Dave Himmelheber, Ph.D., a senior staff engineer in Geosyntec's Columbia, Md., office, recently won two awards in recognition of his doctoral research — Outstanding Doctoral Student from the environmental engineering program at Georgia Tech and the Sixth International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds Student Paper Competition.

In April 2008, Dave was awarded the 2007 Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year from the environmental engineering program at Georgia Tech. Dave was selected for the award based on his impressive research accomplishments and productivity, academic performance, and service to the department. Dave joins Dr. Eric Suchomel, a senior staff engineer in the Oakland, Ca., office, as Geosyntec employees who have won the outstanding doctoral student award (2004).

In addition, Dave was named a winner of the prestigious Student Paper Competition for the Sixth International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, held in Monterey, Ca., in May 2008. Dave's paper, entitled "Spatial Distribution of Biogeochemical Processes Following In Situ Capping of Contaminated Sediments," discusses how the remedial action of in situ capping impacts fundamental processes within contaminated sediments and engineered cap systems. Dave utilized advanced microbial and geochemical techniques to monitor the temporal and spatial evolution of biogeochemical processes following cap placement. He demonstrated that stratified redox zones shift vertically into overlying cap material, thus influencing contaminant fate and cap design. Dave joins Ilisa Tawney, an engineer also located in the Columbia office, as Geosyntec employees who have won the student paper award (2006).

Dave holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in civil and environmental engineering from Georgia Tech and a B.S. degree in chemistry from Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. Dave joined Geosyntec Consultants in January 2008.