Environmental Science: Nano Blog

Environmental Science: Nano welcomes three more members to its board. Find out who they are and a bit about their research below…

Professor Kristin Schirmer

Kristin joins us as a third Associate Editor, working in conjunction with Jim and Greg, to handle and process our incoming submissions.

Professor Kristin Schirmer is presently the Head of the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, Switzerland. She studied for her Ph.D. in Canada, at the University of Waterloo.

Kristin has vast experience within biological environmental research; in 2007 she received three separate awards for her achievements: the SETAC Environmental Education Award, the Felix-Wankel Animal Welfare Research Award and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) Stimulus Award for Technology Transfer for the Ceramic Toximeter passive sampler.

Kristin’s primary research interest is in environmental toxicology and animal cell biology. She has a particular interest in how environmental contaminants, including engineered nanoparticles, interact with aquatic organisms. Kristin is working towards linking changes on the molecular level to whole organism and population level effects and the advancement of in vitro approaches to enable resource-efficient environmental monitoring and a reduction in the use of animals in toxicology.

Dr Frank von der Kammer

Frank joins the editorial board as a representative from the University of Vienna, where he is currently Head of the Nanogeosciences Division and vice Head of the Department for Environmental Geosciences. Frank completed his PhD with highest honour at Hamburg University of Technology and has since acted as a visiting Professor at the University of Pau and at the University of Aix-Marseille.

Frank’s research interests include environmental colloids, their dynamic behaviour and interaction with trace elements, natural nano-scale processes, nanoparticle characterization, engineered nanoparticles in the environment and the application of field flow fractionation to characterize nanoparticles in complex samples. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers within both nano research and nanoparticle characterization.

Professor Robert Hamers

Bob joins the Nano editorial board alongside Frank. Currently, Robert is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Department which he Chaired between 2007-2010. This year Robert contributed to the Frontiers in Chemical Research Distinguished Lecturer Series, Texas A&M University, and in 2012 won an American Chemical Society National Award in colloid and surface chemistry.

Robert’s research interests predominantly focus on environmental health and safety of nanomaterials. His research investigates the environmental impact and potentials safety issues associated with release of nanomaterials in the environment and his team are engaged in research projects aimed at understanding how the size, shape, and surface functional groups impact the bioavailability and toxicity of nanomaterials. He is particularly interested in the biochemical effects of nanoparticles, addressing questions such as “how do nanoparticles impact protein folding processes?” and “do nanoparticles induce genetic mutations or other trans-generational effects?”.

The team at Environmental Science: Nano would like to welcome Dr Barbara Karn on to the Editorial Board, where she is co-opted as a member of The Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization. Barbara is currently the Program Director at the National Science Foundation, Virginia, senior advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and co-founder of the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization.

Barbara completed Masters degrees at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University, before reading for a Ph.D. in Biology and Environmental Sciences at Florida International University.

Barbara has a huge amount of experience within the environmental sector, with a particular focus on nanotechnology. Previously, she has worked as an environmental scientist at the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and built a research program in Nanotechnology and the Environment. She continues to work in the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a part of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Barbara is a Nanotechnology Scholar, awarded by Georgetown University’s Program on Science in the Public Interest, and was also named one of the top ten experts in nanotechnology environment, health and safety issues by Nanotechnology Law and Business.

Barbara’s enthusiasm and experience will be an invaluable asset to the Environmental Science: Nano Editorial Board and will input into the shape and development of the journal both at this exciting time in our early history, and in the future. Welcome to the team!

Here at Environmental Science: Nano we would like to welcome Wei-xian to the team. Find out a bit more about him here!

Wei-xian graduated from Tongji University in Shanghai, from where he moved to John Hopkins University to complete his PhD in Environmental Engineering. Wei-xian has also served as a Professor of environmental engineering and director of the Institute of Sustainable Nanotechnology at Lehigh University, PA.

 Presently, Wei-xian is based at the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development, and his research focuses on chemical and biological transformation of environmental contaminants and heavy metal ions. Wei-xian has produced a number of incredibly well-cited research papers focusing on environmental nanotechnology, including Nanoscale iron particles for environmental remediation: An Overview (Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2003, 5, 323, DOI: 10.1023/A:1025520116015).

Wei-xian’s work on environmental nanotechnology has received extensive media attention in the past with feature articles appearing in the New York Times, Popular Science, Wall Street Journal and MIT Technology Review. In addition, Wei-xian has experience as a consulting engineer for the Ministry of Electronic Industry of China.

We are very excited to add Wei-xian to our editorial board; Wei-xian’s vast wealth of experience and expertise will contribute to the development and progression of Environmental Science: Nano. Welcome aboard!

Environmental Science: Nano, the new Royal Society of Chemistry journal which investigates the effect of nanomaterials on environmental and biological systems, welcomes Mike Hochella to its Editorial Board.

Michael is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where he works in environmental science and geoscience. His research interests include nanoscience and mineral surface geochemistry, and elucidating the role that these play in earth science, with particular interest in environmental issues. In addition to this, Mike’s team work on mineral-microbe interactions from both a geochemical and biochemical perspective and characterise aqueous partitioning reactions at oxide and silicate surfaces.

Michael completed his PhD at Stanford University and throughout his career has published a number of high-impact articles, covering both primary research and review content. These include a perspective on Nanominerals, mineral nanoparticles and Earth systems¹ and a research paper looking into bacterial recognition of mineral surfaces.²

Michael is an incredibly respected and established scientist and has held Fellow positions at the European Association of Geochemistry, the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards for his contribution to earth sciences and has held advisory positions at various U.S. national agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.  He has also served as President of the Geochemical Society and the Mineralogical Society of America.

We are delighted to welcome Mike to the Editorial Board for Environmental Science: Nano, where his expertise and enthusiasm will input into the quality and development of this new and exciting journal.

1. MF Hochella, SK Lower, PA Maurice, Science, 2008, 319, 1631-1635
2. SK Lower, MF Hochella and TJ Beveridge, Science, 2001, 292, 1360-1363