Brooke Traynham(expects to obtain Ph.D. May 2009)

Department & Program:  Civil and Environmental Engineering/Earth and Environmental Science 

Hometown:  Manchester, NH 

Undergraduate degree from:  Emory University;

Masters Degree from: Vanderbilt U.  

Research Area:  Long term monitoring of hazardous chemical and radioactive waste sites. 

Outside interests/activities: SCUBA, running, soccer, golf, and most water related activities. 

Why Vanderbilt:  I am part of Vanderbilt’s interdisciplinary doctorate program between the department of Earth and Environmental Science and Civil and Environmental Engineering which encourages the assessment of complex engineering problems over geological time periods. Collaboration between these historically disparate disciplines is useful in establishing a successful integrated long term monitoring program for nuclear and hazard waste sites.  The diversity of interests and backgrounds of the faculty from both departments contributes enormously to this program.

Likes best about Vanderbilt Engineering:  This department has many faculty members who have significant experience in private industry which is a valuable asset to graduate students seeking a diversity of opportunities post-doctorate degree.   

Research Area:  My research is primarily focused on long term ecological monitoring of nuclear and hazardous waste sites.  Due to technical and economic limitations, chemical and radioactive wastes will require isolation in engineered containment facilities at many sites including the former nuclear weapons facilities within the Department of Energy complex. While our experience with currently favored designs is only a few decades at best, the materials being isolated may require effective containment for hundreds to thousands of years. It is becoming clear that without monitoring of both the engineered barriers and the associated institutional controls, engineered containment systems will ultimately fail.  Furthermore, existing monitoring strategies typically omit ecological monitoring.  Additional understanding of the interaction between barrier degradation and ecological dynamics could provide a basis for monitoring and managing barriers.  It is necessary to review long term monitoring programs currently in place by other federal agencies to ascertain useful components that that may have merit in the design of long-term monitoring programs for hazardous chemical and radioactive waste sites.