Larry’s primary interest is developing renewable and sustainable energy sources. Implicit in the use of the word 'sustainable' is the requirement that the energy source should not contribute to climate change. He is applying his background in engineered biological systems to the development of energy systems. A significant portion of his course "Engineering Environmental Sustainability" is devoted to examining the political, social, economic, technical, and environmental issues surrounding energy production.

Selected Publications:

Choi, J. K., L. F. Nies and K. Ramani. 2008. A framework for the integration of environmental and business aspects toward sustainable product development. Journal of Engineering Design. In Press.

Nyberg, L., R. F. Turco and L. Nies. 2008. Assessing the impact of nanomaterials on anaerobic microbial communities. Environmental Science and Technology, 42:1938-1943.

Tokarz, J.A., M-Y. Ahn, J. Leng, T.R. Filley, and L. Nies. 2008. Reductive debromination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in anaerobic sediment and a biomimetic system. Environmental Science and Technology, 42:1157-1164.

Liu, J., L. S. Lee, L. F. Nies, C. H. Nakatsu and R. F. Turco. 2007. Biotransformation of 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol in soil and by soil bacteria isolates. Environmental Science and Technology. 41:8024-8030.

Tong, Z., M. Bischoff, L.F. Nies, B. Applegate, and R.F. Turco. 2007. Impact of Fullerene (C60) on a soil microbial community, Environmental Science and Technology. 41:2985-2991

Baldwin, B. R., C. H. Nakatsu, and L. Nies. 2008. Enumeration of aromatic oxygenase genes to evaluate monitored natural attenuation at gasoline-contaminated sites. Water Research, 42:723-731.

Ahn M-Y., C. T. Jafvert, L. Nies, I. Hua, and T. R. Filley . 2006. Birnessite mediated debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether, Chemosphere. 64:1801-1807.