Background

Mahir Tajwar is a 1st year Ph.D. student in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at Vanderbilt University. He completed his Master’s degree in Geoscience at Auburn University before relocating to Nashville to pursue his Ph.D. in Environmental Science as a Vanderbilt College of Arts & Science Fellow. Mahir works in the John C. Ayers' Lab, where his research centers on understanding water quality and studying stream metabolism through primary productivity and ecosystem respiration in Tennessee streams.

Mahir is passionate about research in the broad dimension of environmental pollution in relation to geochemistry, hydrology, microplastic characterization, spatial analysis, and risk assessment. His research at Auburn University focused on hydrogeochemistry and the presence of contaminants in groundwater within coastal areas, addressing critical issues of water quality. He has received several research grants and is also is a recipient of the Dean’s Research Award for his research at Auburn University. He also presented his work at international conferences and published studies on microplastic and groundwater contamination.

During his time as a graduate student at Auburn University, Mahir served as a teaching assistant for introductory undergraduate courses and is currently employed as a graduate teaching assistant for the course ‘Dynamic Earth Lab’ at Vanderbilt University. Furthermore, he has worked as a summer research assistant at the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

Research Interests

Geochemistry, Hydrology, Microplastic, Spatial Analysis, and GIS

Latest

• Aug 10, 2023: Started Ph.D. as a College of Arts and Science Fellow in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Vanderbilt University.

• Jul 07, 2023: Our paper titled 'Risk assessment of microplastic pollution in an industrial region of Bangladesh' has been accepted to the Heliyon-Cell Press Journal of Elsevier.

• May 06, 2023: Completion of second master's degree from Auburn University with a CGPA of 4.0.

• Apr 26, 2023: Successfully defended my Master's Thesis on 'Geochemical Characterization of Groundwater and Mineralogical Assessment in Hatiya Island, Southeastern Coastal Region of Bangladesh' at Auburn University.

• Mar 29, 2023: Received the 'College of Science and Mathematics Dean’s Research Award 2023' in the Master's program of Auburn University for 2023.

• Mar 18, 2023: Received the 'GAB Outstanding Graduate Student Award 2023' in the Master's program of Auburn University for 2023.

• Mar 07, 2023: Our book chapter titled ‘Abundance and Distribution of MPs and NPs in Soil: A Global Scenario’ has been published in the book titled ‘Micro and Nanoplastics in Soil - Threats to Plant-Based Food' by Springer Nature Publications.

• Feb 26, 2023: Our paper titled 'Hydrochemical Characterization and Quality Assessment of Groundwater in Hatiya Island, Southeastern Coastal Region of Bangladesh' has been accepted to the Water Journal of MDPI. 

• Dec 10, 2022: Received the 'Bangladesh Sweden Trust Fund' from the Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh.

• Nov 26, 2022: Our paper titled 'Assessment of microplastics as contaminants in a coal mining region' has been accepted to the Heliyon-Cell Press Journal of Elsevier.

• Oct 09, 2022: Presented my work on the Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment Of Groundwater in Hatiya Island, Southern Coastal Region of Bangladesh at the GSA Connects 2022.

• Apr 29, 2022: Our paper titled 'Microplastic contamination in the sediments of Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh' has been accepted to the Regional Studies of Marine Science Journal of Elsevier.

• Mar 04, 2022: Succesfully proposed my thesis on Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment Of Groundwater in Hatiya Island, Southern Coastal Region of Bangladesh to my committee members at Auburn University.

• Oct 09, 2021: Presented my work on the Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Arsenic Contamination in the Coastal Aquifers of Hatiya Island, Bangladesh at the GSA Connects 2021.

• Jul 01, 2021: Received the 'Geological Society of America (GSA) grant' for my master's thesis research.

• Apr 13, 2021: Our paper titled 'Characterization and Spatial Abundance of Microplastics in the Coastal Regions of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: An Integration of Field, Laboratory, and GIS Techniques' has been accepted to Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal of Taylor & Francis.

• Apr 02, 2021: Presented a talk on the 'Identification and Spatial Distribution of Microplastics in the Coastal Regions of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh' at the GSA Southeastern Section - 70th Annual Meeting - 2021.

• Feb 10, 2021: Our paper titled 'Soil Contamination Assessment by Trace Elements in Barapukuria Coal Mine Region, Bangladesh' has been accepted to the Environmental and Earth Sciences Research Journal of the International Information and Engineering Technology Association (IIETA).

• Mar 30, 2020: Successfully defended my Master's Thesis on 'Identification and Characterization of Microplastics in the Coastal Regions of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh' at the University of Dhaka.