hansel lab overview
The Hansel lab strives to understand the abiotic and biotic processes that govern the fate and biovailability of metals within both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Our research is at the interface of microbiology and geochemistry, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to understand the link between microbial metabolism and metal redox chemistry. We focus our research primarily on the cycling of Fe and Mn due to their ubiquity within the environment, importance for microbial respiration, and necessity for primary production. Furthermore, considering that Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides are dominant controls on the cycles of numerous other organic (e.g. hydrocarbons) and inorganic (e.g. Cr, As) contaminants, manipulating the redox cycles of Fe and Mn is considered a promising means of environmental remediation. Successful remediation, however, is reliant upon an enhanced understanding of the microorganisms and ensuing (a)biotic reactions that govern the Fe and Mn redox cycle – this is the ultimate goal of the Hansel lab.
The Hansel lab is multidisciplinary, with research spanning geomicrobiology, microbial ecology, mineral-microbe interactions, mineralogy, and soil and environmental chemistry.