Tuesday Sept. 8, :10p.m. Featheringill Hall Room 138 “Behavior of Nano- and Bio-particles in Porous Media: Characterization of Transport Processes and Development of Monitoring Methods/Tools” DR. CHRISTOPHE DARNAULT Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University Associate Editor, Journal of Hydrology ABSTRACT The release of emerging contaminants, such as engineered nanomaterials, into the environment, and the prevalence of pathogens due to wildlife and agricultural activities in rural and agricultural watersheds are inevitable. Understanding the behavior of these nano- and bio-particles (e.g., quantum dots and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts) in the environment is critical for the protection of the environment and public health. To characterize the transport and retention processes of these particles in porous media, we have investigated their mobility under different hydrodynamic and chemical conditions found in the natural environment. We have demonstrated that preferential flow and surfactant may facilitate and enhance the transport of nanoparticles, while gas-water interfaces and deposition processes may induce the retention of nanoparticles and limit their transport. Similarly, we have established the role of vadose zone processes on the transport of bio-particles. To quantify and visualize these particles, as well as to elucidate the individual contribution of the mechanisms and environmental parameters affecting their transport and retention, we have developed monitoring methods and tools using physical, chemical, microbiological, molecular, and non-intrusive technologies. The results of our research will contribute to the development and validation of fate and transport models of contaminants from pore scale to watershed scale for sustainable water resources management, environmental nanotechnology, risk assessment, and life-cycle analysis. BIOGRAPHY Christophe Darnault is Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University. He serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier). He has research and teaching experience at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from Cornell University (2000), and his combined M.S. & B.S. degree (Diplôme d’Ingénieur) in Agricultural, Environmental, and Biological Engineering from the Institut Supérieur d'Agriculture, Lille, France (1995). His experience also encompassed working as water resources group leader at Environmental Engineering and Technology, Inc. and as project engineer at Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. (now the Water Division of ARCADIS). Dr. Darnault’s teaching and research interests are in the fields of biological and environmental engineering, agricultural engineering, hydrological sciences, and water resources engineering. Particular contributions include the fate and transport of pathogenic microorganisms, nanomaterials, non-aqueous phase liquids, and radionuclides in soils under natural conditions, the vadose zone processes, and the development and application of novel methods--including light transmission, fluorescence, microbiological, and molecular--for the monitoring of biological/environmental systems and processes..