Jennifer McIntosh named inaugural Dr. Thomas Meixner Endowed Professor
Jennifer McIntosh has been appointed the University of Arizona College of Science's inaugural Dr. Thomas Meixner Endowed Professor in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences.
College of Science Dean Carmala Garzione and Peter Troch, head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, appointed McIntosh to the position in consultation with the Meixner family.
Jennifer McIntosh.
Meixner, a renowned hydrologist, U of A professor and former head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, was shot and killed on campus on Oct. 5, 2022. A former graduate student in the department was sentenced in June to life in prison for the murder.
The Dr. Thomas Meixner Professorship in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences was created by the University of Arizona as a tribute to Meixner and his legacy of research and mentorship on campus.
McIntosh is as a University Distinguished Scholar, professor and associate head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, or HAS. She is also a professor of geosciences at the U of A and an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan.
"Being the inaugural Thomas Meixner Endowed Professor is deeply meaningful for me," McIntosh said. "Tom was a dear mentor, co-teacher and close research collaborator of mine. I am extremely grateful to Kathleen, Sean and Brendan Meixner and their extended family for their immense support of HAS. I hope to encourage others in the way that Tom created opportunities and connections for so many of those around him and give back to our local community through research, education and outreach."
Meixner recruited McIntosh to the U of A in 2006 and mentored her in establishing their joint hydrochemistry laboratory. They developed and co-taught Fundamentals of Water Quality, a core course for students in their department and across campus. They also conducted research together on watershed biogeochemistry in mountains across Arizona and New Mexico to protect the water towers that provide water for cities.
McIntosh conducting research on local wetlands geochemistry with a University of Arizona class in 2023.
"Our family is proud that Dr. Jennifer McIntosh has been appointed as the inaugural Dr. Thomas Meixner Endowed Professor," said Kathleen Meixner, wife of Thomas Meixner. "Tom highly respected Dr. McIntosh as a colleague, fellow teacher and friend. Her impact on the field of hydrogeochemistry is profound, and we hope that this professorship will continue to support her outstanding work and contributions to her field and community."
McIntosh's hydrochemistry research uses chemistry and isotopes to unravel the origin, flow paths and age of groundwater and how it interacts with rocks and sediments and supports microbial activity.
Her work is contributing to scientists' understanding of groundwater and mineral resources, including lithium and other critical elements; storage of energy by-products like carbon dioxide and spent nuclear fuel; and natural geologic sources of contamination.
McIntosh has published 118 peer-reviewed papers in leading international journals. McIntosh is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and CIFAR, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Earth4D: Subsurface Science and Exploration Program.
She has also received numerous awards for her research, teaching and student mentoring, including the 2021 Fred L. and Frances J. Oliver Lectureship in Texas Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Geological Survey Star Award, and the U of A Department of Physics' Blitzer Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Physics and Related Sciences.
As part of her educational outreach efforts, McIntosh met with elementary students in southern Arizona to teach them about groundwater.
"I can't think of anyone more deserving than Jen to receive this honor," Troch said. "Her research and teaching closely align with Tom's expertise, and together they have established HAS as a world leader in hydrogeochemistry and water quality."
McIntosh regularly serves as a technical expert for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academies of Sciences, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Many of the students and postdoctoral fellows McIntosh has advised come from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups, and they have gone on to positions in academia, government agencies and environmental consulting. In addition, McIntosh is dedicated to education and public outreach, leading a K-12 program at the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium and visiting local classrooms to teach hands-on groundwater activities.
"Dr. Jennifer McIntosh is both talented and passionate as a researcher, teacher, mentor and academic leader, embodying the very same impacts that Thomas Meixner had on our community," Garzione said. "Dr. Meixner would be honored to know that Jen is the inaugural holder of this professorship."
Scholarship fund and Oct. 4 service for Meixner
The endowed professorship was established in addition to a separate scholarship fund, the Dr. Thomas Meixner Memorial Fund, which supports full-time undergraduate and graduate students majoring in hydrology and atmospheric sciences. Donations to the scholarship fund can be made online.
A nondenominational service will be held to honor Meixner two years after his death. The service is open to the community and will take place on Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center, 1615 E. Second St. The service will also be streamed online.
A version of this article originally appeared on the College of Science website.
