Todd Olsen received his bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics from the University of Montana, Missoula, and his master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His master’s thesis was titled “Investigations of and Performance Improvements in the Mercury Thiourea Complex Ion Chromatography Method for Mercury Speciation.” His thesis describes a new system chemistry for the mercury (Hg) thiourea-ion chromatography method that enables reliable quantification of methylmercury and unexpectedly demonstrates the presence of previously unknown Hg species with low net charge that are chemically different from both methylmercury and HgII. In 2014, Olsen was appointed as an ORNL postmaster’s research associate under the mentorship of Scott Brooks to study the impact periphyton biofilms have on Hg cycling in East Fork Poplar Creek, an Hg-contaminated creek in East Tennessee. His work at ORNL includes periphyton characterization, methylation/demethylation rate assays on periphyton, biogeochemical redox profiling of periphyton, and monitoring the dynamics of low molecular weight thiol concentrations in periphyton.
Posted: July 2016
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