Dr. Samuel P. Massie
  Chair
Dr. Adeyinka A. Adeyiga
804-727-5288
804-727-5189 (fax)
e-mail: yinka@engr1.engr.
  hamptonu.edu
 

Environmental Research and Training

Most environmental research programs at Hampton University are conducted in the School of Pure and Applied Sciences. Representative environmental research programs include the following:

	Plant accumulation studies of Craney Island This research project employs plant bioassays and associated chemical analyses to determine the heavy metal uptake by plants growing in the Craney Island dredging project area.
	Element speciation in natural waters, wastewater, sediments, and soils This research studies the chemistry of metals in various environmental media to develop analytical methods for identifying and quantifying the various metal species that may be in the media using a combination of spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. This program has been supported with grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.
	Distribution and fate of trace heavy metals in water, soils, and sediments This research focuses on the study of the interaction of heavy metals with chelating and other solids in natural waters, soils, and sediments. The results of this study will lead to the development of models to be used in the assessment of the complexing/immobilizing capacity of various environmental media for toxic substances. This research is supported in part by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
	Distribution of larval fish prey organisms in the northeast Atlantic Ocean This research focuses on zooplankton taxonomy and larval fish trophodynamics and is supported by the National Science Foundation.
	Influence of suspended clays on lake ecosystem structure The research examines how trophic interactions are altered by the presence of mineral turbidity. This research also includes caging and exclusion studies to determine how marine-fouling communities are controlled by grazing shrimp.
	Solid phase extraction of environmental pollutants Several solid materials, including activated carbon, synthetic chelating agents, and naturally occurring polymers, are being studied for use as adsorption media for the separation, immobilization, or preconcentration of organic and inorganic pollutants in natural waters, sediments, soils, or sludges. This research is supported by a Department of Energy grant.
	Isolation and characterization of bacteria from polluted sites This research focuses on isolating and characterizing bacteria from polluted sites in the Hampton area. Isolated pollutants and toxins will be identified by using the National Library of Medicine on-line toxicology files. Biochemical and molecular biology techniques are used to develop new protocols for employing bacterial activity in remediation work.

Research Facilities

Center for Marine and Coastal Environmental Studies and Center for Space and Atmospheric Studies The centers, which are currently under development, will take advantage of the university's unique geographic location, namely its immediate proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Langley Research Center.

Major Equipment

	Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (ITD)
	UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer (Cary 23)
	UV-VIS spectrophotometer (double beam)
	UV-VIS spectrophotometer (single beam)
	Chromatographic systems (GC, LC, IC)
	Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (60 MHz)
	Atomic absorption spectrophotometers
	Atomic emission spectrometer (D.C. plasma)
	X-ray crystallographic system
	Infrared spectrophotometer
	Fourier transform infrared spectrometer
	Fluorescence spectrometer
	Personal computers (MacIntosh, IBM)
	Scintillation counter
	Ultracentrifuge
	Condella dye laser
	Nd:YAG laser
	Nitrogen laser
	Digital oscilloscopes, digital camera
	Nozzle beam deposition system
	Temperature-controlled ovens
	Cahn TGA 121 thermogravimetric analyzer with dedicated microcomputer, plotter, and printer
	Quantasorb BET surface area analyzer
	Quantachrome autoscan porosimeter
	Quantachrome pycnometer
	Perkin-Elmer CHN analyzer (Model 240)
	Two Lindberg tubular furnaces (1100°C)
	Vacuum oven and vacuum pump
	Batch reactorstachrome autoscan porosimeter
	Cray EL98 supercomputer (Baby Cray)
	Dual vector machines (512)

Faculty Profiles

Babafemi Adesanya, Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., Clemson University).
Research interests: Computer interfacing—process measurement, software and hardware development, and effect of flow characteristics on heat and mass transfer.

Adeyinka A. Adeyiga, Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University).
Research interests: Vapor-liquid equilibria for acid gas constituents in natural, refinery, synthesis gasses and coal-derived fluids and the mathematical modeling of chemical processes and heat transfer.

Abiodune Adibi, Biology (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University).
Research interests: Environmental bacteriology and isolation and characterization of bacteria from polluted areas.

Ates Akyurtlu, Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin).
Research interests: Combustions, noncatalytic gas-solid reactions, chemical vapor deposition, chemical reactor modeling, and application of general purpose software to chemical engineering calculations.

Jale F. Akyurtlu, Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin).
Research interests: Fischer-Tropsch reactions, new catalysts and mechanism of modeling chemical reactors, optimizations of deactivating catalyst systems, catalytic gasification and liquefaction of coal, and gas-solid reactions.

George Burbanck, Marine Science (Ph.D., University of Delaware).
Research interests: Wetland ecology, geology, marine geology, and heavy mineral studies of sediments.

Kandaswamy Jothmurugesan, Chemical Engineering (Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology).
Research interests: Heterogeneous catalysis, noncatalytic gas-solid reactions, chemical reactor modeling, and synthesis gas and associated processes and combustions.

Karen Rowe, Marine Science (Ph.D., University of Maryland).
Research interests: Marine toxicology and impacts of dredging and toxin loading in the Chesapeake Bay.

Barbara Shipes, Biology (Ph.D., George Washington University).
Research interests: Plant physiology, flavonoid chemistry, and use of bioassay techniques to determine the mobility of contaminants in, and their effects on, an ecosystem.

For more information about tasking Hampton University
for technical support, contact:
Cathy S. Fore
LMES HBCU/MEI Involvement Program Coordinator
Phone: 423-576-6838
e-mail: forecs@ornl.gov

Prepared by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400

April 1997