Leanne Powers

Leanne Powers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). She holds a PhD in Marine Science from the University of Georgia (2014) and a BA in Chemistry with a focus on Environmental Science from Colby College (2008). Her research focuses on understanding the fate and reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine environments, with a particular emphasis on photochemical processes driven by sunlight. Key areas include DOM transformations, carbon cycling, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) dynamics. She has postdoctoral experience at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

Her current research integrates field and laboratory studies to characterize DOM composition, sources, and reactivity. She teaches courses such as FCH 510 (Environmental Chemistry I) and FCH 525 (Oceanography). She advises four PhD students (Emma Coleman, Emily Friden, Liv Grogan, and Jenna Parrish) in Environmental & Forest Chemistry. A postdoctoral investigator, Dr. Lei Xue, collaborates on aquatic photochemistry and marine carbon cycling. Her work contributes to global carbon cycle modeling and environmental policy through insights into DOM-driven biogeochemical processes.

Publications highlight methodological innovations in DOM analysis, remote sensing applications, and interdisciplinary approaches linking microbial ecology with DOM dynamics. Ongoing projects explore DOM reactivity in desalination processes, Arctic permafrost thaw impacts, and machine learning for biogeochemical predictions.