Posted 08/02/2006

 Marjorie Aelion named associate dean for research
 for Arnold School

Dr. Marjorie Aelion, a professor and graduate director of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences has been named associate dean for research for the Arnold School of Public Health.  She replaces Dr. Robert McKeown, who has taken on administrative responsibilities in USC’s Office of Research and Health Sciences.

Aelion's research interests focus on environmental contamination. She is internationally recognized for her work in microbially-enhanced biodegradation of volatile organic chemicals in groundwater and the impact of coastal land use changes on contaminants in the environment.

She has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading environmental journals and has edited one book.

Among her awards and honors are the National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow Award in Engineering (awarded to only fifteen individuals nationally), and two Fulbright Awards, one to France and the second to the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands.

At USC, she has been the recipient of the USC Educational Foundation Research Award for Health Sciences, the Research Award for Outstanding Scholarly Research, and the James A. Keith Excellence in Teaching Award.

She has taught classes introducing students to the environment, and in environmental pollutants and human health and hazardous materials management.

Born in Paris, France and a native of Massachusetts, she received her Bachelor of Science degree Summa Cum Laude in Environmental Sciences from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1980.

She received her Master of Science in Civil Engineering (SMCE) degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983, and her doctorate in environmental sciences and engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988.  Prior to coming to USC in 1991, she was a federal employee of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Aelion said, “I’m looking forward to working with Dean Richter and the staff of the Office of Research.  The Arnold School of Public Health is an exciting and active research environment and I appreciate the opportunity to be a more integral part of it.”

For more information:

• Aelion Laboratory Website