Jennifer S.

Harkness
203 Old Chemistry Building, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
jennifer.harkness@duke.edu
610-675-9949
EDUCATION
PHD CANDIDATE, MARCH 2015
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY EXPECTED MAY 2017
Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Nicholas School of the Environment
Duke University, Durham, NC
Focus: Aquatic Geochemistry and Environment
BACHELOR OF ARTS MAY 2015
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Major: Chemistry, with honors
Thesis: The Role of Manganese in the Redox Chemistry of an Arsenic-Contaminated Lake
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Environment Health Scholars Program Awardee, Duke University, Summer 2016
Chateaubriand STEM Fellowship, Office for Science and Technology at the Embassy of France in the United
States, Fall 2014
Collins Summer Fellowship for Independent Research, Vassar Environmental Research Institute, Summer 2009
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Graduate Research Assistant, Energy-Water Nexus, Duke University, 2012-present
Characterized the geochemistry of wastewater associated with hydraulic fracturing, coal ash disposal and
storage of oil sands process-affected water.
Verified the application of boron, strontium and lithium isotope systems as tracers of fossil fuel-related
wastewater released to the environment
Applied of geochemical and isotope tracers to distinguish between geogenic and fossil fuel-related water
contamination.
Duke Environmental Health Scholars Program, Duke University, Summer 2016
Participatied in inter-disciplinary program to develop and implement research projects focused on
environmental health issues in North Carolina through collaboration with the Duke Cancer Institute,
Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke Law School.
Chateaubriand STEM Fellow, French Geological Survey (BRGM), Fall 2014
Characterized of lithium isotope ratios in oil and gas brines and coal ash leachates and development of the
lithium isotope system as a tracer of fossil fuel-related contamination of water resources.
Research Associate II, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011-2012
Assessed nutrient and cation fluxes from the Santa Barbara watersheds to the Santa Barbara Channel as part
of the Santa Barbara Channel Long-term Ecological Research (SBC-LTER) project funded by the NSF.

Research Intern, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 2010-2011

Analyzed the trace element composition of the Sea Otter Diet as part of a study on the Nutritional
Constraints on the Southern Sea Otter in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary
Helped develop and test potential bio-tracers of fish consumption in marine mammals

Research Assistant, Chemistry Department, Vassar College 2009-2010

Conducted independent research studying arsenic cycling in a contaminated lake in Vineland, New Jersey.
Summer Research Student, Marine Chemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Summer 2009
Investigated methylmercury cycling in a eutrophic, coastal pond on Cape Cod.
PUBLICATIONS
Harkness, J.S.; Mathewson, P.; Moore, M.T.; Darrah, T.H.; Vengoh, A. (In Prep) The origin of elevated
molybdenum in drinking water wells in southeastern Wisconsin.
Harkness, J.S.; Warner, N.R.; Ulrich, A.; Millot, R.; Kloppmann, W.; Ahad, J.M.E.; Savard, M.M.; Vengosh,
A. (In Prep) Geochemical characterization of oil sands process-affected water in Alberta, Canada using boron,
lithium, and strontium isotopes. Intended for Science of the Total Environment
Harkness, J.S.; Darrah, T.H.; Warner, N.R.; Whyte, C.J.; Millot, R.; Kloppmann, W.; Jackson, R.B.; Vengosh,
A. (In Review) The geochemistry of natural occurring methane and saline groundwater in an area of
unconventional shale gas development. Submitted to Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Vengosh, A.; Coyte, R.; Karr, J.; Harkness, J.S.; Kondash, A.J.; Ruhl, L.S.; Merola, R.B.; Dwyer, G.S. (In
Press) The origin of hexavalent chromium in drinking water wells from the Piedmont aquifers of North
Carolina. Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
Keimowitz, A.R.; Mailloux, B.J.; Wovkulich, K.; Harkness, J.S.; Ross, J.M.; Chillrud, S.N. (In Press)
Manganese redox buffering limits arsenic release from contaminated sediments, Union Lake, New Jersey.
Applied Geochemistry.
Harkness, J.S.; Sulkin, B.;Vengosh, A. (2016) Evidence for coal ash ponds leaking in the southeastern United
States. Environmental Science & Technology, 50 (12), 6583-6592.
Lauer, N.E.; Harkness, J.S.; Vengosh, A. (2016) Brine Spills Associated with Unconventional Oil
Development in North Dakota. Environmental Science & Technology, 50 (10), 5389-5397.
Harkness, J.S.; Ruhl, L. S.; Millot, R.; Kloppman, W.; Hower, J.C.; Hsu-Kim, H.; Vengosh, A. (2015) Lithium
isotope fingerprints in coal and coal combustion residuals from the United States. Procedia Earth and Planetary
Science, 13, 134-137.
Harkness, J. S.; Dwyer, G. S.; Warner, N.R.; Parker, K. Mitch, W.; Vengosh, A. (2015) Iodide, bromide, and
ammonium in hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas wastewaters: environmental implications. Environmental
Science & Technology, 49, 1955-1963.
Nir, O.; Vengosh, A.; Harkness, J. S.; Dwyer, G.S.; Lahav, O. (2015). Direct measurement of the boron
isotope fractionation factor: reducing the uncertainty in reconstructing ocean paleo-pH. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, 414, 1-5.
Parker, K.M.; Zeng, T.; Harkness, J. S.; Vengosh, A.; Mitch, W.A. (2014) Enhanced formation of disinfection
by-products in shale gas wastewater-impacted drinking water supplies. Environmental Science & Technology,
48, 11161-11169.

J. Harkness

PRESENTATIONS
Invited: Evidence for Coal Ash Leaking to Water Resources. Environmental Health Scholars Program 2016 Fall
Forum: Health and the Environment in North Carolina, Durham, NC, USA, October 2016
Keynote: Lithium Isotope fingerprints of Fossil Fuel Resources and Associated Wastewater. Goldschmidt
Annual Meeting, Yokohama, Japan, June 2016
Evidence for Leaking of Coal Ash Storage Ponds in the Southeastern United States. (Oral Presentation)
Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 2015.
Lithium Isotope Fingerprints in Coal and Coal Combustion Residuals from the United States. (Oral Presentation)
11th Applied Isotope Geochemistry Conference, AIG-11 BRGM, Orleans, France, September 2015.
Geochemical Characterization of West Virginia Groundwater in an Area Impacted by Hydraulic Fracturing.
(Oral Presentation) Goldschmidt Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, August 2015.
Halogens and Ammonium in Hydraulic Fracturing and Oil and Gas Wastewaters. (Oral Presentation) Annual
Meeting of the Northeastern Chapter of the Geological Society of America, Bretton Woods, NH, March 2015.
Halogens in Hydraulic Fracturing and Oil and Gas Wastewaters. (Poster) American Geophysical Union
Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 2014.
The Isotopic Imprints of Effluents from an Oil Sansd Tailings Pond in Alberta, Canada. (Oral Presentation)
Goldschmidt Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA, June 2014.
The Isotopic Imprints of Effluents from an Oil Sands Tailings Pond in Alberta, Canada. (Poster) Duke
University Energy Research Collaboration Workshop, Durham, NC, May 2014.
Boron as a Tracer of Groundwater Contamination Associated with Coal Ash Ponds in North Carolina, (Oral
Presentation) Geological Society of American Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, October 2013.
The Role of Manganese in the Redox Chemistry of an Arsenic-Contaminated Lake. (Poster) Mid-Hudson
Chapter of the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium, Bard College, April
2010.
MEDIA COVERAGE
http://thrivingearthexchange.org/tex-stories/facing-fracking-fears-tribal-advocate-finds-affirmation-watercontaminant-study/
http://undark.org/article/quarreling-coal-ash-disposal-contamination/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2016/06/15/coal-ash-mess-continues-to-muddy-utilities-citizens-andregulators/#5d8d94eb4e1b
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article83090697.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-brings-ammonium-and-iodide-to-local-waterways/
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/more-toxic-chemicals-found-oil-and-gas-wastewater
http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/2015/01/14/Study-High-levels-of-pollutants-from-drillingwaste-found-in-Pennsylvania-rivers-shale/stories/201501140143
http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2015/01/fracking-fluid-waste
TEACHING AND OUTREACH
Teaching Assistant for Bass Connections in Energy: Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Rural Communities, 20152016
Teaching Assistant for Water-Energy Nexus Seminar, 2015
J. Harkness

Teaching Assistant for Water Quality and Health; International Water Resources, 2013-2015
Teaching Assistant for Dynamic Earth; Dynamic Oceans, 2012-2013
Organic Chemistry Lab Intern, Chemistry Department, Vassar College, 2010
Supplemental Instruction Leader, Chemistry and Math Departments, Vassar College, 2009-2010

J. Harkness