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College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Department of Technology and Society
HomeAdministrationCore FacultyDavid Tonjes

David Tonjes

PhotoResearch Associate Professor

Ph.D., Stony Brook University

Courses Offered: 

Active and Recent Funding

  • Town of Brookhaven (LI,NY): "Waste Management & Innovation." 2020, $33,000.
  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Environmental Protection Fund): "New York State Solid Waste Characterization" (with E. Hewitt; Gang He, co-PI). 2019-2024, $4,235,776.
  • Environmental Research and Education Fund: "The Influence of Social Norms on Recycling Behavior in Urban Multi-Family Buildings" (E.  Hewitt, PI). 2019-2022, $149,984
  • Town of Brookhaven (LI, NY): "Waste Management and Innovation." 2019, $30,000.
  • New York State Association for Solid Waste Management: "Life Cycle Analysis Models Explained." 2019, $12,122.
  • New York State Association for Solid Waste Management: "Local Compliance with State Regulations " (research intern). 2018-2019, $7,999.
  • Town of Brookhaven (LI, NY). "Waste Management and Innovation." 2018, $30,000.

Research Interests:

Solid Waste Management:

  •      Processes (waste generation, waste composition, recycling)
  •      Impacts (primarily to groundwater)
  •      Energy potential of landfills
  •      Policies (local programs, Extended Producer Responsibility, economics)

Impacts to Ground Water from Local Waste Management Facilities
Long Island Ground Water Dynamics
Sanitary Waste Management Impacts on Local Estuaries

Stony Brook University Research Groups:

Waste Data and Analysis Center (Director)

Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology 

Long Island Groundwater research Institute

Waste Reduction and Management Institute

Some Recent Publications:

Tonjes, DJ, O. Aphale, L. Clark, and KT Thyberg. 2018. Conversion from dual stream to single stream recycling results in nuanced effects on revenues and waste stream amounts and composition. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 138:151-159. 

Tonjes, DJ, AE McElroy, RK Barnes-Pohjonen, DV Ninivaggi, W. Dawydiak, GT Greene, and BJ Brownawell. 2018. Fate of methoprene in temperate salt marsh ditches following aerial applications. Science of the Total Environment 642:394-407.

Thyberg, KL, and DJ Tonjes. 2017. The environmental impacts of alternative food waste treatment technologies in the US. Journal of Cleaner Production 158:101-108.

Aphale, O., and DJ Tonjes. 2017. Multi-model validation assessment of groundwater flow simulation models using area metric approach. Groundwater 55(2):219-226.

Chai, X., DJ Tonjes, and D. Mahajan. 2016. Methane emissions as energy reservoir: Context, scope, causes and mitigation strategies. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 56:33-70.

Thyberg, KL, and DJ Tonjes. 2016. Drivers of food wastage and their implications for sustainable policy. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 106:110-123.

Thyberg, KL, DJ Tonjes, and J. Gurevitch. 2015. Quantification of food waste disposal in the United States: a meta-analysis.Environmental Science and Technology. 49(24):13946-13953.

Mahajan, D., DJ Tonjes, S. Mamalis, R. Boudreaux, JK Hasty, D. Xin, Y. Zhao, J. Cao, W. Zhao and X. Chai. 2015. Effective landfill gas management strategies for methane control and reuse technology. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 7:041511 (doi: 10.1063/1.4929383) (special topic on: U.S. and China Ecopartnerships: Approaches to Challenges in Energy and Environment)

Thyberg, KL, and DJ Tonjes. 2015. A management framework for municipal solid waste systems and its application to food waste prevention. Systems 3:133-151 (doi:10:3390/systems3030133) (special issue: Systems Thinking and Management Sciences Methodologies)

Recent Publications with Students:

Tonjes, D.J., O. Aphale, L. Clark, and K.L. Thyberg. 2015. Analysis of the Change from Dual Stream to Single Stream Recycling for the Town of Brookhaven (Long Island, NY). Waste Reduction and Management Institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University. 64 pp. Available Online

Aphale, O., K.L. Thyberg, and D.J. Tonjes. 2015. Differences in waste generation, waste composition, and source separation across three waste districts in a New York suburb. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 99:19-28.

Song, H-G, M. Restivo, A van de Rijt, L. Scarlatos, D. Tonjes, and A. Orlov. 2015. The hidden gender effect in online group work: An experimental study of team behavior under anonymity. Computers in Human Behavior 50:274-282.

Mallikarjun, S., O. Aphale, and D.J. Tonjes. 2014. Performance Evaluation of the Town of Brookhaven Waste Districts. Waste Reduction and Management institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University. 22 pp. Available Online

Greene, K.L., and DJ Tonjes.  2014.  Degradable plastics and their potential to affect solid waste systems.  pp. 91-102.  In: Brebbia, CA, G. Passerini, and H. Itoh, eds. Waste Management and the Environment VII, V. 180 in WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment. WIT Press, Southampton, UK.  524 pp.

Aphale, O., and D.J. Tonjes.  2014.  Hydrology in the Vicinity of the Town of Brookhaven (Suffolk County, NY) Landfill.  Waste Reduction and Management Institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University.  43 pp.

Merill, L., and DJ Tonjes.  2014.  A review of the hyporheic zone, stream restoration, and means to enhance denitrification. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 44(21):2337-2379. Available Online

Greene, K.L., and D.J. Tonjes.  2014.  Quantitative assessments of municipal waste management systems: Using different indicators to compare and rank programs in New York State.  Waste Management 34:825-836. 

Recent Posters and Published Abstracts (with students)

Tonjes, DJ, and P. Nguyen. 2018. Groundwater quality monitoring upgradient of the Town of Brookhaven landfill in the Upper Glacial aquifer: (1982-2016): a preliminary report. Expanded abstract, Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York. Available Online.

Clark, L., D. Tonjes, and D. Mahajan. 2018. Custom landfill gas modeling at a multi-phase landfill. Poster. Advanced Energy Conference.

Clark, L., D. Tonjes, and D. Mahajan. 2017. Improving custom gas modeling at a multi-phase landfill. Poster. Canadian Waste-to-Resource Conference.

Clark, L., D. Tonjes, and D. Mahajan. 2017. Improving landfill gas modeling at a multi-phase landfill. Poster. Technology Management and Policy Graduate Consortium.

Smith, KK, and DJ Tonjes.  2017.  An outlook on the future of packaging: an engineering project based method for STEM education. Poster. EQUALS (Excellence and Quality in Academic Life in STEM).

Smith, KK, and DJ Tonjes.  2016.  An outlook on the future of packaging: a new project based method for engineering in STEM.  Conference paper, ASEE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference.  Available Online

Aphale, O., and D.J. Tonjes. 2015. Multi-model validation assessment of groundwater flow simulation using area metric approach. Expanded abstract, Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York. Available Online

Aphale, O., and D.J. Tonjes. 2015. Adoption of distribution-based area metric to evaluate the validity of groundwater simulation models. Poster. 2015 National Groundwater Summit. (Winner, Farvolden Award).

Some Recent Talks:

LCA models explained (Krista Thyberg listed as co-presenter). Presentation at: Federation of New York State Solid Waste Associations Solid Waste & Recycling Conference with Trade Show, Bolton Landing, NY, May 20, 2019.

Some (very) preliminary reports on ambient water quality, Upper Glacial aquifer, near the Brookhaven landfill. (Phuong Nguyen, co-presenter). Presentation at the Twenty-fifth Annual Conference, Geology of Long Island and metropolitan New York. Long Island Geologists, Stony Brook University, April 14, 2018.

When compost does bad things to groundwater. Presentation at Global Waste Management Symposium 2018, Indian Wells, CA. February 13, 2018.

The recent Long Island drought.  Presentation at the Twenty-fourth Annual Conference, Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York.  Long Island Geologists, Stony Brook University.  April 8, 2017

When compost does bad things to groundwater (with Andrew Rapiejko, Suffolk County Department of Health Services).Webinar, Solid Waste Association of North America. June 1, 2016.

Groundwater head monitoring in the vicinity of the Brookhaven landfill, 2015.  Presentation at the Twenty-third Annual Conference, Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York.  Long Island Geologists, Stony Brook University.  April 16, 2016.

Impacts of a change from dual-stream to single-stream recycling.  Presentation at 2016 Global Waste Management Symposium, Indian Wells, CA, February 1, 2016.

Report on water level monitoring in the vicinity of the Brookhaven Landfill, 2014.  Presentation at the Twenty-second Annual Conference, Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York.  Long Island Geologists, Stony Brook University.  April 11, 2015.

Long Island Solid Waste Management Reports

Other Research Projects:

Aphale, O., and D.J. Tonjes.  2014.  Hydrology in the Vicinity of the Town of Brookhaven (Suffolk County, NY) Landfill.  Waste Reduction and Management Institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University.  43 pp.

Aphale, O., and DJ Tonjes. 2013.  Geology in the Vicinity of the Town of Brookhaven (Suffolk County, NY) Landfill.  Waste Reduction and Management Institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University.  100 pp.

Tonjes, D.J., and K.L. Greene.  2013.  Degradable Plastics and Solid Waste Management Systems.   Waste Reduction and Management Institute, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University.  79 pp.

PhD Committees:

Omkar Aphale (Department of Technology and Society)(advisor) (2015): Multi-model Validation Assessment of Groundwater Flow Simulation Models Using Area Metric Approach

Daniel J. Rozell (Department of Technology and Society) (2015): On Using Risk-Benefit Analysis to Assess and Manage Controversial Research

Krista Thyberg (Department of Technology and Society) (advisor) (2015):  Food Waste and Sustainability: Quantifying Food Waste Disposal and Evaluating the Environmental Impacts of Technologies and Policies

Saurabh Patel (Department of Materials Science, Stony Brook University) (2013): Development of a Green Cost-Efficient Technology for Biogas Purification to Pipeline Quality Natural Gas

Masters Projects Supervised:

  • Matthew Scheiner (2008): Aspects of Decision Making in Small Package Wastewater Treatment Plants
  • Iftekharul Awal (2008): Managing Natural Resources: Natural Gas
  • Emmanuel-Ulrick Noel (2009): Municipal Solid Waste Management and Tourism in Developing Countries: The Case of Cote des Arcadins, Haiti
  • Omkar Aphale (2009): Technological Risk Assessment of the Occupational Risks to the Refuse Collectors in the New York City
  • Matthew Bell (2009): Feasibility of Small Nuclear Reactors without Onsite Refueling
  • Debora Engelhardt (2009): Geothermal Systems on Long Island (Department of Geosciences)
  • James Cressy (2010): Development of and Recent Changes in Phase I Environmental Site Assessments: An Environmental Professional’s Perspective.
  • David Edelstein (2010): Biochar: A Promising Technology for Carbon Sequestration and Rural Development
  • Jordan Doroski (2010): Optimizing the Potential for Microalgal Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel Source
  • Allyson Feld (2010): Energy Assessment of Smithtown, NY
  • Krista Greene (2010): Inconsistencies in Municipal Solid Waste Measurement: Implications for Recycling Program Comparisons
  • John Tumino (2011): The Extent Biometrics Contributed to the Stability and Security of Iraq from 2008-2009
  • Thomas Melia (2011): An Overview of Groundwater Remediation on Long Island
  • Liz Zelnick (2011): Using Renewable Energy to Meet Long Island's Energy Needs
  • Leanne Merill (2011): Denitrification in the Hyporheic Zone: The Importance of Incorporating the Hyporheic Zone in Management Plans (Department of Ecology and Evolution)
  • Fabian Perez (2012): How Can a Zero Waste Policy Help Create Sustainability in Solid Waste Management?
  • Peter Solaski (2012): The Primacy of Information in the Adoption of Energy Efficient Technologies
  • Amruta Rajendra (2012): Temporal Stability of Nutrients in a Subterranean Estuary: Observations from an Intertidal Cluster Well, Stony Brook Harbor, NY
  • Kevin Reed (2012): Feasibility Analysis and Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power on Long Island
  • Eugene Silberstein (2013): Waste Heat Recovery
  • Alok Shrestha (2013): Analysis of Superfund and Its Operation
  • Kiuk Kang (2014): Analysis of the Phenomenon and Problem of Reserve Power in South Korea
  • Christine Perozzi (2016): Numerical Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Modeling Using a Finite Difference Method for an Area of Brookhaven, New York (Department of Geosciences)
  • Joseph Vicino (2017): NYU Langone Medical Center Substation: A Project Assessment
  • Pamela Loaiza (2019): An Evaluation of LEED and Biophilic Design

     

Office: 1427 Computer Science, on campus M 9-6, T 9-5, Th 10-4
Phone: 631-632-8518
Email: david.tonjes@stonybrook.edu

 

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Core Faculty