ANL/ND Research Initiative
A collaborative research initiative between Notre Dame and Argonne National Laboratory was initiated under the auspices of the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) in 1996. This program is administered by the Center for Environmental Science & Technology. Several areas of research have been identified which will allow Notre Dame faculty and Argonne researchers to collaborate, utilizing strengths of each institution. The Center for Environmental Science & Technology will be the focal point for interaction by Notre Dame faculty.

The current areas of research are as follows:
– Biofilms - Structure and function (utilizes APS)
– Metals uptake by plants and microbes - utilize APS
– Ecological studies on organic carbon in lakes - UNDERC field site
– Deposition of Platinum Group Elements in the Environment from Catalytic Converters
– Hydro-bio-geochemical Controls on the Dissolved Organic Matter Content in UNDERC Wetlands

Other Areas of Research

• bioremediation of contaminated soils
• organism selection in mixed cultures
• groundwater hydrology
• genetic and chemical manipulations of enzymes
• herbicide impact on nitrogen cycling
• biological sensors
• molecular tools for monitoring biological systems
• heavy metal uptake and accumulation in plants
• biodesulfurization of petroleum and petroleum distillates
• biodegradation of organic compounds
• biofiltration

SPECIFIC PROJECTS (click on a title to view abstract)

• The microbial ecology of soil surrounding a coal pile
  
• Determination and characterization of the ligands adsorbing Cd2+ to bacterial surfaces at different pH. An EXAFS spectroscopy study
  
• Changes in weaning time with the evolution of food production: isotopic evidence from the North American Midcontinent
  
• A fresh perspective: isotopic evidence for subsistence in the Mississippi River valley of west-central Illinois, and comparison with the Illinois River valley
  
• The effect of environmental change and economic power on the diet of Tarascan elites
  
• The effect of maize agriculture, tribute payment and population growth in the Zacapu Basin on the development of the Tarascan State
  
• Enhancing performance of three-phase catalytic packed-bed reactors
  
• Synthesis of functionalized mesoporous materials for heavy metal remediation
  
• Design and evaluation of room temperature ionic liquids for green chemical processing
  
• Plant community dynamics and nutrient cycling compared across a natural gradient in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
  
• Speciation of heavy-metal contaminated sewage sludge and soils
  
• Supercritical CO2 for environmental extraction of metal and organic contaminants.
  
• Pulsing flow phenomena in trickle-bed reactors
  
• Effects of disturbance, seed bank, and herbivory on dominance of the invasive grass Phalaris arundinacea
  
• Effects of successional soil development and hydrology on germination of eleven dominant freshwater marsh species
  
• Effects of successional soil development on competitive abilities of six dominant freshwater marsh species
  
• Recruitment from seed banks in response to drought-induced drawdown of restored freshwater marshes of different ages
  
• Combinatorial synthesis of oxide catalysts
  
• Treatment of anaerobic digester supernatant and filter press filtrate sidestreams with a sequencing batch reactor
  
• Childhood diet and the prehistoric evolution of food production
  
• The agricultural adaptations of a prehistoric chiefdom: reconstructing prehistoric diet at the angel site
  
• Binary oscillatory crossflow electrophoresis
  
• Library approach to carbohydrate sensors
  
• Benthic-pelagic links in lakes: effects of whole-lake fertilization and fish
  
• Biomanipulations on the contribution of benthic algae to whole-lake primary production
  
• Biofiltration for treating waste gasses contaminated with volatile organic compounds
  
• Reductive dechlorination of perchloroethylene using the anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR)
  
• Biodesulfurization of petroleum and petroleum distillates
  
• Utilization of molecular probing (PCR and RT-PCR) to analyze mixed cultures in activated sludge
  
• Biodegradation of MTBE and other oxygenates
  
• Anaerobic and aerobic transformation and biodegradation of TNT
  
• A systems approach for developing alternatives for purifying municipal wastewaters while recovering nutrient resources for beneficial uses
  
• Combining Fluorescently Labeled DNA Probes with Scanning Confocal Laser Microscopy to Analyze Mixed Cultures in Activated Sludge