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About the Center for Environmental BioGeoChemistry

The Keene State College Center for Environmental BioGeoChemistry supports laboratory facilities for the analysis of the elemental and isotopic compositions of a variety of environmental materials. These analyses help scientists--KSC Faculty and Students-- understand and solve fundamental and applied problems relating to the earth, its life and the environment. Students enrolled in various classes in Environmental Studies, Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Technology, and Safety Studies Departments make regular use of the sophisticated instrumentation housed in the Center for Environmental BioGeoChemistry.

Recent and on-going projects carried out within our labs include assessing heavy metal contamination of Ashuelot River sediments, studying food webs and trophic levels, evaluating the use of certain plants for cleaning up contaminated soil, characterizing airborne particulate matter thought responsible for certain lung diseases, determining the quarries from which obsidian used by ancient Mayans was mined, tracing the migration of endangered birds, studying chemical alteration of rocks associated with a mineral deposit, and assessing the sources of water to various wells.

These laboratory facilities have been supported by grants from the Keene State College Faculty Development Fund in 2000 (see the proposal), and from the National Science Foundation in 2001 (# 0087860, see the proposal) and 2002 (# 0126706, see the proposal), both with matching funds from Keene State College.

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In the News

The Amazing Isotope Machine
A New Era of Teaching Science at Keene State
Contaminants in the Ashuelot River featured at the Academic Excellence Conference
Campus News -- October 15, 2003
Campus News -- October 16, 2002
Campus News -- March 27, 2002
Campus News -- March 27, 2002