When Geosyntec’s Chris Adkison launched his fishing lure into the chilly waters of Lake Champlain in Upstate New York earlier this month, it was more than just a fishing trip. Chris is an environmental scientist based in the company’s Salt Lake City, Utah, office who addresses an impressive array of projects, often in the field as well as at his desk.

 

On this trip, he was supporting a remedial investigation for PFAS contamination along the lake. He was part of a team collecting samples of sediment, surface water, and tissue from various species of fish.

The results of the investigation will inform regulators and the public about the level and character of contamination and help them understand and choose viable remediation techniques.

Lake Champlain is an important area for swimmers, boaters, fishers, and all members of the surrounding communities. Chris and the team aimed to understand the contamination threats and find ways to remediate them to help this valuable landmark thrive.

This was just the kind of day he dreamed of as a kid.

First-Grade Curiosity Becomes Scientific Impact

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Chris spent his childhood outdoors, often using a field guide for amphibians and reptiles to identify creatures during family camping trips in the Ozarks.

“I’ve wanted to be a scientist since the first grade. I had an elementary school teacher who encouraged me to do everything I could. So much so that when the Scholastic Book Fair came along, she bought me the microscope she knew I desperately wanted.”

Now living in Salt Lake City, Utah, Chris has worked at Geosyntec for the last four years, where he specializes in ecosystem resilience, water-resources management, and environmental statistics.

He still lives by this sense of curiosity and exploration, no matter whether he is practicing ecohydrology (the study of the interactions between water and ecological systems) or applying environmental statistics at work, or whether he is skateboarding, playing guitar, or exploring the outdoors with his wife, Taylore, and his chihuahua, Roubidoux. His passion for the environment combined with an affinity for science kickstarted what was once a hobby into a now fulfilling career packed full of opportunities.

 

From Graduate Studies to Groundbreaking Solutions

His education and career have taken him throughout the United States. With stints in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, DC, Ohio, and California, Chris has intentionally pursued a range of skills, including forestry, fish biology, statistics, and biogeochemistry.

“Even though they’re different experiences, I’m able to work on projects using each and every one of those skills at Geosyntec. I was hired for one specific role, but through intentional networking and marketing myself, I’ve been able to work on everything that I’ve wanted to and more.”

One of Chris’s biggest accomplishments so far has been his role in Geosyntec’s growing carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) sector, a field that has gained significant traction since 2015. His expertise in monitoring methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere—a subject he studied at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and again in graduate school—proved invaluable when the firm landed its first CCS client in 2021. This atmospheric monitoring typically involves the programming and deployment of advanced micrometeorological instrumentation like soil flux chambers and eddy covariance systems in the field and analyzing the data with sophisticated techniques to detect changes over time. Since then, his team’s client portfolio has expanded exponentially, marking a successful venture into a new market sector.

“Working on CCUS projects is extremely fulfilling, not only for me as a scientist, or for Geosyntec as a firm but for the impact it has on the communities where these projects are occurring.”

From temporary construction jobs to permanent high-paying jobs, the economic benefits these projects offer to the communities are overwhelming, and Chris says these benefits aren’t the only positive factors. Because many projects happen in areas with heavy oil and gas histories, CCUS projects offer great societal and health benefits to the environment and people who live there by reducing particulate matter and carbon dioxide concentrations in the air.

These projects not only transform communities but also inspire individuals like Chris, who sees their broader impact as a reminder of the patience and perseverance needed to create meaningful change.

Chris’s advice to those following in his footsteps is simple: “Consulting is a long-term thing. Building a career is a long-term thing. Be patient with yourself, be patient with others. And if you really want something, keep at it, and you’ll get there.”

Learn more about Chris

Watch Chris’s video about Geosyntec’s work with carbon capture and storage:

Learn more about Chris: Chris Adkison

Photos in this story are courtesy of Chris Adkison.

About the Author

Imogen Bowdler is a Digital Media Specialist at Geosyntec. She loves writing, editing web and social media content, and supporting practitioners by sharing their passion for the work they do each day.