faculty.Heileen Hsu-Kim

Heileen Hsu-Kim, Assistant Professor

Professor Heileen (Helen) Hsu-Kim's research interests include the chemical processes that affect the fate of trace metals in the environment. In particular, she is interested in the biogeochemical cycling of pollutant metals in natural and engineered environments. In previous research, she studied the complexation of mercury and other trace metals in municipal wastewater and surface waters.

Helen's current research efforts focus on the role of sulfide and natural organic matter for the fate of metals in the aquatic environment. The methodologies her group employs for this research include laboratory techniques for quantifying trace metal speciation and in-situ applications of solid-state microelectrodes to determine important aquatic constituents in water and sediment.

Education

• Ph.D. Environmental Engineering; University of California, Berkeley
• M.S. Environmental Engineering; University of California, Berkeley
• B.S. Environmental Engineering Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Professional Experience

• Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, 2005-present.
• Postdoctoral Research Scientist, College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 2004-2005
• Research Assistant, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 1998, 1999

Sample Publications

• Tsang, J.J., Rozan, T. F., Hsu-Kim, H., Mullaugh, K.M., Luther, G. W. (2006). Pseudopolarographic determination of Cd 2+ complexation in freshwater. Environmental Science & Technology , 40 , 5388-5394.

• Hsu-Kim, H. and D. L. Sedlak. (2005). Similarities between inorganic sulfide and the strong Hg(II)-complexing ligands in municipal wastewater effluent. Environmental Science & Technology. 39, 4035-4041.

• Hsu, H. and D. L. Sedlak. (2003). Strong mercury(II) complexation in wastewater effluent and surface waters. Environmental Science & Technology. 37, 2743-2749.

Courses Taught

• CE242 / ENVIRON242 Environmental Aquatic Chemistry

Honors and Awards

• National Science Foundation - Ridge 2000 Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2004
• ACS Environmental Chemistry Division Graduate Student Paper Award, 2003
• National Physical Science Consortium Graduate Student Fellowship, 1998-2004
• UC Berkeley Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, 1999-2000
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, finalist, 1998

Professional and Service Activities

• American Chemical Society, member
• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, member
• Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, member

Current and Ongoing Research

• Formation and reactivity of metal-sulfide nanoparticles in the presence of natural organic matter
• Assessment of mercury mobilization and methylation potential in restored and constructed wetlands
• Stabilization of thiols and reduced sulfur-containing ligands in surface waters by complexation with trace metals
• The use of mercury-gold amalgam electrodes for detecting oxygen, sulfide, iron, and manganese gradients in hypolimnetic lakes and reservoirs.