Gregory O’Mullan

Associate Professor and Chairman, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Environmental Microbiology

Science Building – Room D206
Phone: 718-997-3452

gregory.omullan@qc.cuny.edu​

Research Interests:

Environmental Microbiology and Water Resource Management. My research focuses upon the microbial ecology of aquatic environments. The microbial communities are studied in order to:

• Understand the variation and regulation of biogeochemical functioning in aquatic environments;
• Understand the interaction between human activities and pathogen dynamics in the environment.
• Understand the best management practices for urban pollution.

Specific Interests:

Includes studies of:

• Factors regulating the variability in coastal water quality, including the persistence of pathogens in estuaries and water-sediment interactions.
• Bioaerosols and the connection of water quality and air quality at the scale of the urban waterfront.
• Estuarine biogeochemistry, including greenhouse gas production in response to nutrient loading; nitrogen cycling in the coastal ocean.
• The design and testing of antimicrobial technologies for the treatment of industrial and stormwater.
• Changes in microbial diversity and activity in response to: a) hypoxia; b) aquifer acidification.
• The role of subsurface microbial communities in altering carbon sequestration activities.

View data from my Hudson River water quality study

Sources of Current and Prior Research Support Include:

Hudson River Foundation, Riverkeeper, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Eppley Foundation, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, New York Seagrant, and Sloan Foundation.