Editor’s Note

Once again it is my pleasure to introduce our invited paper for this issue, “Effectiveness of Source-Zone Remediation of DNAPL-Contaminated Subsurface Systems,” authored by Cass Miller and his associates at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. This paper presents interesting findings about the extent of remediation of DNAPL contamination necessary to achieve typical cleanup standards, and the role of various factors in determining the rate of mass transfer. Cass’s coauthors for this manuscript are Deona Johnson Wright, Pamela Schultz Birak, and Joseph A. Pedit.

Deona Johnson Wright received her B.S. degree from James Madison University in 2001 before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue her graduate studies. She earned her M.S. in environmental sciences and engineering based on her research using dense brine solutions to control the mobilization of dense nonaqueous phase liquids during the remediation of subsurface systems. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate.

Pamela Schultz Birak received a B.A. in chemistry from Providence College and a M.S. in environmental sciences and engineering from Clemson University. After several years working in industry and consulting, she entered the doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is studying the behavior of dense nonaqueous liquids in porous media under Dr. Miller. She received an outstanding student paper award at the 2008 AGU Fall Meeting for her investigation into the rheological behavior of tars at former manufactured gas plants.

Joseph A. Pedit is a research associate in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He conducts research on fate and transport processes in natural and engineered systems. Research topics have included dispersive transport in density-dependent flow systems, brine-based remediation technologies, chemotaxis in porous media systems, and modeling of advanced oxidation processes. He received a Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 1994 after having worked in the private and public sector.

Cass T. Miller is a professor of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and has served as editor of Advances in Water Resources since 1997. Professor Miller’s research has focused on multiphase transport phenomena in porous medium systems, including theory, computation, and experimental aspects.

We hope you enjoy reading this manuscript. I also welcome any suggestions you may have for future invited papers.