Grace Schwartz received her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Duke University. She specializes in trace element biogeochemistry, contaminant remediation, and environmental analytical chemistry. Her dissertation work explored the environmental impacts of coal combustion with a specific focus on the biogeochemical transformations and leaching potential of trace element contaminants from coal ash under different ash disposal and spill scenarios. Dr. Schwartz is the first author on three papers examining different aspects of trace element leaching from ash materials, including “Ranking coal ash materials for their potential to leach arsenic and selenium: The relative importance of ash chemistry and site biogeochemistry,” which won the 2018 AEESP/Mary Ann Liebert Award for Publication Excellence. After graduating from Duke, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, where she developed in situ remediation technology for mercury-contaminated wetland sediment. She recently published part of this work in Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts. Dr. Schwartz became a postdoctoral research associate at ORNL in Fall 2017. Under the mentorship of Scott Brooks, she is exploring the ecosystem controls governing mercury methylation. Field and laboratory experiments are underway to develop a new kinetic model for mercury methylation in East Fork Poplar Creek sediments and to determine how nutrient concentrations impact mercury methylation by periphyton biofilms. When she isn’t in the lab or tromping in the creek, Dr. Schwartz enjoys marathon open-water swimming. Last year she completed her first 10K race and plans to compete in many races in 2019 ranging from 4.4 miles to 10 miles.
Posted: June 2019
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File last modified: Thursday, August 08, 2019
The ORNL Mercury SFA is sponsored by the Subsurface Biogeochemical Research (SBR) program within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research.