Professor Emeritus Education: B.S., University of North Carolina, (1971); Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1977) Email: john.westall@oregonstate.edu Office: 153 Gilbert Hall Phone: (541) 737-2591 Fax: (541) 737-2062 Research group web site: http://www.chemistry.oregonstate.edu/westall2php.html

Dr. Westall's research is focused on the application of surface and solution chemistry to problems in environmental chemistry, electrochemistry, and analytical chemistry. Current research topics include: (i) interactions of metal ions with heterogeneous environmental complexants, such as humic substances and surfaces of soil particles, and development of models for these complex interactions; (ii) electrochemical processes in the environment, including corrosion and redox transformations of inorganic and organic pollutants; (iii) the processes that control the distribution of hydrophobic, ionogenic, and ionic organic compounds between water and environmental sorbents; (iv) electric double layer phenomena associated with environmental surfaces; (v) mathematical methods for the determination of equilibrium constants from experimental data; (vi) the application of multicomponent chemical equilibrium models to biogeochemical problems. Dr. Westall retired in 2008.  He is still working on collaborative research projects but is no longer accepting new graduate students.

Representative Publications

• Substrate degradation kinetics, microbial diversity, and current efficiency of microbial fuel cells supplied with marine plankton, Appl. Envir. Microbiology, 2007, 73 (21), 7029-7040.
• U(VI) adsorption on natural iron-coated sands: comparison of approaches for modeling adsorption on heterogenous environmental materials, Appl. Geochem., 2004, 19 (12), 1937-1951.
• Role of Surface Alteration in Determining the Mobility of U(VI) in the Presence of Citrate: Implications for Extraction of U(VI) from Soils, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2004, 38, 3752-3759.
• Kinetics of Reduction of Nitrobenzene and Carbon Tetrachloride at an Iron-Oxide Coated Gold Electrode, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2003, 37, 2356-2362.
• Mass Transport Effects on the Kinetics of Nitrobenzene Reduction by Iron Metal, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2001, 35, 2804-2811.
• Evaluation of Liposome-Water Partitioning of Organic Acids and Bases: 1. Development of a Sorption Model,
  2. Comparison of Experimental Determination Methods, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2000, 34, 3954-3968.
• Sorption of Linear Alkylbenzenesulfonates on Sediment Materials, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1999, 33, 3110-3118.
• Sequestration of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants by Geosorbents - Critical Review, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1997, 31, 3341
• Models for Association of Metal Ions with Heterogeneous Environmental Sorbents: I. Complexation of Co(II) by Leonardite Humic Acid as a Function of pH and NaClO₄ Concentration, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1995, 29, 951.
• Use of Cationic Surfactants to Modify Soil Surfaces To Promote Sorption and Retard Migration of Hydrophobic Organic Compounds, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1994, 28, 231.
• The Study of Soil Chemistry Through Quasi-Steady-State Models: II. Acidity of Soil Solution, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 1990, 54, 2363.