Daniel Alessi

Professor and Encana Chair in Water Resources, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Contact

Professor and Encana Chair in Water Resources, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Email
alessi@ualberta.ca

Overview

About

My research group studies the surface chemistry of materials, the biogeochemistry of metals cycling in water, soils and sediments, and the water cycle in unconventional energy recovery. With collaborators on campus and internationally, we are currently focused on: (1) the chemical behavior of pyrolytic carbon (biochar) in the environment and its use in soil and water treatment, (2) evaluating the chemistry of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced waters, links to toxicity, and impacts to soil and water microbiology following spills, (3) the extraction of lithium from oilfield brines, and (4) modelling the transport and fate of contaminants in geologic media.

Education

  • Postdoc, Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
  • Ph.D., Geochemistry, University of Notre Dame, 2009
  • M.Sc., Hydrogeology, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, 2006
  • B.Sc., Geology, University of Wisconsin - Parkside, 2000

Research

Current research areas include:

  • Low-temperature and aqueous geochemistry
  • Water resources
  • Environmental geomicrobiology