Skip to main content

Heileen Hsu-Kim

Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Box 90287, Durham, NC 27708-0287
118A Hudson Hall, Box 90287, Durham, NC 27708

Research Interests


Aquatic chemistry and geochemistry, trace element environmental chemistry, nanogeoscience, mercury biogeochemistry, water-particle surface processes.

Selected Grants


Duke University Program in Environmental Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2029

Characterization of Coal Mine Drainage Wastes to Inform the Extraction Potential of Critical Metals

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2024 - 2027

Water Quality for Fisheries: PFAS and Heavy Metal Contamination in North Carolina Farm Raised and Wild Caught Oyster Populations

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Coastal Carolina Riverwatch · 2024 - 2026

Customized Approaches for Evaluating and Reducing Chemical Exposures from Home Building Materials

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Housing and Urban Development · 2022 - 2025

Field Studies to Collect Farm Raised and Wild Caught Oyster Populations for Analysis of Chemical Pollutants

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Coastal Carolina Riverwatch · 2024 - 2025

AOI 1: Characterization of Arsenic and Selenium in Coal Fly Ash to Improve Evaluations for Disposal and Reuse Potential

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2019 - 2024

Convergence RAISE: Harnessing Extracellular Vesicle Mediated Interkingdom Communication

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2019 - 2023

Development of Predictive Capabilities for Mercury Bioavailability and Methylation Potential in Aquatic Ecosystems

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory · 2021 - 2022

Application of Biosorption for REE Recovery from Coal Byproducts

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · 2018 - 2021

Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2008 - 2021

Biogeochemical Framework to Evaluate Mercury Methylation Potential During in-situ Remediation of Contaminated Sediments

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · 2014 - 2021

Net Methylation Potential of Mercury Sulfides for Different Groups of the Methylating Microbial Community

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2018 - 2020

SusChEM: Collaborative Research: Coal Ash Wastes as a Resource for Critical and Strategic Elements

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2015 - 2020

AOI 1: Predicting Trace Element Partitioning and Fate for Coal-Fired Power Plants Under Steady and Non-Steady State Operations

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Carnegie Mellon University · 2018 - 2019

Duke University Program in Environmental Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · 2013 - 2019

Support for the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Science: Water

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · 2018 - 2019

Cooperative Program in Nanomaterials Hazard and Exposure Assessment Traineeships (NanoHEAT)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by Environmental Protection Agency · 2015 - 2018

Earth Metal Extraction for Clean Technologies

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · 2018 - 2018

REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2014 - 2018

Impact of El Nino on Environmental Mercury and Human Exposure

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2016 - 2018

Workshop to Integrate of Research and Policy of Environmental Mercury Contamination in Ecosystems

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2017 - 2018

Nanoscale Mercury Sulfide-Organic Matter Interactions and Implications for Solubility and Biomethylation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2011 - 2017

Novel Technologies to Improve the Management of Environmental Resources in the Global Marketplace

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Research Triangle Institute International · 2016 - 2016

Collaborative Research: Characterization of Contaminants and Isotopic Tracers Associated with Coal Combustion Products

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2012 - 2016

Legacy impacts of coal combustion residues on freshwater ecosystems in North Carolina

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Water Resources Research Institute · 2015 - 2016

Influence of Chelating Ligands for the Aggregation, Dissolution and Bioavailability of Soluble Nanomaterials

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2011 - 2015

Studies in Support of South River VA Remedial Planning

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Texas Tech University · 2014 - 2014

REU: Research Experience for Undergraudates on Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2010 - 2014

Bioavailability and Methylation Potential of Mercury Sulfides in Sediments

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program · 2010 - 2014

Mercury and Metal Contamination from Historical Mining at South American Urban Communities

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Environmental Protection Agency · 2011 - 2013

FEMMES 2012 (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering and Science)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation · 2011 - 2012

Occurrence and Stabilization of Colloidal and Nanoparticulate Mercury Sulfides

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Energy · 2010 - 2012

To Support FEMMES 2008 (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering and Science)

Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Lord Foundation of North Carolina · 2007 - 2011

Environmental effects of the coal ash spill and remediation at Kingston TN

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2009 - 2010

FEMMES 2009 (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering and Science)

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation · 2008 - 2009

FEMMES 2008 (Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science)

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation · 2007 - 2008

External Relationships


  • American Chemical Scociety
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Foundation
  • Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.