User:Kipepea/Janet Hering

Janet Hering is the Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag), Professor of Environmental Biogeochemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Scientific Director of the Center for Risk Analysis and Risk Governance (CRAG) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

Scientific contribution

Hering’s research interests include the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements in natural waters, water treatment technologies for the removal of inorganic contaminants from drinking water, and the management of water resources and water infrastructure. Her research includes both laboratory and field experimental studies. She has been a member of the faculty of the California Institute of Technology and of the University of California, Los Angeles.

For most of her career, Hering’s research focused on the biogeochemical processes underlying both the occurrence and mobility of inorganic contaminants (e.g., arsenic, copper, manganese, uranium, etc.) in the aquatic environment and the efficiency of their removal during water treatment. By studying both natural and engineered systems, Hering has been able to identify processes that are relevant in both types of systems as well as the factors whose variation can result in different mobility of contaminants in different systems. This not only extends the understanding of both natural and engineered systems but allows for the optimization of engineered systems and for the development of “partially-controlled” systems. As an example, column studies of manganese transport were conducted in Hering’s laboratory under variable saturation conditions. The influx of oxygen under unsaturated conditions was shown to induce microbially-mediated manganese oxidation resulting in sequestration not only of manganese but also of zinc (added as a co-contaminant). Such phenomena could be exploited to sequester dissolved manganese in the sub-surface before it contacts a drinking-water well, where oxidation and concurrent precipitation of manganese oxides can cause clogging problems.

Earlier field and laboratory studies conducted in California examined the complex interplay between microbial and geochemical reactions of arsenic, demonstrating that both adsorbed and dissolved arsenate could be microbially reduced to arsenite, concurrent with iron reduction. Comparable processes were observed in field studies conducted on a reservoir in the Los Angeles Aqueduct system where in situ addition of ferric chloride coagulant has been used to sequester arsenic. Integration does not, however, come without costs. The rationale for setting bounds to integration were explored by Prof. Hering in a policy forum article published in Science.

Hering’s research has spanned several disciplines (from geochemistry to microbiology to engineering) and has addressed processes at multiple scales. The evolution of her research interests have led to a focus on partially-engineered systems (such as bank filtration) in which natural processes play a central role. Hering has identified a greater reliance on such partially-engineered systems as one possible path toward more sustainable water management.

Awards

She is a past recipient of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Young Investigator Award and Presidential Faculty Fellows Award.

Memberships in scientific organisations

She has served as an Associate Editor for the journal Environmental Science & Technology and is currently a member of the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science.

External links

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