Larry McKay

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Dr. Larry McKay is the Jones Professor of Hydrogeology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee (UT). This endowed position was created with a donation from Donald Jones (UT grad 1959) and his wife, Flo, to provide diverse opportunities for UT students in the growing fields of hydrogeology and environmental geology. Dr. McKay received a Bachelor’s degree (1981) in Geological Engineering from the University of British Columbia and a PhD (1992) in Earth Sciences from the Hydrogeology program at the University of Waterloo, both in Canada and carried out Post-doctoral research at the Geological Survey of Denmark in 1992.

In 1993, Dr. McKay became an Assistant Professor (and later, Associate and Full Professor) at UT-Knoxville. His research interests are diverse and include investigations of the hydrogeologic properties of fractured clay-rich residuum and till, contaminant fate and transport, and occurrence/transport of pathogens and fecal indicators. Dr. McKay has developed strong collaborative ties with Dr. Alice Layton at the UT Center for Environmental Biotechnology and Dr. Randy Gentry at the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He’s also worked closely with Dr. Mary Rogge at the UT College of Social Work to help establish a Neighborhood Environmental College and an Environmental Health and Justice Collaborative, which carries out research and provides community education for residents affected by industrial contamination in the Chattanooga Creek area of southeast Tennessee. Dr. McKay is leader of the ISSE Water Resources Group and has served on a variety of national or international panels, including the Canadian Water Network’s Pathogens-In-Groundwater Consortium.

Dr. McKay was recently selected as the 2008 Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer. The lecture tour is sponsored by the GSA Hydrogeology Division with travel funding provided by the GSA Foundation and The University of Tennessee. Dr. McKay is planning to visit 40-50 universities and research institutions in 2008 to give research talks on fractured clays, pathogens and coal tar contamination.

Recent Publications

PDF files for many recent publications can be obtained by emailing lmckay@utk.edu

Bell, A., A. Layton, L.D. McKay, D. Williams, R. Gentry and G. Sayler, In-press, Factors influencing the persistence of fecal Bacteroides in stream water, J. of Environ. Quality.

Knappett, P., M.B. Emelko, J. Zhuang, and L.D. McKay, 2008, Transport and retention of MS-2 bacteriophage and microspheres in saturated porous media: Impact of ionic strength and grain size, Water Research, doi:10.1016/j.watres.2008.07.041.

Kenst, A., E. Perfect, S. Wilhelm, J. Zhuang, J. McCarthy, and L.D. McKay, 2008, Virus transport during infiltration of a wetting front into initially unsaturated sand columns, Environmental Science & Technology, 42, 1102-1108.

Driese, S.G., Z. Li, and L.D. McKay, 2008, Evidence for high-frequency mid-Holocene climate changes recorded in alluvial floodplain catena, southeastern Tennessee, USA, J. of Quaternary Research, 69, 276-291.

Roy, A., E. Perfect, W.M. Dunne, and L.D. McKay, 2007, Fractal characterization of fracture networks: An improved box-counting technique, Journal of Geophysical     Research, 112, B12201, doi:10.1029/2006JB004582.

Gentry, R.W., A. Layton, L.D. McKay, J. McCarthy, D. Williams, S. Koirala, and G. Sayler, 2007, Efficacy of Bacteroides for reducing uncertainty for source fecal loads in a mixed use watershed, Journal of Environmental Quality, 36, 1324-1330.

Pace, M., M. Mayes, P. Jardine, L.D. McKay, X.L. Yin, T.L. Mehlhorn, Q. Liu, H. Gurleyuk, and J. Zachara, 2007, Transport of Sr2+ and SrEDTA2- in partially-saturated and heterogeneous sediments, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 91, 267-287.

Vulava, V., L.D. McKay, S.G. Driese, F. Menn and G. Sayler, 2007, Distribution and transport of coal tar derived PAHs in fine-grained residuum, Chemosphere, 68, 554-563.

Gentry, R.W., J.F. McCarthy, A. Layton, L.D. McKay, V. Garret, D. Williams, S. Koirala, G. Sayler, 2006, E. coli loading at or near base flow in a mixed use watershed, Journal of Environmental Quality, 35, 2244-2249.

Gentry, R.W., L.D. McKay, N. Thonnard, J.L. Anderson, D. Larsen, J.K. Carmichael, and D.K. Solomon, 2006, Novel techniques for investigating recharge to the Memphis aquifer, AWWA Research Foundation, IWA Publishing, 97 p.

Layton, A.C., L.D. McKay, D.W. Williams, V. Garrett, and G.S. Sayler, 2006, Development of Bacteroides 16S rRNA gene TaqMan ™ PCR assays for the quantification of fecal source pollution in water samples: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72(6), 4214-4224.
 
Lenczewski, M., L.D. McKay, A. Pitner, S. Driese, and V. Vulava, 2006, Pure-phase transport and dissolution of TCE in sedimentary rock saprolite, Ground Water: 44(3), 406-414.

McKay, L.D., S.E. Driese, K. Smith, and M. Vepraskas, 2005, Hydrogeology and pedology of saprolite formed from sedimentary rock parent material, eastern TN, U.S.A., Geoderma: 126, 27-45.

Contact Information

Dr. Larry McKay
Jones Professor of Hydrogeology

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1412 Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-1410

Phone: (865) 974-5498
Email: lmckay@utk.edu