Siddartha Mitra

Curriculum Vitae

download here (pdf)

Education

• 1997  Ph.D. Marine Science, School of Marine Science/Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary
• 1990  M.S. Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology
• 1988  B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University

Research Interests

My dissertation research while pursuing a Ph.D. at VIMS focused on a group of compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Elizabeth River.  The training and mentorship I received from my primary advisor at the time, Dr. Rebecca Dickhut (now deceased), and Dr. Linda Schaffner, prepared me to take on almost any natural science question across spatial and temporal time scales, as long as an organic molecule was involved. An organic molecule is always a primary character in the narrative of my work. So, when asked what I do for my research, I respond, "I use organic molecules to tell stories", a friendly way of saying I'm an organic geochemist. Here is a video of ongoing research currently being conducted by my students at East Carolina University, my former institution.

Selected Publications

 (*Advisees)
For a complete list, please see my Google Scholar Profile

• Garrison, C.E., Roozbehi, S., Mitra, S., Corbett, D.R., Field, E.K. 2022. Coastal microbial communities disrupted during the 2018 Hurricane Season in Outer Banks, North Carolina. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.816573
• Bunch, T. E., LeCompte, M.A., Adedeji, V.A., Wittke, J. H., Burleigh, D.T., Hermes, R.E., Mooney, C., Batchelor, D., Wolbach, W.S., Kathan, J., Kletetschka, G., Patterson, M.C. L., Swindel, E.C., Witwer, T., Howard, G.A., Mitra, S. et al. 2021. A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea. Sci Rep 11, 18632. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97778-3
  Featured on Final Jeopardy in 2022
• Mitra, S., Benfield, B.* 2018. Ibuprofen Sorption to Coastal Plain Soils. Journal of Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 229: 295-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3900-4
• Mitra, S., Osburn, C.L., Wozniak, A.S. 2017. A preliminary assessment of fossil fuel and terrigenous influences to rainwater organic matter in summertime in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Geochemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-017-9319-5
• Zimmerman, A.R., Mitra, S. 2017. Trial by Fire: On the terminology and methods used in pyrogenic organic matter research. Frontiers in Environmental Sciences. v5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2017.00095
• Mitra, S., Zimmerman, A.R., Hunsinger, G.B, Woerner, W*. 2014. Black carbon in large river systems. Chapter 9, pp. 200 – 234, IN: Biogeochemical Dynamics at Large River-Coastal Interfaces: Linkages with Global Climate Change, edited by: Bianchi, T.S., Allison, M.A., and Cai, W.J. Cambridge Press, New York, NY.
• Mitra, S., Kimmel, D.G., Snyder, J.*, Scalise, K.*, McGlaughon, B.D., Roman, M., Jahn, G.L., Pierson, J.J., Brandt, S.B., Montoya, J.P., Campbell, P.L., Rosenbauer, R.J., Lorenson, T.D., Wong, F.D. 2012. Macondo-1 well oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mesozooplankton from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Geophysical Research Letters, VOL. 39, L01605. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049505
  FEATURED IN SCIENCE DAILY (March 20, 2012).
• Mitra, S., Zimmerman, A.R., Hunsinger, G.B.*, Willard, D., and Dunn, J.C.* 2009. A Holocene record of climate-driven shifts in coastal carbon sequestration, Geophysical Research Letters, 36, L05704, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036875