Robert Lapierre (Chemistry)

Robert Lapierre (Chemistry)

About DOE Fellow
Robert Lapierre graduated from Florida International University in spring of 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. Before graduating, he spent 2-3 years of his undergraduate career working with Dr. Jose Almirall of FIU’s International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI) doing research relating to novel planar solid phase micro-extraction (PSPME) devices and techniques and the detection of the trace volatile components of explosives by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS).

Robert has since joined FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC) as a DOE Fellow and Research Assistant where his research shifted towards the hazardous waste/uranium remediation efforts at the Hanford Site. He spent the summer of 2012 working at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with his mentor, Dr. Dawn Wellman, on single-pass flow-through (SPFT) corrosion studies of solids and surfactant analysis relating to the delivery of chemicals into the deep vadose zone at the Hanford Site. During the course of his internship, he was thoroughly trained in Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), a skill that would prove valuable in future research.

Currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Chemistry, Robert is working to design his graduate thesis around his environmental remediation research at the Applied Research Center.
DOE Related Projects
FIU’s Applied Research Center works closely with the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management on projects relating to the environmental cleanup efforts they are involved in, including the remediation of uranium in the Hanford vadose zone. Mentored by Dr. Yelena Katsenovich, Robert is working on a project based on uranium sequestration by pH manipulation using NH3 gas. The project involves using a complement of analytical techniques to characterize the uranium-bearing phases produced in the remediation method. Future studies include an analysis of the stability of these phases.