Details for: Mengqiang Zhu

My research interests are focused on environmentally-relevant biogeochemical processes that largely control mobility, bioavailability and toxicity of contaminants and also affect carbon and nutrient cycling in soils and aquatic environments. Specific areas of interest include 1) mineral-water interfacial reactions (e.g., sorption, redox and co-precipitation), 2) microbially-mediated transformation of metals and metalloids, 3) formation, structure and properties of environmental nanomaterials, 4) environmental remediation of soils, sediments, and water contaminated by anthropogenic activities, such as mining and energy production, and 5) speciation and cycling of P and S in soils. Multiple state-of-the-art synchrotron X-ray techniques (e.g., XAS, PDF and SAXS) and quantum chemical calculations are used in my research to provide mechanistic understanding of these processes at the molecular-scale.