Environmental Science Faculty 


The success of the FAU’s Environmental Science Program depends on its diverse and talented faculty. They are the mentors, advisors, and research colleagues that give the program its academic reputation and desirability for prospective students. Collectively, faculty in the Environmental Science Program have appointments in all departments in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Sciences as well as departments in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the College of Business.

 

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Dr. Rindy Anderson
Biological Sciences
andersonr@fau.edu
(561) 297-5681



Research Interest
Behavioral ecology, cognition, avian biology, bioacoustic

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Dr. John Baldwin
Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development
jbaldwin@fau.edu
(954) 236-1151

Research Interest
Conservation biology and population genetics

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Dr. Tiffany (Roberts) Briggs
Director of the Environmental Sciences Program, Interim Chair of Geosciences,
Biological Sciences
briggst@fau.edu
(561) 297-4669

Research Interest
Coastal geomorphology/geology

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Dr. Randy Brooks
Biological Sciences
wbrooks@fau.edu
(561) 297-3888

Research Interest
Behavioral/physiological ecology of marine organisms

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Dr. Xavier Comas
Geosciences
comas@fau.edu
(561)297-3256

Research Interest
Peatland Geophysics: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Resistivity and Induced Polarization (IP) imaging, EM31 

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Dr. Kate Detwiler
Anthropology
kdetwile@fau.edu
(561) 297-1355

Research Interest
Primate hybridization and speciation, molecular primatology, primate behavioral ecology, conservation of African monkeys and their rainforest habitats.

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Dr. Niwadiuto Esiobu
Biological Sciences
neseiobu@fau.edu
(954)236-1128

Research Interest
Environmental microbiology, drug resistance, antimicrobials and contaminants

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Dr. Maria Fadiman
Geosciences
mfadiman@fau.edu
(561) 297-3314

Research Interest
Ethnobotany, Latin America, world cultures and environments, environmental issues, rain forest ecosystems

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Dr. Evelyn Frazier
Biological Sciences
efrazier@fau.edu
(561)297-4472

Research Interest
Terrestrial Ecology, Conservation Biology, Plant-Insect Interactions 

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Dr. M.D. Hanisak
Harbor Branch
dhanisak@fau.edu
(772) 465-2400

Research Interest
Ecology and physiology of marine plants

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Dr. Kristen Hart
The U.S. Geological Survey
hart@usgs.gov
(954) 236-1067

Research Interest
Population-level studies of the ecology of herpetofauna and other wildlife

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Dr. Tobin Hindle
Geosciences
thindle@fau.edu
(561) 297-2846

Research Interest
Ecological Regeneration, Strategies to integrate Science, Society, and Nature, Geographical Information Science

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Dr. Colin Hughes
Biological Sciences
chughe@fau.edu
(954) 236-1156

Research Interest
Evolutionary Genetics and its relationship to conservation

 

Erik Johanson

Dr. Erik Johanson
Geosciences
ejohanson@fau.edu
(561) 297-4153

 

Research Interest
Reconstructing past environments & environmental changes, human-environment interaction across the Holocene, paleoclimatology, modern pollen, and vegetation composition as related to climate patterns, coastal modeling of climate change scenarios and storm surge.

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Dr. Stephen Kajiura
Biological Sciences
kajiura@fau.edu
(561) 297-2677

Research Interest
Functional morphology & sensory biology of fishes

 

Dr. Marguerite Koch-Rose
Biological Sciences
mkoch@fau.edu
(561) 297-3325

Research Interest
Marine botany and nutrient cycling in tropical systems.



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Dr. Brian LaPointe
Harbor Branch
blapoin1@fau.edu
(772) 465-2400

Research Interest
Algal physiology and biochemistry, seagrass and coral reef ecology, eutrophication, marine bioinvasions, marine conservation.

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Dr. William Louda
Chemistry and Biochemistry
blouda@fau.du
(561) 297-3309

 

Research Interest
Algal blooms, water quality, microalgae pigments and their use in pigment-based chemotaxonomy; the toxins (microcystins, cyanopeptolins) of the cyanobaterium Microcystis aeruginosa and their effects on/in mammals; nutrient pollution from equestrian (horse) manure; seagrass epiphytes

Dr. Daniel Meeroff
College of Engineering and Computer Science; Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering
dmeeroff@fau.edu
(561) 297-3099

 

Research Interest
Solid Waste Management, Water Chemistry, Hazardous Waste Treatment, Pollution Prevention, Water/Wastewater Treatment Processes, Green Engineering

 

 

Dr. Scott Markwith
Geosciences
smarkwit@fau.edu
(561) 297-3250

Research Interest
Biogeography, bio-geomorphology, population, and conservation genetics vegetation dynamics and disturbance, aquatic systems

Dr. Sarah Milton
Biological Sciences
smilton@fau.edu
(561) 297-3327

Research Interest
Physiological responses to environmental stress, primarily the effects of hypoxia and anoxia on the brain, animal models of anoxia and hypoxia tolerance, neuroprotective pathways in brain anoxia, reactive oxygen species and aging

Dr. Diana Mitsova
Urban and Regional Planning
dmitsova@fau.edu
(954) 762-567

 

Research Interest
Environmental modeling, climate change, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial statistics, land cover change modeling, network analysis, hazard assessment.

 

Dr. Jon Moore
Honors College
jmoore@fau.edu
(561) 799 -802

Research Interest
Ecology, evolution, and distribution of fishes, the biology of deep-sea animals, conservation and biodiversity of scrub and flatwood habitats in Florida, and herpetology.

Dr. Greg O’Corry-Crow
Harbor Branch
GOCrowe@fau.edu
(772) 465-2400 x628

Research Interest
Marine mammal population genetics, marine mammal movements, climate change.

 

Dr. Anton Oleinik
Geosciences
aoleinik@fau.edu
(954) 236-1303

Research Interest
Paleontology, Stratigraphy, Cenozoic Mollusks

 

Michelle Petersen

Dr. Michelle Petersen
Program Coordinator, Environmental Science Program, Biological Sciences
mpeter45@fau.edu
(561) 297-0671

Research Interest

 

 

Dr. Colin Polsky
Director, Center for Environmental Studies
cpolsky@fau.edu
(954) 236-1104

Research Interest
Human dimensions of & global environmental & change.

 

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Dr. John Renne
Urban and Regional Planning
jrenne@fau.edu
(561) 297-4281

Research Interest
Land use and transportation planning; disasters, evacuation and transportation resilience; sustainability, smart cities, real estate, and AI.


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Dr. Michael Salmon
Biological Sciences
salmon@fau.edu
(561) 297-2747

Research Interest
Animal behavior, sea turtle biology

 

 

Niel Santaniello
School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
nsantane@fau.edu
(561) 297-1564

Research Interest
Environmental journalism, news writing, web research for journalism



Dr. Jim Sullivan
Harbor Branch
jsullivan@fau.edu
(561) 297-1564

Research Interest
Dynamics of phytoplankton/zooplankton populations and harmful algal blooms

 

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Dr. Paul Wills
Harbor Branch
pwills2@fau.edu@fau.edu
(772)242-2454

Research Interest
Fish aquaculture for food and stock enhancement.

 

Dr. David Warburton
Geosciences
warburto@fau.edu
(561) 799-8648

Research Interest
Environmental geochemistry, especially in interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and the environment, and possible regulation of the environment by the biosphere

Dr. James Wetterer
Honors College
Wetterer@fau.edu
(561) 799-8648

Research Interest
Biogeography, ecology, and environmental impact of ants, biogeography and ecology of West Indian ants, distribution, impact, and control of exotic ants, the impact of exotic ants on hatchling sea turtles in Florida

Dr. Jeanette Wyneken
Biological Sciences
jwyneken@fau.edu
(561) 297-0146

Research Interest
Integrative biology, comparative & functional morphology, sea turtle biology

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Dr. Zhixiao Xie
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies,
Geosciences
xie@fau.edu
(561) 297-2852

Research Interest 
Geographic image retrieval, high-resolution images spatial-temporal GIS analysis, environment health, invasive species.

 

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Dr. Xing-Hai Zhang Biological Sciences
xhzhang@fau.edu
(561) 297-1011

Research Interest
Plant molecular biology and biotechnology