In Memoriam: Paul Kostecki

Paul Kostecki, professor emeritus of environmental health sciences and former vice provost for research and interim vice chancellor for research and engagement at UMass Amherst, died in late November. He was 71 years old.

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Kostecki joined the department of environmental health sciences in 1992. His professional career focused on research, education and training in environmental contamination with an emphasis on human and ecological risk assessment and risk management. His work includes soil ingestion estimates for children and adults; establishment of scientifically sound cleanup levels for soil; bioavailability of soil contaminants; fish as toxicological models for contamination assessment; and assessment and management of petroleum contaminated soils.

Kostecki developed and conducted over 60 conferences, workshops and courses both nationally and internationally and made presentations at over 100 national and international meetings. Since 1985, his conference at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Contaminated Soils, Sediments and Water has attracted over 10,000 environmental professionals from over 50 countries. Over the course of his career, Kostecki published over 100 articles and reports, co-edited/co-authored 35 books and secured over $15 million in research support.

Kostecki co-created the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences (AEHS) in 1989 and served as its executive director until 2009. In 2009, he established the AEHS Foundation. AEHS and the Foundation have conducted more than 30 international and national conferences on contaminated soils, sediments, water and energy; developed several ‘Blue Ribbon’ Scientific Committees for Superfund Sites; overseen academic research and provided consulting services to international and national agencies, industries and engineering firms.

A founder of Amherst Scientific Publishers, Kostecki co-created seven peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Soil and Sediment Contamination; Human and Ecological Risk Assessment; Journal of Phytoremediation; Journal of Environmental Forensics; Journal of Children’s Health; Non-Linearity Journal; and Journal of Medical Risks as well as Soils and Groundwater Magazine. In addition, Kostecki co-created the International Society for Environmental Forensics in 2002.

Kostecki also served as the university’s vice provost for research from 2003-08, first in an interim capacity and later in a permanent role, before being named interim vice chancellor for research and engagement, a position he held through 2009. He went on to serve as special advisor for the clean energy china initiative in the Office of the President of the University of Massachusetts from 2009–11.