Faculty
Saugata Datta, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Chair
Dr. Weldon W. Hammond, Jr. Distinguished Professorship in Hydrogeology
Phone: (210) 458-4752
Email: Saugata.Datta@utsa.edu
Lab website | IWRSP website
Areas of Specialization
- Chemical Hydrogeology
- Low Temperature Geochemistry
Education
Ph.D. in Earth Sciences; University of Western Ontario, Canada
M.S. in Geology, University of Calcutta, India
B.S. in Geology, Presidency College, University of Calcutta, India
Research Interests
Dr. Datta's research focuses on issues of water resources, water availability, and understanding the cycling of different metals and organic compounds in our groundwaters, surface waters, soils, and sediments, as well as how land use pattern changes affect the distribution of such metals and pollutants in our environments. His research projects have links to health impact assessments, targeting both human and ecosystem health.
Dr. Datta's interest is in studies on trace element and oxyanion migration and contamination in the environment, especially in groundwaters, urban air particulates, rice grains, and unproductive soil environments, using hydrological and geochemical tools including speciation of elements via synchrotron spectroscopy. He and his students travel to various sites in India, Bangladesh, Argentina, Mexico, and several states within the U.S.
Dr. Datta also has been working in delineation of areas of groundwater problems in Kansas, Texas, and neighboring states. Additionally, recent studies of mineralization in rock-brine and supercritical CO2 mixtures in a CO2 injection scenario within subsurface saline aquifers has gained momentum in his group.
Publications
