Mira Stone Olson

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Research Interests

• In situ bioremediation of soil and ground-water contaminants, bacterial motility and chemotaxis in porous media, noninvasive imaging of micro-scale processes, bacterial responses to dynamic environments
  

Education

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Environmental), University of Virginia, August 2004
• M.E., Civil Engineering (Environmental), University of Virginia, May 2000
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Rice University, May 1998
• B.A., Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Rice University, May 1998
  

Employment

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
2006 - present

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 9/04 - 12/05
Studied nitrogen loading to the bay along the Eastern shore of Virginia.
Research advisors: Dr. Janet S. Herman and Dr. Aaron L. Mills

Engineering Intern
Roy F. Weston, Inc., Houston, TX 5/97-8/97
Worked as an engineering intern in the water/wastewater design division. Provided support on wet-weather facility, pipe liner, deflection measuring device, and construction site projects.

Research Intern
National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC 6/96-8/96
Worked for the Research and Engineering Division in the metallurgy lab. Prepared, polished and tested samples, and helped with failure analysis.

Honors and Awards

• Battelle Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds Student Paper Competition Winner, 2004
• ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry Graduate Student Paper Award, 2004
• AAUW Selected Professions Engineering Dissertation Fellowship, 2003-2004
• EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship, 2003-2004
• AGU Hydrology Section Outstanding Student Paper Award, Fall 2002
• EREF Fiessinger Environmental Science Scholarship Grant, 2002-2004
• AGU Hydrology Section Horton Research Grant, 2001-2002
• William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow Award, 2001
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 1999-2002
• Honorable Mention in DoD National Graduate Fellowship, 1999
• Dean's Fellowship, University of Virginia, 1998-2000
• Southwest Chapter ASME Student Scholarship, 1997

Research Experience

Doctoral Research Assistant
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 6/00-8/04
Worked on studying the effect of bacterial chemotaxis in porous media in the presence of a chemical concentration gradient. Research included computer simulations of a 2-D system, analysis of sand column diffusion experiments, and MRI analysis of bacterial transport.
Research advisors: Dr. James A. Smith and Dr. Roseanne M. Ford

Alcoa International Research Fellow
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 8/03-9/03
Worked on treatment of roadside runoff with constructed wetlands and examined the effects of road salting on metals concentrations and bacterial community in runoff.
Research advisor: Dr. Miklas Scholz

Program of Interdisciplinary Research in Contaminant Hydrogeology (PIRCH)
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 9/98-8/04
Participated in organization of faculty and student researchers from Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Environmental Sciences in subsurface contamination encompassing interdisciplinary coursework and laboratory roations including:
• Laboratory and field experimental methods in microbial ecology
• Batch investigation of growth and chemotaxis of thermophillic bacteria

Masters Research Assistant
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 7/98-5/00
Performed laboratory and field experiments to quantify air permeability through heterogeneous soil. Constructed laboratory experimental apparatus, installed field equipment, and performed data analysis.
Research advisor: Dr. James A. Smith

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Rice University, Houston, TX, 1/98-5/98
Performed laboratory research studying phytoremediation of HMX and RDX by aquatic plants. Conducted kinetic tests to determine the removal rates of HMX and RDX in batch aqueous systems.
Research advisor: Dr. Joseph B. Hughes

Student Research Assistant
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 6/94-8/94
Performed research in a neurobiology lab. Isolated and sequenced messenger RNA for the protein activin in the choroid layer of the chicken eye.
Research advisor: Dr. James Coulombe

Teaching Experience

Assistant Professor, Drexel University, January 2006 - present
• CIVE 430: Hydrology
• CIVE 431: Hydrology - Groundwater

Adjunct Professor, Norwich University

• Ground-Water Flow and Contaminant Transport, MCE 546 (Fall, '05)

Adjunct Professor, Piedmont Virginia Community College

• Solid Mechanics:Statics, EGR 240 (Fall, '01)

Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia

• Statics, CE 230 (Fall, '02)

Substitute Lecturer, University of Virginia

• Ordinary Differential Equations, APMA 213
• Introduction to Environmental Engineering, CE 205
• Ground-Water Hydrology, CE 440/655
• Extreme Science and Technology, USEM 170

Violin Teacher
Buffalo, NY and Charlottesville, VA

Professional Memberships

• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
• American Geophysical Union
• National Ground Water Association
• Geological Society of America
• American Association of University Women

Journal Publications

1. Olson, M.S., Ford, R.M., Smith, J.A., and Fernandez, E.J., 2006. "Mathematical Modeling of Chemotactic Bacterial Transport through a Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Porous Medium", Bioremediation Journal, Vol 10, No 1-2, pp. 13-23.


2. Olson, M.S., Ford, R.M., Smith, J.A., and Fernandez, E.J., 2005. "Analysis of Column Tortuosity for MnCl₂ and Bacterial Diffusion using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)", Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 149-154.


3. Olson, M.S., Ford, R.M., Smith, J.A., and Fernandez, E.J., 2004. "Quantification of Bacterial Chemotaxis in Porous Media using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)", Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 38, No. 14, pp. 3864-3870.


4. Olson, M.S., Tillman, F.D., Choi, J-W, and Smith, J.A., 2001. "Comparison of Three Techniques to Measure Unsaturated-Zone Air Permeability at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey", Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 1-19.


5. Bhadra, R., Waymant, D.G., Williams, R.K., Barman, S.N., Stone, M.B., Hughes, J.B., and Shanks, J.V., 2001. "Studies on Plant-Mediated Fate of the Explosives RDX and HMX", Chemosphere, Vol. 44, No. 5, pp. 1259-1264.

Presentations

1. Singh, R., Xu, M., and Olson, M.S., (2006). "Microscale Imaging: Microbial Behavior near NAPL Surfaces". American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Dec 11-15 2006, San Francisco, CA.


2. Olson, M.S., (2006). "Bacterial Transport in Porous Media: Imaging and Analysis", Invited talk at University of Delaware Fall Seminar Series, Dec 2006.


3. Olson, M.S., (2006). "Bacterial Motility and Chemotaxis at NAPL Surfaces" CoE Discovery Workshop on Biologically-Inspired Engineering Research, November 2006, Drexel University.


4. Olson, M.S., (2006). "Molecular Probes for Observing Bacterial Behavior at NAPL/Water Interfaces". Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America 27^th Annual Meeting, November 2006, Montreal, QC Canada.


5. Olson, M.S., Herman, J.S., Sofranko, A.C., and Mills, A.L., (2006). "Nitrate Loading as a Function of Stream Discharge Along the Eastern Shore of Virginia". Geological Society of America, October 2006, Philadelphia, PA.


6. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2005). "Simulation of Chemotactic Bacterial Transport Through a 2-D Heterogeneous System". Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, July 2005, Potsdam, NY.


7. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2004). "Quantification of Bacterial Chemotaxis in Porous Media Using MRI". American Chemical Society, August 2004, Philadelphia, PA.


8. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2004). "Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis to TCE in Porous Media Using MRI". Battelle Fourth International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, May 2004, Monterey, CA.


9. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2003). "Effect of Porous Media Particle Size on Bacterial Motility and Chemotaxis". American Geophysical Union, December 2003, San Francisco, CA.


10. Scholz, M., Olson, M.S., and Trepel, M., (2003). "Hydraulic, Vegetation and Water Quality Characteristics of Heavily Vegetated Groundwater-Fed Ditches in a Riparian Peatland in Northern Germany". American Geophysical Union, December 2003, San Francisco, CA.


11. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2002). "Comparison of Tortuosity Values for MnCl₂ and Bacterial Diffusion in a Packed Column Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)". American Geophysical Union, December 2002, San Francisco, CA.


12. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2002). "Analysis of Random Motility and Chemotaxis in Porous Media Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)". Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors and the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, July 2002, Toronto, ON, Canada.


13. Olson, M.S., Smith, J.A., Ford, R.M., and Fernandez, E.J., (2002). "Measurement of Bacterial Motility and Chemotaxis in Porous Media Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)". American Geophysical Union, May 2002, Washington, DC.


14. Olson, M.S., Choi, J-W, Tillman, F.D., and Smith, J.A., (2000). "Air Permeability Measurement in Heterogeneous Soil". American Chemical Society, 220th National Meeting, Washington, DC.

Personal

• Violin: Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra
• Athletics: Marine Corps Marathon - 2000, MS-150 Bike Rides - 2002, 2003, Sprint Triathlons - 2003
• Citizenship: US, Canada
• Married (1999), 2 daughters (2004, 2006)