Alireza Namayandeh
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
Bio
Dr. Namayandeh is an NSF Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellow at the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Nanoscience/Geochemistry from Virginia Tech. His research involves the formation and transformation of natural nanoparticles and their reactions with nutrients and contaminants in soils, water, and air and how these reactions impact human health. His Ph.D. work focused on the formation and transformation kinetics of iron oxy-hydroxides and the effects of adsorbed oxyanions such as arsenic, phosphate, and nitrate.
He is currently studying the generation of toxic particulate materials in soils, plants, and smoke during wildfires. He is also involved in solving global and environmental health problems, particularly in low-income countries. He is working on two projects in Bangladesh focusing on lead exposure and the health impacts of particulate matter formed in coal-burning brick kilns.
Dr. Namayandeh also holds an MFA in theater and uses his science and art experience to integrate environmental justice into his research. While attending Virginia Tech, he founded an organization called Art for Environmental Justice (AEJ) to amplify the voices of underrepresented groups impacted by climate change. He is a maker of eco-performance works, and the staged reading of his latest play, Rhino 2020, was performed in Hey Market Theater at Virginia Tech in 2022, which explores the intersection of social extremism and environmental degradation caused by climate change. He is currently working on a project that employs community-based theater to address the environmental justice implications of California wildfires for Farmworkers from Oaxaca, Mexico.
Honors & Awards
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NSF Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellow, National Science Foundation (NSF) (2024-2026)
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PRISM Baker Fellowship, Stanford University (2022-2023)
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Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Fellowship, Virginia Tech (2021-2022)
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Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Fellowship, Virginia Tech (2018-2019)
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Dr. Namayandeh's research interests are centered around three primary areas: 1) the formation and transformation of natural nanoparticles, 2) their interaction with contaminants and nutrients in the Earth's surface environment, and 3) how these interactions impact human health. He is currently studying the generation of toxic metals in soils at extremely high temperatures. He is also involved in solving global and environmental health problems, particularly in low-income countries. He is working on a project in Bangladesh focusing on lead exposure.
He is also interested to integrate environmental justice into his research. He conducts Eco-theater workshops at Stanford, in which participants create performing arts about the social aspects of California wildfires, including the impact on underrepresented groups such as inmate firefighters.
All Publications
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Goethite and Hematite Nucleation and Growth from Ferrihydrite: Effects of Oxyanion Surface Complexes.
Environmental science & technology
2024
Abstract
The presence of oxyanions, such as nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO43-), regulates the nucleation and growth of goethite (Gt) and hematite (Hm) during the transformation of ferrihydrite (Fh). Our previous studies showed that oxyanion surface complexes control the rate and pathway of Fh transformation to Gt and Hm. However, how oxyanion surface complexes control the mechanism of Gt and Hm nucleation and growth during the Fh transformation is still unclear. We used synchrotron scattering methods and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to investigate the effects of NO3- outer-sphere complexes and PO43- inner-sphere complexes on the mechanism of Gt and Hm formation from Fh. Our TEM results indicated that Gt particles form through a two-step model in which Fh particles first transform to Gt nanoparticles and then crystallographically align and grow to larger particles by oriented attachment (OA). In contrast, for the formation of Hm, imaging shows that Fh particles first aggregate and then transform to Hm through interface nucleation. This is consistent with our X-ray scattering results, which demonstrate that NO3- outer-sphere and PO43- inner-sphere complexes promote the formation of Gt and Hm, respectively. These results have implications for understanding the coupled interactions of oxyanions and iron oxy-hydroxides in Earth-surface environments.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.3c09955
View details for PubMedID 38506754
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Effects of Oxyanion Surface Loading on the Rate and Pathway of Ferrihydrite Transformation
ACS EARTH AND SPACE CHEMISTRY
2023
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00232
View details for Web of Science ID 001072584400001
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Oxyanion Surface Complexes Control the Kinetics and Pathway of Ferrihydrite Transformation to Goethite and Hematite.
Environmental science & technology
2022
Abstract
The rate and pathway of ferrihydrite (Fh) transformation at oxic conditions to more stable products is controlled largely by temperature, pH, and the presence of other ions in the system such as nitrate (NO3-), sulfate (SO42-), and arsenate (AsO43-). Although the mechanism of Fh transformation and oxyanion complexation have been separately studied, the effect of surface complex type and strength on the rate and pathway remains only partly understood. We have developed a kinetic model that describes the effects of surface complex type and strength on Fh transformation to goethite (Gt) and hematite (Hm). Two sets of oxyanion-adsorbed Fh samples were prepared, nonbuffered and buffered, aged at 70 ± 1.5 °C, and then characterized using synchrotron X-ray scattering methods and wet chemical analysis. Kinetic modeling showed a significant decrease in the rate of Fh transformation for oxyanion surface complexes dominated by strong inner-sphere (SO42- and AsO43-) versus weak outer-sphere (NO3-) bonding and the control. The results also showed that the Fh transformation pathway is influenced by the type of surface complex such that with increasing strength of bonding, a smaller fraction of Gt forms compared with Hm. These findings are important for understanding and predicting the role of Fh in controlling the transport and fate of metal and metalloid oxyanions in natural and applied systems.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.2c04971
View details for PubMedID 36219790
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TRACE AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION AND MOBILITY DURING DIAGENETIC ALTERATION OF VOLCANIC ASH TO BENTONITE IN EASTERN IRANIAN BENTONITE DEPOSITS
CLAYS AND CLAY MINERALS
2020; 68 (1): 50-66
View details for DOI 10.1007/s42860-019-00054-9
View details for Web of Science ID 000531150400005
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Calorimetric study of the influence of aluminum substitution in ferrihydrite on sulfate adsorption and reversibility
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
2019; 540: 20-29
Abstract
Ferrihydrite (Fh) is a nanocrystalline iron (hydr)oxide pervasive in various surface environments. It has high specific surface areas and high density of reactive surface-sites, both of which properties impart a consequential role in determining the fate and transport of environmental nutrients and contaminants. In natural environments, Fh readily reacts with impurities, such as aluminum (Al) and has variable substituted chemical compositions and surface properties. This work examines the effect of aluminum (Al) incorporation (0%, 12% and 24 mol% Al) on the interaction energy of chloride (Cl-) and nitrate (NO3-), and adsorption/desorption of sulfate (SO42-) onto Fh. Microcalorimetry experiments were conducted at pHs 3.0 and 5.6, along with a detailed characterization of all samples. Results showed a significant increase in the energetics of the exothermic peak of NO3- and the endothermic peak of Cl- with increasing Al concentration and decreasing pH values. Furthermore, the exothermic heat of exchange, adsorption, irreversibility and fraction of inner-sphere complexes for sulfate interaction with Fh increased with more Al concentration and acidic pH.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.01.001
View details for Web of Science ID 000460710800003
View details for PubMedID 30622055
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Genesis of the Eastern Iranian bentonite deposits
APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE
2019; 168: 56-67
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.clay.2018.10.011
View details for Web of Science ID 000455692700008
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Characterization of Iranian bentonites to be used as pharmaceutical materials
APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE
2015; 116: 193-201
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.clay.2015.03.013
View details for Web of Science ID 000361864300023