Somerset, Vernon S.

Vernon Somerset obtained his PhD in Electro-analytical Chemistry in 2007 at the University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town. With more than 15 years of experience in Environmental Chemistry research, he has worked on various projects focussing on the sources, transport pathways and fates of the inorganic and organic pollutants in the environment. Since joining the CSIR, he has been involved in research activities investigating different aspects of improving the analytical techniques for the quantification of the different pollutants in water, sediment and biota samples. This further includes the determination of bioaccumulation of organic and inorganic pollutants in sediment and invertebrates, in order to assess the eco-toxicity of these compounds and the threat to human health in aquatic ecosystems. Vernon is currently supervising Doctoral and Master’s degree students on various environmental projects in collaboration with Proffs. E. Iwuoha, P. Baker and E. Pool at the University of the Western Cape. Vernon is further a reviewer of multi-disciplinary project proposals for the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa. He is the author and co-author of more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, technical reports and conference presentations. Furthermore, he serves as an Editorial Board member for Scientific Journals International (USA) and The International Journal for Chemical Research (India). Vernon is also an external reviewer of manuscripts for publication in Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Fuel, Journal of Environmental Management, Desalination, Environmental Technology, Material Research Bulletin, Waste Management, Desalination, Analytical Letters, Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, and Water Research, amongst others.