Selenium Remediation
Assistant Professor Philip Larese-Casanova & Assistant Academic Specialist Annalisa Onnis-Hayden have received a new $305K research grant from the National Science Foundation entitled "Insights to Selenium Cycling and Remediation Revealed by Stable Oxygen Isotopes". This three-year grant explores the chemical behavior of selenium, a naturally-occurring metal that is toxic to humans and wildlife in large amounts, within lakes and rivers in the western U.S. Laboratory experiments will address how selenium enters waterways due to weathering of selenium ore deposits as well as how selenium is sequestered from water by lake sediments, soil, and microorganisms. The results are expected to identify key reaction mechanisms that govern selenium occurrence in water resources and to improve strategies for managing selenium contamination of water resources.
Philip Larese-Casanova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining Northeastern University, he was a postdoctoral scholoar at Eberhard-Karls University Tuebingen and later Yale University. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa in 2006.
Annalisa Onnis-Hayden obtained her MS from Northeastern and her Ph.D degree from the University of Caligary in Italy.