Ecology Lab Announces New Director
University of Georgia (UGA) Vice President for Research Dr. Joe Key has announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Bertsch as the new director for the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory(SREL). Bertsch will succeed Dr. Michael Smith as director when Smith steps down from that position August 31. The announcement was made to the assembled faculty and staff at the UGA research facility, which is located on the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
The search for a new director began last year when Smith announced his decision to retire from his post. Though the search included numerous applicants from all over the country, the selection committee narrowed the field to two finalists from SREL.
Key said, "We had a good slate of candidates." Commending the search committee, Key said the process worked because at the start there was a bias for an outside candidate, but as the interviewing and screening continued the two SREL scientists rose to the top of the list. That made the selection even more difficult, Key said, as both had earned the obvious respect of the faculty and staff at SREL.
Bertsch, a Senior Research Scientist and Technical Director of the Advanced Analytical Center for Environmental Sciences at the SREL is also a Professor of Soil Physical Chemistry-Mineralogy in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at The University of Georgia. Bertsch also commended the committee and said, "I feel honored to be offered the position. SREL is a remarkable institution."
Dr. Bertsch holds a BS in Plant Science from University of Connecticut, an MS in Soil Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science (Soil Physical Chemistry Mineralogy) from the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Bertsch teaches two graduate level courses: Soil Physical Chemistry and Chemical Equilibria in Natural Waters, and has developed a third in Advanced Spectroscopic Methods in Soil and Environmental Chemistry. He has also built and supervised the Advanced Analytical Center for Environmental Sciences (AACES) research program at SREL.
In addition, Bertsch is the associate editor for the Soil Science Society of America Journal, the Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of the Consortium of the Advanced Radiation Sciences (CARS) at the University of Chicago, and a member of a Principal Research Team at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory on beam-line X 26A. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, Clay Minerals Society, Soil Science Society of America, International Clay Minerals Society (AIPEA), International Soil Science Society, American Geophysical Union, and Chair and Co-Chair of the Southern Regional Clay Mineralogy Technical Committee (S-280) and the Technical Committee on Applications of Synchrotron Radiation in Soil Science.
Bertsch's appointment is expected to be confirmed by the Board of Regents in September.
CONTACT: Rosemary Forrest
UGA/SREL PR Coordinator
[email protected]
(803) 725-2473 for photo of new director
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