James Rice, Ph.D. is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the Brown University Superfund Research Program. James is a chemical engineer interested in the fate and transport, chemistry, and thermodynamics of environmental contaminants, and on translation of scientific research to relevant stakeholders, such as regulators, policy makers, and community members.

Dr. James Rice

Rice will conduct a 2013 research externship at the Fisherville Mill Brownfield site in Grafton, MA, under the mentorship of Robert Burgess, Ph.D., a staff scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Rice will lead a freshwater passive sampler study in the Blackstone River at the Fisherville Mill site to monitor heating oil contamination and other potential pollutants. Passive sampling devices can be effective at monitoring contaminant concentrations in surface waters and sediment, and they provide information on dissolved and biologically available concentrations of persistent organic pollutants.

In addition to the above, Rice works closely with David Hibbett and Darcy Young from Clark University to test the potential for bio-remediation using white-rot fungi to degrade components of spilled Bunker-C heading oil. Furthermore, during the summer of 2012 Rice worked with the Fisherville Redevelopment Company and John Todd Ecological Design to monitor petroleum hydrocarbons in the river sediment and water and from the Eco-Machine bioremediation tanks.