Colorado State University Environmental Researcher Named Among ‘The New Elite’

A Colorado State University expert in the movement of pollutants through soil and water has been named among “the new elite” in the field of environmental science and engineering.

The prestigious Journal of Environmental Monitoring recently recognized Thomas Borch, an associate professor in chemistry and soil and crop sciences, as an “Emerging Investigator.” He is one of just 15 international researchers commended for their work.

The emerging investigators represent “the best and brightest young minds in environmental sciences and engineering” – and the field’s future “is in good hands” with the work of this vanguard, the journal’s editors wrote.

As part of the honor, the journal published a research paper from Borch, titled “Determination of contaminant levels and remediation efficacy in groundwater at the former in situ recovery uranium mine.”

“Never before have environmental scientists and engineers been more critical to sustainable global development,” the editors wrote in the June issue of the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. “As society confronts grand challenges in climate change, access to safe and clean air and water resources, management of nutrients, the control of emerging infectious disease, the energy-water nexus, and other as yet unforeseen threats to environmental quality, environmental scientists and engineers must provide a sustainable path forward.”

In an interview with the journal, Borch said he decided to pursue environmental science because “I was motivated by the idea of being able to spend an entire career in trying to improve our fundamental understanding of mechanisms controlling the environmental fate and transport of pollutants in order to help develop new remediation strategies.”

Borch, a specialist in environmental chemistry and biogeochemistry, is a faculty member with the CSU graduate degree program in Ecology, the School of Global Environmental Sustainability and the Center for Environmental Medicine.
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