Peter Adriaens, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Fundamental and Applied Microbiology for the Environment (FAME)
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Associate Director,
Institute for Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Technology (IESET)

Peter Adriaens (B.S. Agricultural Engineering, University of Gent, Belgium, 1984; M.S. Bioengineering, University of Gent, Belgium, 1986; Ph.D. Soil and Environmental Science, UC-Riverside, 1989) has been Professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at The University of Michigan since 1992, and adjunct professor at the Eberhard-Karls University of Tuebingen, Germany, since 2000. His research and teaching interests involve fundamental and applied environmental microbiology in natural and engineered systems, with emphasis on biodegradation, bioremediation, and microbial sensing and control in sustainable aqueous fluids. His professional objectives are in the area of environmental technology transfer, diffusion and commercialization in areas of national and international need.

(Curriculum vitae, Professional objectives, Research contributions, Teaching contributions, Current and new research areas, Teaching portfolio, Group diversity and climate).

Cyndee L. Gruden, PhD, PE
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
University of Michigan

Research interests: hydrogen-enhanced dechlorination, application of molecular tools to process engineering, pollution prevention, engineering education.

Hobbies: backpacking, travel, running marathons

Karlin Danielsen, Ph D Candidate
Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Michigan

Areas of interest: Evaluating the potential for natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents catalyzed by reduced iron minerals, determining the geochemical conditions that will optimize natural attenuation rates and create the most benign distribution of products; and assessing the likelihood for inhibited reaction rates in complex waste mixtures. I am not a FAME group member but I participate in all of the group activities because our research interests overlap and because Dr Adriaens offers us exceptional insight into strategizing a research program direction.

Hobbies: Sailing, camping and growing the hottest chilies my garden can produce.

Research: My current research revolves around micro-scale flow cytometric devices and their application in rapid microbial detection and automated microbial control systems. This research is conducted, in part, through the Sustainable Aqueous Systems (SAS) group of Professor Peter Adriaens and in conjunction with Professor Steve Skerlos (Department of Mechanical Engineering).

Past research involved the use of a mer-lux bioluminescent bioreporter system (E. coli carrying pRB28/27) to investigate mercury bioavailability, bacterial mercury methylation, and the influence of gratuitous inducers Zn(II) and Cd(II) on the mer bacterial mercury resistance operon. This research was conducted in conjunction with the METAALICUS mercury loading experiment at the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario with collaborators from Rutgers University, University of Manitoba - Winnipeg, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada.

Hobbies: Backpacking, mountaineering, sea kayaking, etc. - virtually anything outside, really. Says Zoli about the similarities between graduate school and high-altitude mountaineering: "Why limit your miserable, cold, sleep- and food-deprived experiences merely to the pursuit of a doctorate when you can do it during your vacation, too!"

Noemi Barabas
University of Michigan

I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and Public Policy a MS in Environmental Engineering working towards a PhD. This research group is the best thing to happen to me as a graduate student! We work on diverse issues, but it never feels like we work in isolation. Other than the Passaic River (my research) I can tell you all about the health of the Huron River as well, including the rower's and swimmer's perspective (there are carp inthere as long as I am tall!). BTW, I am Hungarian, I am from Transylvania, and I have indeed been on the Greenland icesheet.

Michael L. McCormick, PhD Candidate
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Michigan

After obtaining my B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University (1986) I spent six years working in international development in with the Peace Corps. During that time I became interested in finding a way to combine my technical training with my interest in low-cost environmental technologies. That interest brought me to the University of Michigan to study bioremediation and to pursue my M.S. (1995) and Ph.D. (2001) degrees in Environmental Engineering. My research interests lie in geomicrobiology and the influence that cell/mineral interactions have on contaminant transformation. My dissertation examined the roles that cells and biologically reduced iron oxides play in the overall transformation of alkyl halides in iron reducing environments. The work has been very interesting, involving a variety of tools from molecular methods for investing the fate of carbon tetrachloride in anaerobic bacteria, to microscopic and crystallographic analysis of the structure of biogenic minerals.

Shu-Chi Chang
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
University of Michigan

I am from Taiwan, which is an island country in the Southeast Asian between Japan and Philippine. I got my Masters from U of M eight years ago and worked in Taiwan for about seven years. I came back to visit some old friends in Ann Arbor and also study for my PhD in the meantime.

Research: Microbial controls of metalworking fluids (current research); Integrating quality, environmental, safety and health management systems; Bioremediation expert system.

Hobbies: studying Bible and computer stuff; playing basketball (though I am kind of short), baseball, and also playing with my two daughters.

Interests: cellular biotechnology, biologically mediated vs. abiotic reactions

Hobbies: travel, sailing, intramurals, teaching myself guitar