This award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management includes the following exciting research projects: Integrated surface and groundwater modeling of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee site with an emphasis on contaminant transport under different remediation strategies and supporting the development of a regulatory total maximum daily load for mercury for the watersheds at the site (in collaboration with the College of Engineering); Development of innovative monitoring systems for…

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The Applied Research Center has won another research award on June 17, 2009 for $2.3M!

This award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management includes the following exciting research projects:

  • Integrated surface and groundwater modeling of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee site with an emphasis on contaminant transport under different remediation strategies and supporting the development of a regulatory total maximum daily load for mercury for the watersheds at the site (in collaboration with the College of Engineering);
  • Development of innovative monitoring systems for high-level radioactive waste tanks and a new technology to unplug waste lines (patent applications are anticipated on all systems);
  • Development and deployment of innovative, remote, robotic systems for treating contaminated surfaces in buildings (in collaboration with commercial companies);
  • Fundamental scientific studies on the chemical and microbial processes on mercury and uranium contamination in soils and surface water. The methylation process for mercury contamination in soils and surface water increases toxicity by orders of magnitude and is affected by microbes and several other environmental parameters (joint effort with FIU Chemistry Department); 
  • Uranium chemical species, fate and transport and remediation are similarly affected by various microbes, presence of organic matter, and other environmental conditions (joint effort with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); and
  • 40 top students (from engineering, math, chemistry and physics departments) are currently funded as DOE Research Fellows. Fellows are mentored by ARC staff and major professors and work on research throughout the year including 10-week internships at Department of Energy National Laboratories each summer.  Fellows have already won national recognition at recent conferences such as winning the award for best student research papers and presentations.

A proposal for a $20M program over the next 5 years will be submitted to DOE by the end of June 2009 with the expectation that no other university will be able to compete in these critical, research areas for the DOE Office of Environmental Management.

David Roelant
Associate Director of Research
Applied Research Center
Florida International University
Office: 305-348-6625
roelantd@fiu.edu

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