Plant and chemical interactions are at the center of the field of phytoremediation, and the work of Jerry Schnoor has impacted nearly all aspects of those interactions. Jerry had lead research efforts in nearly all aspects of the process and from basic science to applied technology development. The Schnoor lab has investigated the fundamentals of plant uptake of organic and inorganic pollutants, helping develop understanding of uptake and translocation. Understanding of plant uptake and translocation of the emerging and fugitive contaminants is vital as plants are the foundation to the food chain and continual emergence of new environmental contaminants pose health and ecological threat.  Jerry has also been a pioneer in the fate of pollutants after uptake, looking at degradation pathways in plants, generating some of the foundational work of chemcial fate and degradation in plants. Fate is critically important as phytoremediation puts plants in direct contact with the toxicants we aim to remediate. The Schnoor labs have addressed plant-mediated degradation, symbiotic microbial degradation, and abiotic degradation via photolysis. Few, if any, other individuals or labs have covered this breadth of the science and engineering in our field.  Jerry’s impact is profound and lasting without question or dispute, but his impact is far beyond his ability to postulate and test scientific hypotheses and communicate resultant knowledge. Jerry is a thought leader and an enabler. He raises expectations and confidence in his students and colleagues, and they are then able to go forth and have a multiplicative impact as well. Jerry is far more than a great and impactful scientist, he is a teacher at the highest level and has a legacy that will endure.  <br/>"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."<br/>- Henry Brooks Adams 1907<br/>

Jerry Schnoor and impacts on phytoremediation research at a global scale

2019 Spring National Meeting

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