Research Expertise and Interest

environmental geochemistry, crystal growth, mineral-fluid and fluid-fluid interfacial processes, contaminant transport, molecular dynamics, water

Research Description

The interfaces between mineral surfaces and complex aqueous fluids are exciting and dynamic environments that govern a vast array of chemical processes on Earth, from contaminant sequestration to biomineralization, and from soil nutrient release to contaminant degradation.

Laura Nielsen Lammers' research focuses on identifying and understanding the physiochemical processes at solid-fluid interfaces that control the uptake, release, and transformation of chemical species by adsorption, dissolution, precipitation, and surface-mediated reactions. She and her collaborators bridge the gap between molecular scale mechanisms and bulk properties using a variety of computational, theoretical and analytical techniques. They use this knowledge to (1) better understand natural environmental fluxes, (2) improve technologies for water treatment, environmental remediation, and selective recovery of critical elements from complex waste streams.