We currently are:

Dr. William F. Fitzgerald - Principal Investigator

Mr. Prentiss Balcom - Laboratory Manager, Research Assistant. (860) 405-9160.

Mr. Tzong-Yueh "Max" Chen - Doctoral Student. (860) 405-9235.

Mr. Ming Chung - Part-time Laboratory Assistant

Ms. Larissa Graham - Research Specialist. (860) 405-9162.

Mr. Chad Hammerschmidt - Doctoral Student. (860) 405-9235 or -9162. B.S. and M.S., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (Biology/Aquatic Science). Like others on the "Team," my research interests are related to environmental Hg, particularly the toxicology and biogeochemistry of monomethylmercury (MMHg). My Ph.D. research is examining the biogeochemistry of MMHg in coastal marine sediments. Preliminary results from Long Island Sound (LIS) suggest that (1) MMHg production is controlled by the availability of dissolved inorganic Hg to methylating bacteria, which in turn, is related to the organic and sulfur contents of sediments, (2) Hg methylation in coastal marine sediments is enhanced by physical sediment disturbance (e.g., bioturbation), and (3) sedimentary synthesis of MMHg, and its subsequent mobilization, is the major source of this bioaccumulative and highly toxic contaminant to LIS and its biota. I am currently testing hypotheses resulting from the LIS study in NY/NJ Harbor, arctic Alaskan lakes, and on the North American continental shelf.

Some of Our Current Collaborators Include:

Dr. Janina Benoit, Wheaton College (MA)*

Dr. Daniel Engstrom, Science Museum of Minnesota

Dr. Cindy Gilmour, Academy of Natural Sciences, Estuarine Research Center

Dr. Carl Lamborg, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution*

Dr. Robert Mason, Univ. of Maryland*

Dr. Kristofer Rolfhus, Univ. of Wisconsin, Lacrosse*

Dr. Chun-Mao Tseng - National Center for Ocean Research, Taiwan*

Dr. Pieter Visscher, Univ. of Connecticut

*former Team Hg member