Environmental Microbiology and Contaminant Hydrogeology The central theme of the research is the fate and transport of organic contaminants in fine-grain materials.  The approach to this problem is interdisciplinary in nature, involving studies in hydrogeology, microbiology, and geochemistry. Environmental microbiology and geomicrobiology are exciting research area in geology. Much of the current research is done utilizing molecular techniques and culturing techniques used by microbiologists to investigate the community structure shifts that occur during natural attenuation of organic compounds and the influence of microorganisms on geological processes. Contaminant hydrogeology focuses on transport of organic contaminants such as MTBE, BTEX and chlorinated solvents.   Investigations vary from micro- to macro-scale  in  locations from northern Illinois to Mexico.