Hannah Hamontree is a Ph.D. candidate at 麻豆国产AV鈥檚 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She does research in Batten Endowed Chair and Professor in Physical Sciences Patrick Hatcher, Ph.D.鈥檚 lab. Her advisor, Hatcher, is also the faculty Director of the College of Sciences Major Instrumentation Center and the Executive Director of the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium.
Her current research focuses on the influence of environmental oxidation on terrestrial organic matter (terrOM). The research is centered around two forms of terrOM: 1) pyrogenic organic matter (i.e., chars, "black" carbon) generated from the pyrolysis of natural organic matter in natural (e.g., wildfires) and laboratory (e.g., custom pyrolizer) settings and 2) terrOM sequestered by mangroves (e.g., leaves and peat). Hamontree鈥檚 broad research interests revolve around understanding global biogeochemical cycles, particularly, in studying natural oxidation pathways that chemically alter terrOM.