Ruth Tinnacher
Ph.D. candidate
Laboratory for Applied and Environmental Radiochemistry (LAER)
Division of Environmental Science and Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: (303) 384 2116
Fax: (303) 273 3413
rtinnach@mines.edu
Education:
Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado, USA
Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Science and Engineering
Anticipated Graduation: Dec. 07Master of Science in Environmental Science and Engineering
As part of the Dual-Degree Program with the University of Leoben, Austria
May 01University of Leoben, Austria
Diplomingenieurin (M. Eng.) in Chemical Process Engineering in Industrial Environmental Protection Dec. 00
Equivalent Bachelors of Science in Industrial Environmental Protection, Waste Disposal and Recycling Feb. 97
Research Interests:
- Physical and chemical surface processes and their role and application in various fields of science and engineering.
- Interactions of metals with natural organic matter in aqueous solution and their relevance in environmental and engineered systems.
- Contaminant transport and remediation in subsurface environments.
- Modeling of complex environmental systems and processes at various scales.
More on Ruth’s research interests (pdf)
Publications:
Tinnacher, R. M. and B. D. Honeyman. A New Method to Radiolabel Natural Organic Matter by Reduction with Tritiated Sodium Borohydride (journal publication in preparation, U.S. provisional patent application on file).
Harper, R. M. and R. M. Tinnacher. Plutonium. Encyclopedia of Ecology, Elsevier (in review).
Tinnacher, R. M. (2001). Polymer Additives in Wastewater Treatment Processes: Characterization and Optimization. Master Thesis, Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Colorado School of Mines.
Selected Conference Proceedings and Presentations:
Tinnacher, R. M., B. D. Honeyman, J. B. Gillow. The Effects of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) on Plutonium Sorption Behavior. Poster presentation at Plutonium Futures – The Science 2006 conference, Asilomar – Pacific Grove, CA, 9-13 July 2006.
Tinnacher, R. M., B. D. Honeyman, J. A. Leenheer. A New Method to Radiolabel Fulvic Acids with Tritium for the Purpose of Tracing Organic Matter Transport at Low Concentrations. Poster presentation at 10th International Conference on Chemistry and Migration Behavior of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere, Migration 2005, Avignon, France, September 18-23, 2005.
Tinnacher, R. M. and B. D. Honeyman. In Search of Simplicity in Reactive Transport Models. Poster presentation at 11th International Symposium on Water-Rock Interactions, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA, June 27-July 2 2004.
Tinnacher, R. M. Effects of Fulvic and Citric Acid on the Transport of Uranium (VI) in Saturated Groundwater Systems: Experimental Results and Modeling Approach. Seminar presentation at the Institute for Soil Science, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, April 23 2003.
Tinnacher, R. M. and Honeyman, B. D. Effects of Fulvic Acid on the Sorption and Transport of Uranium (VI) in Saturated Groundwater Systems in Comparison to Citric Acid. Oral presentation at Uranium Geochemistry 2003, Nancy, France, April 13-16 2003.
Honors and Awards:
- Top Poster Presentation Prize: Graduate Student Association Research Fair, Colorado School of Mines, April 2006
- High Scientific Value Recognition: Poster Presentation at Migration Conference, Avignon, France, Sept. 05
- 1st Prize Outstanding Oral Presentation: 1st WEF/AWWA Student Conference, Golden, CO, USA, May 2004
- DOC Scholarship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences: 2002 and 2003
- Colorado School of Mines Graduate Student Association Travel Grant Recipient: Spring 2003, Fall 2002
- Scholarship of the University of Leoben, Austria: January 2000, April 1999, July 1997
- Scholarship of the Chamber of Commerce, Austria: May 1999, March 1997
- Julius-Raab-Scholarship, Austria: July 1999, October 1997
- Scholarship of the State of Styria, Austria: December 1997
Professional Services and Affiliations:
- Member of a project advisory committee (PAC) for AWWARF (2006)
- Peer review for scientific journals: Environmental Pollution (2006), Journal of Environmental Quality (2004)
- Judge for poster presentations at the 2nd WEF/AWWA Student Conference, Laramie, WY, USA, May 05
- Outreach Program of the Laboratory for Applied and Environmental Radiochemistry (LAER): 2003-present
- American Geophysical Union (AGU) member: 2004-present
- National Groundwater Association (NGWA) member: 2005-present
- Water Environment Federation (WEF) member: 2005-present
For more information, view Ruth's C.V. (as an Adobe pdf file)
To learn how and why I came to the Colorado School of Mines, go to http://www.mines.edu/Admiss/grad/student_profiles_Ruth.htm
