UA SRP Investigator invited as keynote speaker at the American Chemical Society National Meeting

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Congratulations to University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) investigator, Dr. James Field, who was invited to be a keynote speaker at 252nd American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in the Environmental Chemistry Session. The meeting was held in Philadelphia, PA, August 21-25, 2016. Field’s talk, “Microbial and Molecular Tools to Determine the Fate and Biotransformation of Emerging Contaminants”, provided an overview on the biotransformation and biodegradation of insensitive munitions compounds (IMC) in soils. This is a class of munitions that has been developed to replace standard munitions that cannot withstand accidental or unexpected shocks or fire. However, relatively little is known about their fate in the environment, a topic that Field and his research group have been working on. Field said of his session: “this session was a fantastic opportunity to meet colleagues throughout the United States and abroad. I learned a lot about how microbial and molecular tools are being used in applications ranging from chlorinated solvents bioremediation to the impact of nanoparticles on microbial processes in the Nitrogen cycle”.