Helena Gomes
PhD student at FCT-UNL
Early Stage Researcher (ESR) secondment at Lehigh University

My name is Helena Gomes and I’m a graduate student in FCT-UNL, pursuing my PhD in Environment, more specifically on the electrokinetic remediation of soil contaminated with persistent organic pollutants using zero valent iron nanoparticles. My background is in Environmental Engineering and I did a Master in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Science from ISEGI-UNL in 2005. I worked six years in environmental consulting and GIS project management. Between 2006 and 2011, I was program manager and responsible for the environmental and radiological monitoring of uranium abandoned mines in Portugal.

Right now, I’m Visiting Researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Lehigh University (Fig.1). Between September 2011 and August 2012, I will be studying the electrokinetic enhanced transport of zero valent iron nanoparticles in low permeability soils. 

Fig.1 - STEPS (Science, Technology, Environment, Policy and Society Building in Lehigh University).

This is the perfect place to do this research, since it was here where a method to synthesize nanoscale iron particles was developed in 1996 and since then several research teams have made extraordinary advances in nanotechnology. I have the pleasure to work with Sibel Pamukcu (Fig. 2), an expert on electro-remediation of soils for more than a decade, and also with incredibly interesting and talented people from all-around the world.
Lehigh's environmental engineering program is housed in the STEPS building, which opened in Fall 2010 and has state-of-the-art laboratories for research.

My experience here in Lehigh has been extremely rewarding and certainly challenging, both at professional and personal levels. It helped me to be more independent in my research. I was given the opportunity to live and experience a different culture and also to interact and create friendships with people from very different countries and backgrounds. It really broadens your horizons!

Fig. 2 - Lehigh EK research team. Rear row, from left: Ehsan Ghazanfari, Yi Don, Qingson Cui. Front row, from left: Helena Gomes, Alla Miroshnik, Sibel Pamukcu, Reena Shrestha.