Matt Dunn, PhD – Oceanographer & PFAS Scientist

Official job title: Contaminant Modeler & Ocean Science PFAS Lead

ORCID: 0000-0002-8902-8434

Google Scholar Page: click here

LinkedIn: click here

ResearchGate: click here

Topics of interest: PFAS, Climate Change, Carbon Capture & Sequestration, Alternative Fuels, Passive Sampling, Emerging Contaminants, Chemical Oceanography

My current employers:

RPS Ocean Science – Tetra Tech: https://www.rpsgroup.com/services/oceans-and-coastal/

University of Rhode Island (affiliate & free lance journalist): https://web.uri.edu/steep/

My peer-reviewed publications:

Dunn, M., Becanova, J., Vojta, S., Pickard, H., & Lohmann, R. 2025. Perfluorinated Carbon Chain Length Drives Uptake of Diverse Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Field-Deployed Passive Samplers. Environmental Science & Technology Water. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.4c01164

Dunn, M., Vojta, S., Soltwedel, T., von Appen, W.J., & Lohmann, R. 2024. Passive sampler derived profiles and mass flows of Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) across the Fram Strait in the North Atlantic. Environmental Science & Technology Letters.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00835

Dunn, M., Noons, N., Vojta, S., Becanova, J., Pickard, H., Sunderland, E.M., & Lohmann, R. 2023. Unregulated Active and Closed Textile Mills Represent a Significant Vector of PFAS Contamination. Environmental Science & Technology Water. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.3c00439

Dunn, M., Becanova, J., Snook, J., & Lohmann, R. 2023. Rebuttal to Correspondence on “Calibration of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acid Uptake Rates By A Tube Passive Sampler In Water”. Environmental Science & Technology Water. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsestwater.3c00195

Dunn, M., Becanova, J., Snook, J., Ruyle, B., & Lohmann, R. 2023. Calibration of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acid Uptake Rates By A Tube Passive Sampler In Water. Environmental Science & Technology Water. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00384.

Morales-McDevitt, M., Dunn, M., Habib, A., Vojta, S., Becanova, J., & Lohmann, R. 2021. Poly- and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Air and Water from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 41(1). https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.5255

Invited Presentation

  • American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring 2021 Conference Oral Presentation: “Field validation of a novel passive sampler for monitoring PFAS remediation”
  • Gordon Research Conference Environmental Sciences: Water 2022 Poster Presentation: “Validation of a novel tube passive sampler for perfluorinated alkyl acids”
  • PFAS In Our World 2020 Poster Presentation: “A laboratory validation of a passive sampler for PFAS”
  • New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) Fall 2022 Oral Presentation: “Seasonal and source dynamics of PFAS in a temperate estuarine environment”. *Awarded best student oral presentation.
  • Superfund Research Program Conference 2022 Oral Presentation: “Validation of a novel cyclodextrin sorbent for use within a PFAS passive sampler”
  • Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) 2022 Symposium Poster Presentation: “Calibration of perfluorinated alkyl acid uptake by a novel tube passive sampler in water”
  • 4th Annual Environmental Business Council of New England Conference 2023 Oral Presentation: “Anthropogenic PFAS Backgrounds Across Rhode Island”
  • University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment Fall 2023 Seminar Presentation: “Fluorinated Feedback Loop: PFAS End Up In The Ocean, But Never Truly Leave Us”.
  • SETAC Europe 2024 Poster Presentation: “Passive Sampler Derived Profiles and Mass Flows of Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) Across the Fram Strait in the North Atlantic”.
  • Northeast Science of PFAS Conference 2024 Oral Presentation: “PFAS Present a New Fluorinated Feedback Loop”.
  • Battelle Sediments Conference 2025 Panel Presentation: “Assessing PFAS in Sediments: The Importance of Sediment-Water Dynamics in Chemical Fate and Transport, Risk Assessment, and Developing Regulation”.

Science Communication & Research Translation Examples