Biogeochemistry Core Facility at SDSM&T

I am the Director of a Biogeochemistry Core Facility that I recently established using extramural funding from various agencies including the NSF. This facility is currently being used for active research and enhancing classroom education experience. In addition to the research pursuits in coastal ecosystems my current research portfolio also includes some local projects that consist of investigation of the impact of mine tailings and natural iron springs on the biogeochemistry of streams and creeks in a local watershed, changes in nutrient cycling and microbial community profiles along a chronosequence of burned sites in the Black Hills forest ecosystem, carbon turnover and microbial community profiles in litter and soil from a pristine forest, as well as water quality of local streams. Additionally, I also serve as the State Carbon Scientist, a position directly supported by the State of South Dakota to further carbon science research in the state. I am currently working on The C-Lock Agricultural Carbon Sequestration Project as a liaison between the C-Lock Technologies Inc. (a start-up, based on a patent pending technology developed by scientists in the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) and the academia. These studies help assess the impact of human actions on the biogeochemical cycles, and have implications for natural resource use and management.