Biography

Andrew Vermilyea's goal at Castleton is be an effective teacher in the classroom and provide as many opportunities as possible for students in their field outside the classroom. Working on research projects allows students to better understand what a career in science entails and to accumulate a strong background that prepares them for graduate study or jobs that demand knowledgeable, self-reliant scientists.

As an undergraduate at Hamilton College, Dr. Vermilyea majored in Chemistry and minored in Geology. In graduate school at the Colorado School of Mines, he studied contaminate photochemical degradation and mechanisms of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Dr. Vermilyea examined mechanisms for these processes and quantified photochemical and biological rates of ROS production in freshwater bodies and during research cruises in the Gulf of Alaska and around Bermuda. These reactions are important because ROS influence the bioavailability of redox active metals, some of which are trace and limiting nutrients (such as iron in the Pacific Ocean).

Dr. Vermilyea's post-doctorate work at the University of Alaska Southeast broadened his research interests to include much larger-scale systems. There he worked to understand how landscapes influenced the total export of nutrients from watersheds to a very productive coastal ecosystem like the Gulf of Alaska. Dr. Vermilyea is currently collaborating with the University of Vermont to study nutrient export from our Vermont landscapes and the resulting impact on Lake Champlain.

Education

• Post Doc, University of Alaska Southeast
• Ph.D., Colorado School of Mines
• B.A., Hamilton College

Accomplishments

• $5,000 Lake Saint Catherine Watershed Action Plan, Lake St. Catherine Association (2022-23)
• Three-year Endowed Richardson Faculty Award (2022)

Awarded External Grants:

• $5,000 Lake Saint Catherine Watershed Action Plan, Lake St. Catherine Association (2022-23)
• 101,066 NSF EPSCoR Basic Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE), Sub-award (2016-2021)
• $10,000 Vermont EPSCoR Pilot Grant (2015-16)
• $38,856 NSF EPSCoR North East Water Resources Network Research Grant (2013-16)
• $34,528 NIH Vermont Genetics Network Pilot Research Grant (2013-14)
• $8,325 NIH Vermont Genetics Network Student Summer Research Grant (2013-14)
• $36,530 NIH Vermont Genetics Network Pilot Research Grant (2012-13)
• $10,000 Pittcon Undergraduate Institution Instrument Grant (2012)
• $79,500 NSF Instrumentation and Facilities Grant (UAS, 2011)

Awards:

• Three-year Endowed Richardson Faculty Award (2022)
• Castleton Faculty of the Year (2016)
• Outstanding Castleton New Faculty (2012)

Publications:

• ‘Mercury export from glacierized Alaskan watersheds as influenced by bedrock geology, watershed processes, and atmospheric deposition' (2021) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
• ‘Influence of land use and hydrologic variability on seasonal dissolved organic carbon and nitrate export: insights from a multi-year regional analysis for the northeastern USA' (2019) Biogeochemistry
• ‘Shining light on the storm: In-stream optics reveal hysteresis of dissolved organic matter character’ (2019) Biogeochemistry
• Using in situ UVā€Visible spectrophotometer sensors to quantify riverine phosphorus partitioning and concentration at a high frequency' (2018) Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
• 'Continuous proxy measurements reveal large mercury fluxes from glacial and forested watersheds in Alaska' (2017) Science of The Total Environment
• 'High-frequency dissolved organic carbon and nitrate measurements reveal differences in storm hysteresis and loading in relation to land cover and seasonality' (2017) Water Resources Research
• Seasonal variability of organic matter composition in an Alaskan glacier outflow: insights into glacier carbon sources' (2014) Environmental Research Letters
• Stream temperature response to variable glacier coverage in coastal watersheds of southeast Alaska' (2013) Hydrological Processes
• Hydrogen peroxide dynamics in an agricultural headwater stream: Evidence for significant non-photochemical production' (2013) Limnology and Oceanography
• Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of ancient dissolved organic matter in glaciers' (2012) Nature Geosciences
• Measurements of superoxide radical concentration and decay kinetics in the Gulf of Alaska' (2010) Deep Sea Research Part I
• Use of H2(18)O2 to measure absolute rates of dark H2O2 production in freshwater systems' (2010) Environmental Science and Technology
• Dark production of hydrogen peroxide in the Gulf of Alaska' (2010) Limnology and Oceanography
• Photo-Fenton reaction at near neutral pH' (2009) Environmental Science and Technology