Nancy E. Kinner, UNH Co-Director

Nancy KinnerDr. 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.

 




Amy MertenDr. 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.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Thomas Kurshinsky, Information Technologist

Tom KurshinskyThomas 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 MandsagerKathy 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, Communications Coordinator

Colleen MitchellColleen 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, Research Scientist

Kimberly NewmanKimberly 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.