Murray B. McBride
Soil Chemistry

910 Bradfield Hall Phone: (607) 255-1728 Fax: (697) 255-8615 email: mbm7@cornell.edu PhD 1974 Michigan State University MS 1972 Michigan State University BS 1971 University of Guelph Murray McBride, Professor of soil chemistry, joined the Cornell faculty in 1975. Prior to that time, he spent a year as a research associate in the Department of Land Resource Science at the University of Guelph. Professor McBride's research interests include the investigation of processes by which metal ions and organic molecules interact with colloidal mineral and organic surfaces of soils. He has published more than 100 articles in journals on surface chemistry and soil chemistry, a textbook of environmental soil chemistry, and has participated in numerous national and international conferences and symposia.

Research Program My research covers a wide range of interests within the fields of soil chemistry and mineralogy. I have written research and review papers on cation exchange reactions and theory, oxidation-reduction reactions at mineral surfaces, soil aluminum and acidity, and heavy metal solubility and availability in soils. Recent research has focussed on the mechanisms by which soil minerals can decompose or modify the structure of toxic organic chemicals found as pollutants, as well as the processes of heavy metal sorption in soils. I have a particular concern with the biological toxicity of heavy metals added in waste materials to soils. I have a long-standing interest in the application of low-energy, non-destructive spectroscopic techniques, such as infrared and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, to the study of soil mineral chemistry under environmentally realistic conditions.  Courses Taught Advanced Soil Chemistry Environmental Chemistry: Soil, Air and Water

Selected Publications McBride, M.B., K.A. Barrett, B. Kim and Beverley Hale. 2006. Cadmium sorption in soils 25 years after amendment with sewage sludge. Soil Science, 171, 21-28. McBride, M.B., K.A. Barrett and C.E. Martinez. 2005. Zinc and cadmium distribution and leaching in a metalliferous peat. Water Air and Soil Pollution. Barrett, K.A. and M.B. McBride. 2005. Oxidative degradation of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonate by manganese oxide. Environ. Sci. Technol., 39, 9223-9228. McBride, M.B. 2005. Molybdenum and copper uptake by forage grasses and legumes grown on a metal-contaminated sludge site. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 36, 2489-2501. Martinez, C.E., A.R. Jacobson and M.B. McBride. 2004. Lead phosphate minerals: Solubility and dissolution by model and natural ligands. Environ. Sci. Technol. 38, 5584-5590. McBride, M.B. 2003. Toxic metals in sewage sludge-amended soils: has promotion of beneficial use discounted the risks? Advances in Environmental Research, 8, 5-19.