I am Professor Emeritus of Environment and Sustainability. My students, postdocs, and I combine numerical models and environmental assessments to improve the understanding of interactions between human activities on land and their impacts on coastal marine and freshwater ecosystems. Most of our recent work has focused on impacts on the iconic Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and Great Lakes. My research also supports development and application of Integrated Assessment, a tool that brings together natural systems science, social science, engineering, and environmental policy making. Links to my research, students, postdocs, and publications are along the top of this page.
I was faculty at the University of Michigan from 2004-2017. I served on advisory committees for a diverse group of external and internal organizations, and have served as Associate Editor for Estuaries and Coasts and Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, and on the Boards of Directors for the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the Great Lakes Observing System.
From 2009 to 2016, I was the Graham Family Professor of Sustainability and Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute. I also served as the Special Counsel to the U-M President for Sustainability. In those capacities, I was responsible for engaging the full multidisciplinary assets of the University of Michigan to develop and implement the education, research, and operational goals of its flagship sustainability enterprise, Planet Blue, in support of sustainable communities, ecosystems, and economies from local to global scales.
I was director of Michigan Sea Grant from 2004-2009, SNRE’s Research Associate Dean from 2004-2006, and Director of the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research from 2004-2007.
Prior to joining the Michigan faculty in 2004, I was Chief Scientist for NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Director of NOAA’s Coastal Ocean Program, and research scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
I hold Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees in Environmental Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Michigan.