science Institute (EMSI) awards are given to interdisciplinary teams of university, industrial and/or national laboratory scientists working on problems aimed at increasing fundamental understanding of natural processes and processes resulting from human activities in the environment at the molecular level. The emphasis in these awards is on collaborative research among teams with complementary research interests and the creation of broad educational experiences for students.
