Gregory K. Druschel, Ph.D.

Research

I study the interdependence of microbial activity and geochemical cycling in a range of environments. The goal is to gain insight on defining the role of microbes in different environments and how much they affect the stability and transport of a variety of compounds in those environments. Germaine topics addressing these questions include the pathways and kinetics of redox reactions, molecular clusters and reactions driving nanoparticle formation and dissolution, relating microbial ecology to geochemical niches, and the application of statistical, thermodynamic, kinetic, and molecular models to predictive analysis of environmental perturbation. I also investigate the application of mineralogy and geochemistry to problems impacting human health.

Education

• Ph.D.  Geochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2002 
• M.S.  Geology, Washington State University, 1998 
• B.S.  Geology and Earth Science, Muskingum College, 1995

Publications & Professional Activity

Smith, L., Watzin, M., Matys, E., and Druschel, G.K, 2011: Relating Sediment Nutrient Mobility to Seasonal and Diel Redox Fluctuations at the Sediment-Water Interface in a Eutrophic Freshwater Lake.  Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 56, No. 6, p. 2251-2264

Brady A., G. Slater, C. Omelon, G. Southam, G. Druschel, D. Andersen, I. Hawes, B. Laval and D.S.S. Lim, 2010:  Photosynthetic isotope biosignatures in laminated micro-stromatolitic and non-laminated nodules associated with modern, freshwater microbialites in Pavilion Lake, B.C.  Chemical Geology. Vol. 274, Iss. 1-2, p. 56-67

Taunton, A., Gunter, M.E., Druschel, G.K., and Wood, S.A., 2010: Geochemistry in the lung:  Reaction-path modeling and experimental examination of rock-forming minerals under physiologic conditions.  American Mineralogist, Vol. 95, p. 1624-1635.

Druschel, G.K., Emerson, D., Sutka, R., and Luther, G.W., 2008: Low oxygen and chemical kinetic constraints on the geochemical niche of neutrophilic iron(II) oxidizing microorganisms.  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.  Vol. 72, p. 3358-3370.

D’Imperio, S., Lehr, C.R., Oduro, H., Druschel, G., Kuhl, M., and McDermott, T.R. (2008): On the relative importance of H2 and H2S as energy sources for primary production in geothermal springs.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Vol. 74, p. 5802-5808.