Robert S Mansell
Dr. Mansell is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida.
Biographical Information
NAME: Robert S. Mansell, Ph.D. TITLE: Professor (Vadose Zone Hydrology)
ADDRESS AND AFFILIATION: Soil and Water Science Department
Phone:{352}392-1956 2169 McCarty Hall, PO Box 110290
FAX:{352}392-3902 University of Florida (UF)
E-Mail: rsm
mail
ifasufledu) Gainesville, Florida 326ll-0290
URL: http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/mansell.html
[UF: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS); Hydrologic Sciences Academic Cluster (HSAC); College of Natural Resources & Environment (CNRE)]
ACADEMIC DEGREES: B.S.A.(1960) and M.S.(1963) from the University of Georgia
Ph.D.(1968) from Iowa State University
POSITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: Ass’t. Prof.(1968-1973); Assoc. Prof.(1973-1979
Professor from 1979 through the present
MAJOR RESEARCH INTERESTS: Isothermal/nonisothermal transport of reactive chemicals (i.e., contaminants) during variably-saturated water flow in the vadose zone; multiple-process transport of inorganic and organic cations; coupled water-heat-chemical transport in plastic-covered soil beds used in vegetable production; density-coupled water flow and contaminant transport; and wetland hydrology and water quality.
COURSES TAUGHT: Vadose Zone Hydrology (SOS 6622) for graduate students
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS: (Career Total of 135)
Mansell, R. S., L. Ma, L. R. Ahuja, and S. A. Bloom. 2002. Adaptive grid refinement in numerical models for water flow and solute transport in soil: A review. Vadose Zone Journal 1:__-__ (in print).
Ying Ouyang, Jong Soo Cho, and R. S. Mansell. 2001. Simulated formation and flow of microemulsions during surfactant flushing of contaminated soil. Water Research 36:33-40.
Bloom, S. A., and R. S. Mansell. 2001. An algorithm for generating binary and ternary cation exchange isotherms from known binary selectivity coefficients. SSSAJ 65:1426-1429.
Mansell, R. S., S. A. Bloom, and W. C. Downs. 2001. A multi-process model for transport of hydrazinium and two competing cations in water-saturated soil. J. Environ. Qual. 30:1540-1548.
Shinde, Dilip, A. G. Hornsby, R. S. Mansell, and M. R. Savabi. 2000. A Simulation Model for Fate and Transport of Methyl Bromide in Vegetable Plastic-Mulched Soil Beds. Pest Management Science 56:899-908.
Ouyang, Ying, and R. S. Mansell. 2000. Potential impacts of density-driven solute transport upon groundwater contamination. Soil and Crop Sci. Soc. Florida Proc. 59:150-159.
However if you choose a 6-month leave, that would be fine with me.
Mansell, R. S., S. A. Bloom, and Ge Sun. 2000. A model for Wetland Hydrology: Description and Evaluation. Soil Sci. 165:384-397.
Mansell, R. S., J. H. Dane, Dilip Shinde, and H. H. Liu. 1998. Density-coupled water flow and contaminant transport in soils. In H. M. Selim (ed.). p. 369 – 385. Physical Nonequilibrium in Soils: Modeling and Application. Ann Arbor Press, New York. Mansell, R. S., R. D. Rhue, Y. Ouyang, and S. A. Bloom. 1996. Microemulsion-mediated recovery of residual gasoline from soil columns. J. Soil Contam. 5:309-327.
CONTRACTS AND GRANTS: U.S. Air Force, U.S.D.A. Forestry Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Office of Water Research and Technology, U.S. Army CRREL, U.S.-Australia Cooperative Science Program/National Science Foundation, National Council for Air Quality and Stream Improvement (NCASI), South Florida Water Management District, Battelle Memorial Institute, and Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, IFAS International Programs for Food & Agriculture, University of Florida, and Natural Resources, CSIRO Division of Soils in Australia.
MAJOR CONSULTATIONS: Technical director (1984-86) for a project by Waste Management, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to evaluate water flow into a pilot sanitary landfill; Consultant (6 months in 1984) to Environmental Science and Engineering in Gainesville, Florida on an acid rain/ground water quality monitoring project in Maryland.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Faculty Development Leave (FDL) during 1977-78 as a Visiting Research Fellow at CSIRO in Canberra, Australia; Served 3 months in 1982 as a Technical Expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Panama; FDL (1987) as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia; FDL during 1994 in the Department of Agronomy at LSU; FDL during 1994 as a Visiting Research Scientist at the CSIRO Division of Soils in Canberra, Australia.
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND AWARDS: Soil and Water Science Department Graduate Coordinator (1984-1986); ASA (1995) and SSSA (1996) Fellows; President of Florida Soil and Crop Science Society (1996); UF Professoral Exellence Program Award (1998); Certified Professional Soil Scientist ARPACS (#1663) of ASA/SSSA/CSSSA.
My Personal Story
My story began in the Piedmont Plateau of northern Georgia approximately 64 years ago. I was born the first of four sons to loving Christian parents on a small family farm just north of Atlanta between Roswell and Alpharetta. My mother Lillian is a former school teacher from Ocee and my dad Earl was a farmer and real estate investor.
My brothers—Marcus, Barry, and Denny—and I each had assigned chores around the farm. Chores on the farm began at 5:30 AM seven days a week and often ended around 7:00 PM, with school occuring inbetween on week days. A family dairy cow provided milk and butter, chickens provided eggs and meat, and hogs provided bacon and ham. A large family garden provided fresh vegetables and strawberries.
Production of cotton, corn, oats, wheat, fescue, sweet potatoes, watermelons, and peanuts provided family income. Mules were used for soil cultivation for crops and tractors were used for land preparation and harvesting of hay, wheat, and oats. Hand labor was used for harvesting corn and cotton. We used hoes to “chop” cotton and remove weeds. I have had close ties with soil most of my life.
Each Sunday morning my parents, my brothers, and I attended worship and Sunday School at a community evangelical church. At age 16 I invited Jesus into my life during a church service. However, this invitation was not unconditional on my part. It was a personal struggle authorizing God to “drive the bus called my life”. Consequently, I reinivited Jesus into my life at age 18.
After going off to the University of Georgia in Athens as a student I found myself trying to “run from God.” Later as a doctoral graduate student in soil physics/hydrology at Iowa State University in Ames God led me to Ruth, a lovely Christian girl who had grown up on a corn/soybean/hogs/sheep farm in Iowa. We married and later moved to Gainesville in north Florida when I was 29 where I began a professional career as a faculty member at the University of Florida.
One Sunday at a local church after several months in Gainesville, God convicted me that I was a hypocrite, pretending to be something that I was not. Subsequently I surrendered my life unconditionally to Jesus. This began a fulfilling/joyful personal relationship with Jesus that continues today.
There were many good times in Gainesville, but life as a Christian was not all “wine and roses”. There were times over the years when I was plagued with periods of intense depression and low self esteem. The source of that depression remained a mystery to my understanding for several decades. Sometimes I somehow felt that my lot in life was to be shy, insecure, and periodically depressed.
Many, many times Ruth and I prayed to God asking for healing. The depression would generally go away temporarily but always resurfaced at another time and place. I just could not understand the logic of the situation. Several times I went forward in special church services seeking instantaneous healing, but to no avail. Although God often uses instantaneous healing in answering prayers, fortunately it isn’t the only way. Ruth and I prayed earnestly for my healing over the years.
God’s answer to our prayers came in a most unusual manner. In January 1999 I experienced a series of intense anxiety attacks accompanied by intense fear and was out of work for four months recuperating. Healing came slowly but surely through several different therapies.
Along my path to emotional healing, frequent acupuncture treatment to enhance my body’s immune system, a period of homeopathy treatment utilizing Computron computer diagnostics for boosting my immune system to chronic Epstein Barr virus, regular exercise, and nutrient supplements were also helpful to my overall health. I can now personally attest that God answers prayer, sometimes in some pretty creative ways! Not only were these therapies successful but now I understand that a childhood trauma was the root of the periodic depression.
Today Ruth and I are active members in a small evangelical church in Gainesville. We jointly lead a discussion-format Bible study on Sunday mornings. I serve as treasurer and as an elder. We have three fantastic adult children Angie, Trevor, and Corry; a great son-in-law Jeff, a great daughter-in-law March; and 4 lovely grandchildren: Kate, Conner, Harrison & Savannah.
