Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff
John Buck, M.S.
jbuck1@chatham.edu
Adjunct Faculty
Joined Chatham : 1998
Academic Areas of Interest
soil chemistry, soil biology, ecological restoration, bioaccumulation and biotransformation in soils and plants, bioenergy crops, climate change
Personal Areas of Interest
rowing, photography, gardening
Biography
Mr. Buck is a Project Manager with Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.'s Pittsburgh office Ecological Services Group (www.cecinc.com ). His areas of expertise include reclamation and revegetation of drastically disturbed land; phytoremediation of contaminated soils and groundwater; in-situ bioremediation; studies of the relationship of soil chemistry to plant growth and to plant uptake of nutrients and trace/toxic elements; wetland treatment system design and performance evaluation. His experience includes studies of soil/plant relationships in natural and disturbed settings, revegetation for wildlife habitat on disturbed sites, revegetation of steep slag slopes at Pittsburgh’s Nine Mile Run slag slopes without using cover soil, and design/build revegetation and invasive plant management in Lower Frick Park and Nine Mile Run. Mr. Buck has substantial experience in evaluation of soils for stormwater and wastewater infiltration and systems.
Education
- B.S., Biology, Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), 1980
- M.S. Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA), 1985
Publications
- Use of Computerized Expert Systems, Unique Soil Testing Methods, and Monitoring Data in Land Management Decisions (1988). Baker, D.E. and J.K. Buck. In Proceedings of the 1988 Mine Drainage and Reclamation Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Direct (Soil Less) Revegetation of Anthracite Refuse Using Coal Fly Ash as a Major Soil Amendment (1988). Buck, J.K. and R.J. Houston. In Proceedings of the 1988 Mine Drainage and Reclamation Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- A Soil Management Plan for Sanitary Landfills in Pennsylvania (1990). Cremeens, D.L. and J.K. Buck. In Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, San Antonio, Texas.
- Agronomic Management for Phytoremediation (1999). Thomas, Paul R. and John K. Buck. In Andrea Leeson and Bruce C. Alleman (ed.), Phytoremediation and Innovative Strategies for Specialized Applications 5(6) (Proceedings of the Fifth International In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium, Sand Diego, California). Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio.
- “Revegetation at the Nine Mile Run Site, Pittsburgh, PA”, February 2001. Final report to the City of Pittsburgh, Department of City Planning and USEPA on CEC/CMU research activities concerning direct (soil-less) revegetation of steep slag slopes.
- Bottom Ash Fines as a Soil Amendment for Turfgrass and Site Closure – Laboratory and Mesocosm Studies at PPL Brunner Island and Montour Steam Electric Station, (2005) Buck, John K., Larry L. LaBuz, World of Coal Ash, April 11-15, 2005, Lexington, Kentucky, USA