A Slippery Rock University faculty member is a visiting researcher this summer working with leading scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, one of the top research centers in the country that is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Sajad Hamidi, an SRU associate professor of engineering, was invited to expand his research on greenhouse gas emissions from aquatic systems and build on work initiated during his sabbatical at ORNL in the summer and fall of 2024.
During Hamidi’s appointment this year, May 27 to Aug. 2, he is working remotely on a manuscript for a research paper with colleagues from ORNL as they use computational models to analyze data collected by field sensors and satellite images to investigate the environmental impacts of greenhouse gases.
“My research is a portion of a much larger project all around the country to build a database that managers of lakes, reservoirs or dams can use to understand water quality,” Hamidi said. “The knowledge is beneficial for policymakers or dam operators and many other stakeholders who rely on hydroelectricity and agricultural activities.”
Hamidi and the ORNL research team are investigating the effects of eutrophication, the process where freshwater lakes and reservoirs become excessively enriched with nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from agricultural and sewage runoff that damage the ecosystem. Eutrophication causes harmful algal blooms, oxygen depletion and the release of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Their study is based on data collected from Douglas Reservoir, not far from the ORNL in Tennessee.
Hamidi presented findings from the ongoing research at the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress, May 18-21, in Anchorage, Alaska, and further findings will be published in a peer-review journal by Hamidi and the co-authors, led by Carly Hansen, a water resources engineer at ORNL.
“I’m honored to return to Oak Ridge and continue this important research as we enhance our understanding of climate-related challenges,” said Hamidi. “As a professor at an institution like SRU that is focused on teaching, working on research helps me better understand the problems and issues that are current in our field. I’m gaining knowledge that will enrich the students in the classes that I teach, especially by working with very prestigious research and an institution like Oak Ridge.”
Hamidi said that the partnerships he is forging could also lead to opportunities for SRU students to engage in high-impact research through internships at Oak Ridge and other world-class laboratories.
More information about engineering at SRU is available on the department’s webpage. More information about ORNL is available at www.ornl.gov.
