Eric Martin

Dr Eric Martin PhD, MSc(Eng.), BSc(Eng.), BA, P.Eng.

Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Key details

Dr Eric Martin

Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering


Dr Eric Martin is an Environmental Engineer who earned his PhD from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in Civil Engineering (Environmental), for research in In-Situ Thermal Treatment (ISTT) of groundwater and soils impacted by Dense, Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs).  His work has been influenced by a first-degree education in Chemical Engineering, earned concurrently with a degree in Comparative English Literature.

After the defence of his PhD, he began to advise the Ontario Ministry of the Environment as a Hydrogeologist and concurrently lectured at Queen’s University Department of Civil Engineering on the topics of Environmental Chemistry, Numerical Methods, and Professional Skills for Engineers.   Later, he also spent a year at The University of Birmingham School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences where, in the MSc Hydrogeology group, he taught advanced courses, including 'Groundwater Hydraulics,' 'Contaminant Transport,' and 'Organic Contaminant Hydrogeology and Remediation,' and led hands-on field teaching sessions, providing students with practical experience in testing methods and the operation of groundwater pumping and measurement equipment and data analysis.

Outside of academia, Eric has seven years of experience as a subject matter expert in the field of Contaminant Hydrogeology at the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in Ontario, Canada. During this time, he designed, led and coordinated hydrogeological and water resource studies, authored court submissions for the Environmental Review Tribunal, focusing on the sustainable implementation of renewable energy infrastructure. He also has regulatory and corporate experience collaborating with industry and Indigenous stakeholders on environmental and groundwater impact assessment and mitigation in both temperate areas as well as the high arctic.

Responsibilities within the university

Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Recognition

P.Eng., Professional Engineers Ontario.

Research / Scholarly interests

Groundwater represents over 97% of the available freshwater on earth, but is threatened by factors such as climate change, increased industrialisation, emerging contaminants, industrial farming and industry practice. At present, 700 million people worldwide are affected by water scarcity in 43 countries and the United Nations projects that figure to increase to a value between 1.7 to 2.4 billion people by the year 2050, making groundwater a primary pillar of global water security.

Dr Martin’s work aims to better understand groundwater through the lenses of water resources, contamination, multifluid systems, and sustainable energy production, and aims to develop engineered physical and data systems designed to improve our resource availability at the intersection of Water, Energy, and Environment. His research includes experimental, numerical and data-driven methods and aims to develop novel solutions to the one of the most pressing and essential problems we face as we near the second half of the 21st century.

Recent publications

Mumford, K.G., Martin, E.J. and Kueper, B.H. (2021). Removal of trichloroethene from thin clay lenses by electrical resistance heating. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 243, p.103892.

Martin, E. J., Mumford, K. G., & Kueper, B. H. (2018). Removal of TCE From Clay Lenses by Multi-Phase Diffusion During Electrical Resistance Heating. Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on New Technologies (NewTech’18).

Martin, E. J. (2017). Gas Production and Mass Transfer During the Electrical Resistance Heating of Clay Lenses. Doctoral dissertation.

Martin, E.J., Mumford, K.G., Kueper, B.H. and Siemens, G.A., (2017). Gas formation in sand and clay during electrical resistance heating. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 110:855-862.

Martin, E. J., & Kueper, B. H. (2011). Observation of trapped gas during electrical resistance heating of trichloroethylene under passive venting conditions. Journal of contaminant hydrology, 126(3): 291-300.

Martin, E. J. (2009). Laboratory study evaluating electrical resistance heating of pooled trichloroethylene. Master’s dissertation.

Presentations

Removal of TCE From Clay Lenses by Multi-Phase Diffusion During Electrical Resistance Heating. Presented at The 8th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR'18), part of the 4th World Congression New Technologies (NewTech’18). August 21, 2018, Madrid, Spain [Conference Talk]

Martin, E.M., K.G. Mumford, B.H. Kueper (2017), Removal of TCE From Low Permeability Clay Lenses by Multi-Phase Diffusion During Electrical Resistance Heating. International In-Situ Thermal Treatment Symposium, Banff, Alberta, Canada. [Poster Presentation]