We’ve been having a fantastic time working on projects related to metal transport in the environment. Chukwudi Nwoko’s dissertation work is focused lead (Pb) and other metals in urban environments which are present due to the legacy of using leaded paint and gasoline. He’s focused on the chemical and physical form (speciation) of Pb in soils and aerosol particles. Chuks received a grant from the Geological Society of America to purchase an air sampler and you’ll sometimes see him on the roof of McGilvrey Hall or around Portage County collecting air samples. Annika Dudik is studying metal transport in a stream impacted by historical coal mining in Tuscarawas County. Her work focused on the role of colloids in moving metals far distance within complex mineral aggregates. Olivine Painter started this year, and their work will also focus on landscapes impacted by historical coal mining with an emphasis on iron and metal precipitation dynamics within acid mine drainage deposits. Undergraduates Kira Paul and Chloe Pearson have been tremendously helpful with field and laboratory projects, and last spring our group hosted Robin Ritley who joined us as a high school intern and is now an undergraduate Earth Sciences major at 91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ!
On the home front, my family is doing well, and our kids continue to do amazing things. We were very fortunate to take a trip to Paris and Amsterdam over winter break, which included a behind-the-scenes tour of the rock and gem collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris; the collection is the oldest collection in the world and a highlight was seeing a several hundred pound block of salt that Napolean brought back from Egypt. The 91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ collection isn’t quite as old, but we do have some really neat specimens; feel free to come by and ask me for a tour!