Dr.
Nancy E. Kinner is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). She received an A.B. from Cornell
University in Biology (Ecology and Systematics) in 1976 and an M.S. and
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in 1980
and 1983, respectively. She received an NSF Dissertation Fellowship to
study protists at the Water Research Centre (UK) in 1983. Prof. Kinner
joined the faculty of Civil Engineering at UNH in 1983. She has conducted
funded research projects for agencies and research organizations including
USEPA, NSF, AWWARF, CICEET and the NH Department of Environmental Services.
She and her graduate students have authored numerous peer reviewed publications
and technical reports. Prof. Kinner's research explores the role of bacteria
and protists in the biodegradation of petroleum compounds and chlorinated
solvents. Prof. Kinner currently serves as an advisor to the State of
New Hampshire on hazardous waste bioremediation and is a member of the
State's Waste Management Council. She is also a member of the editorial
board of Microbial Ecology. Prof. Kinner teaches courses on environmental
microbiology, marine pollution and control, the fundamentals of environmental
engineering, and environmental sampling and analysis. Prior to becoming
the UNH Co-Director of the Coastal Response Research Center in June 2004,
she has served as the Director of the UNH Bedrock Bioremediation Center
since 1998. She recently completed a CICEET-funded project on enhanced
bioremediation of oil-contaminated salt marshes and will be continuing
work in this area as part of her Coastal Response Research Center duties.
Dr.
Amy Merten is an environmental scientist for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)
in Seattle, WA, where she assesses the biological and shoreline impacts
of oil and chemical spills. Dr. Merten has recently worked on several
major spills, including the M/V ATHOS (Delaware River), the M/V SELENDANG
AYU (Unalaska, AK), and several spills on the Mississippi corridor caused
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Prior to her current position, Dr. Merten
was a technical science advisor to the Director of OR&R (Silver Spring,
MD), providing expertise on ecological risk assessment, Brownfields redevelopment,
contaminated sediment issues, and emergency response to oil spills in
coastal environments. From 1992-1996, she was a natural resource analyst
for PCCI Environmental Engineering, Inc. (Alexandria, VA), writing oil
spill contingency plans for U.S Navy facilities and commercial oil transport
clients. In that position, she served as the Navy's representative on
the National Response Team's Science and Technology Committee, developing
policy guidance on the use of alternative response techniques such as
dispersants and in-situ burning.
Dr. Merten received her doctorate (2005) and masters (1999) degrees in Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences with a specialization in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Maryland. Her research focused on the sublethal impacts of long-term exposures of dietary PAHs on the bioenergetics of and PCB bioaccumulation in a model fish, Fundulus heteroclitus and the differences in bioavailability of PAHs associated with petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. She earned a B.A. in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1992.
Kristin
Bailey-McCarthy, Program Support Assistant for the Center, accomplishes
many daily tasks that contribute to the efficient running of the Center
and assists with travel arrangements and event planning. Kristin is working
towards her B.S. in Public Health and hopes to focus on Global Health
for her Master's. Before coming to the Center, she worked for a small
veterinary clinic as a Veterinary Assistant. She is currently raising
her first puppy for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).
Thomas
Kurshinsky received his B.A. in Science (Computer Information Systems)
from Southern New Hampshire University in 1997. Prior to this he was a
member of the US Air Force. Since leaving the Air Force he has held positions
at Platinum Technology and Fisher Scientific. At these positions, he was
employed as a Technical Support Engineer and Network Administrator, respectively.
Tom serves as the Center's Information Technologist for all computer related
issues.
Kathy
Mandsager received her B.A. in Education, Psychology & Sociology from
Wartburg College, Waverly, IA. Just prior to joining the Center Staff,
she was the Administrative Assistant in the Office of the Vice President
for Research & Public Service at UNH where she coordinated the Undergraduate
Research Conference and the Outreach Scholars Program. In September 2005,
Ms. Mandsager joined the Center to assist in the numerous administrative
and operational activities of the Center, such as RFP review processing
and Workshop planning. One of her extracurricular passions is raising
puppies for Canine Companions for Independence.
Colleen
Mitchell received a B.A. in English from Nyack College in Nyack, NY and
a Master's in Education from SUNY College at Plattsburgh. Before coming
to the University of New Hampshire, she was the Systems Manager at Hospice
of the North Country in upstate New York and the Assistant to the Director
of Broadcasting at New Hampshire Public Television. Ms. Mitchell began
working with the Environmental Research Group (ERG) in 1999 as the Program
Coordinator for the Recycled Materials Resource Center. In 2002, she became
the Communications Coordinator for ERG and all of its centers.
Kimberly
Newman is a Research Scientist with the Coastal Response Research Center.
Ms. Newman received her Master's degree in Civil (Environmental) Engineering
from Clarkson University in 1995 and her Bachelor's degree in Biology
from LeMoyne College in 1992. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Newman
worked for Haley & Aldrich, Inc., where she participated in numerous
site investigations and remediation projects. In 1999, Ms. Newman joined
the University of New Hampshire's Bedrock Bioremediation Center (BBC)
where she was involved in the BBC's start up activities, development of
the project's Health and Safety Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan,
and coordination and oversight of field activities. Ms. Newman joined
the Coastal Response Research Center in the summer of 2003 and provides
program management for the Center.