Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts blog

Laurel ThomasArrigo is a professor of Environmental Chemistry at the University of Neuchâtel. Prof ThomasArrigo’s research links a/biotic molecular- and micro-scale processes to physical changes at the catchment-scale to study biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and elements in the context of climate change. She combines advanced spectroscopic techniques and analytical chemistry with model laboratory and field-based studies. Prof ThomasArrigo holds a BSc in Mathematics and History from the University of Colorado (USA) and worked as an environmental consultant before obtaining her MSc in Hydrogeology at the University of Goettingen (Germany), and then PhD from ETH in Soil Chemistry in 2017. In 2023, Dr. ThomasArrigo joined the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland where she formed the Environmental Chemistry group.

Read Laurel’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Coprecipitation with glucuronic acid limits reductive dissolution and transformation of ferrihydrite in an anoxic soil” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on the reductive dissolution and transformation of native Fe minerals in anoxic soil using stable iron isotopes. In fact you’ve published 5 other articles in our journal on ferrihydrite transformations in ESPI. How has your research evolved from your earliest work to this most recent article?

Ferrihydrite is a common iron mineral found in wetlands. It is often associated with trace elements like arsenic, which is what I initially studied during my PhD. Specifically, in places like wetlands, where the water-table fluctuates, transformation of ferrihydrite can lead to the release of sorbed arsenic. In these early studies, we also found that if organic carbon was present, it impacted the extent of ferrihydrite transformation. This finding sparked my interest in iron and carbon interactions. Over the years, I studied iron mineral transformations in both natural and synthetic samples and in field- as well as controlled lab-experiments. A continual challenge has been how to interpret and relate results across these different spatial and experimental scales. Which brings me to my most recent work. By using stable iron isotopes, we combine mechanistic information on mineral transformation with the complexity of working in a natural soil; a step towards bridging the gap between lab- and field-experimental results.

Laurel, I have to ask you how you write your name because I’ve seen it two different ways. Is it Laurel Thomas Arrigo or Laurel ThomasArrigo?

My last name is ThomasArrigo (no space).

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

I’m really excited about combining lab- and field-based research. For example, one of my current projects explores the role of iron minerals for carbon cycling in Icelandic wetlands. In addition to field campaigns, where we have little control over environmental conditions, we conduct controlled experiments with the collected soils in the lab. Comparing the results helps us understand how various aspects of changing environmental conditions impact coupled element cycling in soils.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

One of the most important questions in environmental biogeochemistry is how nutrient and element cycles respond to changing environmental conditions. Soils play a big role in facilitating nutrient and element cycles, and there is a lot great work studying how soil components, including mineral phases, impact biogeochemical cycles. Still, there are many unanswered questions that currently limit our ability to accurately predict future element cycles; a key requisite to developing sustainable solutions to pressing environmental concerns.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

A challenge to many environmental science research questions is how to translate results across scales; both experimental scales; from simple to complex systems, but also spatial scales; from the lab to the field. Constantly trying to bridge this gap and explain field-scale phenomenon through mechanistic results obtained in lab studies can be trying, but it leads to diverse and exciting research with many unanswered questions.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I generally go to the Goldschmidt Conference, which is an international meeting on geochemistry jointly administered by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry but haven’t planned the rest of 2025 yet.

How do you spend your spare time?

I go to the mountains as often as I can. Climbing, hiking, skiing, or mountain biking; really anything that gets me outside and moving.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I always enjoyed sports and have great respect for physical therapists who kept me active after various injuries. So, sports therapy would be an interesting career!

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Start building a network, both of peers and mentors. Peers create a great support system to get through challenging times and may turn into colleagues or collaborators in the future. Mentors can offer advice, open doors, and facilitate further introductions. Invest time to attend conferences and scientific talks and keep in touch with the contacts you make.

Prachi Joshi is a Junior Group Leader in Geomicrobiology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Dr. Joshi’s research focuses on redox processes that impact environmental issues including climate change and pollution. In particular, Dr. Joshi studies the biogeochemistry of carbon and iron. Dr. Joshi has extensive expertise in molecular, bench scale, and field techniques to probe organic matter and iron minerals to provide mechanistic understanding with links to large scale phenomena. Dr. Joshi has a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune in India, M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, USA. After spending 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow in environmental chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, Dr. Prachi joined the University of Tübingen in the Department of Geosciences in 2020.

Read Prachi’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Preferential adsorption and coprecipitation of permafrost organic matter with poorly crystalline iron minerals” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Fe–OC associations formed by coprecipitation and adsorption using tests you performed on field-collected palsa, bog, and fen soils. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

It has been quite a journey from my first paper looking at the stability of goethite, a crystalline Fe(III) oxyhydroxide, to the current work in permafrost systems. When I first started my graduate research, I was driven by understanding water quality in aquifers (I’m an engineer by training). Along the way, I discovered that I was passionate about fundamental questions and enjoyed delving into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of environmental chemical phenomena. This has led me to diverse projects such as mineral recrystallization, organic matter redox chemistry, and carbon cycling in wetland systems. Over time, I decided to expand from working in the laboratory alone to investigating classical processes in the environment. This brings me to the most recent paper that looks at association between minerals and organic carbon in thawing permafrost systems.

Dr. Joshi, like many of our emerging investigators, you’ve travelled a lot for your scientific career. Moving between continents can be daunting! How has your global experience impacted your perspective?

I’ve always thought of international mobility as one of the most exciting parts of science. Although it can be intimidating at first, I found that experiencing new cultures, both inside the laboratory and outside in a new city or country, has been enriching. Each move has brought new scientific perspectives; for example, moving to the Environmental Chemistry group at ETH Zürich brought me into contact with researchers with expertise ranging from mass spectrometry to methane release. I’ve also been fortunate to have welcoming and supportive research environments wherever I’ve moved.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

I’m particularly excited about bringing the concepts that we teach in our courses out into field-based research and studying them in all their complexity. For example, one of my current projects looks at carbon cycling in coastal wetlands at the northern coast of Germany, where we combine knowledge from chemistry, microbiology, soil science, and hydrology. I even had to learn quite a bit about plants in that project.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

One of the most important questions that environmental scientists have been chasing has been: how can we predict the release of greenhouse gases from natural systems? There is a lot of excellent work going on in this field; however, we still have a long way to go. The answer to this question is key to accurate global carbon cycling models which, in turn, guide our prediction of future climate scenarios and the development of mitigation strategies.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

The big questions in the field of environmental redox chemistry require interdisciplinary effort; bringing the right people together and speaking the same language represents a big challenge. We sometimes find that the research questions we have, posed somewhat differently, have been investigated by scientists from a different field such as materials chemistry. We should take advantage of this existing expertise and collaborate more!

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I generally go to the American Chemical Society meetings or the Goldschmidt conference. I still have to plan for 2025 though.

How do you spend your spare time?

Fortunately, I’ve always lived in places that have good access to nature, so I enjoy running and hiking. I also enjoy reading (non-scientific) books and cooking.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

As a young person, I faced the choice between computer science or chemistry and chose the latter. So, in an alternate life, I would likely be a computer scientist or developer. If I had to choose now though, I would probably delve into the field of environmental economics as I find it fascinating and extremely relevant for the future.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Connections are incredibly important – the friends I made in graduate school and during my postdoc are also my collaborators today. It’s worth investing the time to nurture these connections by going to conferences, organizing scientific visits, and keeping in touch over the years. Related to this, I recommend keeping an open mind; you never know when a chance conversation during a coffee break at a meeting turns into a great project idea.

Vaughn Mangal is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Brock University in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Vaughn graduated in biochemistry and molecular biology in 2013 from Trent University in Canada where he remained for his PhD in environmental science under the supervision of Drs. Celine Gueguen and Alexandre Poulain. During his PhD, he received an NSERC postgraduate scholarship and the W. Garfield Weston Scholarship for his research on contaminant transport in northern aquatic ecosystems. During his PhD, he also patented 2 technologies that use algae to remediate metals from contaminated water sources. After graduating with his PhD in 2019, Vaughn was an NSERC postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Carl Mitchell at the University of Toronto Scarborough for two years. Vaughn uses his background in biochemistry and environmental science coupled with training in mass spectrometry to study the molecular biogeochemistry of organic matter and its implications for contaminant transport.  Since July 2022, Vaughn has established an active research program with field and lab components, looking at relationships between contaminant transport, human disturbances, and organic matter. At Brock, Vaughn teaches analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, and quantitative chemical analysis courses.

Read Vaughn’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Impacts of land use on dissolved organic matter quality in agricultural watersheds: a molecular perspective” and read more about him in the interview below:

Your Emerging Investigator Series paper uses ultra high resolution mass spectrometry to study the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in agricultural watersheds to better understand land use impacts. I see that you also recently published another paper in ESPI on DOM in Canadian boreal forest streams. Thank you for choosing our journal! How did your research evolve from your very first publication to your more recent articles?

During my graduate studies, I had the opportunity to develop my interest in analytical chemistry and explore new strategies for solving environmental questions about organic carbon and contaminants. I published my first first-authored publication during the early years of my PhD in 2015 at Trent University, where I used a combination of fluorescent tagging and field flow fractionation to simultaneously separate, identify, and quantify sulphur species released from algae and sulphur-containing molecules in Canadian sub-arctic watersheds. I continued researching how contaminants are mobilized during the spring thaw of these large watersheds in northern Canada. My experience in biochemistry and molecular biology also allowed for a deeper investigation of how microorganisms like bacteria and algae respond to contaminant exposure and the implications for how microorganisms uptake metals like mercury and cadmium with increasing human disturbances. During my postdoctoral studies at the University of Toronto, I became very interested in the effects of forest harvesting on mercury biogeochemistry in Canadian forests and how industries can help refine their management practices to reduce mercury transport. My recent contributions build on my PhD research by focusing on how environmental factors influence the molecular properties of dissolved organic carbon and the implications of these changes on contaminant transport.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Since starting my research program at Brock University in 2022, I am very excited to help inspire the next generation of environmental chemists. I am also excited to work with collaborators to help refine management strategies to reduce contaminant transport in Lake Erie watersheds. It’s very promising to see a shift across industries towards achieving more sustainable practices informed by environmental research.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

One of the most important research questions is how plastic compounds are changing the natural biogeochemical cycles of carbon in aquatic systems. Not only can microorganisms use decomposed plastics as nutrient sources, but these plastics further complicate the fate and transport of other organic and inorganic contaminants. Developing methods to simultaneously characterize organic carbon and carbon derived from plastic pollution will be key to better understanding these interconnected biogeochemical cycles.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

One of the most challenging questions is how we translate small-scale processes and mechanisms into practical solutions and applications. Designing new analytical workflows and developing new ways to characterize organic carbon and contaminant transport is useful, but relating these mechanisms to complex ecosystems where not all variables can often be controlled is challenging.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I will be attending the International Conference for Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy this year, and plan on attending conferences like the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU), Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CCCE), and Metabolomics 2025.

How do you spend your spare time?

I like spending time with my kids, running, and going for hikes in my spare time. I also enjoy gardening and playing soccer.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

If I weren’t a scientist, I would have pursued a career in paramedics or physical therapy.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

My advice would be that it’s never too soon to establish your own independent network of collaborators or colleagues. Work on building and maintaining relationships with other academics at conferences or with other labs, as communicating and collaborating with other scientists leads to new ideas. I’d also recommend working on scientific communication skills as effectively communicating your research to non-specialists is extremely important.

Theo is an Assistant Professor in the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong. Her current research uses a combination of laboratory experiments and field observations to investigate the impacts of air pollution policies and climate change on the multiphase atmospheric chemistry of aqueous droplets and the formation and transformation processes of organic aerosols. Theo completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Mathematics at the University of Toronto. She went on to complete Ph.D. studies in Physical Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Stephen Leone and Dr. Kevin Wilson at the University of California, Berkeley. Her Ph.D. research focused on investigating fundamental reaction mechanisms that govern the heterogeneous photooxidation of organic aerosols. She then went on to complete postdoctoral studies at Georgia Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Sally Ng and Prof. Rodney Weber. There, she performed laboratory chamber studies to investigate biogenic secondary organic aerosol formation mechanisms and participated in field studies to investigate the effect of ammonia on aerosol composition and acidity.

Read Theodora’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Aqueous photooxidation of live bacteria with hydroxyl radicals under clouds-like conditions: Insights into the production and transformation of biological and organic matter originating from bioaerosols” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Aqueous photooxidation of live bacteria with hydroxyl radicals under clouds-like conditions: Insights into the production and transformation of biological and organic matter originating from bioaerosols. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My Ph.D. studies focused on the heterogeneous photooxidation of organic aerosols. My first lead-author publication (Nah et al., Anal. Chem. 2013) was on the application of Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) in the real-time in situ chemical characterization of submicron organic aerosols. It demonstrated how we can use surface sensitive mass spectrometric tools to probe real-time changes in the chemical composition of the surface of submicron organic aerosols during heterogenous photooxidation. I have continued my research on atmospheric aerosol chemistry. However, my research interests have expanded even further to include the atmospheric chemistry of bioaerosols under different environmental conditions. In this most recent article, my group investigated what happens when live bacteria interact with hydroxyl radicals in clouds during the daytime. It builds on our previous work (Liu et al., Atm. Chem. Phys. 2023) which investigated the effects of pH and light exposure on the survival of bacteria and their ability to biodegrade organic compounds in clouds.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

I have found this research area (i.e., atmospheric chemistry of bioaerosols) to be both exciting and challenging because I do not have a background in microbiology. In fact, I have not taken a single biology class in my entire life! I spent a lot of time during the COVID-19 lockdown learning about bacteria. I am lucky that I was able to establish a research collaboration with a microbiologist in my department who is interested in atmospheric bioaerosols. Our ongoing research collaboration has been fruitful and we have been able to leverage one another’s expertise to ask and answer interesting research questions on bioaerosols. In addition to investigating the atmospheric chemistry of bioaerosols in outdoor atmospheres, we have been investigating what happens when airborne bioaerosols and microorganisms adhered on surfaces interact with atmospheric oxidants and chemical compounds in the indoor built environment. Stay tuned for more of our work!

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

At present, little is known about what happens when live microorganisms such as bacteria interact with atmospheric oxidants and chemical compounds in the outdoor and indoor atmospheres under different environmental conditions. These multiphasic interactions potentially have important implications for atmospheric processes, air quality, and human health. There are so many questions that still need to be asked and answered in order for us to gain a basic understanding of these interactions before we can even consider their implications. Asking and answering these questions will require the expertise of both atmospheric chemists and microbiologists.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Communicating my research to people with different backgrounds and levels of expertise. A lot of my research use laboratory experiments to investigate fundamental reaction mechanisms and understand how things work at the molecular level. Sometimes, I find it challenging to convince others, especially those not in the atmospheric chemistry field, on the importance and relevance of my research approach to solve “real world” air pollution issues.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I will be presenting my work at the 9^th International Conference on Fog, Fog Collection, and Dew in Colorado in late July, and at the 2023 Atmospheric Chemistry Gordon Research Conference in Maine in early August.

How do you spend your spare time?

I spend most of my spare time watching travel documentaries to unwind. Recently, I have been spending some of my spare time learning Mandarin so that I can communicate more effectively with my Chinese collaborators.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

If I were not a scientist, I would still want do something related to the environment. I could see myself working for an NGO involved in environment management and conservation work.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I have been fortunate to have encountered many amazing mentors who have been generous with their time and advice. I will share the same piece of advice that one of my mentors gave me when I was deciding on where to attend graduate school: You need to embrace change and be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. I find that this piece of advice can be applied to career development, research, and so on. I have relied on this advice at various points of my career, including when I decided to move to a new country to start my independent research career, and when I pursued opportunities for multi-disciplinary collaborations to work on interesting research questions.

Trevor VandenBoer joined the Department of Chemistry at York University as an assistant professor in analytical and environmental chemistry in 2019. His research involves development of instrumentation to probe the atmospheric chemistry of reactive nitrogen species. Emissions of reactive nitrogen have perturbed the global nitrogen cycle to unprecedented levels. These chemicals are introduced to the environment by human transportation, agricultural, cooking, cleaning, and industrial activities. His work focuses on impacts of these compounds on indoor and outdoor air quality with emphasis on the role of exchange at interfaces.

VandenBoer completed a PhD in Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Toronto focusing on the quantitation and atmospheric chemistry of atmospheric reactive nitrogen at a variety of national and international field locations, including an NSERC-supported exchange at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, CO. He then held a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland where he quantified the exchange of reactive nitrogen at the biosphere-atmosphere interface across a latitudinal transect of boreal forest sites.

Read Trevor’s Emerging Investigator Series article “An instrument to measure and speciate the total reactive nitrogen budget indoors: description and field measurements” and read more about him in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on An instrument to measure and speciate the total reactive nitrogen budget indoors: description and field measurements. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

From our initial study in a New York home, the levels of nitrogen oxide (NO_X = NO + NO₂) pollutants we observed created a lot of concern.¹ We first worked in a collaboration with materials chemist Michael Katz at Memorial University to design metal-organic frameworks, taking advantage of the highly porous nature of these materials, to selectively deactivate nitrous acid (HONO) indoors as potential next-generation technology to be placed in air handling systems.² Then we worked with organic chemist Chris Caputo at York University to design molecular BODIPY dyes as high-sensitivity probes that were also selective in passively sensing HONO without instrumentation indoors, as we discovered no such probes existed and that HONO was an interference in prior studies of nitrogen oxide pollution indoors.³ As the field evolved alongside this research, it became apparent to us that indoor air was as varied as the individuals who use indoor environments, meaning that we had to get new instruments into the hands of non-experts and a lot of indoor spaces to study them, to complement dedicated field campaigns using experimental homes. Taken together, this progression of work from our team and collaborators has evolved with the rising awareness on the need to improve indoor air quality, from identifying chemicals of concern, to targeting key components for better measurements, and developing solutions capable of mitigating indoor pollutants.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

At the moment, we have a lot of different field projects at various stages of their life cycle and I am excited about all them! We have been designing new instruments to study nutrient use efficiency, air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural settings; deploying our suite of instruments in a research cruise on the Atlantic Ocean to study the chemistry of marine fog during the Fog and Turbulence Interactions in the Marine Atmosphere (FaTIMA) campaign in the summer of 2022; and the teams at YorkU are preparing for an upcoming urban air quality campaign in Toronto during the summer of 2023 where NOAA and NASA aircraft will investigate our urban plume of Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA), alongside our team of international collaborators making ground site observations. Working as part of big international teams allows researchers in the group to work on high-impact chemistry questions, interfacing with world-class resources and scientists, and it is always very exciting to facilitate these opportunities for them!

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

With respect to our current work indoors, the answer is very broad, but remains: Is our typical indoor air good or bad and what are the best metrics to assess this? Answering this question is a huge challenge. More specifically, these are the questions that I think we are still trying to answer that feed into this: Are there important chemical transformations we need to consider or are physical properties of molecules and indoor surfaces controlling the composition of indoor air? Are there simple changes to our behaviours and activities indoors that can create major air quality improvements, or do we need to totally rethink how we handle our indoor air from a building-design and operation perspective?

What do you find most challenging about your research?

The logistics of conducting environmental chemistry fieldwork. This activity is very atypical compared to traditional laboratory-based chemistry experiments. Obtaining permissions, permits, and training to install field infrastructure in challenging locations while maintaining safety and high-quality analytical measurements is no small feat! This demands a substantial amount of time spent identifying, connecting, and committing to ongoing communications with a large team of experts spanning contractors, engineers, freight, etc. before we get to study the important chemistry we’re interested in at these locations.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

You can meet me in March 2023 at the Spring Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis, as part of the Bridging the Interfaces of Atmospheric Chemistry session, where I will be presenting the instrumentation in this work and some more recent findings we have obtained with it. In June, several group researchers and I will be at the annual meeting for the Canadian Society for Chemistry in Vancouver to present on several ongoing research projects in the team.

How do you spend your spare time?

While spare time is fleeting for an Assistant Professor, prioritizing activities like soccer, running, etc. are important to me for physical health. Similarly, time spent reading or gardening provide present-moment focus to unwind. When I just cannot keep the chemist in me at bay, I will admittedly use my free time for kitchen and brewing experiments, drawing from scientific principles.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

If I was not a scientist, the profession where you’d be likely to find me would be one that bridges my agricultural upbringing with societal awareness of food systems, like efficiency in production or limiting waste.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Take your time in obtaining both your formal and informal training to get the most out of each step along the way. Make time during each step of your training to develop new transferrable skills for your future and broaden your scientific perspectives by sharing your research interests with as many people as you can.

References

1         S. Zhou, C. J. Young, T. C. VandenBoer, S. F. Kowal and T. F. Kahan, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2018, 52, 8355–8364.

2        D. McGrath, M. D. Ryan, J. J. MacInnis, T. C. VandenBoer, C. J. Young, and M. J. Katz. Chem. Sci. 2019. 10:5576-5581.  DOI:10.1039/C9SC01357A

3         D. Nodeh-Farahani, J. N. Bentley, L. R. Crilley, C. B. Caputo and T. C. VandenBoer, Analyst, 2021, 146, 5756–5766.

Dr. Amanda Hohner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Montana State University. Her research focuses on the characterization of source water quality and drinking water treatment processes. Within this area, she evaluates the effects of climatic disturbances and extreme events on watersheds and drinking water system resiliency. Prior to joining MSU she was an Assistant Professor at Washington State University. She completed her PhD and MS in Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder and her BS in Civil Engineering at Washington State University. In addition to research and teaching, she is actively involved in mentoring women and first-generation college students in engineering.

Read Amanda’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Emerging investigator series: “physicochemical properties of wildfire ash and implications for particle stability in surface waters” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Physicochemical Properties of Wildfire Ash and Implications for Particle Stability in Surface Waters. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My PhD work and first paper primarily focused on wildfire effects on dissolved organic matter and disinfection byproduct formation during water treatment. My research has expanded to investigate post-fire water quality more broadly and in the context of wildfire effects on aquatic systems and environmental processes. The focus of this article is on the characterization of solid wildfire-ash particle characterization and properties that influence stability and mobilization in watersheds. It pushed me to incorporate new tools and analytical techniques from soil science and particle chemistry and look through the lens of ecosystems impacts rather than water treatment.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Wildfire and water quality research has gained a lot of momentum the last few years and it really requires interdisciplinary teams to integrate an understanding of the complex interactions involved. I’m excited about working with and learning from collaborators in forestry, hydrology, ecology, and environmental economics on addressing important and challenging research questions. It’s fun to step outside of our specific disciplines and continue learning.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Unfortunately, in many regions wildfires are now high severity and catastrophic to communities and ecosystems. At the same time we need some level of fire on the landscape to maintain healthy forests and watersheds. Research and society need to understand what this balance looks like from a land and water management perspective and how we can move towards a more natural, healthy fire regime in the face of climate change.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Observational and field-based studies include very complex environmental interactions that are out of our control such as wildfire behavior and weather. As scientists and engineers we like to have controlled experiments with clear explanations, but that is not the nature of post-fire environmental studies. It can be very challenging when we collect ash or water samples from a burned landscape to be able to form scientific conclusions, but at the same time it makes for exciting research with many unanswered questions to explore.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

My favorite conferences to attend are the AWWA Water Quality & Technology Conference and Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Conference.

How do you spend your spare time?

We have a three month old son, so I spend most of my spare time with him cuddling and playing, and on all of the other parenting adventures. We also like to get outdoors and take our pup hiking or running. In the winter we cross-country ski and in the summer we like to stand-up paddle board. We just recently moved to Bozeman, Montana and look forward to taking our son on outdoor adventures soon!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I like to argue, so maybe I would have been an environmental lawyer. If not that, then a K-12 teacher because I really enjoy teaching and mentoring students.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

There are definitely ups and downs with research and academia and it is important to persevere and stay confident in yourself and your abilities. I find I rely on my mentors and close peers to keep me motivated and help me through challenges.

Sarah Styler obtained her BSc, MSc, and PhD from the University of Toronto and conducted postdoctoral research at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig, Germany. She began her independent career at the University of Alberta in 2015; in 2019, she was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry. In Summer 2020, she moved to McMaster University, where she is Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry and again a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry. She leads the P.A.R.T.I.C.L.E.S. (pesticides, art, road dust, traffic, interdisciplinary, combustion, light, equity, surfaces) research group, which currently consists of eight excellent graduate students and two stellar undergraduate trainees.

Read Sarah’s Emerging Investigator Series article “ozone uptake by urban road dust and first evidence for chlorine activation during ozone uptake by agro-based anti-icer: implications for wintertime air quality in high-latitude urban environments” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on ozone uptake by urban road dust. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?”

When I began my independent career in 2015, my plan was to focus on desert dust chemistry (e.g., dust–pollutant gas interactions, oxidant production by illuminated dusts). As it turns out, Edmonton is very dusty, largely as a result of resuspension of winter traction materials, so early in my career I began to focus on road dust rather than desert dust.  In my group’s first article, we showed that road dust is a source of singlet oxygen, an important environmental oxidant, and thus has the potential to mediate the lifetime and fate of road dust-associated pollutants that react by singlet oxygen-mediated pathways.  Motivated by these results, Maya and I decided to focus on the potential impacts of road dust chemistry on the composition of the urban troposphere. We spent much time scooping road dust from Edmonton city streets for this project, usually at weird times (to minimize traffic). Standing on a major street wearing nitrile gloves and carrying a dustpan and glass jars is a sure way to attract attention, it turns out.

During my interview for my position at the University of Alberta, I recall being asked, pointedly: what happens after dust?  In other words, could I sustain a career focused on dust alone?  I think that I could, but at the same time I’ve expanded my group’s research scope quite a bit over the past few years to include topics ranging from light absorption by boreal wildfire smoke to gas-phase emissions from degrading cultural heritage objects. Currently, we refer to ourselves as the P.A.R.T.I.C.L.E.S. (pesticides, art, road dust, traffic, interdisciplinary, combustion, light, equity, surfaces) group, but I anticipate this acronym will shift and change over my career!

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

It’s difficult to choose, since each student in my group is working on such different topics (and I am enthusiastic about all of them!), but at the moment, I am most excited about work that PhD student Iris Chan is doing to quantify soiling of urban surfaces resulting from wildfire smoke incursions.  This summer, we have urban surface film samplers placed in a variety of cities across Canada and the US, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes out of the compositional analysis of these samples Iris will perform this autumn.  Of course, if you asked me on a different day, I would probably give a different answer—I maintain what sometimes seems like an inexhaustible reservoir of enthusiasm for all of the projects my group is working on.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

This is a difficult question! In my various biographies for conferences and websites, I usually say that my group is interested in studying the air quality, climate, and health impacts of chemical reactions at atmospheric interfaces. Impacts for whom, though?  These days, I am most interested in work that aims to clearly identify and engage with the populations that experience the impacts that my research field aims to quantify. Many researchers in my field are doing really excellent work in this area—Dr. Sally Pusede (University of Virginia) comes to mind, for example. In short, I think that the most important questions are also the questions that require substantive engagement with researchers in other fields who have complementary expertise, and with community groups and organizations whose local knowledge and lived experience can ensure that we as researchers are asking the right questions and producing answers that have real value for real communities.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Although I wouldn’t have expected this as a graduate student, the easiest part of my research is coming up with ideas.  It’s the rest that causes me trouble—administration, purchasing, wrapping up the loose ends of projects.  A lot of this has to do with the fact that I have ADHD, which I was diagnosed with during the first year of the pandemic.  As I wrote on Twitter (@sarahannestyler) recently, I’m a poster person, not a manuscript person; I’m a relay starter, not an anchor.  Working to reevaluate my strengths and my weaknesses in the context of this diagnosis has been the grand theme of my pandemic experience.  I’m happy to report that my institution, colleagues, and research group have all been very supportive of these developments.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I will be attending the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina this October.  More importantly, though, all eight of my graduate students and I will be attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Chicago, Illinois this December.  My team is really fantastic, and I encourage readers to meet them!

How do you spend your spare time?

One of the neat things about my ADHD diagnosis is that it’s clarified why I’ve always felt like I am working constantly yet never catching up, and in a way has given me permission to take time off.  Over the past year or so, I’ve been getting really interested in weaving—this past summer, I attended a two-week floor loom workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in coastal Maine.  I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my family, which feels like a true luxury after five years halfway across the country and a year in Germany as a postdoc.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I would love to be an academic in an art history department, as I’ve always been interested in minimalist art (I made a pilgrimage of sort to the Chinati Foundation in West Texas during my MSc) and an array of other art-related topics (medieval architecture, northern European still lifes).  Alternatively, I’d like to return to my undergraduate roots and work in a cafe, making three omelets at a time and baking empanadas.  Or, maybe I could be a full-time weaver (assuming my skills continue to improve?!), as I like weaving’s similarity to programming and the fact that it is very, very tactile—a real counterpoint to my current working life.  I am forever coming up with new ideas.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I can think of many pieces of advice (not sure about the wisdom part), but the one that comes to mind right away is the importance of community.  The friends that I made in graduate school are the colleagues I see at conferences and talk to on the phone, the friends I talk to about successes and failures, and the friends from whom I learn on an ongoing basis.  Having a network of people with similar values and ethics continues to help me to broaden my view of the possibilities and promise of academia, especially during challenging periods.

Amanda Giang is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia Vancouver campus, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam People. Her research group addresses environmental policy analysis challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on pollution, climate, and energy. Key topics of current interest include developing better tools and methods for assessing and addressing air pollution and environmental injustice in Canada, understanding the links between air quality and decarbonization to inform policy and planning decisions, and understanding the combined impacts of global change drivers on contaminant cycling and exposure. She currently serves on the Early Career Editorial Advisory Board for Environmental Science & Technology, and the Editorial Board of Environmental Research Communications. She received a PhD and MS in Engineering Systems and Technology Policy at MIT, and a BASc in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto.

Read Amanda’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Investigating the dynamics of methylmercury bioaccumulation in the Beaufort Sea Shelf food web: a modeling perspective” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Investigating the dynamics of methylmercury bioaccumulation in the Beaufort Sea Shelf food web: a modeling perspective. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My first experience in research as an undergraduate student was related to characterizing chemical contaminants in the urban environment. That experience really piqued my interest in environmental determinants of human health and well-being, as well as the role of technology and infrastructure. This motivated me to do my graduate studies at the intersection of engineering, public policy, and the environment. My first lead-authored paper was about tracing through what new global mercury policy might mean for changes in technology and emissions, and therefore changes in environmental fluxes and concentrations of mercury. Since then, my research has continued to focus on this idea of trying to link sources of contaminants to their impacts, to inform the design of interventions—whether that’s in the form of changes to technology, policy, or behaviour. What has grown over time is the range of pollutants and impacts I explore, including air and climate pollutants, and impacts to ecosystems, human health and well-being, equity and justice. This most recent article is definitely an example of that evolution: with Dr. Mi-Ling Li and collaborators, we develop an ecosystem-based mercury bioaccumulation model, that we hope can be used to investigate the impacts of human activity and global environmental change on Arctic ecosystems and communities.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

At the moment, what energizes me the most are opportunities to collaborate across disciplines and with partners in government, civil society, and communities. Working in teams on problem-focused inquiry that supports environmental policy, planning, and stewardship decisions is what motivates to do research. And, on a personal level, it’s also just a lot of fun—through these collaborations, I’m constantly learning and being introduced to different ways of thinking and understanding the world. Often these connections are made through students and post-docs who come from different training backgrounds from my own. This article is a great example of the kind of collaborative work that’s really exciting me right now!

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

I think key areas for more research are cumulative exposures to, and cumulative impacts of, multiple chemical and non-chemical stressors on human health and well-being. Not only are people exposed to multiple chemicals at the same time, in complex mixtures, but they often simultaneously experience other environmental (say during a climate disaster) and social stressors (such as poverty and other systemic inequities). Cumulative impacts have been identified as an important area for further research for some time now, in particular by communities experiencing heavy cumulative burdens, but I think there has not been as much progress as there needs to be in our communities of research and practice, to increase our understanding of these complex challenges and incorporate that understanding into policy changes.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

As an early career faculty member, I have to admit that one of the things that I have found a bit challenging is learning to manage larger, complex, research projects with many trainees, collaborators and partners. Collaborative, interdisciplinary research is one of the aspects of my research that I find most exciting, but which also requires learning some new skills! This includes creating space for discussing different goals, priorities, approaches, timelines and constraints, and also just the logistical aspects of coordination! Ultimately though, this complexity and diversity is also what makes the research so enriching and meaningful.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I plan on attending the American Geophysical Union Fall Conference in-person this year! Other conferences I try to go to include the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and International Society for Exposure Science, and American Chemical Society.

How do you spend your spare time?

I am a bit of a pop culture nerd, so I spend much of my spare time watching, listening, reading any and everything. I am also newly interested in birding!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Related to the above, my non-scientist dream job might be TV critic? I also have several academia-related pitches for series, on the very remote chance that someone from a streaming service is reading this.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

When I think of what sustains me in this career, it’s really relationships. I’m learning that taking the time to care for and nurture these relationships—with peers, with mentors, with trainees, with research partners and collaborators—is so important not only for my research and professional growth, but for my happiness.