Saturday, December 8, 2007

Tech hydrology professor recognized by soil society

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

A New Mexico Tech professor of hydrology has received high recognition from his peers in being named a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America.

Robert Bowman, who has done much work on a porous rock with many uses called zeolite, was one of 14 individuals chosen to receive the honor for 2007 based on professional achievement and meritorious service.

Tech Professor of Hydrology Jan Hendrickx nominated Bowman.

"Rob is a very effective mentor for his students, but this nomination is driven by his exceptional abilities to consistently conceive novel scientific research strategies for dealing with complex hydrological problems," Hendrickx said in his nomination form.

Bowman said he was happy about the award.

"It's recognition by your peers that your work has been good quality and had a positive impact on the science," he said.

The formal awards ceremony took place at the society's national meeting in October in New Orleans, but Bowman couldn't attend due to prior commitments.

For selection, people in the society nominate colleagues and a committee ranks candidates for final selection, according to a news release from the society.

Hendrickx cited Bowman's work with chemical tracers, which allow researchers to track the movement of water.

The tracers have clarified effects of differences within soil and rock formations on flow and transport processes, and are used worldwide.

Bowman said his work brought the number of available tracers up from three or four to 16.

"So it greatly expanded the opportunities and types of tests you can do in water tracing," he said.

Bowman has also modified zeolites to filter various contaminants out of water.

"We can sort of tune it to pick out certain contaminants form the water without removing other stuff," he said.

In addition, Bowman developed an electrode system to remove pollutants from soils with very low fluid conductivity.

During Bowman's directorship of the Tech hydrology program from 1995-2005, the number of tenure-track faculty and research assistant professorships nearly doubled, Hendrickx wrote.

Bowman has also written over 100 technical papers, and holds one patent with another in review.

Bowman has advised doctoral and master's students and supervised post-doctoral associates, as well as being involved in middle and high school science classes or activities.

"Dr. Bowman has had a lifelong commitment to encouraging young people to participate in science," Hendrickx wrote.

Bowman has held numerous leadership positions including his current chairmanship of Tech's Earth and Environmental Sciences Department and chair of the organizing committee for Zeolite '06, the International Natural Zeolite Association quadrennial conference.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

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