ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

for their support, input and guidance throughout this project. I am genuinely pleased with the way they guided me through the process of becoming a young scientist and engineer. I can only hope they feel the same way. A big thank you to Dr. Simcik for letting me use his facilities to perform my analysis and his help guiding me through the fog that analytical chemistry can easily lose you in. I would like to thank the two undergraduate researchers, Sam Bircher and Mike Maki who helped me out during my research. One of the best things about graduate research is the way your labmates help you out and prevent you from making egregious mistakes. I would like to thank Jeff Lanners, Joan Manzara, Patrick McNamara, Greg LeFevre, Zheng Teng, Frank, Tim and Bethany Brinkman for their support in the lab. I would also like to thank the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the UMN civil engineering department for funding and support. Finally, I‘d like to thank my family and friends for their support during this process