PNNL

Alex Kugler joined the Subsurface Signatures Discovery (SSD) team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 2023 after spending three years at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). With expertise in mineralogy, geochemistry, environmental microbiology, and waste form technologies, SSD team members strive to address remediation, storage, and fate and transport issues facing Department of Energy sites across the country. They also have a vested interest in science education. Their current projects include continued support of SRNL’s Regulatory Center of Excellence and the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation. Kugler also supports the Deep Vadose Zone project at PNNL, which encompasses multiple technologies of various technology readiness levels that may be used to speed the remediation of the Hanford site, exploring mineral species which may hold importance for critical materials, interfacing with stakeholders for the development and maintenance of robust water monitoring systems, and managing multiple laboratory spaces to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.

• Biogeochemical Cycling
• Contaminant Fate and Transport
• Remediation Technology
• Glass Chemistry and Formulation
• Mineralogy

• PhD in geology, Miami University

• Geological Society of America
• American Chemical Society
• Mineralogical Society of America
• American Society for Microbiology

Simpson, W., Brigmon, R. L., Howard, D., Jackson, M., Kugler, A., & Brown, V. (2024). Utilization of lasso peptides for biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 16(2), e13197. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.13197

Kugler, A., Trivelpiece, C., & Brigmon, R. L. (2023). Foamed glass ceramics—an upcycled scaffold for microbial biofilm development. Biotechnology Letters, 45(2), 225-233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-022-03332-0

Veytskin, Y. B., Kugler, A., Brigmon, R. L., Burckhalter, C. E., & Mickalonis, J. (2023). Evaluation of microbiologically influenced corrosion and biofouling in a nuclear storage basin. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 16(3), 100641. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2023.100641

Kugler, A., Brigmon, R. L., Friedman, A., Coutelot, F. M., Polson, S. W., Seaman, J. C., & Simpson, W. (2022). Bioremediation of copper in sediments from a constructed wetland ex situ with the novel bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis SRS. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 17615. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20930-0

Fu, H., Kugler, A., Huyck, P., Brigmon Robin, L., & Ottesen Elizabeth, A. (2022). Draft Genome Sequence of Cupriavidus basilensis SRS, a Bacterium Isolated from Stream Sediments. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 11(10), e00691-00622. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00691-22

Kugler, A., Dong, H., Li, C., Gu, C., Schaefer, C. E., Choi, Y. J., Tran, D., Spraul, M., & Higgins, C. P. (2021). Reductive defluorination of Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) by hydrated electrons generated upon UV irradiation of 3-Indole-acetic-acid in 12-Aminolauric-Modified montmorillonite. Water Res, 200, 117221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117221

Cymes, B. A., Kugler, A. J., Almquist, C. B., Edelmann, R. E., & Krekeler, M. P. S. (2021). Effects of MnII and EuIII Cation Exchange in Sepiolite-Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites in the Photocatalytic Degradation of Orange G. ChemistrySelect, 6(21), 5180-5190. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202100303

Kugler, A., & Dong, H. (2019). Phyllosilicates as protective habitats of filamentous cyanobacteria Leptolyngbya against ultraviolet radiation. PLOS ONE, 14(7), e0219616. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219616