Dr Liping Pang, PhD (Civil Eng.)

Senior Groundwater Scientist
Christchurch Science Centre

Liping joined ESR in August 1994 after working for Environment BOP (formerly the Bay of Plenty Regional Council) for two years as an environmental scientist. Liping obtained her PhD in Civil Engineering from Canterbury University, her MSc (first-class honours) in Earth Science from Waikato University and her Bachelor of Engineering from China. Before she came to New Zealand in 1989, she worked as an Environmental Engineer involved in environmental impact assessments of industrial wastes on groundwater quality.  

Research Activities

1. Development and validation of pathogen surrogates for environmental studies

• Leading an $873K Marsden project awarded from New Zealand Royal Society to develop and validate a virus surrogate for groundwater transport studies. In collaboration with Dr Arvind Varsani (University of Canterbury) and Dr Richard Tilley (Victoria University of Wellington).
• Led a 1-year $193K Capability Fund project (2009–2010) in the development and validation of a novel surrogate for assessing the filtration removal of Cryptosporidium parvum through porous media.

2. Colloid-associated contaminant transport in heterogeneous aquifer media

• Led a 3-year $660K Marsden project (2006–2009) awarded by the New Zealand Royal Society “Virus hitchhikers - Do colloids facilitate the rapid transport of viruses to our drinking water wells?”. In collaboration with Professor Keith Hunter (University of Otago), Professor Jirka Simunek (University of California, Riverside) and Professor Markus Flury (Washington State University).
• Completed a project on cadmium transport facilitated by Bacillus subtilus and Escherichia coli in alluvial gravel aquifers. This work was funded by FRST (the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology New Zealand).
• Currently working on colloid-associated phosphorus transport in aquifer media (funded by FRST).

3. Groundwater project against microbial contamination

• Developed an extensive database of microbial removal rates in soils, vadose zones and aquifers by analysing a large body of published field data (Pang 2009). This database is being incorporated into the Groundwater Database of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a user interface will be developed. This database was used to develop New Zealand guidelines for setback distances.
• Led projects on the delineation of spring protection zones in Rotorua District (Contract from Environment BOP) and the determination of setback distances between septic tanks and the bathing shores of Lake Okareka (subcontracted from NIWA for Rotorua District Council).

4. Land-use impact on groundwater quality

• Modelling the cumulative impact of on-site disposal systems on groundwater quality. (Finished a FRST project on HYDRUS-2D modeling of nitrate and bacteria in groundwater. Currently working on nitrate and viruses using HYDRUS-3D and the high performance computer at the University of Canterbury.)
• Modelling bacteria and virus leaching through intact soil lysimeters under effluent irrigation (completed projects in collaboration with Landcare Research and Lincoln University) and cowpat applications (Current FRST project).
• Completed an EnviroLink project evaluating the impact of buried animal carcasses on groundwater microbial quality (including a field case study), in collaboration with Environment Southland.
• Modelling pesticide leaching through soils and into groundwater (completed FRST projects for 7 NZ field trials using HYDRUS-2D and HYDRUS-1D), in collaboration with Landcare Research and regional councils).
• Experimental investigation and modelling of the attenuation and transport of heavy metals and pesticides in some New Zealand aquifer systems (completed FRST projects).

5. Development of analytical solutions for contaminant transport problems 

• Scale-dependent dispersion transport model (FRST project, part of PhD studies).
• Temporal moment analysis considering the interplay of degradation and sorption (FRST project, part of PhD studies).
  

Co-supervision of PhD students:

• 2011-present: Kata Farkas, on development and validation of a rotavirus surrogate for groundwater transport studies. School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
• 2006-2009: Gillian Walshe, on colloid-facilitated virus transport in alluvial gravel aquifer media. Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, New Zealand.
• 2004-2007: Shuang Jiang, on bacteria transport through intact soil lysimeters from irrigation of dairy-shed effluent. Soil Science, Lincoln University, New Zealand.

Professional Recognition:
 

• 2010: Recipient of Marsden Grant Award, New Zealand Royal Society.
• 2009-present: Guest Lecturer, Doctoral Programme in Engineering Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Vienna University of Technology. 
• 2010 March-April: Invited sabbatical with CSIRO Land & Water.
• 2009: Invited Speaker, talk on colloid-associated virus transport, 1st International Conference on Microbial Transport and Survival in Porous Media, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, 10-13 May 2009
• 2008: Recipient of Germany-NZ ISAT Bi-lateral Relations Grant, NZ Royal Society
• 2006: Keynote Speaker (talk on bacteria-facilitated cadmium transport), INTERURBAN II, Water and Organic Matter in Anthropogenic Soils: Dynamics and Processes. Berlin, March 29-31, 2006
• 2006-2009: Recipient of Marsden research grant award, NZ Royal Society.
• 2006-2009: Honorary Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, New Zealand.
• 2006: Science Excellence Award, Institute of Environmental Science & Research Ltd.
• 2002: Shortlist for Science Excellence Award, ESR Ltd.
• 1999: Shortlist for Science Excellence Award, ESR Ltd.
• 1995: Study Award, ESR Ltd.
• Referee for proposals submitted USA National Science Foundation, United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, and many international journals

Current Membership in Professional Organisations:

• American Geophysical Union
• International Water Association
• New Zealand Hydrological Society

Publications