About Trish's Work
Patricia (Trish) Holden is a Professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she also directs the UCSB Natural Reserve System. Her group researches environmental microbiology and microbial ecology of natural and contaminated sites. Currently, her group is studying 1) the urban water environment UWE), towards understanding vadose zone attenuation of multicontaminants that threaten urban groundwater, 2) microbiological water quality in coastal watersheds, 3) the distribution and function of bacteria in subsurface soils, including controls on carbon availability and processing, 4) and microbial interactions with engineered nanomaterials in terrestrial ecosystems. Within the NSF- and EPA-funded University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN), Holden leads Theme 4 which regards terrestrial ecosystem hazards. Holden’s B.S. and M.S. degrees are in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee and Purdue University; her Ph.D. is in Soil Microbiology from U.C. Berkeley. Holden’s professional work history includes eight years in the public and private sectors performing civil / environmental engineering planning and design.