Robert Kurkjian

Robert Kurkjian, Ph.D Program Manager/Principal Scientist, Tetra Tech

Robert Kurkjian, PhD has more than 26 years of experience conducting complex environmental investigations; evaluating surface water, ground water, and drinking water quality; performing sediment studies; remediating soil and groundwater; performing air quality studies, and managing hazardous wastes. Dr. Kurkjian has investigated and/or remediated numerous contaminated sites in the U.S. and internationally including: mining areas; power plants; bulk chemical and petroleum storage facilities; shipyards; electrical switching and transformer yards; metal plating, chemical, and aerospace facilities; lead battery recycling facilities; burn ash and solid waste dump sites; and U.S. state and federal Superfund sites. Dr. Kurkjian provides litigation support, experttechnical review, and strategic planning regarding environmental impacts, land management, and Brownfield redevelopment. Dr. Kurkjian has worked in Armenia for more than a decade on various environmental projects where he directed operations at the American University of Armenia’s Environmental Research and Management Center, and consulted with the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection, the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) Development Programme, UN Environmental Programme, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Dr. Kurkjian has been a Blacksmith/Pure Earth Senior Technical Advisor since 2012. He provides technical guidance on a number of projects in S.E. Asia and the Former Soviet Union. Projects include mitigation of hazardous waste contamination and urban redevelopment in Indonesia, the evaluation of a contaminated river system and adjacent fish ponds in the Philippines, and investigation of mining impacts in Armenia.