Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh

Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
997 followers 500+ connections

About

Solving the hardest problems in energy, food, water and climate is what motivates me. I…

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Experience

  • Groundwork Data Graphic

    Groundwork Data

    Somerville, Massachusetts, United States

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    Greater Boston

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    Greater Boston Area

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    Greater Boston Area

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    Ithaca NY

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    Concord NH

Education

  • Cornell University Graphic
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    Activities and Societies: Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track

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    Activities and Societies: Yearbook (Editor), Cross Country (Captain), Tennis (Captain)

Volunteer Experience

Publications

  • Algal food and fuel coproduction can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions while improving land and water-use efficiency

    Environmental Research Letters

    The goals of ensuring energy, water, food, and climate security can often conflict. Microalgae (algae) are being pursued as a feedstock for both food and fuels—primarily due to algae's high areal yield and ability to grow on non-arable land, thus avoiding common bioenergy-food tradeoffs. However, algal cultivation requires significant energy inputs that may limit potential emission reductions. We examine the tradeoffs associated with producing fuel and food from algae at the…

    The goals of ensuring energy, water, food, and climate security can often conflict. Microalgae (algae) are being pursued as a feedstock for both food and fuels—primarily due to algae's high areal yield and ability to grow on non-arable land, thus avoiding common bioenergy-food tradeoffs. However, algal cultivation requires significant energy inputs that may limit potential emission reductions. We examine the tradeoffs associated with producing fuel and food from algae at the energy–food–water–climate nexus. We use the GCAM integrated assessment model to demonstrate that algal food production can promote reductions in land-use change emissions through the offset of conventional agriculture. However, fuel production, either via co-production of algal food and fuel or complete biomass conversion to fuel, is necessary to ensure long-term emission reductions, due to the high energy costs of cultivation. Cultivation of salt–water algae for food products may lead to substantial freshwater savings; but, nutrients for algae cultivation will need to be sourced from waste streams to ensure sustainability. By reducing the land demand of food production, while simultaneously enhancing food and energy security, algae can further enable the development of terrestrial bioenergy technologies including those utilizing carbon capture and storage. Our results demonstrate that large-scale algae research and commercialization efforts should focus on developing both food and energy products to achieve environmental goals.

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  • Cysteine Enhances Bioavailability of Copper to Marine Phytoplankton

    Environmental Science & Technology

    Emiliania huxleyi, a ubiquitous marine algae, was cultured under replete and Cu-limiting conditions to investigate Cu uptake strategies involving thiols and associated redox reactions; comparisons to a model diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, were also drawn. Cu-limitation increased rates of cell surface reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) in E. huxleyi but not in T. pseudonana. Furthermore, Cu-limited E. huxleyi cells took up more Cu when cysteine was present compared to when no ligand was added…

    Emiliania huxleyi, a ubiquitous marine algae, was cultured under replete and Cu-limiting conditions to investigate Cu uptake strategies involving thiols and associated redox reactions; comparisons to a model diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, were also drawn. Cu-limitation increased rates of cell surface reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) in E. huxleyi but not in T. pseudonana. Furthermore, Cu-limited E. huxleyi cells took up more Cu when cysteine was present compared to when no ligand was added, although a dependence on cysteine concentration was not observed. In contrast, Cu uptake by replete cells was dependent upon the relative abundance of inorganic species [Cu(I)′]. We also show that cysteine can increase the bioavailability of Cu to Cu-limited cells, of both species, through the reductive release of Cu(I) from fairly strong Cu(II) ligands such as EDTA. Finally, support for a mechanism involving uptake of a Cys–Cu complex in E. huxleyi is drawn from the observation that Cu-limitation significantly enhances cysteine uptake by transporters that exhibit Michaelis–Menten kinetics. These Cu uptake strategies help explain the presence and distribution of dissolved thiols in surface seawater and have implications for the biogeochemical cycling of Cu in low Cu environments.

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  • Algal biofuel production for fuels and feed in a 100-ha facility: A comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment

    Algal Research

    This techno-economic analysis/life-cycle assessment is based on actual production by the Cornell Marine Algal Biofuels Consortium with biomass productivity > 23 g/m2-day. Ten distinct cases are presented for two locations, Texas and Hawaii, based on a 100-ha production facility with end-to-end processing that yields fungible co-products including biocrude, animal feed, and ethanol. Several processing technologies were evaluated: centrifugation and solvent extraction (POS Biosciences)…

    This techno-economic analysis/life-cycle assessment is based on actual production by the Cornell Marine Algal Biofuels Consortium with biomass productivity > 23 g/m2-day. Ten distinct cases are presented for two locations, Texas and Hawaii, based on a 100-ha production facility with end-to-end processing that yields fungible co-products including biocrude, animal feed, and ethanol. Several processing technologies were evaluated: centrifugation and solvent extraction (POS Biosciences), thermochemical conversion (Valicor), hydrothermal liquefaction (PNNL), catalytic hydrothermal gasification (Genifuel), combined heat and power, wet extraction (OpenAlgae), and fermentation. The facility design was optimized by co-location with waste CO2, a terraced design for gravity flow, using renewable energy, and low cost materials. The case studies are used to determine the impact of design choices on the energy return on investment, minimum fuel and feed sale prices, discounted payback period, as well as water depletion potential, human health, ecosystem quality, non-renewable resources, and climate change environmental indicators. The most promising cases would be economically competitive at market prices around $2/L for crude oil, while also providing major environmental benefits and freshwater savings. As global demands for fuels and protein continue rising, these results are important steps towards economical and environmentally sustainable production at an industrial scale.

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  • Copper export contributes to low copper levels and copper tolerance in Emiliania huxleyi

    Limnology & Oceanography

    ABSTRACT: Previous studies have documented that the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi maintains lower cellular copper concentrations and is more tolerant to high copper than are many other species of marine algae. We confirm that in comparison to the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, E. huxleyi maintains substantially lower Cu levels while maintaining near maximal growth rates. Using the stable isotope 65Cu as a tracer, we show that a constitutive or rapidly induced mechanism for Cu efflux is…

    ABSTRACT: Previous studies have documented that the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi maintains lower cellular copper concentrations and is more tolerant to high copper than are many other species of marine algae. We confirm that in comparison to the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, E. huxleyi maintains substantially lower Cu levels while maintaining near maximal growth rates. Using the stable isotope 65Cu as a tracer, we show that a constitutive or rapidly induced mechanism for Cu efflux is present in Cu-replete E. huxleyi cells. This was revealed during uptake experiments in which the accumulation of the isotopically enriched spike, as measured by the isotope fractionation, exceeded the total accumulated copper. Evidence of efflux was not observed during Cu uptake in T. pseudonana cells. In contrast, copper-limited E. huxleyi cells exhibited no observable efflux during uptake over the same time period, though net uptake rates were similar to replete cells, suggesting that efflux is modulated by cellular copper needs. This Cu-efflux mechanism is effective over a wide range of Cu concentrations, as E. huxleyi is able to maintain much lower cellular Cu levels than T. pseudonana during 4 h uptake experiments. Direct measurement of export from copper-loaded cells provided further evidence of a very effective efflux mechanism in E. huxleyi, while loss of copper from T. pseudonana was considerably less. Improvements to cell washes to remove surface-bound Cu were implemented.

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  • Determination of Stability Constants of Cu(I), Cd(II) & Zn(II) Complexes with Thiols Using Fluorescent Probes

    Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry

    Fluorometric competing-ligand titrations were used to measure stability constants of Zn(II), Cd(II) and Cu(I) complexes of cysteine and glutathione (GSH). Cu(I)-stability constants were also determined for the dipeptides Arg-Cys and Gln-Cys which are produced by a marine alga under copper stress. The fluorescent ion indicators FluoZin-1 and BTC (Invitrogen) were used as competing ligands in titrations involving Zn(II) and Cd(II). Phen Green SK (Invitrogen) was likewise used in Cu(I) titrations.…

    Fluorometric competing-ligand titrations were used to measure stability constants of Zn(II), Cd(II) and Cu(I) complexes of cysteine and glutathione (GSH). Cu(I)-stability constants were also determined for the dipeptides Arg-Cys and Gln-Cys which are produced by a marine alga under copper stress. The fluorescent ion indicators FluoZin-1 and BTC (Invitrogen) were used as competing ligands in titrations involving Zn(II) and Cd(II). Phen Green SK (Invitrogen) was likewise used in Cu(I) titrations. Conditional and cumulative general stability constants were determined using a least squares fit of the titration data to speciation models. The measured stability constants of Cd(II) and Zn(II) complexes were consistent with previous work, validating our method and assumptions. Our results also include the first general stability constants for Cu(I)-cysteine complexes and an alternative set for Cu(I)-GSH complexes. While these stability constants indicate that Cu(I) forms strong complexes with thiols, they are not strong enough to effectively buffer Cu(I) in seawater.

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  • Nutrient availability alters levels of non-translationally synthesized nitrogen-rich dipeptides in Emiliania huxleyi

    Aquatic Biology

    ABSTRACT: The coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi synthesizes the N-rich dipeptides ­glutamine-cysteine (gln-cys) and arginine-cysteine (arg-cys) in response to metal stress, but it is unknown how these compounds are synthesized and whether these dipeptides may also be involved in N assimilation or N storage. Accumulation of dipeptides and other reduced thiols was much greater in P-limited than N-limited batch cultures, and levels of dipeptide and cysteine were higher in an open-ocean strain…

    ABSTRACT: The coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi synthesizes the N-rich dipeptides ­glutamine-cysteine (gln-cys) and arginine-cysteine (arg-cys) in response to metal stress, but it is unknown how these compounds are synthesized and whether these dipeptides may also be involved in N assimilation or N storage. Accumulation of dipeptides and other reduced thiols was much greater in P-limited than N-limited batch cultures, and levels of dipeptide and cysteine were higher in an open-ocean strain compared to a coastal isolate. A comparison of dipeptide concentration to total N, protein, and amino acid content of N- and P-limited batch cultures of both strains was used to yield clues about strain-specific differences in nitrogen storage. Both gln-cys and arg-cys quickly accumulated following the addition of nitrate or ammonium to N-limited batch cultures. Accumulation of dipeptides was not suppressed by the ribosomal inhibitor cycloheximide, except at the earliest time point following ammonium addition, and, after 24 h, the inhibitor had either no effect on intracellular concentrations or instead enhanced accumulation. Results suggest that accumulation of dipeptides does not require de novo synthesis of protein and that an enzymatic pathway is responsible for synthesis. Rapid de­gradation of intracellular gln-cys and arg-cys was observed following the addition of ­phosphate to P‑limited batch cultures. Possible synthetic pathways and ties to N metabolism are ­discussed.

    Other authors
    • Hyun-Su Kim
    • Huijun Yang
    • Beth A. Ahner
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  • Reflections on COP-16 and the Outlook for Colleges and Universities

    Second Nature

    A review of the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference and its implications for institutions of higher education.

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  • Recharging University Sustainability Efforts

    Cornell Daily Sun

    A review and outlook of various sustainability initiatives at Cornell.

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  • Maintaining a Commitment to Sustainability

    http://cornellsun.com/section/opinion/content/2009/02/19/maintaining-commitment-sustainability

    Valuing carbon in higher education.

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  • Approaches for analyzing local carbon mitigation strategies: Tompkins County, New York, USA

    International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

    Abstract
    A carbon budget was calculated for Tompkins County, NY, a semi-rural upstate county with a population density of 78 pp/km2. The costs and potential for several carbon mitigation options were analyzed in four categories: terrestrial C sequestration, local power generation, transportation, and energy end-use efficiency. This study outlines a methodology for conducting this type of local-scale analysis, including sources and calculations adaptable to different localities. Effective…

    Abstract
    A carbon budget was calculated for Tompkins County, NY, a semi-rural upstate county with a population density of 78 pp/km2. The costs and potential for several carbon mitigation options were analyzed in four categories: terrestrial C sequestration, local power generation, transportation, and energy end-use efficiency. This study outlines a methodology for conducting this type of local-scale analysis, including sources and calculations adaptable to different localities. Effective carbon mitigation strategies for this county based on costs/Mg C and maximum potential include reforestation of abandoned agricultural lands, biomass production for residential heating and co-firing in coal power plants, changes in personal behavior related to transportation (e.g., public transportation), installation of residential energy efficient products such as programmable thermostats or compact fluorescent light bulbs, and development of local wind power. The total county emissions are about 340 Gg C/year, with biomass sequestration rates of 121 Gg C/year. The potential for mitigation, assuming full market penetration, amounts to about 234 Gg C/year (69%), with 100 Gg C/year (29%) at no net cost to the consumer. The development of local-scale C mitigation plans based on this sort of model of analysis is feasible and would be useful for guiding investments in climate change prevention.

    Other authors
    • Timothy M. Vadas
    • Timothy J. Fahey
    • et. al.
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Courses

  • A Passage to India: India and the Western Imagination

    Religion 117f

  • Analysis of Biogeochemical Systems

    EAS 641

  • Aquatic Ecosystem Interactions

    NTRES 694

  • Biochemistry

    Biochemistry 367f

  • Bioinorganic Chemistry

    CHEM 440

  • CO2 Mitigation Workshop

    BIOEE 763

  • Environmental Chemistry

    Chemistry 217s

  • Environmental Law

    Env. Studies 237j

  • Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

    Economics 312

  • Evolution and Diversity

    Biology 164s

  • Fluid Mechanics

    CEE 331

  • Foundations of Physics

    Physics 142s

  • French I

    French 125f

  • French II

    French 126f

  • French III

    French 126f

  • Geochemistry

    EAS 455

  • Groundwater Hydrology

    Geology 353s

  • Inorganic Chemistry

    Chemistry 411f

  • Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

    Chemistry 413f

  • Instrumental Methods of Analysis

    Chemistry 411s

  • Introduction to Matlab

    EAS 121

  • Isotopic and Trace Element Analysis

    CHEM 628

  • Organic Chemistry

    Chemistry 242s

  • Physical Chemistry

    Chemistry 341f

  • Physical Chemistry

    Chemistry 342s

  • Principles of Biogeochemistry

    BIOEE 668

  • Principles of Microeconomics

    Economics 133s

  • Science Communication Workshop

    BIOEE 771

  • Sikhism: Scripture, Sacred Music & Art

    Religion 317f

  • Sustainable Bio-based Industries

    BEE 687

  • United States Senate Simulation

    Government 213j

  • Water Chemistry for Environmental Engineers

    CEE 653

  • Watershed Management

    BEE 754

  • Western Spirituality

    Religion 332s

Honors & Awards

  • Innovation in Teaching Award

    Bentley University

  • Emerging Public Policy Leader Award Honorable Mention

    American Institute of Biological Sciences

    This award is given by the the American Institute of Biological Sciences recognize graduate students who have demonstrated an interest and leadership in science policy.

  • K. G. Kaul Memorial Scholarship

    New York Water Environment Association

    This scholarship is given to graduate student in the environmental sciences who show a commitment to public service.

  • Distinguished Student Volunteer Award

    Cornell University

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

Organizations

  • Algae Biomass Organization

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