BSc, PhD, DSc (Qld) FRACI, CChem, MACS
Professor, Griffith School of Environment,
Research Member, Atmospheric Environment Research Centre
Contact details for Professor Darryl Hawker
Research interests
Environmental chemistry may be described as the study of the chemical and biochemical processes that occur in the environment, the soil, air and water and also biological phases. It is necessarily interdisciplinary. With regard to chemical compounds in the environment, questions of “what is there?” and “how much is there?” are very real and legitimate ones. Equally valid questions are “what happens to it?” and “where does it go?” and even “can we predict what will happen to it and where it will go?” My research interests span the range of these questions, with a focus on the latter questions that pertain to the fate, transport and behaviour of chemicals in the environment.In terms of research themes, the first would be the measurement of chemical distribution in the environment as a means of understanding fate and behaviour.
The second theme would be the prediction of chemical distribution in the environment. Quantitative understanding of the chemistry of the environment necessarily involves the two cornerstones of physical chemistry, kinetics and thermodynamics. Thus, this theme focuses on the kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of chemical fate and behaviour in the environment. It encompasses estimation of thermodynamic parameters, including partition coefficients, concerning the fate and behaviour of chemical compounds in the environment and the development of mathematical models, especially fugacity and aquivalence based ones, describing the fate and behaviour of chemicals in the environment. A third theme concerns the theory and development of Passive Samplers for deployment in air and water. Analytes include organic compounds, but also some inorganic species such as phosphate. The final theme is aspects of Environmental Toxicology.
Recent Publications
- Thompson, J. Kennedy, K., Hawker, D.W. Mueller, J.F. and Bartkow, M.E.(2007) Comparison of Polyurethane Foam-Based Passive Air Samplers: Single vs Double Disk. Organohalogen Compounds 69, 1034-1037.
- Kennedy, K, Tang, J. Bartkow, M.,Hawker, D. Denison, M. and Mueller, J.F. (2007) Screening for Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activity in Ambient Air using Passive Samplers (SPMDS) and CAFLUX. Organohalogen Compounds 69, 812-816.
- Peters, L.I., Hawker, D.W., Bartkow, M.E., Tapper, S. and Gore,W. (2007) Indoor air concentration of various volatile organic compounds in a suburban nail salon. Clean Air 41(1), 39-42.
- Holt, E., van der Recke, R., Vetter, W., Hawker, D.W., Alberts, V., Kuch, B., Weber, R. and Gaus, C. (2008) Identification of dioxin precursors in environmental samples and pesticide formulations. Environmental Science and Technology 42(5), 1472-1478.
- Cumming, J.L., Hawker, D.W., Nugent, K.W. and Chapman, H.F. (2008)Ecotoxicities of Polyquaterniums and their associated polyelectrolyte surfactant aggregates (PSA) to Gambusia holbrooki. Journal of Environmental Science and Health A 43, 113-117.
- Tan, B.L.L., Hawker, D.W., Mueller, J.F., Leusch, F.D.L., Tremblay, L.A. and Chapman, H.F. (2008) Stir bar sorptive extraction and trace analysis of selected endocrine disruptors in water, biosolids and sludge samples by thermal desorption with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Water Research 42, 404-412