From Below Ground to Outer Space, Scientist’s Projects are Far-Reaching

Andrew Jackson has always been a science geek.

In fact, when he finished his undergraduate degree in biology, he opted not to go to medical school because he didn’t want to be only a practitioner of science. His desire was to continue to research and study as well, and to learn more and more about subjects of interest to him. 

Now from the deep recesses of soil below ground to outer space, Jackson’s love for science is making an impact on research both terrestrial and extraterrestrial.

From Wetlands to West Texas

Growing up in Shreveport, La., science was always Jackson’s best subject – physics, chemistry, biology.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College, in Memphis, Tenn., and his master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering from Louisiana State University.

After working in wetlands research at LSU from 1990 to 1998, Jackson was hired at Texas Tech as an assistant professor in Civil Engineering, where he is now an associate professor. Jackson is also adjunct faculty at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH).

Jackson’s research includes recycling wastewater to drinking water for space applications. In fact, Jackson is on the steering committee for the main NASA conference on environmental systems (ICES), whose mission is providing habitable space for humans in space.

“The space research is possible because of the earmarked funds from NASA,” Jackson said. “Texas Tech researchers have done a great job making the most of it. It’s a very niche thing – we are very well known for this.”

Getting the “Dirt” On Soil

Finding and explaining where and how the chemical perchlorate winds up in the earth’s soil is another project of Jackson’s. Having spent about seven years on perchlorate issues, he and his colleagues have made the cover of the prestigious Environmental Science & Technology journal three times, and have propelled Texas Tech to being the national leader in perchlorate research. Framed copies of those journal covers and articles grace his office walls as testimony to the researcher’s success.

“ES&T is not a typical journal – the front section reads like a regular magazine and thus has a very broad spectrum of readers including policy makers and regulators,” Jackson said. “It’s the number-one-cited journal for scientific articles in our field.” 

Jackson gives credit to his colleagues for much of the success of his research. “These projects are the epitome of collaboration,” said Jackson. “The perchlorate project, probably about 30 people across campus and a core of 10 to 12 did the work. In many projects including these, no one person has the expertise to cover it all.”

Other departments involved in research with Jackson include chemical, industrial and mechanical engineering, as well as faculty across campus in geosciences, plant & soil science, TIEHH, chemistry and biology.

Thinking Small

So, what’s next for Jackson? He’s thinking very small. Nanomaterials.  

“These are particles less than 100 nanometers,” said Jackson. “They have different properties because of their smallness, and almost nothing is known about the behavior of these particles in real environmental systems. Let’s not wait until after the fact to see what these particles do in the environment; we want to look at them now.”

Jackson says the particles are manmade, and produced for everything from building construction to treating water. Jackson and his colleagues have submitted two grants to the Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental impact of these particles.

Jackson’s boyhood love of science has served him well. Microscopic, intergalactic or subterranean – this science geek is going to change the world.