Ocala Water Quality Services Unit Chief Selected

Mike began his USGS career in 1988 as a hydrologist (geochemist) with the Kansas District where he conducted independent research and managed operations of the Kansas District Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory. His accomplishments include development of improved solid-phase herbicide concentration methods, construction of herbicide transport models, demonstration that cyanazine metabolites frequently contaminate ground- and surface-waters in the midwest, and testing of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a tool for detecting herbicides in water.

In 1995, Mike accepted his present research geochemist position in North Carolina where he established and currently manages the District Analytical Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory; develops research programs with several Federal agencies, universities, and other USGS units; and conducts independent organic geochemical research most notably in herbicides, antibiotics, other pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting compounds. Mike has successfully created a viable, functioning research laboratory that has gained a solid reputation for developing new organic analytical methods, producing high-quality laboratory results, and providing expertise to help customers and partners interpret laboratory results.

Mike's recent accomplishments include publishing a radioimmunoassay and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for analysis of antibiotics, developing screening and quantitative methods for analysis of multiple classes of antibiotics, organizing the first scientific symposium on "Chemistry of Herbicide Metabolism in Surface Water and Groundwater", and contributing to a study of herbicides and endocrine disrupting compounds in south Florida.

Mike holds Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Geology from the University of Kansas. Including his academic training, he has a total of eighteen years of analytical laboratory experience with an exceptionally broad range of advanced laboratory equipment and techniques. Mike's technical and laboratory management background is well-suited for leading the Ocala Water Quality Services Unit in providing continued high levels of support for USGS programs in Florida and throughout the country. Please join us in welcoming Mike to the next exciting step in his career.