Oil Patch Bits: UIC UMIAQ Environmental hires Dr. Keith Torrance

Dr. Keith Torrance has joined UIC UMIAQ as an associate environmental geologist within the newly formed environmental division. Torrance is a certified professional geologist, a chartered geologist, a European geologist and an environmental professional for environmental site assessment. He has a diverse background that includes work on mining and remediation projects throughout Alaska, North America and Europe over a career spanning 25 years. Torrance will be working to increase the scope of UIC UMIAQ’s environmental project portfolio and support the expanding environmental team.

A native of Scotland, Torrance has worked in the United States since 1989 and has been an Alaska resident since 2010. He has a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Glasgow, a master’s degree in environmental engineering and was awarded a Ph.D. in 2012 for research on the mobility of arsenic and other toxic metals in surface water impacted by mine sites in Alaska. Torrance has specific expertise in regulatory compliance, site assessment, environmental geochemistry, analytical chemistry, surface and groundwater hydrology, mine permitting, minerals exploration, mercury mobility and the evaluation and remediation of contaminated sites. He has presented at numerous international conferences and has published in peer-reviewed journals on environmental science.

Torrance is also a part-time adjunct professor within the geology department at the University of Alaska Anchorage where he teaches environmental geology and serves as a member of the department’s industrial advisory committee.