Aaron Maynard
The goal of my research is to identify and utilize organism that degrade a wide range of PAHs. Additionally, the toxicity of the degraded compounds will be evaluated to make sure they are not increasing the health risks. We hope to grow these organisms in hydrogel beads to create treatment methods either through soil washing or in-situ treatment strategies by directly imputing the beads into the ground water systems.
I think the most exciting thing about the superfund site is the impact you get to have on the community and the ecosystems effected by the site. It is great to see the real-world implications of your research. Additionally, the interdisciplinary nature of the research provided an incredible chance to collaborate and learn from so many brilliant scientists.
I hope to create treatment strategies that are not only effective but also inexpensive, so a diverse range of communities have access to them. Ultimately, I hope to protect communities and ecosystems from the toxic chemical society has exposed them too.
Growing up I was always outside and always loved the outdoors. The day I released I wanted to be a scientist and specifically do pollutants work was when I volunteered at a stream cleanup with a local organization. During the stream clean up the amount of trash we cleaned out of the stream was staggering. We, maybe, covered a mile stretch of the stream in the two days we were out there and filled numerous truck beds full of trash. During this experience I released something had to be done about this problem and maybe I could be a part of the solution.
I hope to continue to do research in the future whether that be as a professor, or in the government, or another organization.
I like to move, this includes all types of movement: running, biking, hiking, playing sport et.al.!!