Rainer Lohmann

Rainer Lohmann is a Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, where he leads the NIEHS Superfund Research Center (STEEP) and the AQUA-GAPS/MONET network. His research bridges marine organic geochemistry and environmental chemistry, focusing on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like PFAS, PCBs, and dioxins, with emphasis on their transport, bioavailability, and ecological impacts. Through passive sampling technologies and global collaborations, he advances methods for contaminant detection while addressing science policy intersections.

• Ph.D., Environmental Chemistry, Lancaster University, 1999
• M.S., Chemical Engineering, EHICS Strasbourg, 1996
• B.S., Biochemistry, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, 1993

His group develops novel passive samplers for PFAS in water and porewater, validated with EPA collaborators through the STEEP Center. They study black carbon fluxes in oceans, linking biomass burning to tropical Atlantic contamination. The lab deploys samplers from the Arctic to Antarctic, analyzing contaminant gradients in air, water, and sediment. Their work informs regulatory frameworks for chemical safety and environmental stewardship.

Scientific leadership includes:

• Director, STEEP Superfund Research Center (2017–present)
• Co-Leader, AQUA-GAPS/MONET Global Sampling Network
• Editor, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
• Editorial Board, Environmental Science & Technology and other journals

Students and collaborators have investigated:

• PFAS in urban waterways
• Black carbon in Atlantic sediments
• PCBs in Superfund sites
• Climate-chemical interaction models
• Biogeochemical cycles
• One Health contaminant pathways