CESE Research Areas

Environmental Assessment

Effects of Air Pollution on Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems

  • long-term changes in the acid-base status of surface waters in response to changes in acidic deposition (Driscoll)
  • effects of the depletion of calcium from soil by acidic deposition (Driscoll, Johnson)
  • role of atmospheric mercury deposition in the regulation of concentrations of mercury in the water column, sediments and fish in remote lakes (Driscoll)

    Environmental Microbiology
  • molecular analyses of microbial diversity in natural and engineered ecosystems (Costello)
  • characterization of the relationship between microbial diversity, community structure and microbial function in natural
    systems (Costello)


    Controls and Characterizations of Naturally Occurring Organic Matter
  • chemical characteristics of organic matter in soil and drainage waters (Johnson, Driscoll)
  • factors regulating the loss of dissolved organic carbon from watersheds (Driscoll, Johnson)
  • impacts of natural organic matter on water treatment (Lettermen)

    Effects of Disturbance on Soil and Drainage Waters
  • response of forest watersheds to clear-cutting (Johnson, Driscoll)
  • response of forest watersheds and soil to climatic disturbance (Driscoll, Johnson)
  • study of changes in microbial community structure in response to climatic changes (Costello)

    Human Settlement and Urbanization
  • nitrogen inputs to coastal waters (Driscoll)
  • inputs and fate of domestic and industrial wastes to an urban lake (Driscoll)


Environmental Technology


Biologically Based Chemical Production

  • modeling, characterization and optimization of bioreactor design and operation (Kelly, Lajoie, Rice)
  • development of efficient methods of estimating rate parameters in bioreactor systems (Rice)
  • optimization of expression of lignolytic enzymes for use in pulp and paper manufacturing (Kelly, Lajoie)

    Contaminant Remediation
  • remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated soils with supercritical carbon dioxide extraction,
    kinetics and reaction pathways of PCBs undergoing supercritical water oxidation (Tavlarides)
  • modeling and characterization of bioremediation processes (for toluene, TCE, Benzene, PAH, PCB) in aquatic
    systems, soils, sediments, and treatment reactors (Costello, Kelly, Lajoie, Rice)
  • effects of contaminating metals on microbially mediated degradation of halogenated solvents (Costello)

    Sensor Development and Evaluation for Environmental Processes
  • acoustic probe development for solid-gas-liquid suspensions (Tavlarides)
  • biosensor development for wastewater treatment and bioremediation processes (Kelly, Lajoie)
  • evaluation of particle counters for water treatment (Letterman)
  • development and optimization of molecular probes for detecting naturally occurring microbial communities and their biodegradative potential (Costello)

    Separation Processes
  • removal of acid gases from crude natural gas using membranes (Rice)
  • development of novel organic-ceramic adsorbents by sol-gel synthesis for metal ion separation (Tavlarides)
  • use of hydrolyzing metals in the removal of particles and dissolved organic matter in water supplies (Letterman)

    Water and Wastewater Treatment
  • modeling and characterization of bioreactors for wastewater treatment (Rice)
  • development of biomolecular databases for diagnosing upsets in wastewater treatment plants (Lajoie)
  • characterizing toxicant damage to activated sludge systems (Kelly, Lajoie)
  • transformations of mercury in wastewater treatment plants (Driscoll, Kelly, Lajoie)







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