Center Investigator
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and
Southeast Environmental Research Center
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199
Telephone: 305-348-6210, Fax: 305-348-3772
Web Site: www.fiu.edu/~cai
Email: cai@fiu.edu
Biography
Education
| B.S.
|
(1981) | Chemistry, Ocean University of Qingdao, China |
| M.S. |
(1986) | Environmental Chemistry, Nankai University |
PhD |
(1989) | Environmental Chemistry, Nankai University |
| Post-Doc
|
(1989-1992) | Biogeochemistry, Max Planck
Institute for Chemistry, Germany |
Research Interests
Dr. Cai’s research interests are in the field of environmental and bioanalytical chemistry of trace metals and organometallic compounds, which include the development of new analytical techniques for speciation of metals and metalloids, and their fate and transport in the environmental and biological systems. His current research is focused on 1) the study of arsenic in soil-plant systems, including the development of speciation techniques, the study of mechanisms of arsenic accumulation and detoxification in arsenic hyperaccumulating plants, and investigation of the fate and transport mechanism of arsenic in contaminated soils; 2) the study of the environmental and public health impact of arsenic from anthropogenic sources such as CCA-treated wood and applications of arsenic-containing herbicides in golf courses; and 3) the study of the fate and transport of trace metals and metalloids in the South Florida Ecosystems, especially the biogeochemical cycling of mercury in the Everglades
Recent Publications
Yong Cai and Olin Braids, Editors, “Biogeochemistry of Environmentally Important Elements”. ACS Symposium Series 835, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Weihua Zhang and Yong Cai, Rapid purification and characterization of thiols in an As hyperaccumulator under As exposure, Anal. Chem., In press.W. Zhang, Y. Cai, C. Tu, and L.Q. Ma, Arsenic speciation and distribution in an arsenic hyperaccumulating plant, Sci. Total Environ. 2002, 300, 167-177.
Yong Cai, J. Cabrera, M. Georgiadis, J. Jayachadran, Assessment of arsenic mobility in South Florida golf courses, Sci. Total Environ., 2002, 291, 123-134.
L.Q. Ma, K.M. Komar, C. Tu, W. Zhang, and Y. Cai, and E.D. Kennelley, A fern that hyperaccumulates arsenic, Nature, 2001, 409, 579.