Environmental Sustainability Group

Conventional science is far too rigid to solve some of the world’s most important problems: access to clean water; production of clean energy; and maintaining a safe, healthy, and sustainable environment. The overarching goal of this program is to find solutions to environmental problems, through cross-disciplinary research projects.

Environmental Quality and Monitoring: Research in this area will focus on the assessment of heavy metals, inorganics, organics, pathogens, and microbes in soil, water, and air, at different locations around the valley. Such research focus is important for assessing the quality of the environment and estimating risks towards humans and ecology. Specific project(s) include: Water Quality and Microbial Source Tracking of the Lower Gila River Basin (PI: Berenise Charlton); Water Quality and Monitoring of Arizona River Ecosystems and Riparian Habitats (PI: Adrienne Crawford) 

Environmental Remediation and Ecology: Research in this area will focus on exploiting the physical, chemical, and biological systems, combined with advanced mathematical modeling tools, to remove potentially harmful chemical contaminants from the environment. Specific project(s) include: Bioremediation, Measurement and Meta-Analysis of Environmental Contaminants, and Survey of Seed/Seedling Ecology (PIs: Neal Adam, Randhir Deo); Biogeochemical Modeling of Environmental Contaminants (PI: Randhir Deo).

Environmental Sensor Development: Research in this area will focus on design and construction of new electrodes for selective and improved sensing of chemicals. Such sensors are important for remote monitoring of environmental contaminants, security and surveillance, and health and fitness. Specific project(s) include: Exploring Nanostructured Materials for Electrochemical Sensing (PI: Randhir Deo).