Dr. Christopher Kim

Dr. Christopher Kim

Professor, Senior Associate Dean, Academic Programs
Professor
Schmid College of Science and Technology; Chemistry
Expertise: Mining; Metal Contamination; Bioaccessibility; Nanoparticles; Chemical Speciation; X-Ray Spectroscopy;
Office Location: Keck Center for Science and Engineering 231
Phone: (714) 628-7363
Website: https://sites.chapman.edu/envgeo
Scholarly Works:
Digital Commons
Education:
Princeton University, Bachelor of Arts (Latin)
Stanford University, Ph.D.

Video Profile

Biography

Research Interests

  • Distribution, transport and transformation of trace metal(loid)s in mine wastes
  • Bioaccessibility and bioavailability of toxic metal(loid)s in contaminated soils and sediments
  • Iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticle growth, aggregation, and reaction mechanisms in aqueous systems
  • Synchrotron-based spectroscopic and microscopic methods for mineralogical/geochemical analysis

Professional Experience

  • Professor, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University (2016-present)
  • Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University (2014-present)
  • Director, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, Chapman University (2011-2015)
  • Visiting Scholar, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences / School of Public Health, Harvard University (2010-2011)
  • Associate Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chapman University (2010-2016)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Chapman University (2004-2010)

Honors/Awards

  • Award in Mentorship of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, Chapman University (2017)
  • Award for Pedagogical Innovation, Chapman University (2015)
  • Chapman University Wang-Fradkin Senior Professorship Award, recognizing one tenured professor
    each year for exceptional merit in scholarly and creative activity (2014)
  • Award for Curricular Innovation in Sustainability Education, Chapman University (2013)
  • Emerging Investigator (1 of 15 featured in special issue), Journal of Environmental Monitoring (2012)
  • Invited participant, 14th annual Chinese-American Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium, co-sponsored by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Science (2011)
  • Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation (2010)
  • Invited presenter, National Science Foundation-sponsored "Futures in Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry" workshop (2010)
  • Elected Councilor, Council on Undergraduate Research, Geosciences Division (2010-2013)
  • Chapman University Valerie Scudder Award, recognizing outstanding teaching, scholarship, advising and service (2009)
  • Invited International Visiting Lecturer, Department of Earth System Science, Yonsei University (2009)
  • Elected Chair, Synchrotron and Neutron Users Group (SNUG), (member 2006-2008, chair 2008-2009)· Primary author of one of Top-50 most cited articles 2004-2007, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Elsevier Publishing
  • Elected member and Chair, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory Users Organization Executive Committee (vice chair 2005-2006, chair 2006-2007)

Educational and Professional Activities

  • Expert witness, Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) (2016-2018)
  • Session Co-chair, “Geochemical reactivity of nanoparticles, aggregates, coatings and organonanoparticulate
    flocculates,” American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, CA (2016)
  • Co-chair, Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Biennial Conference (2016)
  • Co-leader, National Science Foundation Workshop on “Early Career Geoscience Faculty:
    Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career” (2014)
  • Co-leader, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (RiMG) short course on “Environmental
    Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Microbiology of Arsenic” (2014)
  • Technical Assistance/Expert Witness, State of California Attorney General (2013-2016)
  • Co-host, Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Annual Business Meeting (2013)
  • Co-organizer, Undergraduate Research Program Directors Conference (2013)
  • Session Co-chair, “Biogeochemical influences on metal bioavailability in contaminated soils and
    sediments”, 22nd V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Montreal, Canada (2012)
  • Session Co-chair, “Assessing the effective reactivity of aggregated environmental nanomaterials”,
    Division of Geochemistry, American Chemical Society National Meeting, Denver, CO (2011)
  • Associate Editor, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2010-2015)
  • Treasurer, Geochemistry Division, American Chemical Society (2010-2013)
  • Session Co-chair, "Spectroscopic Investigations of Metal Interactions at Mineral/Water/Microbial Interfaces", Division of Geochemistry, American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2010)
  • Member, Executive Committee, Human Health and Environmental Consequences of Metal Mining and Smelting (2009-2011)
  • Chair, Chapman Environmental Science & Policy Curriculum Committee (2009-2010)
  • Instructor, Chapman University Watershed Certificate Program (2009-2011)
  • Chair, Synchrotron and Neutron Users Group (SNUG) (2008-2010)
  • Instructor, Project SMART (K-2nd grade education), Chapman University (2008-2010)
  • Instructor, Collaboration for Success in Science Partnership (3rd/4th grade education), California Mathematics and Science Partnership, Department of Education (2006-2008)
  • Co-chair, 33rd Annual SSRL Users Meeting, Stanford, CA (2006)
  • Mentor, Troy Tech High School summer internship program (2005-2012)
  • Instructor, Collaboration for Success in Science Partnership (3rd/4th grade education), California Mathematics and Science Partnership, Department of Education (2006-2008)
  • Instructor, Project SMART (K-2nd grade education), Chapman University (2008-2010)
  • Proposal reviewer, National Science Foundation, Earth Sciences Division, American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Canadian Light Source
  • Co-chair, 33rd Annual SSRL Users Meeting, Stanford, CA (2006)
  • Reviewer, American Mineralogist, Applied Geochemistry, Environmental Science & Technology, Geochimica et Cosmochica Acta, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Journal of Environmental Monitoring, Science, Water Research
  • Member, American Chemical Society (2001-present), American Geophysical Union (1999-present), Geological Society of America (1999-present), The Geochemical Society (1999-present)

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

Kocik, E.M., Kim, A., Aiken, M., Smith, L., and Kim, C.S. (2024) Sulfate enhances the adsorption and retention of Cu(II) and Zn(II) to dispersed and aggregated iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles. Applied Geochemistry 162, 105929.
O’Connor, K.P., Rosales, R.A., Whiteman, K.K. Montgomery, M., and Kim, C.S. (2021) Wetting/drying cycles influence arsenic bioaccessibility in mine-impacted sediments. Science of the Total Environment 774, 145420
Kim, C.S., Leahy, A., and Kendrick, L. (2017) Credit where credit is due: The faculty-student research banking system as a means to incentivize faculty-mentored research. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research 1(1):1-8.
Poulin, B.A., Gerbig, C.A., Kim, C.S., Stegemeier, J.P., Ryan, J.N., and Aiken, G.R. (2017) Effects of sulfide concentration and dissolved organic matter characteristics on the structure of nanocolloidal metacinnabar. Environmental Science & Technology 51(22), 13133-13142
Dale, J.G., Stegemeier, J.P., and Kim, C.S. (2015) Aggregation of nanoscale iron oxyhydroxides and corresponding effects on metal uptake, retention, and speciation: I. Ionic-strength and pH. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 148, 100-112.
Stegemeier, J.P., Reinsch, B.C., Lentini, C.J., Dale, J.G., and Kim, C.S. (2015) Aggregation of nanoscale iron oxyhydroxides and corresponding effects on metal uptake, retention, and speciation: II. Temperature and time. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 148, 113-129.
Kim, C.S., and Shafie, D.M. (2014) Designing the campus environmental audit as a senior capstone course: achieving the triple bottom line. CUR Quarterly on the Web 34(4).
Chesne, R.B., and Kim, C.S. (2014) Zn(II) and Cu(II) adsorption and retention onto iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles: effects of particle aggregation and salinity. Geochemical Transactions 15(6).
Kim, C.S., Anthony, T., Goldstein, D., and Rytuba, J.J. (2014) Windborne transport and surface enrichment of arsenic in semi-arid mining regions: examples from the Mojave Desert, California. Journal of Aeolian Research 14, 85-96.
Wang, Q., Nemoto, M., Li, D., Weaver, J.C., Weden, B., Stegemeier, J.P., Bozhilov, K.N., Wood, L.R., Milliron, G.W., Kim, C.S., DiMasi, E., and Kisailus, D. (2013) Phase transformations and structural developments in the radular teeth of Cryptochiton stelleri. Advanced Functional Materials 23(23), 2908-2917.
Kim, C.S., Chi, C., Miller, S.R., Sugihara, E.S., Akau, J. and Rytuba, J.J., and Webb, S.M. (2013) (Micro)spectroscopic analyses of particle size dependence on arsenic distribution and speciation in mine wastes. Environmental Science & Technology 47, 8164-8171.
Kim, C.S., Stack, D.H., and Rytuba, J.J. (2012) Fluvial transport and surface enrichment of arsenic in semi-arid mining regions: examples from the Mojave Desert, California. Journal of Environmental Monitoring 14, 1798-1813.
Jew, A.D., Kim, C.S., Rytuba, J.J., Gustin, M.S., and Brown, G.E. Jr. (2011) New technique for quantification of elemental Hg in mine wastes and its implications for mercury evasion into the atmosphere. Environmental Science & Technology 45(2), 412-417.
Kim, C.S., Wilson, K.M., and Rytuba, J.J. (2011) Particle-size dependence on metal(loid) distributions in mine wastes: Implications for water contamination and human exposure. Applied Geochemistry 26, 484-495.
Gerbig, C.A., Kim, C.S., Stegemeier, J.P., Ryan, J.N., and Aiken, G.R. (2011) Formation of nanocolloidal metacinnabar in mercury-DOM-sulfide systems. Environmental Science & Technology 45(21), 9180-9187.
Reinsch, B.C., Forsberg, B., Penn, R.L., Kim, C.S, and Lowry, G.V. (2010) Chemical transformations during aging of zerovalent iron nanoparticles in the presence of common groundwater dissolved constituents. Environmental Science & Technology 44(9), 3455–3461.
Kim, C.S., Lentini, C.J., and Waychunas, G.A. (2008) Synchrotron-based studies of metal adsorption and structural incorporation with iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles. In Adsorption of Metals By Geomedia II: Variables, Mechanisms, and Model Applications, Barnett, M. (Ed.), Elsevier Academic Press, 478 pp.
Gilbert, B., Ono, R.K., Ching, K.A., Kim, C.S. (2009) The effects of nanoparticle aggregation processes on aggregate structure and metal uptake. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 339, 285-295.
Rytuba, J.J., Hothem, R.L., May, J.T., Kim, C.S., Lawler, D., Goldstein, D., and Brussee, B.E. (2009) Environmental impact of the Helen, Research, and Chicago mercury mines on water, sediment, and biota in upper Dry Creek watershed, Lake County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1382, 59 p.

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