Tomasz Wlodarczyk Awarded SRK Scholarship

Tomasz Wlodarczyk, Trainee mentored by Dr. Alicja Babst-Kostecka and Dr. Raina Maier, was awarded an SRK Scholarship to contribute to his education and research expenses.

SRK Consulting has scholarship programs to encourage and support students undertaking graduate studies and help them complete master’s and doctoral degrees in fields related to the mining industry.

Tomasz Wlodarczyk’s research involves evaluating metal uptake by native plants that volunteer as pioneer species on legacy mine sites with the goal of better understanding what plants should be used to create vegetative caps. Knowledge of metal-accumulating plants in Arizona is limited and his project aims to identify new, drought-resistant hyperaccumulators through extensive field surveys across legacy mine sites in the US Southwest. 

"I am fascinated by research fostering mining sustainability, and my work primarily targets the mitigation of environmental contamination from mining in semi-arid and arid regions, particularly in the Santa Cruz River valley. This area has pockets of heavy metal pollution from centuries of mining and smelting, leading to significant metal(loid) accumulation in the soil and water, adversely affecting local ecosystems and communities”, Wlodarczyk said. “Being a member of the University of Arizona Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining (CESM) has helped me establish relationships with mining companies and agencies allowing me to conduct extensive plant surveys at their legacy mine assets” he added. 

Dr. Raina Maier said, “what sets Tomasz apart is that he has not been satisfied with just getting results from his experiments, he wants to put these results into context with mining practices and the improvement of mining practices for tailings and mine waste management."

Tomasz Wlodarczyk hopes that his research will transform the mining industry into a more efficient and environmentally friendly field.

Congratulations Tomasz!