For Immediate Release

Contact: Kate Worster, director of communication, 641-269-3404

Grinnell College presents Alumni Awards: Dr. Mitchell D. Erikson '72

Dr. Mitchell D. Erickson, director of the Department of Homeland Security's Environmental Measurements Laboratory in Manhattan, was presented with an Alumni Award by Grinnell College on June 2 at the Alumni Assembly held on the College's campus during his 35th reunion. The College's Alumni Council presents these awards annually to graduates who have distinguished themselves by their extraordinary contributions of service to the College, their communities, or their professions.

The College's citation notes: "From his distinguished 30-year career in environmental science to his current work of preventing nuclear events as a member of the Department of Homeland Security, this alumnus has used his chemistry background to address some of the country's most significant challenges."

After earning his B.A. in Chemistry from Grinnell in 1972, Dr. Erickson earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, and served stints in three highly regarded environmental research labs. He developed techniques to analyze a range of environmental substances and wrote Analytical Chemistry of PCBs. This book is regarded as the definitive book on PCBs, which are toxic organic compounds that have been linked to cancer. He has authored hundreds papers and scientific reports on a range of topics, and his invention of a new technology for analyzing radiological contamination earned an R&D 100 Award from R&D magazine. In 1997, he became the director of the Environmental Measurements Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, which is responsible for monitoring radioactive substances in the environment. Since being integrated into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the Laboratory's responsibilities have included protecting against and responding to radiological and nuclear events.

Grinnell College, founded in 1846, is a private, residential liberal arts college with some 1500 students, located in Grinnell, Iowa. The College awards the Bachelor of Arts in 25 areas of study, and is consistently ranked among the top 20 liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report.