2019 Keynote Speakers

Kappe Lecture: Dr. Michael Hoffmann
Featured: Dr. Eric Roden
Closing: Lara Fowler


2019 Kappe Lecture

“The Reinvented Toilet for Use in the Developing World and Beyond: from a design concept to full-scale manufacturing in five years”

Friday, March 15, 2019   (5:00 – 6:00 PM)

With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Hoffmann’s group has developed, tested, and implemented onsite biochemical and electrochemical reactor systems that are designed for the treatment of human wastewater, which is recycled as flushing water without any discharge to the environment. Human wastewater can be treated with the elimination of suspended particles along with a > 95% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) coupled with the total elimination of fecal coliforms, E. coli, viruses, and total coliforms. In this talk, fundamental aspects of semiconductor electrochemistry coupled with the in situ production of reactive chlorine species, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide will be discussed. Advanced water treatment via applications of electro-Fenton chemistry and electro-peroxone (ozone and hydrogen peroxide) production will also be presented.

———

Dr. Michael Hoffmann
John S. and Sherry Chen Professor of Environmental Science
Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences
California Institute of Technology

Professor Hoffmann is the John S. and Sherry Chen Professor at California Institute of Technology (CalTech). He received a BA in chemistry from Northwestern University and a PhD in chemistry from Brown University. Among his many accolades, most recently Professor Hoffmann was elected a Member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2011, elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017, and recognized as a Lifetime Honorary Professor at Tsinghua University, also in 2017. In 2012, Hoffmann received a prize from Bill Gates for his group’s work on solar-powered electrochemical treatment of human waste for sanitation applications in the developing world, work that he will be presenting at this Kappe Lecture.

 ———

The Kappe Lecture is an endowed Seminar Series hosted annually by the environmental engineering and chemistry departments. This year the lecture is taking place during the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium (ECMSS).

(Top)


Featured Keynote Address

“Hydrobiogeochemical Drivers of Microbial Metabolism in the Columbia River Hyporheic Corridor”

Saturday, March 16, 2019   (10:30 – 11:30 AM)

The hyporheic zone (interface between river water and groundwater), and in particular riverbed sediments, represents a hot spot of biogeochemical cycling at the terrestrial-aquatic interface. Although in-river processing of organic matter and nutrients has been extensively studied, a there is a paucity of information on the deposition, transport and processing of particulate organic matter (POM) within the riverbed in large river ecosystems. This talk will summarize recent experimental studies, conducted in collaboration with scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, on microbial metabolism in the hyporheic zone of the Hanford reach of the Columbia River in eastern Washington state. We examined the response of attached microbial communities from groundwater, hyporheic, and near-surface riverbed habitats within the Columbia River hyporheic corridor to “cross-feeding” with either groundwater, river water, or dissolved organic matter (DOM)-free artificial fluids. Our working hypothesis was that deterministic selection during in situ colonization would dictate the response to cross feeding, with communities displaying maximal biomass and respiration when supplied with their native fluid source. In contrast to expectations, the major observation was that the riverbed colonized sand had much higher biomass and respiratory activity, as well as a distinct community structure, compared to the hyporheic and  groundwater colonized sand. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed a much higher proportion of certain heterotrophic taxa as well as significant numbers of eukaryotic algal chloroplasts in the riverbed colonized sand. Significant quantities of DOM were released from riverbed sediment and colonized sand, and separate experiments showed that the released DOM stimulated respiration in the groundwater and piezometer colonized sand. These results suggest that accumulation and degradation of labile POC within the riverbed is likely to release DOM and nutrients which may enter the hyporheic corridor during hydrologic exchange. A follow-up sediment incubation experiment examined the impact of fresh POM input on carbon and nutrient (N, P) dynamics in fine-grained riverbed sediments under oxic vs. anoxic conditions. The results demonstrated the dramatic impact that input of fresh POM is likely to have on river bed biogeochemistry, including potential effects tied to more prevalent anaerobic conditions in near-surface regions of fine-grained POM deposition and accumulation. Collectively, our work indicates that periodic, hydrologically-driven POM transport events into riverbed sediments is likely to drive a wide range of biogeochemical processes associated with POM and DOM metabolism in the hyporheic corridor.

———

Dr. Eric Roden
Albert and Alice Weeks Professor of Geology and Geophysics
Department of Geoscience
University of Wisconsin- Madison
eroden@geology.wisc.edu

Professor Roden received his B.S. in Biology from Lebanon Valley College and his Ph.D. in Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Science from the University of Maryland. Following postdoctoral work at the U.S. Geological Survey and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, he was a faculty member in Biological Sciences at The University of Alabama for 12 years. He moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005, where he is an Albert and Alice Weeks Professor of Geoscience.

 

(Top)


Closing Keynote Address

“Does What I’m Doing Matter Anyway? How Environmental Science Fits in the World of Law, Policy, and Solutions “

Saturday, March 16, 2018   (4:30 – 5:30 PM)

———

Lara B. Fowler
Senior Lecturer
Penn State Law
Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Pennsylvania State University
lbf10@psu.edu

Lara Fowler is a mediator and an attorney focused on all things water, energy, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining Penn State in 2012, she worked on public policy issues for the Oregon Water Resources Department, attended the University of Washington School of Law, and practiced with Gordon Thomas Honeywell LLP out of its Seattle, Washington office. As a private practitioner, she helped facilitate discussions on how to address chronic flooding issues in Washington State’s Chehalis River Basin, mediated water issues in California and Oregon, and counseled private clients on various regulatory matters, both water and energy related. She now holds a joint appointment as a Senior Lecturer at Penn State Law and the Assistant Director for Outreach and Engagement with Penn State’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment. She is currently researching how water, energy, and ways of managing conflict play out in a region that includes the Chesapeake Bay, agriculture, flood prone rivers, biofuels and Marcellus Shale development.

 

(Top)