Research Interests

• Ambient and Indoor Air Sampling Techniques for Gaseous and Particulate Species
• Aquatic Quality Monitoring; in situ field monitoring of chemical and biological conditions.
• Computer Modeling and Statistical Analysis in Environmental Chemistry
• Environmental Remediation of Organic Pollutants
• Instrumental and Chemical Analysis of Environmental Pollutants
• Organic Synthesis and Characterization Using Chemical and Spectroscopic Methods

Research Funding

• Faculty Advisor for a student team project that received a US EPA People, Prosperity, and Planet (P3) Program grant of $8100 for August 2007-July 2008.
• Enhancements to the Lake Champlain Mercury Mass Balance: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Funded by NOAA/LCRC, 1/05-12/05. $92,900.
• St. Lawrence University Acquisition of Instrumentation for Monitoring Climate, Atmospheric, and Aquatic Environmental Processes in Northern New York. Funded by NSF/MRI, 8/04-7/07, $194,476. (read more)
• Air Quality Study Based on IMPROVE data at Underhill and Lye Brook, Vermont. Funded by DEC-VT, 9/03-8/04. $15,000 (read more)
• Sources and Sinks for Mercury in the Lake Champlain Basin. Funded by NOAA/LCRC, 9/02-8/03. $46,000.
• Remediation of Semiconductor Industrial Wastes. Funded by Persee Chemical Co., 10/01-9/03, $120,000. (Served as Co-PI, $32,000 budget)
• Mass Balance Assessment of Mercury in Lake Champlain - A Continuing Effort. Funded by NOAA/LCRC, 9/01-8/02. $36,000.
• Receptor Modeling for Mercury in Lake Champlain. Funded by DEC-VT. Summer research student internship at SLU, 6/01, $4,000.
• Mass Balance Assessment of Mercury in Lake Champlain. Funded by LCRC/CILER (NOAA), 9/00-8/01, $38,000 .
  

Research Students Directed at SLU (their major/minor, types of research under my direction)

1. Andrew Kozlowski '07 (chem. major, SYE)
2. Tim Kilimo '08 (chem./ENVS combined major, research assistant, junior research, summer intern
3. Kacey Anderson '08 (chem. major, summer intern 2006, 2007, SYE)
4. Andrew Chapp '08 (chem./computer science double major, summer intern)
5. Paul Kloek '06 (chem. major, summer intern), currently a dental school student.
6. Jon French '06 (chem. major, summer intern), currently a M.S. student at University of New Haven.
7. Prajjwal Panday '05 (Chemistry/Env. Studies), Summer 2004 intern and senior year experience (SYE) for 2004-2005.
8. Kira Krumhansl '06 (Biology major/Chemistry. minor) Summer intern 2004.
9. Katherine Lafferty '06 (Biology major/Chemistry minor) Research assistant. Spring 2004.
10. Nicolette Oleng '05 (Biology major/Chemistry. minor) Research assistant, summer intern, junior research course, one semester SYE in Fall 2004)
11. Benjamin Puchalski '03 (Environmental Studies/Government) Summer intern.
12. Alexis Kostun '04 (Chemistry/Government) Senior Year Experience. Currently a law student at Northeastern University.
13. Josh Onyan '04 (Chemistry) Senior Year Experience.
14. Jesse Hoffman '03 (Chemistry/Mathematics) Research assistant, summer intern. Currently a MS student at Alfred University.
15. Winter Guffey '03 (Chemistry major) Research assistant, summer intern, SYE. Currently a student at Palmers College of Chiropractic.
16. Melissa Rury '03 (Chemistry major/Mathematics minor) Summer intern, SYE. Currently a Ph.D student at University of Maryland - College Park
17. Stephen Drake '03 (Chemistry major) One semester SYE. Currently a Ph.D student at Georgetown University.
18. Nathan Gabriel Armatas '02 (Chemistry major) Junior research course, summer intern, and SYE. Currently a Ph.D student at Syracuse University.
    

Education Grants

• Leadership in Building a Research-rich Learning Environment (Served on 5-member university project team). Successful SLU proposal to Project Kaleidoscope, July 2004.
• Roles of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Current Chinese Healthcare System (project director). Funded by Freeman Grant, Asian Studies Initiative, St. Lawrence University, January 2004 (revision), Travelled with 4 students to China, Summer 2004.
• Course Development Grant for FYS. Funded by Academic Affairs, St. Lawrence University, October 2003.
• Course Development Grant for FYP. Funded by Freeman Grant, Asian Studies Initiative, St. Lawrence University, January 2002.

---

Some Publications and Presentations

Oral Presentation at Off-Campus Conferences (Underlined names are my current or former undergraduate research students; names in bold are presenters)

1. Gao, N. (invited speaker), K. Anderson, “Identification of Emission Sources for VOCs In Lake Champlain Basin,” Northeastern Regional Meeting of American Chemical Society, Burlington, Vermont, June 29 – July 2, 2008.

2. Anderson, K., N. Gao, “Investigation of VOCs Emission Sources for VOCs for Lake Champlain Basin,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 6-10, 2008.

3. Gao, N. NOAA Atmospheric Mercury Workshop, Silver Spring, Maryland, November 2006.

4. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, S. Drake, et al. “A Mass Balance Model for Mercury in Lake Champlain,” International Association for Great Lakes Research annual meeting, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 23–27, 2005.

5. Panday, P.K., N. Gao, “Developing an Alternative Potential Source Contribution Function Analysis Method and Its Application for Lake Champlain Mercury Study,” Lake Champlain Research Consortium Student Conference, St. Michael’s College, April 24, 2005.  

6. Gao, N., N. Oleng', and W. Guffey, Y. Li, "NMR Investigation of Organic Substrate Surface Adsorption on Titanium Dioxide and Its Impact on Photocatalytic Efficiency," Eastern Analytical Conference, New Jersey, November 16-18, 2004 (accepted oral presentation).

7. Panday, P.K., N. Gao, E. Kim, P.K. Hopke, R.L. Poirot, "Source Identification for Fine Particulate Matter over Lye Brook, Vermont Using Source-Receptor Modeling Techniques," Annual Northeastern Regional Meeting of American Chemical Society, Rochester, NY, October 31, 2004.

8 . Gao, N., K. Krumhansl, P. Panday, K. Lafferty, E. Kim, P.K. Hopke, R.L. Poirot, "Sources of Fine Particulate Species in Ambient Air over Vermont," JAWMA Special Conference on Regional and Global Haze, Ashville, North Carolina, October 23-25, 2004 (accepted platform presentation).

9. Lafferty, K., and N. Gao, "Identification of Sources of Fine Particulate Air Pollutants in the Lake Champlain Basin Using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) Analysis," Lake Champlain Research Consortium Student Conference, Middlebury College, April 24, 2004.

10. Krumhansl, K., and N. Gao, "Identification of Sources of Mercury Pollution in the Lake Champlain Basin Using Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) Analysis," Lake Champlain Research Consortium Student Conference, Middlebury College, April 24, 2004.

11. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, S. Drake, B. Olsen, C. Cady, J. Shanley, N. Kamman, G. Keeler, T. Scherbatskoy, T. Holsen, L. McIlroy, "Mass Balance Assessment for Mercury in Lake Champlain," The 23rd International Symposium, North America Lake Management Soc., Foxwood, CT, Nov.5-7, 2003.

12. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, B. Puchalski, P.K. Hopke, and R.L. Poirot, "Emission and Transport of Atmospheric Mercury to Lake Champlain - Invited Presentation," St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council Meeting, Canton, NY, October 15, 2003.

13 . Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, S. Drake, C. Cady, B. Olsen, J. Shanley, N. Kamman, G. Keeler, T. Scherbatskoy, T. Holsen, L. McIlroy, "A Mass Balance Assessment for Mercury in Lake Champlain - Invited Presentation," NOAA Workshop on Research Priorities in Lake Champlain Basin, Five-year Planning, Burlington, VT, June 5-6, 2003.

14. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, and B. Puchalski, "Possible Emission Sources for Mercury in Lake Champlain," The 10th Adirondack Research Consortium Annual Meeting, Saranac Lake, New York, May 28-29, 2003.

15. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, B. Puchalski "Sources and Sinks of Mercury in Lake Champlain," Lake Champlain Research Consortium Annual Meeting, Quebec, Canada, May 23, 2002.

16. Gao, N. "Atmospheric Research Priorities for Lake Champlain Basin Program," The Lake Champlain Basin Research Prioritization Meeting, Burlington VT, November 19, 1999.

17. Gao, N., Bigalow, A., Li, Y., and Sadasivan, S. "NMR Investigation of C-3 and C-4 Alcohols in Aqueous Environment," The American Chemical Society Northeastern Regional Meeting, Potsdam NY, June 22-25, 1999.

18. Gao, N., Barber, D., and Moore, B., "Preliminary Investigation of Possible Atmospheric Contributions to Lake Champlain," The Conference on the Adirondacks and the Lake Champlain Basin, Saranac Lake, NY, May 26-27, 1999.

Poster Presentations at Off-Campus Conferences (names of my current/former undergraduate research students are underlined; bold names are presenters)

19. Gao, N., P. Panday, K. Krumhansl, K. Lafferty, E. Kim, P.K. Hopke, R.L. Poirot, "Sources of Fine Particulate Species over Lye Brook and Underhill, Vermont," Annual Meeting of Vermont Monitoring Cooperative, Burlington, VT, October 8, 2004.

20. Guffey, W., N. Oleng' and N. Gao, "Mechanisms for Photocatalytic Reactions of Aromatic Compounds," American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 24-28, 2003.

21. Rury, M. and N. Gao, "Environmental Sampling and Modeling in Undergraduate Curriculum," American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, ew Orleans, Louisiana, March 24-28, 2003

22. Wu, T., P. Wu, J. Keleher, N. Oleng', W. Guffey, and N. Gao, G. Chen, and Y. Li, "Photo-Chemical Remediation of Model Copper CMP Waste Stream, 7th International Symposium on Chemical-Mechanical Polishing, Lake Placid, NY, August13, 2002.

23. Armatas, N.G. and N. Gao, "Mass Balance Assessment of Mercury in Lake Champlain," American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, April 9-13, 2002.

24. Barber, D. and N. Gao, "Preliminary Investigation of Possible Atmospheric Contributions to Lake Champlain," Lake Champlain Research Consortium Student Conference, St. Michael's College, Burlington, Vermont, April 8, 1999.

Oral Presentations on Campus (departmental seminars not listed; names of my current or former undergraduate research students; names in bold are presenters)

25. Armatas, N.G. and N. Gao "Mass Balance Assessment of Mercury in Lake Champlain," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, 4/25/02.

26. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, B. Puchalski "Sources and Sinks of Mercury in Lake Champlain," Science Colloquium, St. Lawrence Univ., 4/25/02.

27. Parent, J. and N. Gao "The application of Stella for Computer Modeling of Photochemical Reactions," The Sigma Xi Research Mini-Symposium, Plattsburgh State University Plattsburgh, New York, 4/25/98

28. Gao, N., "Investigation of Oxygen-Free Ozonation of UV-Absorbing Explosives in Aquatic System," Department of Chemistry, Plattsburgh State University, Plattsburgh, New York, 3/6/97.

Poster Presentations on Campus (dept. seminars not listed; names underlined are my current or former undergraduate research students; names in bold are presenters)

29. Kilimo, T., N. Gao, and B. Baldwin, “Long-term Monitoring Program for Acid Deposition, Chemical and Ecological Conditions of the Aquatic Environment in the Little River Watershed,” Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, April 18, 2007. 

30. Kozlowski, A., and N. Gao, “Green Electricity from Green Plants,” Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, April 18, 2007. 

31. Onyan, J., and N. Gao, "Ambient Air Quality Study at SLU," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY, April 24, 2004.

32. Kostun, A., and N. Gao, "Water Quality Assessment and Mass Balance Modeling for the Little River Watershed," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY, April 24, 2004

33. Guffey, W., N. Oleng' and N. Gao, "Mechanisms for Photocatalytic Reactions of Aromatic Compounds," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY, April, 2003. Note: Additional 3 presentations were made by my research students at 3 SLU admissions events.

34. Rury, M. and N. Gao, "Environmental Sampling and Modeling in Undergraduate Curriculum," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY, April, 2003.

35. Armatas, N.G., and N. Gao "Building Mass Balance Model using STELLA," Festival of Science, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY, April, 2001.

Peer-reviewed Publications (underlined names are my current or former undergraduate research students)

2. Gao, N., K. Krumhansl, K. Lafferty, E. Kim, P.K. Hopke, R.L. Poirot, "Sources of Fine Particulate Species in Ambient Air over Lake Champlain Basin, Vermont," J. Air & Waste Management Assoc. 56: 1607-1620 (2006).

3. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, S. Drake, C. Cady, B. Olsen, J. Shanley, N. Kamman, G. Keeler, T. Scherbatskoy, T. Holsen, L. McIlroy, "A Mass Balance Assessment for Mercury in Lake Champlain," Environmental Science. & Technology 40, 82-89 (2006).

4. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, B. Puchalski, P.K. Hopke, and R. Poirot, "A Preliminary Investigation into the Possible Emission Sources for Atmospheric Mercury Found in the Lake Champlain Basin," in Lake Champlain: Partnerships and Research in the New Millennium, T.O. Manley, P.L. Manley, and T.B. Mihuc, eds. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishing, New York, pp. 21-38 (2004).

5. J. Huang, M. Wang, J. Zhao, N. Gao, and Y. Li, "Application of Concentrated TiO2 Sols for -ray Radiation Dosimetry," Applied. Radiation and Isotopes, 54:475-481(2001).

6. Schutt, W.S., K.S. Bousman, N. Gao, and Y. Li, "Photoinduced Degradation of Environmental Pollutants in the Presence of Oxygen-free Ozone," J. Adv. Oxid. Technol., 2 (3): 401-407 (1997).

7. Liu, X., N. Gao, P.K. Hopke, D. Cohen, G. Bailey, and P. Crisp, "Evaluation of Spatial Patterns of Fine Particles Sulfur and Lead Concentrations in New South Wales, Australia," Atmos. Environ. 30 (1): 9-24 (1996).

8. Gao, N. and P.K. Hopke, "Possible Sources for Some Trace Elements Found in Airborne Particles and Precipitation in Dorset, Ontario," J. Air & Waste Management Assoc., 46: 1035-1047 (1996).

9. Cheng, M.D., N. Gao, and P.K. Hopke, "Source Apportionment Study of Nitrogen Species Measured in Southern California in 1987," J. Environ. Engr., 122: 183-1990 (1996).

10. Wienke, D., N. Gao, and P.K. Hopke, "Multiple Receptor Sites Modeling by Prim's Minimal Spanning Tree, Mapped into a Kohonen's Neural Network," Environ. Sci. & Technol.,28: 1023-1030 (1994).

11. Gao N., M.D. Cheng, and P.K. Hopke, "Receptor Modeling for Airborne Ionic Species Collected in SCAQS," Atmos. Environ., 28: 1447-1470 (1994).

12. Hopke P.K., N. Gao, and M.D. Cheng, "Combining Chemical and Meteorological Data to Infer Source Areas of Airborne Pollutants," Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 19: 187-199 (1993).

13. Gao N., M.D. Cheng, and P.K. Hopke, "PSCF Analysis and Source Apportionment of Sulfur Species Measured at Rubidoux, CA During SCAQS, 1987," Analytica Chimica Acta, 277: 369-380 (1993).

14. Shepson P.B., K.G. Anlauf, J.W. Bottenheim, A. Wiebe, N. Gao, K. Muthuramu, and G.I. Mackay, "Alkyl Nitrates and Their Contribution to Reactive Nitrogen at a Rural Site in Ontario," Atmos. Environ., 27A: 749-757 (1993).

Other Publications

15. Gao, N., K. Krumhansl, K. Lafferty, E. Kim, P.K. Hopke, R.L. Poirot, “Sources of Fine Particulate Species in Ambient Air over Lake Champlain Basin, Vermont,” Proceedings for Specialty Topic  Conference on Global and Regional Perspectives on Visibility, Air & Waste Management Assoc., Asheville, North Carolina, October 25-29, 2004.

16. Gao, N., N.G. Armatas, S. Drake, C. Cady, B. Olsen, J. Shanley, N. Kamman, G. Keeler, T. Scherbatskoy, T. Holsen, T. Young, L. McIlroy, "A Mass Balance Assessment for Mercury in Lake Champlain," Atmospheric Deposition in the Lake Champlain Basin: Research Plan and Workshop Proceedings, Report to the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD/Lake Champlain Sea Grant Publication No. LCSG 04-001, 2004 (CD-ROM).

17. J. Keleher, T. Wu, P. Wu, Y, Li, N. Oleng', W. Guffey, N. Gao, and G. Chen, "Photochemical degradation of Organic Components in a Model Cu-CMP Slurry", Proceedings of SEMICON West-Innovation in Semiconductor Manufacturing, San Francisco, CA, July, 2003.

18. Gao, N., A. Schumacker, M. Hepel, J. Yartym, "Photocatalytic Degradation Of Naphthol Blue Black Dye with TiO2 Nanoparticles Immobilized on Polyethylene Foam Sheet." American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division Extended Abstracts, Vol. 40 (1): 426-428, San Francisco, March 26-30, 2000.

Return to the Faculty/Staff Page