Dr. Whicker is primarily known for his work in radioecology, environmental dose reconstruction, and ecological risk assessment. His specific interests include the behavior and transport of radionuclides in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the effects of radiation on plant and animal populations, and the development of computer simulation models to predict multipathway doses and risks to plants, animals and people from radioactive contamination. He teaches graduate level courses and guides graduate student research in these areas. Research in recent years has been focused primarily on sites within the Department of Energy's nuclear complex, although he has been involved with numerous international projects.

Current projects include field studies on the transport kinetics of radionuclides and metals in lakes at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, research on the genetic effects and ecological implications of chronic low-level radiation on aquatic organisms, and development of ecological risk assessment methods for environmental radioactivity. Opportunities exist for graduate and post-doctoral student participation in these projects.

Selected references:

Whicker, F. W. and T. B. Kirchner. 1987. PATHWAY: A dynamic foodchain model to predict radionuclide ingestion after fallout deposition. Health Physics 52(6):717-737.

Whicker, F. W., J. E. Pinder, III, J. W. Bowling, J. J. Alberts and I. L. Brisbin. 1990. Distribution of long-lived radionuclides in an abandoned reactor cooling reservoir. Ecol. Monogr. 60(4):471-496.

Breshears, D. D., F. W. Whicker, and T. E. Hakonson. 1993. Orchestrating environmental research and assessment for remediation. Ecological Applications 3(4):590-594.

Whicker, F. W., T. G. Hinton, D. J. Niquette, and J. Seel. 1993. Health risks to hypothetical residents of a radioactively contaminated lake bed. pp. 619-624. In: U.S. Department of Energy. Meeting The Challenge: ER'93 Environmental Remediation Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

Peters, E. L., S. A. Ibrahim, C. R. Tracy, F. W. Whicker, and K. A. Nagy. 1995. Estimation of the metabolic rate of the desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) by a radionuclide technique. Physiological Zoology 68(2):316-341.

Whicker, F. W., T. B. Kirchner, L. R. Anspaugh, and Y. C. Ng. 1996. Ingestion of Nevada Test Site Fallout: Internal Dose Estimates . Health Physics, 71(4):477-486.

Whicker, F. W., T. G. Hinton, and D. J. Niquette. 1997. The effects of a partial drawdown on the dynamics of 137Cs in an abandoned reactor cooling reservoir. Studies in Environmental Science. Elsevier, Oxford.

Whicker, F.W. 1997. Impacts of large radionuclide releases on plant and animal populations. pp. 74-93. In: Health Impacts of Large Releases of Radionuclides. Ciba Foundation, London, UK.

Mohler, H.J., F.W. Whicker, and T.G. Hinton. 1997. Temporal trends of 137Cs in an abandoned reactor cooling reservoir. J. Environmental Radioactivity 37(3):251-268.

Whicker, F.W. 1997. Editorial-Radioecology: Coming of Age. J. Environmental Radioactivity 35(2):340-349.

Stephens, J.A., F.W. Whicker, and S.A. Ibrahim. 1998. Sorption of Cs and Sr to profundal sediments in a Savannah River Site reservoir. J. Environmental Radioactivity 38(3):293-315.