Stephanie Pfirman is Alena Wels Hirschorn '58 and Martin Hirschorn Professor in Environmental and Applied Sciences Professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Science at Barnard College, which she joined in 1993. Throughout her career, Pfirman has been involved with researching the Arctic environment, undergraduate education, interdisciplinary curriculum development, environmental policy strategies and public outreach. Current interests include environmental aspects of sea ice in the Arctic, and the development of women scientists and interdisciplinary scholars. Pfirman is co-PI of the NSF-sponsored Advancing Women in the Sciences initiative of the Columbia Earth Institute.

Bruce Coull is Dean Emeritus and Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina.  He works with the Center for Humans and Nature of New York and Chicago, USA  to explore, articulate, and promote long-term social and moral responsibilities for the earth's living communities.  The work will integrate historical dynamics and ongoing interactions of humans and nature.

Bill Sullivan's research addresses two broad questions. First, to what extent does having everyday contact with green spaces effect a person's functioning? That is, to what extent is there a connection between everyday exposure to green spaces and effective human functioning? How does nature mitigate the difficulties of life for people who live in urban public housing or in other challenging urban environments? The second question concerns the processes of changing and managing places: How can information about land development and other environmental issues be more effectively communicated among experts, citizens, and policy makers?  He is also interested in the ways in which having everyday contact with nature influences human functioning. He and others have recently completed studies that examine the effect of everyday contact with nature on aggressive and violent behavior, crimes and other anti-social behaviors, and on the strength of social ties among neighbors in inner-city neighborhoods.

 Dr. Elzerman's primary teaching and research interests are environmental chemistry and analytical chemistry.  He teaches courses in environmental chemistry, analytical techniques for environmental samples and introductory environmental science and policy and environmental engineering. 
His research efforts have been directed toward the sources, fate and control of chemicals in the environment, as well as toward improving analytical techniques.  Project topics have included heavy metals in aquatic systems, atmospheric inputs of pollutants, acid rain, transport of chemicals in aquifers, sorption kinetics for hydrophobic chemicals, hazardous wastes control and remediation, and the fate of PCBs and PAHs in the environment.

Dr. Fletcher is responsible for multidisciplinary program development in a range of environmental areas, including freshwater and coastal processes and social impacts. She is Principal Investigator for the Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction System (Caro-COOPS), a multidisciplinary and inter-institutional program funded by NOAA to establish a coastal observing array for the delivery of real time information on physical and weather coastal ocean conditions and the development of user applications. She received her B.A. from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and her Ph.D. from the University College of North Wales in the U.K. She has had an extensive research program focused on marine and aquatic microbial ecology, with a special interest in bacterial biofilms, mechanisms of bacterial attachment, characteristics of attached microorganisms, and the consequences of adhesion to surfaces.  She is editor for six books, and has over 100 scientific publications.

Dr. Frazer received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology, working on sea turtle demography and life history evolution. In 1993 he was named as Associate Director of Research at the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Director of DOE’s National Environmental Research Park at the Savanna River Site.  He was selected as a member of Leadership Georgia in 1993 and of Leadership Florida in 1998. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors of the Stokes Nature Center, the Utah Partners for Conservation and Development, and the Utah Wildlife and Conservation Foundation.  He teaches a graduate course on Leadership for Natural Resources Professionals.  His interests continue to develop at the interface of biological, social, and physical sciences, humanities, public policy and religion, with a focus on helping human beings better perceive their role as good stewards of the Earth.

Professor Richard Gragg teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental toxicology and human health, environmental toxicology, environmental justice, and environmental ethics. Dr. Gragg is also the Director of the Center for Environmental Equity and Justice for the State of Florida. His research interests include: ecosystem and human health impacts of light absorption by environmental contaminants, environmental justice and policy, and environmental health disparities. Dr. Gragg currently serves as a member of the Florida Environmental Regulatory Commission, the Board of Directors for Audobon of Florida and is Co-Chair of the Communications and Outreach Subcommittee, and the Florida Brownfields Association and is Co-Chair of the Environmental Justice and Public Health Subcommittee.

Professor Monty Hempel’s work is concentrated on environmental policy, particularly at the international level. His interests include sustainable community development; global climate change; air quality; linkages among energy, environment, and transportation policy; and protection of coral reef ecosystems; and environmental documentary filmmaking. His publications include Environmental Governance: The Global Challenge, and Sustainble communities: From Vision to Action. He received a Ph.D. in government from Claremont.

Professor Ted Whitesell’s research interests include cultural geography, political ecology, wilderness preservation, marine protected areas, and native peoples. Ted is currently the vice president of the Washington Wilderness Coalition's board of directors and serves on the steering committee of the Wild Washington Campaign. His current research is a collaborative project with the Tulalip Tribes, where the relationship between marine protected areas and Native American rights and interests in Washington are examined. His recent publications include Mapping the Wild, and Defending Washington: A Citizens Guide.

 Dr. Focht teaches graduate courses in environmental policy,environmental risk analysis, public policy analysis, and community relations.His research interests lie in watershed management, environmental siteassessment, stakeholder participation in environmental decision-making, publicpolicy legitimation, social trust, and environmental justice. He has won researchgrants from the US Environmental Protection Agency, National ScienceFoundation, US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, USGeological Survey, US Air Force, National Institute for Environmental HealthSciences, National Council for Science and the Environment, and the IntegratedPetroleum Environmental Consortium.
Before coming to OSU in 1994, he was a senior environmental engineerwith the US Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta, Dallas, andWashington, DC. His 20-year career in the environmental profession alsoincludes stints with environmental consulting firms in Ohio, North Carolina,Tennessee, and Florida.