José M. Cerrato, an assistant professor in the UNM Department of Civil Engineering, has received the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards provide seed money for research by junior faculty at ORAU member institutions. The awards are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty and result in new funding opportunities.

Cerrato’s research interest is related to biogeochemical processes at the interface of water and energy that affect the cycle of metals and radionuclides in the environment. He leads the E-H₂O Research Group which applies spectroscopy, microscopy, aqueous chemistry and molecular biology tools for the study of complex environmental interactions.

Cerrato was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) and has been a recipient of an OAS-LASPAU-Fulbright Scholarship and a NSF Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT).

By Kim Delker  - May 18, 2015