Brandy Stewart Email and Phone Number

With a background in Environmental Engineering and Soil Chemistry, I am currently a Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Minnesota. I completed my Masters and Doctoral degrees in the Environmental Engineering and Science Program within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. Throughout the past 9 years I have combined International Professional Cross Country Ski Racing and training for the Olympics with my Postdoctoral work. My recent research projects are focused on uranium adsorption and incorporation in naturally occurring iron minerals and selenium bioreduction in coal mine waste rock. As global energy demands continue to increase, containment of contaminants released during mining operations is of critical importance. I am interested in the interaction of contaminants, subsurface media, (including soils, sediments, and water), and microbes, as these factors pertain to the mobility of contaminants. Of particular importance to me is increasing our understanding of the factors governing the mobility and subsequent bioavailability of organic and inorganic contaminants in environmental settings in order to contain waste streams and minimize resultant human health impacts. I employ a combination of classical aqueous chemistry and microbiology techniques as well as X-ray absorption spectroscopy to better understand microbial impacts on metal cycling and radionuclide transport in soil and aquatic systems. In recent work I have examined the influence of carbon contained in coal on oxygen and nitrate reduction in coal mine waste rock where results are being used as input for modeling efforts to design large-scale insitu remediation systems for solid mine waste. My publications appear in Environmental Science and Technology, Geomicrobiology, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, and Journal of Environmental Quality. I have included several samples from my extensive list of publications below.