1. Students
  2. Options
  3. Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Chemistry

purple glovesEnvironmental Chemistry focuses on the basic principles that control the fate of chemicals in the environment.  A bewildering variety of chemicals, an inevitable result of modern industrial civilization, are released daily; some of them persist in soil, water, or air.  The extent to which these chemicals are a health hazard depends in part on where, how much, and in what form they accumulate.  OSU scientists use state of the art methods to detect trace amounts of chemicals in the environment, at levels as low as one part per trillion, and track their movement and transformations. Students will acquire laboratory skills that will be in high demand as worldwide public concern with environmental quality increases.

Link to catalog

Advising Checklist

Examples of thesis titles:

  • Urban business attitudes regarding rodents, rodent control methods, and impact on wildlife. Eva Arndt. Mentor: Anita T. Morzillo, Forest Ecosystems and Society.
  • Effects of Land Management of Carbon and Nitrogen on New Zealand Soils. Jess Holcombe. Mentors: Dr. Kate Lajtha, Botany and Plant Pathology.
  • A screening method for the essential oils in hops, using solid-phase microextraction. Chris Heider. Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Field, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
  • Fate of 15N-labeled atrazine in a wetland mesocosm. Casey Corliss. Mentor: Dr. Jeff Jenkins, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
  • Feasibility of fresh water mussel as a biomarker for environmental pollutants in the Willamette River. Doug Lauderbach. Mentor: Max Deinzer, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
  • Analysis of semi-volatile organic compounds in conifer needles from Sequoia National Park, California. Lisa Deskin. Mentor: Dr. Staci Simonich, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
  • Biomonitoring semi-volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere using Lichen. Eli Moore. Mentor: Dr. Staci Simonich, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
  • Soil biological, chemical and physical dynamics during transition to non-thermal residue management grass seed systems. Amanda Barry. Mentor: Dr. Richard Dick, Crop and Soil Sciences.