Karen Merritt
About Karen's Work
Karen received her PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Maine and her MPH from UMass Amherst. Her research examines Infrastructure × health access disparities, as well as strategies for expanding the framework for undergraduate STEM education. In Fall 2023 she is joining the faculty of Maine Maritime Academy (Castine, ME) as Asst. Professor of Coastal Geology & Geological Oceanography.
Karen is an Environmental Geologist and Public Health Engineer and has worked on characterization of chemical fate and transport in estuarine and coastal environments in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the E.U. Her work includes chemical modeling, design and implementation of field sampling and monitoring programs, evaluation of community impacts and industrial histories, particularly with respect to the use of mercury (Hg) in chlor-alkali production, and biogeochemistry, contaminant bioavailability and sediment transport in salt marshes. As a Public Health Engineer, her work focuses on coastal urban environments and racialized health disparities created and perpetuated by infrastructural frameworks and environmental and chemical exposures.
