Dr. Peter S.K. Knappett

Research Interests

Field and Experimental Hydrogeology

Experience

Assistant Professor (Aug. 2013 – Present)
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Associate Research Scientist (Jan. 2013 – July 2013)
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York

Post-doctoral Research Scientist (Jan. 2012 – Dec. 2012)
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York

Marie Curie Post-doctoral Research Fellow (Jun. 2010 – Dec. 2011)
Institute for Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant (Jan. 2006 – May 2010)
Dept. of Earth & Planetary Sciences/Center for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Tennessee

Graduate Research Assistant (Sept. - Dec. 2005)
Water Resources Engineering & Management Program, University of Stuttgart, Germany

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant (Aug. 2003 – Aug. 2005)
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

Project Hydrogeologist (Sept. 2002 – Aug. 2003)
Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Waterloo, Canada

Visiting Scientist (Oct. 2001 – Aug. 2002)
UFZ Center for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany

Undergraduate Research Assistant (Sept. 2000 – Sept. 2001)
Geochemistry Lab, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada

Intern Limnologist Field Assistant (May – Aug. 1998)
District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

Intern Hydrogeologist (June – Dec. 1997)
Geosciences Support Services Inc., Claremont, California

Recent Publications

• Qiu, S.; Eckert, D.; Cirpka, O. A.; Hunninger, M.; Knappett, P.; Maloszewski, P.; Meckenstock, R.; Griebler, C.; Elsner, M. Sorption, diffusion-dispersion, or biodegradation? – Carbon isotope analysis of a transient toluene pulse passing through a mesoscale aquifer, Environmental Science & Technology, In Press.
• Escamilla, V.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Yunus, M.; Streatfield, P. K.; Emch, M. Influence of Latrine Proximity and Type on Tubewell Water Quality and Diarrheal Disease in Bangladesh. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 103, No. 2, pp. 1-9, 2013.
• Knappett, P. S. K.; McKay, L. D.; Layton, A.; Williams, D. E.; Alam, Md. J.; Mailloux, B. J.; Ferguson, A. F.; Culligan, P. J.; Serre, M. L.; Emch, M.; Ahmed, K. M.; Sayler, G. S.; van Geen, A. Unsealed Tubewells Lead to Fecal Contamination of Drinking Water in Bangladesh. Journal of Water & Health, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 565-578, 2012.
• Ferguson, A. S.; Layton, A. C.; Mailloux, B. J.; Culligan, P. J.; Williams, D. E.; Smartt, A. E.; Sayler, G. S; Feighery, J.; McKay, L. D.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Alexandrova, E.; Arbit, T.; Emch, M.; Escamilla, V.; Ahmed, K. M.; Alam, Md., J.; Streatfield, P. K.; Yunus, Md.; van Geen, A. Comparison of Fecal Indicators with Pathogenic Bacteria and Rotavirus in Groundwater. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 431, pp. 314-322, 2012.
• Knappett, P. S. K.; McKay, L. D.; Layton, A.; Williams, D. W.; Mailloux, B. J.; Alam, Md. J.; Huq, Md. R.; Mey, J.; Feighery, J. E.; Culligan, P. J.; Mailloux, B. J.; Zhuang, J.; Escamilla, V.; Emch, M.; Perfect, E.; Sayler, G. S.; Ahmed, K. M.; van Geen, A. Implications of Fecal Bacteria Input from Latrine-Polluted Ponds for Wells in Sandy Aquifers. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 1361-1370, 2012.
• Wu, J.; van Geen, A.; Ahmed, K. M.; Akita, Y.; Alam, M. J.; Culligan, P. J.; Escamilla, V.; Feighery, J.; Ferguson, A. S.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Mailloux, B. J.; McKay, L. D.; Serre, M. L.; Streatfield, P. K.; Yunus, M.; Emch, M. Increase in diarrheal disease associated with arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh. PLoS ONE, Vol. 6, No. 12, pp. e29593, 2012.
• Knappett, P. S. K.; Escamilla, V.; Layton, A.; McKay, L. D.; Emch, M.; Williams, D. E.; Huq, M. R.; Alam, M. J.; Farhana, L.; Mailloux, B. J.; Ferguson, A.; Sayler, G. S.; Ahmed, K. M.; van Geen, A. Impact of population and latrines on fecal contamination of ponds in rural Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 409, No. 17, pp. 3174-3182, 2011.
• van Geen, A.; Ahmed, K. M.; Akita, Y.; Alam, M. J.; Culligan, P. J.; Feighery, J.; Ferguson, A.; Emch, M.; Escamilla, V.; Knappett, P.; Layton, A. C.; Mailloux, B. J.; McKay, L. D.; Mey, J. L.; Serre, M. L.; Streatfield, P. K.; Wu, J.; Yunus, M. Seasonal contamination of shallow tubewells in Bangladesh with the fecal indicator E. coli: Impacts of population density and hydrogeology. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 45, No. 7, pp. 1199-1205, 2011.
• Knappett, P. S. K.; Layton, A.; McKay, L. D.; Williams, D.; Mailloux, B. J.; Huq, M. R.; Alam, M. J.; Ahmed, K. M.; Akita, Y.; Serre, M. L.; Sayler, G. S.; van Geen, A. Efficacy of Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration for Microbial Sampling in Groundwater. Ground Water, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 53-65, 2011.
• Van den Berg, E.; Perfect, E.; Tu, C.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Leao, T. P.; Donat, R. Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity Measurements with Centrifuges: A Review. Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 531-547, 2009.
• Mailloux, B.; Alexandrova, E.; Keimowitz, A.; Wovkulich, K.; Freyer, G.; Herron, M.; Stolz, J.; Kenna, T.; Pichler, T.; Polizzotto, M.; Dong., H.; Bishop, M.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Microbial Mineral Weathering for Nutrient Acquisition Releases Arsenic. Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 75, No. 8, pp. 2558-2565, 2009.
• Knappett, P. S. K.; Emelko, M.; Zhuang, J.; McKay, L. Transport and Retention of MS-2 Bacteriophage and Bacteria-Sized Microspheres in Angular Saturated Porous Media: Impact of Ionic Strength and Grain Size. Water Research, Vol. 42, No. 16, pp. 4368-4378, 2008.
• Schirmer, K.; Knappett, P.; Schirmer, M. Waterborne Pathogens – A Brief Account of the story so far. GAIA, Vol. 11, pp. 255-258, No. 4, 2002.

SUBMITTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

• Knappett, P. S. K.; Du, J.; Liu, P.; Horvath, V.; Mailloux, B. J.; Feighery, J.; van Geen, A.; Culligan, P. J. Importance of Reversible Attachment in Modeling E. coli Transport in Saturated Aquifers. Advances in Water Resources, In Review.

SELECTED LIGHTLY REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS

• Mihajlov, I; Stute, M.; Bostick, B. C.; Knappett, P.; Choudhury, I.; Ahmed, K. M.; van Geen, A. The role of changing abstraction patterns in the contamination of a low-arsenic aquifer in Bangladesh. 22nd Annual Goldschmidt Conference, 2012.
• Van Geen, A.; Ahmed, K. M.; Akita, Y.; Alam, M. J.; Culligan, P.; Feighery, J.; Ferguson, A. S.; Emch, M.; Escamilla, V.; Knappett, P.; Layton, A.; Mailloux, B.; McKay, L. D.; Mey, J. L.; Serre, M. L.; Streatfield, P. K.; Wu, J.; Yunus, M. Could arsenic mitigation lead to increased diarrheal disease in Bangladesh? American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2010.
• Akita, Y.; Leber, J.; Knappett, P. S. K.; Feighery, J.; Band, L. E.; Emch, M. E.; Mailloux, B. J.; Culligan, P. J.; Layton, A. C.; McKay, L. D.; Van Geen, A.; Serre, M. L. Spatial analysis of the distribution of bacterial pathogen indicators across shallow aquifers in Bangladesh. Epidemiology, Vol. 19 (6), pp. S205-S205, 2008.

Academic Awards

• C. H. Gordon Award for Exceptional Professional Promise, Earth & Planetary Sciences, UT (2010)
• Interdisciplinary Research Award, Earth & Planetary Sciences, UT (2009)
• Geological Society of America Travel Award, GSA Joint Annual Conference 2008, Houston, TX.
• Alumni Graduate Professional Promise Award, Earth & Planetary Sciences, UT (2008)
• Best Student Presentation – Honorable Mention, Earth & Planetary Sciences, UT (2008)
• Geological Society of America Student Research Grant (2007)
• DAAD Visiting Scientist Scholarship, UFZ in Leipzig (2001-2002)
• Dean’s Honours List, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo (1999-2001)