My name is Chris Lyles and I have a large array of research interests.  I enjoy research projects associated with macro/micro ecology, toxicology, coastal processes, and bioremediation.  Here is a short summation of my previous research and current research interests.  

 

 

After Northwestern State, I did my Masters work at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA, where my major professor was Dr. Ramaraj Boopathy.  My thesis project was to help optimize pilot scale sequencing batch reactors on large aquaculture ponds at the Waddell Mariculture Center in Bluffton, SC and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, MS.  The waste produced in these ponds contained a toxic level of nitrogenous compounds, which needed to be treated so the water portion of the sludge could be recycled back into the ponds, and the solid portion placed in drying beds.  Using the correct carbon to nitrogen ratio within the sequencing batch reactor, the indigenous microorganisms carried out nitrification and denitrification, and the sludge was successfully recycled.    

    

While working on my masters I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time on the coast of Louisiana,  where I began noticing (first hand) how disruptive oil spills and other organic contaminates can be on coastal ecosystems, such as wetlands.  I began to wonder if there were ways to increase the rate of biodegradation of organic contaminants in wetlands, which are practically impossible to cleanup by physical methods. It was this thought process and the love of the coastal environment which lead me to the University of Oklahoma and into the field of remediation.

 

Currently I am a graduate student in Dr. Joseph Suflita’s laboratory at the University of Oklahoma.  My research interests include, but are not limited to,  bioremediation technology, biodegradation of oil compounds such as  polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other organic contaminants, microbial influenced corrosion, and the characterization and isolation of novel species of microorganisms.