Bryn Mawr College, B.A., Magna Cum Laude (English Literature), May 1975

Louisiana State University, M.L.S. (Library Science), August 1976

Louisiana State University, Ph.D. (Geology), May 1989

As the undergraduate advisor for students in the environmental management systems major and minor and those in the crop management and soil science concentrations in plant and soil systems, I meet with students to discuss their academic and career paths. I teach several classes in which experiential learning, particularly service-learning, are key: EMS 1011, Environment and Technology; EMS 2011, Analysis of Environmental Issues, EMS 3040, Applied Environmental Management; EMS 4092, Special Topics in Soil Science; EMS 3040, Environmental Internship; EMS 4999 Senior Research; and EMS 4010, Applied Ecology. 

I am a member of the faculty and of the Coordinating Council of Women's and Gender Studies (http://www.lsu.edu/wgs/ ) with a particular focus on outreach to increase the participation of girls and women in science.  I am on the speaker list for the Association of Women Geoscientists.  For the past 10 years I have been involved in organizing and teaching several professional development programs for K-12 science teachers that focused on inquiry-based learning in the sciences, especially earth and environmental sciences. 

My recent graduate students have completed projects on informal science education, phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated soil and on strategies for planting restored coastal areas in Louisiana.

Emmich, Sarah, M.N.S., December, 2011. Evaluation of Superfund Research Program Websites in a Research Translation Context.

Sutera, Catherine, M.N.S., May, 2010. Investigating the Effectiveness of Informal Science Education through Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis: Ocean Commotion, a case study.

Ashley Wilson Mullens, M. S. August, 2007. Strategies for Establishing Spartina alterniflora on Newly-Constructed Marsh Terraces in Coastal Louisiana.

I am the Research Translation Core Leader for the LSU Superfund Research Program (http://www.srp.lsu.edu), which focuses on the formation and health effects environmentally persistent free radicals, which may be produced by the combustion of hazardous materials.  The mission of the Research Translation Core is to ensure that research findings are communicated to environmental to a variety of audiences, including the general public, health and environmental professionals, regulatory agencies, businesses, and other researchers.  The goal is to ensure that the program’s research is appropriately applied to current environmental and health issues and, in particular, to the effective management of thermal treatment of Superfund wastes to minimize and control exposure and risk.

I have served on the NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Journal Review Board since 2006, and regularly review manuscripts for Astrobiology Journal.

 

· Sedberry Undergraduate Teaching Award,  LSU College of Agriculture, 2006.

· Gamma Sigma Delta LSU Chapter Teaching Merit Honor Roll, 2005, 2011.

· Tiger Athletic Foundation Teaching Award for Assistant Professor in the LSU College of Agriculture, 2003.

LSU Superfund Research Program: Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals. $13,969,825. 2011-2016. (Barry Dellinger, PI., Walsh as one of the co-PIs, Research Translation Core Leader)

Disturbed Systems: Reclaiming the Marsh with an Integrated Approach to Revitalization. LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio. $15,000. PIs:Walsh, Wicks and Cheramie.

EBRPSS-LSU Elementary MSP: Project e-STEM. East Baton Rouge Parish School System. $64,547. As Co-PI. Nell McAnelly, Project Director. 2011-2012.

EBRPSS-LSU Elementary MSP: Science Stars. East Baton Rouge Parish School System. $61,860. As instructor. Brenda Nixon, Project Director. 2011-2012.

EBRPSS-LSU Elementary MSP: Project AIMS.  U.S. Department of Education through East Baton Rouge Parish School System,. $71, 239 . As Co-PI. Nell McAnelly, Project Director. 2010-2011.

Edited Books

Seckbach, J. and Walsh, M., eds. 2008. From Fossils to Astrobiology: Records of Life on Earth and the Search for Extraterrestial Biosignatures. Volume 12 CELLULAR ORIGINS, LIFE IN EXTREME HABITATS AND ASTROBIOLOGY Springer, 546 p. http://www.springer.com/astronomy/astrobiology/book/978-1-4020-8836-0

Peer-reviewed Journals

Anderson, L., Walsh, M., Roy, A., Bianchetti, C., and Merchan, G. 2010. The Potential of Thelypteris palustris and Asparagus sperengi in the Phytoremediation of Arsenic-contaminated Soils. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 13:177–184. DOI: 10.1080/15226511003671346

Walsh, M., Cormier, S., Varner, K. and Dellinger, B. 2010. By-Products of Thermal Treatment of Hazardous Waste: Formation and Health Effects. EM, April, 2010, 26-30.

Anderson, L*. and Walsh, M. 2007. Arsenic uptake by common marsh fern Thelypteris palustris and its potential for phytoremediation. Science of the Total Environment. 379 (2-3): 263-265 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.09.032

Ngwenya, E., Walsh, M., Metosh-Dickey, C. and Portier, R. 2006. Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Leachate by a Physico-chemical and Biological Treatment Train Approach. Remediation 16 (2): 79-90.

Roy, A., Byerly, G.R., Lowe, D.R., Walsh, M., and Bianchetti, C. 2005. Iron and Manganese Minerals from South African Ironstone Deposits. Physica Scripta, T115, 918-920.

Walsh, M. M., Jenkins, D., Powell, K. and Rusch, K.2005. The Campus Lake Learning Community: Promoting a Multi-disciplinary Approach to Environmental Problem-Solving. Journal of College Science Teaching 34 (5): 24-27.

Walsh, M. M. 2004. Evaluation of Early Archean Volcaniclastic and Volcanic Flow Rocks as Possible Sites for Carbonaceous Fossil Microbes.” Astrobiology 4 (4): 429-437.

Cable, J. E., Corbett, D. R., and Walsh, M. M. 2002. Phosphate Uptake in Coastal Limestone Aquifers: A Fresh Look at Wastewater Management. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin 11(2): 1-4.

Westall, F., Steele, A, Toporski, J., Walsh, M., Allen, C., Guidry, S., McKay, K., Gibson, E. and Chafetz, H. 2000. Extracellular polymeric substances as a biomarker in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. Journal of Geophysical Research 105, E10: 24, 511-27.

Wilson, V. L., Tatford, B. C., Yin, X., Rajki, S. C., Walsh, M. M. and LaRock, P. 1999. Species-Specific Detection of Hydrocarbon Utilizing Bacteria. Journal of Microbiological Methods 39:59-78.

Lin, Q., Mendelssohn, I. A., Henry, C. B., Robert, P. O., Walsh, M. M., Overton, E. B. and Portier, R. J. 1999. A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Bioremediation Agents on Oil Degradation in Mineral and Sandy Salt Marsh Sediments. Environmental Technology 20:825-837.

Byerly, G. R., Kroner, A., Lowe, D. R., Todt, W., and Walsh, M. M. 1996. Prolonged magmatism and time constraints for sediment deposition in the early Archean Barberton greenstone belt; evidence from the Upper Onverwacht and Fig Tree groups. Precambrian Research 78: 125-138.

Williams, L. B., Ferrell, R. E., Hutcheon, I., Bakel, A.J., Walsh, M. M., and Krouse, H. R. 1995. Nitrogen isotope geochemistry of organic matter and minerals during diagenesis and hydrocarbon migration. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59: 765-779.

Walsh, M. 1992. Microfossils and possible microfossils from the Early Archean Onverwacht Group, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Precambrian Research 54: 271-293.

Byerly, G. R., Lowe, D. R. and Walsh, M. M. 1986. Stromatolites from the 3,300-3,500 Myr Swaziland Supergroup, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Nature 319: 489-491.

Walsh, M. M. and Lowe, D. R. 1985. Filamentous microfossils from the 3,500-Myr old Onverwacht Group, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Nature 314: 530-532.

Book Chapters

Walsh, Maud M. 2010. Microbial Mats on the Early Earth: the Archean Rock Record. In: Seckbach, J. and Oren, A., eds. Microbial Mats: Modern and Ancient Microorganisms in Stratified Systems. Series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, Vol. 14. Springer, 2010, pp. 43-51.

Walsh, M.M. and Westall, F. 2008. Disentangling the Microbial Fossil Record in the Barberton Greenstone Belt: A Cautionary Tale In: Seckbach, J. and Walsh, M., eds. From Fossils to Astrobiology: Records of Life on Earth and the Search for Extraterrestial Biosignatures. Springer, 2008, pp. 25-37.

Russo, M., Kelsey, S., and Walsh, M. 2007. Online Integration of Information Literacy in an Environmental Management Systems Course. Understanding Online Instructional Modeling: Theories and Practices. Eds. R. Zheng and S. P. Ferris. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Group, Inc. pp. 240-251.

Walsh, M. M. and Westall, F. 2003. Archean Biofilms Preserved in the 3.2-3.6 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, South Africa. In: Fossil and Recent Biofilms: a natural history of the life on Earth: Ed. W. E. Krumbein, D. M. Paterson and G. A. Zavarzin. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 307-316.

Westall, F., Walsh, M., Toporski, J. and Steele, A. 2003. Fossil biofilms and the search for life on Mars. In: Fossil and Recent Biofilms: a natural history of the life on Earth: Ed. W. E. Krumbein, D. M. Paterson and G. A. Zavarzin. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 447-465.

Westall, F.,deWit, M. J., Walsh, Maud M., Folk, R. L., Chafetz, H., and Gibson, E. K. Jr. 2000. An early Archean, organic carbon-rich microbialite (3.3-3.4 Ga) from the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, in: Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 30:240-241.

Westall, F. and Walsh, M. M. 2000. The Diversity of Microorganisms in Archean-Age Rocks, in: Journey to Diverse Microbial World: Adaptation to Exotic Environments, ed. J. Seckbach. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 15-27.

Walsh, M. M. and Lowe, D. R. 1999. Modes of accumulation of carbonaceous matter in the early Archean: a petrographic and geochemical study of the carbonaceous cherts of the Swaziland Supergroup, in Geologic Evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, ed. D. R. Lowe and G. R. Byerly, Geological Society of America Special Paper 325. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, pp. 115-132.

Seckbach, J. and Walsh, M. M. 1999. Ubiquity of life as related to certain extremophiles: mini review on Cyanidia, in From Symbiosis to Eukaryotism--Endocytobiology VII, ed. E. Wagner, J. Normann, H. Greppin, J. H. P. Hackstein, R. G. Herrmann, K. V. Kowalik, H. E. A. Schenk and J. Seckbach. Geneva: Geneva University Press, pp. 85-104.

Walsh, M. M. and Seckbach, J. 1999. The Versatility of Prokaryotes, in: J. Seckbach, (ed.), Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments . The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 153-162.

Roberts, H. H., Aharon, P. and Walsh, M. M. 1993. "Cold-Seep Carbonates of the Louisiana Continental Slope-to-Basin Floor, in Carbonate Microfabrics,. ed. R. Rezak and D. Lauvie. Springer-Verlag. pp. 95-104.

Other publications

Walsh, M. M. 2007. Opportunities for Nontraditional Agricultural Students in Coastal Wetlands Research. Louisiana Agriculture, Spring 2007: 38.

Walsh, M. 1985. Fossils: clues to the past. Toktokkie: the southern African wildlife magazine for children 8:9.

Earliest Life: The Rock Record. 12 min.video produced at Boston University, 1982. Used as supplemental material for biology classes and now incorporated into Discovery Channel program on early life and evolution.

Published Abstracts of Papers Presented at Professional Meetings

Walsh, M., Loe, V. and Dicharry, J. 2008. Partnering for Environmental Education. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 40, No. 6, p. 364

Walsh, M. 2006. Assessment of Service-Learning in an Environmental Management Systems Curriculum. Abstract for poster presentation at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture annual meeting, Vancouver, Canada, June 7-9, 2006. Published in NACTA Journal 50 (2): 98-99.

Anderson, L.L.* and Walsh, M. M. 2005. Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Soils. Proceedings of the Air & Waste Management Louisiana Section Environmental Focus 2005: A Multi-media forum. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 2, 2005.

Anderson, L.L.* and Walsh, M. M. 2005. Effects of Arsenic on the Common Marsh Fern, Thelypteris palustris. ICOBTE: 8^th International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements, Adelaide, Australia, April 3-7, 2005. Book of Abstracts

Walsh, M. M. 2004. Service Learning in an Environmental Management Curriculum. Proceedings of the Agronomy Society of America Annual Meeting, October 31-November 4, 2004, Seattle, Washington.

Roy, A., Byerly, G.R., Lowe, D.R., Walsh, M.M. and Bianchetti, C. 2003. Iron and Manganese Minerals from South African Ironstone Deposits, 12th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS 12), Malmo, Sweden, June 22-27, 2003.

Walsh, M. M., Lindsey, M.R. and Martin, F.A. 2003. Revitalization of Agronomy and Environmental Management Curricula though Experiential Learning. Proceedings of the Agronomy Society of America, Denver, Colorado.

Walsh, Maud M. 2001. Evaluation of Alteration Zones in Archean Igneous Rocks as Possible Sites for Carbonaceous Fossil Microbes. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program, v. 33, no. 6, p. A-404.

Walsh, M. M. and Westall, F. 2001. Archean Biofilms Preserved in the 3.2-3.6 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, South Africa. Fossil and Recent Biofilms: a natural history of the impact of life on Planet Earth: programme, abstracts and participants. Ed. W. E. Krumbein, T. Dornieden and M. Volkmann, 76-77.

Westall, F., Walsh, M., Toporski, J. and Steele, A. 2001. Fossil biofilms and the search for life on Mars, Fossil and Recent Biofilms: a natural history of the impact of life on Planet Earth: programme, abstracts and participants. Ed. W. E. Krumbein, T. Dornieden and M. Volkmann, 78-79.

Wang, A., Haskin, L. A., Kuebler, K. E., Jolliff, B. L. and Walsh, M. M. 2001. Raman spectroscopic detection of graphitic carbon of biogenic parentage in an ancient South African chert. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII, 1423. In 32^nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Abstracts, LPI Contribution No. 1080, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Westall, F., Walsh, M., Schelble, R., Toporski, J. and Steele, A. 2001. Identifying Potentially Badly Degraded Microfossils from Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XXII, 1434.

Ashton, B. M., East, R. R., Walsh, M. M., Miles, M.S., and Overton, E.B. 2000. Studying and Verifying the Use of Chemical Biomarkers for Identifying and Quantifying Oil Residues in the Environment. Abstracts of ESOS V: Louisiana's 5^th Annual Environmental State of the State Conference, November 16-17, 2000.

Walsh, M. M. and Westall, F. 2000. Revisting the Swaziland Supergroup: New Approaches to Examining Evidence for Early Life on Earth. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XXXI, p. 1932.

Westall, F., Steel, A., Toporski, J., Walsh, M. M., Allen, C. C., Guidry, S., McKay, D. S., Gibson, E. K., and Chafetz, H. S. 2000. 3.8 b.y. History of Bacterial Biofilms and Their Significance in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life. Lunar and Planetary Science XXI: Abstracts of papers submitted to the 31st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 13-17, 2000, Houston, Texas. p. 1707.

Walsh, M. M., Westall, F., Steele, A., and Blackwell, M. 1999. Fossil bacteria 3.4 Ga and fungi of unknown age in Archean cherts: Distinguishing microfossils of different ages using light and electron microscopy and TOF-SIMS. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 31, no. 7. October, 1999.

Westall, F., Steele, A., McKay, D. S., Gibson, E., Walsh, M. M., Allen, C. C., and Toporski, J. 1999. Bacterial biofilms as biomarkers in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 31, no. 7. October, 1999.

Westall, F., Walsh, M., McKay, D. S., Wentworth, S., Gibson, E., Steele, A., Toporski, J., Allen, C., Morris-Smith, P., Lindstrom, D. and Martinez, R. 1999. Looking for fossil bacteria in martian materials. Abstract. Workshop on Mars 2001: Integrated Science in Preparation for Sample Return and Human Exploration, October 2-4, 1999, Houston, Texas.

Westall, F. and Walsh, M. 1999. Fossil Bacteria from the Early Archean and their Environment. European Union of Geosciences EUG 10, 28th March-1st April, 1999, Strasbourg, France. p. 260-261.

Westall, F., de Wit, M. J., Walsh, M. M., Folk, R. L., Chafetz, H. and Gibson, E. K. Jr. 1999. An Early Archean, organic carbon-rich microbialite (3.3-3.4 GA) from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. International Society for the Origin of Life, July, 1999, San Diego, California, U.S.A. Proceedings.

Seckbach, J., Jensen, T. E., Matsuno, K., Nakamura, H., Walsh, M. M. and Chela-Flores, J. 1998. Is There an Alternative Path in Eukaryogenesis?: An Astrobiological View on Making the Nucleated Cell, in V Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution. Exobiology: Matter, Energy, and Information in the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe, ed. J. Chela-Flores and F. Raulin. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 235-240.

Seckbach, J. and Walsh, M. M. Cellular Evolution and Ubiquity of Life: Eukaryogenesis, Extremophiles and the Cyanidian Tribe. In: Endocytobiology VII: Proceedings of the Conference, Freiburg, Germany, April 5-9, 1998.

Portier, R., Pinnamaraju, L. Walsh, M. and Davis, R. 1997.Microbial characterization and biotreatment potential studies for brominated brines” 1997. OrgaBrom’97. Third International Conference on the Chemistry and Applications of Bromine and Bromine-Containing Products. February 3-7,1997. Pages 158-160.

Walsh, M. M., Portier, R. J., Henry, C. B., Roberts, P. and Mendelssohn, I. 1995. Assessment of Bioremediation Strategies for Oil Spill Cleanup in Coastal Wetlands. Geological Society of American Abstracts with Programs, v.27, no. 6, October, 1995, A308.

Walsh, M.M., Portier, R. J., and Mendelssohn, I. A. 1994. Oil Spills and Bioremediation in Salt Marshes: Effect on Microbial Ecology. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 26, no. 7, October, 1994, A202.

Byerly, G. R., Kroner, A., Lowe, D. R., and Walsh, M. M. 1993. Sequential Magmatic Evolution of the Early Archean Onverwacht Group: Geochronology of the Upper Formations. EOS (Transactions of the American Geophysical Union) 74: 660.

Portier, R. J., Black, J. P. and Walsh, M. M. 1993. Application of Combined Photolytic and Microbiological Degradative Aproaches for the Hydrochlorofluorocarbon 141-B. American Society for Microbiology. Abstracts of the 93rd General Meeting, 380.

Portier, R. J., LeJeune, J. T. and Walsh, M. M. 1993. Bioremediation of EDC in the Subsurface. In Situ and On-Site Bioreclamation. 2nd International Symposium. April 5-8, 1993, San Diego, California.

Portier, R. J., Shane, B. S., Walsh, M. M. and Williams, M. B. 1993. In Situ Remediation of EDC Contaminated Vadose Soil: A Toxicological Assessment. Proceedings of the Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center 4th Annual Symposium, Emerging Technologies: Metals, Oxidation, and Separation. February 25-26, 1993.

Walsh, M. M., Portier, R. J. and Fujisaki, K. 1993. Free-living Bacteria in the Vicinity of Natural Hydrocarbon Seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. American Society for Microbiology. Abstracts of the 93rd General Meeting, 398.

Williams, L. B., Ferrell, R. E., and Walsh, M. M. 1992. Distribution of fixed-NH4 in I/S across a Louisiana oil field: Implictions for enhanced oil recovery. 1992 Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals Society. Agronomy Abstracts, p. 383.

Walsh, M., Williams, L., Ferrell, R. and Portier, R. 1992. Bacteria in the Deep Subsurface: A Factor in the Use of Ammonium in Clays as a Petroleum Exploration Tool? American Society for Microbiology. Abstract of the 92nd General Meeting, 366.

Walsh, M., Portier, R. and Roberts, H. 1991. Precipitation of Aragonite Associated with Methanotrophic Bacteria Near Natural Petroleum Seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. American Society for Microbiology. Abstracts of the 91st General Meeting, 49.

Metosh, C. A., Walsh, M. M., Shane, B. S., and Portier, R. J. 1991. Bioremediation and Biomonitoring of an Oil-based Sludge-Contaminated Site. Abstract. Proceedings of the Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center 3rd Annual Symposium, Bioremediation: Fundamentals and Effective Application. February 21-22, 1991.

Metosh, C. A., Walsh, M. M., Shane, B. S., Portier, R. J., Martin, J. E. 1990. Bioremediation and Biomonitoring of an Oil-based Sludge-Contaminated Site. Abstract. Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting.

Walsh, M. M., and Lowe, D. R. 1988. Microfossils and possible microfossils in evaporite-influenced cherts from the 3.3 to 3.5 billion-year-old Swaziland Supergroup, Southern Africa. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 226.

Walsh, M. M. and Lowe, D. R. 1985. Morphology of carbonaceous matter in early Archean cherts, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 17: 742-743.

Walsh, M. M. and Lowe, D. R. 1983. Filamentous microfossils from the 3.1 to 3.5 billion year old Swaziland Supergroup, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Lunar and Planetary Science XIV: Abstracts of papers submitted to the 14th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 14-18, 1983.