Hochella Group

Group Photo

We are a research group directed by Professor Michael Hochella within the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. Our work is in the field of nanoscience applied to environmental geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and mineralogy. We also study other complex environmental systems including mineral-microbe interactions and mineral surface science.

For more information on our research, our lab, and the group itself, please follow the links below.

Pictured above, front row: Juan Liu, Erin Candella, Kelly Haus, Deborah Aruguete, Rebecca French; back row: Mike Hochella, Deric Learman, Nick Wigginton

Latest News and Events

Congrats to Nick for successfully defending his PhD! (4/21/08)
Read the press releases on Mike's Science Review article "Nanominerals, mineral nanoparticles, and Earth systems" here and here. (3/20/08)
Mike is featured on the VT webpage's "Spotlight on Achievement" section link (3/3/08)
Deborah travels to Birmingham, UK to attend an author's meeting for the book "Environmental and Human Health Consequences of Manufactured Nanoparticles" to present her chapter. (2/5/08)
Read the recent press release about Mike's new cover article (see right) on "Aquatic Environmental Nanoparticles" in Journal of Environmental Monitoring (12/2/07).
Mike is elected as an AAAS fellow. VT News; Collegiate Times (11/5/07)
Mike has been honored with the rank of University Distinguished Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. link (6/7/07)

Last summer, Mike (and a few of his colleagues) appeared on the science radio program Pulse of the Planet. The program, featured on NPR stations across the country, airs as two-minute clips of Earth-related research, news, and interviews. Mike is the focus of several episodes as part of the 'Science Diaries' series. To listen to the audio files and read a transcript of each episode, follow this link. Individual links are also provided below. You can read Mike's 'Science Diary' Blog here and a VT press release here.

Note: If you use iTunes, you can subscribe to the Pulse of the Planet Podcast by clicking here.

Individual episode links : Clark Fork River, Hours in the Library, Headwaters, Restoration, Comparison, Shelved, Samples, and Found It!

Update: Pulse of the Planet now charges a small fee ($0.49) to listen to the programs through their website. They are still free from iTunes.

Mike was one of the inaugural Principal Editors of Elements – a magazine of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology. Check out the new issue online for news and review articles relating to all things geochemistry.

Mike is the Principal Investigator of The EIGER Project (Exploring Interfaces through Graduate Education and Research). EIGER is funded by NSF’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program.

Our group is now part of ICTAS, VT's new Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. Construction on the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory, which houses the new FEI Titan 300 TEM, is complete. Additionally, our lab will be expanding into another building (ICTAS I) as a part of the 'Environmental Nanoscience and Technology' Lab with faculty members from Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, and Geosciences.