SoMAS Honors the Passing of Research Professor and Alumnus Frank Roethel
Frank Roethel, one of the first PhD students at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and a research professor and director emeritus of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute at Stony Brook University, passed away on March 26 at the age of 76.
SoMAS recently celebrated Frank’s retirement, with dean Paul Shepson and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine both praising Frank’s legacy at the 2024 Larry Swanson Long Island Environmental Symposium.
Roethel was one of the first recipients of the PhD degree from SoMAS in 1981. His research focused on incineration ash and was instrumental in the construction of The Boathouse on the South Campus of Stony Brook University.
After graduation, Roethel continued his work in the Waste Reduction and Management Institute at SoMAS and served as director from 2020-2024. As a research professor at SoMAS, his primary research interests focused on the environmental issues associated with combustion by-products, including ash from the incineration of garbage and trash. In both marine and terrestrial systems, his research examined a diverse array of potential contaminant exposure including leaching behavior, particulate exposure pathways and beneficial utilization strategies.
Roethel was interested in developing and assessing the performance of secondary materials – primarily construction quality materials made from waste derived combustion products. The uses of ash as an aggregate substitute in concrete, asphalt for roadbase and as a structural fill materials are all currently under investigation.
Working with researchers from other institutions, Roethel assessed the behavior of ash/concrete blocks being used by the Government of Bermuda for shore protection applications. In addition, the use of processed and treated MSW combustion ash as an aggregate substitute in the State of Tennessee and the collecting data for use in a life cycle analysis of the long-term human and ecological risks associated with ash reuse are currently in progress.