Dr. Foos uses low-temperature geochemistry and clay mineralogy to solve a wide variety of geologic problems in environmental geology, petroleum geology, soil science and economic geology. Her latest research projects deal with aqueous geochemistry of surface waters associated with abandoned surface and subsurface coal mines, natural springs in an urban setting, and adsorption of heavy metals on clay sized soils and sediment. In the past she has used an interdisciplinary approach combining geochemistry, clay mineralogy, soil science and carbonate sedimentology to study subaerial exposure surfaces on modern and ancient carbonates. With graduate students she has worked on the petroleum geology of the Cambro-Ordovician Knox Dolomite and Rose Run Sandstone reservoirs in Ohio. In addition to her geologic investigations Dr. Foos has worked with the Chemical Engineers at the University of Akron on the characterization of metal and zeolite catalyst. She has also worked with local environmental firms on the distribution of Cr and As in contaminated soils, clay-organic adsorption and the quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis of respiratory silica.