Council Members

Dr. Bowerman's current research is focused in two primary areas: the use of birds to indicate the health of the environment; and, impacts of Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy, a fatal disease of eagles and waterfowl. He utilizes birds at the top of the food chain to monitor the concentrations and effects of bioaccumulative compounds of concern. For over 20 years he has been working with bald eagles. He recently began working with collaborators in Sweden, Russia, Uganda, and South Africa on projects...

Dr. Brinsfield has been conducting research on the effects of best management practices on nutrient transport from various agricultural cropping systems since 1984. He has been the director of the Wye Research and Education Center since 1982 and has served as executive director of the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. since 1999. In addition, he is a co-founder of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy which works with private land owners to preserve farms, forest and other unique...

Dr. Carton’s current research interests focus on interannual to decadal climate variability. In particular he has done a number of studies focused on the tropical Atlantic sector. He is also actively pursuing data assimilation methodologies to combine historical observations of ocean circulation with knowledge of the equations of motion to better represent past changes in the heat, mass, and freshwater of the oceans.

Maureen Cropper is a Distinguished University Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future, and a former Lead Economist at the World Bank. Dr. Cropper has served as chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board Environmental Economics Advisory Committee and as president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic...

Dr. Ehrman joined the faculty of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department in 1998. Dr. Ehrman has developed a research program focusing on gas-phase synthesis routes to micro and nanostructured materials for energy, microelectronics and biotechnology applications, interactions between nanoparticles and biological systems, and the formation, characterization and minimization of air pollutants.

Nate Hultman is Director of Environmental and Energy Policy programs at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, and Associate Director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a collaboration between the University of Maryland and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research focuses on international climate policy, decisions about climate risks in policy and private sector investment, carbon markets, and low-carbon technology. Dr. Hultman has participated in...

Professor Hurtt received his Ph.D from Princeton University in 1997. From 1998-2010, Dr. Hurtt worked at the University of New Hampshire in the Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space and Department of Natural Resources, finally becoming Chair of the Natural Resources and Earth System Science Ph.D. Program, UNH's largest doctoral program, and Director the Complex Systems Research Center, UNH's main center focused on Earth System Science. In 2010, Dr. Hurtt joined the...

Gerrit Jan-Knaap is Professor of Urban Studies and Planning and Director of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland. Knaap earned his B.S. from Willamette University, his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and received his post-doctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all in economics. Knaap’s research interests include the economics and politics of land use planning, the efficacy of economic development...

Dr. Milton is Professor and Director of MIAEH and Affiliate Faculty in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and in the Maryland Pathogen Research Institute. He is board certified in internal and occupational medicine and has 20 years of experience in an occupational medicine referral practice. Dr. Milton leads multidisciplinary investigations of the health effects of bioaerosols with three major themes: 1) the relationship of asthma onset and exacerbation to exposure to allergens and microbial...

Dr. Margaret Palmer is Director of the National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center (www.SESYNC.org), an NSF and University of Maryland supported research center dedicated to creating synthetic, actionable science related to the structure, functioning, and sustainability of socio-environmental systems. In addition, as a Professor at the University of Maryland in the Department of Entomology and at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), she oversees a large...

Eric Wachsman is the University of Maryland Energy Research Center's first director. Wachsman spearheaded the creation of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. He received a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to coming to the University of Florida, Wachsman rose through the ranks from post-doctorate to senior scientist...