Jasquelin Pena

Jasquelin is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Earth Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her career goal is to apply the tools of environmental geochemistry, molecular environmental science and environmental engineering to pressing soil and water quality issues. In doing so she aims to contribute to improved environmental quality and inform the scientific basis for environmental decision making. In 2009, she completed her PhD from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. Her doctoral research examined the mechanisms by which toxic metals are immobilized during the bacterial production of manganese oxide nanoparticles. Given their remarkable capacity to sequester metal cations, these biogenic manganese oxides may be used to attenuate aqueous metal concentrations in environments impacted by mining, industrial pollution, and other anthropogenic activities. Prior to attending Berkeley, Jasquelin worked as a Research Associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she contributed to research on uranium transport and bioremediation. Following her interest in science education and promoting environmental awareness, she has also led a variety of K-12 educational activities in the Berkeley and Oakland school systems. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University and a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Jasquelin grew up in Haverstraw, a suburban community 35 miles north of New York City, and Canca la Piedra, an agricultural town in El Cibao, the Dominican Republic.