Daniel S Alessi

Dr. BRian Smerdon

Research Associate And Adjunct Professor

I am interested in discovering and sharing the story of groundwater: where it originated, how long its journey has been, and its experience along the flow path. I help develop and lead collaborative research initiatives that embrace field-based and modelling approaches to conceptualize groundwater circulation and its interaction with surface water. I enjoy working with colleagues to advance hydrological knowledge through a blend of isotopic, geochemical, numerical modelling, and physical hydrogeology techniques. Prior to joining the Alessi Lab in 2021, I was a senior scientist with the Alberta Geological Survey in Canada and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia.

Email: brian.smerdon@ualberta.ca

Dr. Yuge BAi

Postdoctoral Researcher

As a biogeochemist, my research focuses on the microbial cycling of organic matter and biochar over varying distances in soil systems, and how this process further impacts the transformation of iron minerals, the remediation of heavy metals and the emission of greenhouse gases. At the University of Alberta, I will look into the microbial cycling of biochar formed by forest fires in soils. Moreover, by combining lab batch experiments with numerical modelling, I will target understanding 1) if and to what extent microbial cycling of biochar can facilitate the release of associated organic matter from the biochar or iron mineral surface to soil pore water, and 2) the fate of released organic matter and whether it remains in the dissolved phase, therefore making it more bioavailable.

Email: yuge3@ualberta.ca

Dr. Aneeshma Peter

Postdoctoral Researcher

I am a material chemist, who loves to explore the environmental applications of carbonaceous materials from pyrolysis. I am hopeful to implement my experience and expertise in material characterization, biomass pyrolysis, metal adsorption and chemical modifications here in Dr. Alessi’s laboratory, to successfully modify carbon black, a by-product from methane pyrolysis. The modified carbon can be potentially used in various environmental applications such as wastewater treatment, soil amendment and carbon dioxide sequestration.

Email: aneeshma@ualberta.ca

Katherine Snihur

PhD Candidate and laboratory Manager

I am an environmental geochemistry student focusing on low-temperature aqueous geochemistry in surface and groundwater. Currently I am conducting a baseline study of the chemistry of numerous lakes within Parkland County, Alberta. I am employing the use of Piper diagrams and activity plots to evaluate water quality due to agricultural and residential pollution and assess potential causes for recent lake level declines within the region.

Email: snihur@ualberta.ca

Karthik Shivakumar

PhD Candidate

I am a Chemical engineer, having worked in instrumentation control, and pilot scale plants. I previously worked in optimization methods using machine learning. I am currently working on developing methods to selectively extract lithium from brines, petro-brine, and acid mine waste. Brine is a good source of lithium, but it is available at very low concentrations. This makes the extraction uniquely challenging, without expensive concentration and purification steps. I am investigating the development of ion exchange sorbents using different dopants and coatings. I am also a programming hobbyist, learning a variety of concepts from reinforcement learning to javascript, and recently arduino.

Email: kramacha@ualberta.ca

Dwi Candra Pratiwi

PhD Student

Bioremediation processes focused on understanding how organisms react to the presence of particular-contaminants is my critical concern. At present, I am working on Colloidal Biochar Nanoparticles (BCNPs) and Cadmium (Cd) as potential contaminant sources to Bacillus subtilis, observing the cell viability, reproduction, and metabolism rates during exposure, in addition to morphological analysis using SEM to determine cell performance and characteristics. Afterward I will couple these results to physiological responses through oxidative stress analysis (Lipid and ROS) for stress response examination.

Email: pratiwi@ualberta.ca

Lingyi Tang

PhD Student

Email: ltang6@ualberta.ca

Arash Ghaderi

PhD Student

The fields of environmental geochemistry, environmental pollution and industrial wastewater treatment are my research interests. In particular, I am interested in studying the effects of various factors such as solution pH and ionic strength on the behavior of heavy metals as river freshwater meets seawater in estuaries. At present, I am studying methods of methane pyrolysis, focusing on thermal decomposition of methane which leads to the production of huge amounts of carbon byproducts. I will characterize the carbon, and modify and functionalize it for use in water treatment applications.

Email: aghaderi@ualberta.ca

Marlin Schmidt

PhD Student

I'm a PhD student investigating methods of extracting lithium from sediments. Lithium demand for use in electric vehicle batteries is rapidly increasing, and developing new ways to extract lithium from unconventional sources is key to meeting that demand. I am a professional geoscientist with thirteen years of work experience in both the private and public sectors. My work focused on the assessment and remediation of contaminated sites, mostly in the conventional oil and gas sector. I have a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in applied environmental geoscience. I’m also currently an elected official in Alberta, serving the people of Edmonton - Gold Bar since 2015.

Email: marlin1@ualberta.ca

Fangshuai Wu

PhD Student

My research interest is lithium extraction from oilfield or geothermal brines. Currently, I am studying ion exchange methods for lithium extraction. A primary challenge is metal oxide sorbent loss during the lithium desorption process. My research will look into dopants that can improve the chemical stability of sorbents, thereby increasing their life. The modified sorbents will be applied to brines including geothermal fluids from a project in British Columbia.

Email: fangshua@ualberta.ca

ARvind Kumar

Visiting PhD Student

As an environmental science student, I aim to convert food waste feedstock into low cost, value-added products such as biochar and biochar-based nanocomposites through methods including pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization. My aim is to use these materials to remove emerging pollutants such as antibiotics, heavy metals, and dyes from environmental media. Previously I worked on changes in the biodiversity and aqueous chemistry of the Pondicherry Lakes and River ecosystem, caused by environmental pollutants, and on the biochar-assisted phytoremediation of acidic coal mine spoils. Currently I am investigating the interaction mechanisms of aqueous pollutants with the surface of biochar using surface complexation modeling.

Email: biswas3@ualberta.ca

Kayode Famade

Masters Student

Email: famade@ualberta.ca

Carmen Ricard

Masters Student

My background is in geology. But, after experiencing what the energy and mining industries have to offer, I have decided that my interests lay in groundwater. I am currently focusing my efforts on the characterization and risk analysis of orphan and abandoned well sumps. My research will look into the potential of hydrocarbon migration and contaminant attenuation from these sumps. Characterization consists of analyzing the contaminant content (BTEX, F1-4 and PAHs), mineralogy, inorganic and metal chemical composition and the organic carbon content. My hopes are to shed some light on the real risks that these sites pose.

Email: cricard@ualberta.ca

Keifer Klimchuk

Masters Student

I am a geochemistry MSc student in the Alessi research group studying nano-carbon particles. My background is in organic and environmental chemistry. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta, I focused my research on atmospheric chemistry, including isolating laboratory produced alpha-pinene secondary organic aerosols and studying the effectiveness of levoglucosan as a biomass burning tracer for wood and cow dung fuels. Currently, my thesis focuses on the use of nano-carbon particulates produced from the chemical and physical weathering of biochar as vectors of metals and nutrient transport in wildfire environments. Through laboratory experiments, we hope to identify the binding of metal(loid)s and nutrients to nano-carbon particles to predict how they move through the vadose and saturated zones in wildfire environments. The results of our study will provide evidence of how nano-carbon particulates effected elemental cycling and the evolution of terrestrial and marine life during the emergence of forests in the Devonian and Carboniferous that led to the first generation of pyrolytic carbon from lignin.

Email: kklimchu@ualberta.ca

Bennett Braun

Masters Student

I am an environmental geochemistry MSc student investigating the upstream methods of pretreating flowback produced brines before entering the ion exchange process for lithium extraction. I am exploring methods to limit reduction of the manganese (IV) oxide sorbent and the consequent mass loss. The major problem posed is the presence of organic molecules present in the brines and the oxidation of these organics by the sorbent. Brines of sufficient ferrous iron content can be aerated resulting in a significant amount of organics sorbed to ferric iron in solution forming colloids that can be filtered out. Aeration combined with filtration may be a suitable approach to address the problem. I am hoping to have FT-ICR-MS samples completed, a high resolution mass spectroscopy method that can provide detailed molecular characterization of organics present in the flowback produced water brines to further our understanding of what is reducing the manganese (IV) oxide sorbent.

Email: blbraun@ualberta.ca

Emma Braun

Masters Student

Email: ebraun@ualberta.ca

Jenna MAccagno

Masters Student

Email: jmaccagn@ualberta.ca

Mayra Muñoz

Masters Student

Email: mgmunoz@ualberta.ca

Hadi Motevassel

Masters Student

Email: motevass@ualberta.ca

Daniels Kononovs

Daniels was an MSc student from 2021 to 2023, co-supervised by Dr. Christine Rivard (Geological Survey of Canada) and Dr. Dani Degenhardt (Northern Forestry Centre). He evaluated the impacts that seismic cutlines for hydrocarbon development near Fox Creek, Alberta have on forest vadose zone dynamics. After graduating with an MSc in September 2023, he continued to a full-time position at the Northern Forestry Centre.

Dr. Ashkan Zolfaghari

Ashkan was a postdoctoral researcher and then a research associate from 2018 to 2023. His research focused on the water cycle, environmental impacts, and cost analyses of the produced wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations. After leaving the Alessi group, he joined Suncor in Calgary, Alberta as a Senior Technology Development Advisor.

Dr. Salman safari

Salman was a postdoctoral researcher from 2016 to 2021 who worked with industrial partners to develop technologies to extract lithium from petrobrines located in Alberta and in characterizing and reclaiming carbonaceous waste materials. He co-founded a startup lithium technology company, Recion Technologies, Inc., and serves as President and CTO.

Dr. KONSTANTIN VON GUNTEN

Konstantin completed his PhD (June 2019) in the Alessi group, and stayed on as a postdoctoral fellow through February 2021. He investigated the mobility and environmental impact of heavy metals at a uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, as well as the hydrogeochemistry of the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta. After leaving the University of Alberta, he took an environmental consulting position at TFB AG in Switzerland.

Dr. Lei Gao

Lei was a postdoctoral researcher from 2019 to 2020, who investigated the surface reactivity and mineral phase transformations between iron reducing bacteria and arsenic-doped ferrihydrite. After leaving the Alessi group, she joined the Nanjing Normal University as a scientist.

Dr. Cheng Zhong

Cheng was an MSc (September 2017) and PhD (November 2020) student in the Alessi group. His research investigated the microbiology of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water, including impacts to soil and water in the case of fluid surface spills. After graduating, he began a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Prof. Pei-Yuan Qian at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Adam Seip

Adam completed his MSc in July 2020 in the Alessi group. His research focused on developing methods to selectively extract lithium from oilfield brines and hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water. He took a research and development position at E-One Moli Energy Corp. in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

Neil Macpherson

Neil completed his BSc thesis and MSc (June 2020) in the Alessi group, and studied the thermodynamics of sulfate and chloride green rust dissolution in freshwater and saline water. He is employed as an Environmental Scientist at Roy Northern Land & Environmental in Fort St. John, British Columbia.

Dr. SEAN FUNK

Sean was a PhD student in the Alessi group from September 2014 to June 2019. His research focused on laboratory-based experiments and contaminant modeling to determine the sorption and transport behavior of novel contaminants found in flowback and produced waters from hydraulic fracturing operations in Alberta. Following graduation, he joined Advisian in Edmonton, Alberta as a hydrogeologist.

Dr. Zhengtao Shen

Zhengtao was a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow who investigated interactions between metals and the surfaces of biochar and sediments. Following the completion of his fellowship, he joined the School of Environment at Tsinghua University in Beijing and is currently an associate professor at Nanjing University.

Isabel Plata

Isabel was a MSc student in the Alessi group from January 2017 to December 2018. She analyzed the effects of aeration-oxidation as a pre-treatment mechanism for flowback and produced water (FPW) generated from hydraulic fracturing in Alberta, Canada to aid in the reuse and recycling of FPW. Currently she is pursuing a PhD in geochemistry in the group of Dr. Bernhard Mayer at the University of Calgary.

David Chunn

David was a research assistant and then a MSc student in the Alessi group from December 2015 to September 2018. He built a high-level, comprehensive hydrogeological model of the Fox Creek area in Alberta to understand the interplay between groundwater and surface water. After graduating, he joined Matrix Solutions in Edmonton, Alberta as a hydrogeologist.

Dr. MD. Samrat Alam

Samrat was a PhD student in the Alessi group from September 2013 to June 2018.  He focused on developing mechanistic models of heavy metals immobilization on biochar using surface complexation modeling, and characterization techniques including synchrotron studies and isothermal titration calorimetry.  Following graduation, he joined the group of Dr. Maria Dittrich as a Roger E. Deane Postdoctoral Fellow.

ManuEl Cossio

Manuel was an undergraduate research assistant and then a MSc student in the Alessi group from May 2014 to September 2017.  He studied the reductive immobilization of chromium by biochar, and following graduation joined Golder Associates in Calgary, Alberta as a Junior Geochemist.

Dr. Shannon L. Flynn

Shannon was a postdoctoral researcher in the Alessi group from November 2014 to August 2017.  He studied the geochemistry of the hydraulic fracturing water cycle before taking a position as Lecturer in Inorganic Geochemistry at Newcastle University, UK.