Upal Ghosh

Professor

Contact Information

Technology Research Center (TRC), Room 252B
ughosh@umbc.edu
410-455-8665

Ghosh Lab Website

Education

Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering – State University of New York at Buffalo, 1998
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering – State University of New York at Buffalo, 1993
B.Tech. Chemical Engineering – Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, 1989

Research Interests

My research group explores fundamental process mechanisms that control pollutant fate in soils, sediments, and aquatic environments. We use multidisciplinary tools to investigate exposure and bioavailability of organic and metal pollutants to organisms. The new understanding is used to develop novel remediation technologies and site-specific remediation goals. Recent projects have focused on contaminants such as PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, dioxins, and mercury and fall under three broad categories: 1) assessment of pollutant fate and bioavailability, 2) analytical methods for the assessment of pollutant bioavailability, 3) development, demonstration, and technology transition of novel remediation technologies for polluted sediments.

Selected Publications – Google Scholar

• Zhou, Y.; Miao, D.; Gomez-Eyles, J.L.; Ghosh, U.; Bi, M.; Li, J.; Ren, F. (2022). Comparative study on polychlorinated biphenyl sorption to activated carbon and biochar and the influence of natural organic matter. Chemosphere 287, 132239.
• Ghosh, U.; Bokare, M. (2021). In Situ Sampling Techniques for Identification and Quantification of Trace Pollutants. Sustainable Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatment, 3-16.
• Ghosh, U.; Bokare, M.; Gobas, F. APC. Deconvoluting Thermodynamics from Biology in the Aquatic Food Web Model. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, April 30, 2021.
• Bridges, T.; Newell, S.; Kennedy, A.; Moore, D.; Ghosh, U.; Needham, T.; Xia, H.; Kim, K.; Menzie, C.A.; Kulacki, K. Long-term stability and efficacy of historic activated carbon (AC) deployments at diverse freshwater and marine remediation sites. UMBC Student Collection, December 10, 2020.
• Jonker, M.TO.; Burgess, R.M.; Ghosh, U.; Gschwend, P.M.; Hale, S.E.; Lohmann, R.; Lydy, M.J.; Maruya, K.A.; Reible, D.; Smedes, F. (2020). Ex situ determination of freely dissolved concentrations of hydrophobic organic chemicals in sediments and soils: basis for interpreting toxicity and assessing bioavailability, risks and remediation necessity. Nature protocols 15(5), 1800-1828.
• Patmont, E.; Jalalizadeh, M.; Bokare, M.; Needham, T.; Vance, J.; Greene, R.; Cargill, J.; Ghosh, U. (2020). Full-Scale Application of Activated Carbon to Reduce Pollutant Bioavailability in a 5-Acre Lake. Journal of Environmental Engineering 146(5), 04020024.
• Paul, K.; Saha, C.; Nag, M.; Mandal, D.; Naiya, H.; Sen, D.; Mitra, S.; Kumar, M.; Bose, D.; Mukherjee, G.; Naskar, N.; Lahiri, S.; Ghosh, U.D.; Tripathi S.; Sarkar, M.P.; Banerjee, M.; Kleinert, A.; Valentine, A.J.; Tripathy, S.; Sinharoy, S.; Seal A. (2020). A Tripartite Interaction among the Basidiomycete Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, N2-Fixing Endobacteria, and Rice Improves Plant Nitrogen Nutrition. The Plant Cell 32(2), 486-507.
• Sanders, J.P.; McBurney, A,; Gilmour, C.C; Schwartz, G.E.; Washburn, S.; Driscoll, S.B.K.; Brown, S.S.; Ghosh U. (2020). Development of a novel equilibrium passive sampling device for methylmercury in sediment and soil porewaters. Environmental toxicology and chemistry 39(2), 323-334.
• Gidley, P.T.; Kennedy, A.J.; Lotufo, G.R.; Wooley, A.H.; Melby, N.L.; Ghosh U.; Burgess, R.M.; Mayer, P.; Fernandez, L.A.; Schmidt, S.N.; Wang, A.P.; Bridges, T.S.; Ruiz, C.E. (2019). Bioaccumulation in functionally different species: ongoing input of PCBs with sediment deposition to activated carbon remediated bed sediments. Environmental toxicology and chemistry 38(10), 2326-2336.
• Ghosh, U.; Lombard, N.; Needham, T.; Payne, R.; Sowers, K. (2019). PCB Bioremediation: Finally Coming of Age? SIMB Annual Meeting and Exhibition 2019.
• Needham, T.P.; Payne, R.B.; Sowers, K.R.; Ghosh, U. (2019). Kinetics of PCB microbial dechlorination explained by freely dissolved concentration in sediment microcosms. Environmental science & technology 53(13), 7432-7441.
• Payne, R.B.; Ghosh, U.; May, H.D.; Marshall, C.W.; Sowers, K.R. (2019). Response to “Comment on ‘A Pilot-Scale Field Study: In Situ Treatment of PCB-Impacted Sediments with Bioamended Activated Carbon’”. Environmental science & technology 53(10), 6104-6105.

Patents

• Actively shaken in-situ passive sampling device. Ghosh, U.; Jalalizadeh, M. (2020).(US patent # 10,551,283).
• Organic biofilm substrata as a microbial inoculum delivery vehicle for bioaugmentation of persistent organic pollutants in contaminated sediments and soils. K. Sowers, B. Kjellerup, and U. Ghosh. (2015): (US patent # 8,945,906).
• A Low-Impact Delivery System for In-Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediment. U. Ghosh and C.A. Menzie, 2010: (US patent # 7,824,129).
• In Situ Stabilization of Persistent Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Sediments using coal- and wood-derived carbon sorbents. R.G. Luthy and U. Ghosh, 2006: (US patent # 7,101,115 B2).