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E. Christian Wells, Ph.D., AAAS Fellow

Department of Anthropology

University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, SOC 107

Tampa, FL 33620-8100 USA

ecwells@usf.edu, 813/974.2337

 

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

I am professor in the Department of Anthropology and director of the Center for Brownfields Research & Redevelopment at the University of South Florida, where I have served previously as the founding director of the Office of Sustainability and as deputy director of the School of Global Sustainability. I am currently an Interdisciplinary Research Leader with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and am Past-President of the Florida Brownfields Association, the state’s largest nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to brownfields redevelopment and environmental justice.

 

I am an applied environmental anthropologist with an interdisciplinary background in the social and natural sciences. I maintain a diverse portfolio of research projects aimed at improving human and environmental health outcomes of re/development efforts in underserved communities, especially those with a history of residential segregation. My current research emphasizes environmental justice, brownfields challenges, land use legacies, sustainable and equitable development, water/wastewater management, and science-policy interactions.

 

Over the past 20 years, I have undertaken research throughout the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean with over $14 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations. I have written or edited 10 books or journal issues and more than 100 scientific articles and essays. My research has been featured by various media outlets including The New York Times and New Scientist.

 

I am a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. I recently received the 2023 Environmental Justice Spirit of Excellence Award from the Florida Brownfields Association and the 2023 Wesley W. Horner Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. I am the recipient of the 2024 Kosove Distinguished Graduate Teaching and Service Award, the 2021 and 2018 Faculty Outstanding Research Achievement Award, the 2019 Outstanding Faculty Award, the 2018 Outstanding Community-Engaged Teaching Award, and the 2017 Global Achievement Award for Outstanding Global Student Success from the University of South Florida. I am also the recipient of the USF Jerome Krivanek Distinguished Teacher Award, the USF Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, the USF Status of Latinos Faculty Award, and the Black Bear Award from the Sierra Club of Tampa Bay “in recognition of outstanding dedication to sustainability and the environment.”

 

 

Select Recent Articles:

 

Caballero, G. W., E. C. Wells, S. A. Echols, and E. H. Peaslee. 2024. Environmental Justice from the Ground(water) Up: Coping with Contamination in Tallevast, Florida. Local Environment 29(6):722-735. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2024.2325080

 

Webb, A. W., E. C. Wells, C. Prouty, R. K. Zarger, and M. A. Trotz. 2024. Ethics and Ambiguity in Wastewater Development in Placenica, Belize. Annals of Anthropological Practice 48(1):130-145. https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12215

 

Vidmar, A. M., E. C. Wells, M. Zheng, N. Award, S. Combs, and D. Diaz. 2023. “That’s What We Call ‘Aesthetics,’ Not a Public Health Issue:” The Social Construction of Tap Water Mistrust in an Underbounded Community. Human Organization 82(4):342-353. https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525-82.4.342

 

Wells, E. C., A. M. Vidmar, W. A. Webb, A. C. Ferguson, M. E. Verbyla, F. de los Reyes III, Q. Zhang, and J. M. Mihelcic. 2022. Meeting the Water and Sanitation Challenges of Underbounded Communities in the U.S. Environmental Science & Technology 56(16):11180-11188. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c03076

 

Abdel-Mottaleb, N., P. G. Saghand, M. J. Wakhungu, H. Charkhgard, E. C. Wells, and Q. Zhang. 2022. Identifying Critical Isolation Valves in a Water Distribution Network: A Socio-Technical Approach. Water 14(21):3587. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213587

 

Wakhungu, M., N. Abdel-Mottaleb, E. C. Wells, and Q. Zhang. 2021. Geospatial Vulnerability Framework for Identifying Water Infrastructure Inequalities. Journal of Environmental Engineering 147(9):04021034. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001903

 

Alexander, W. L., E. C. Wells, M. Lincoln, B. Y. Davis, and P. Little. 2021. Environmental Justice Ethnography in the Classroom: Teaching Activism, Inspiring Involvement. Human Organization 80(1):37-48. https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525-80.1.37

 

Lehigh, G. R., E. C. Wells, and D. Diaz. 2020. Evidence-informed Strategies for Promoting Equitability in Brownfields Redevelopment. Journal of Environmental Management 261(1):110150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110150

 

Libby, J. A., E. C. Wells, and J. R. Mihelcic. 2020. Moving up the Sanitation Ladder while Considering Function: An Assessment of Indigenous Communities, Pit Latrine Users, and Their Perceptions of Resource-recovery Sanitation Technology in Panama. Environmental Science & Technology 54(23):15405–15413. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c04120

 

Meehan, K., W. Jepson, L. Harris, A. Wutich, M. Beresford, A. Fencl, J. London, G. Pierce, L. Radonic, E. C. Wells, N. Wilson, E. Adams, R. Arsenault, A. Brewis, V. Harrington, Y. Lambrinidou, D. McGregor, R. Patrick, B. Pauli, A. Pearson, S. Shah, D. Splichalova, C. Workman, and S. Young. 2020. Exposing the Myths of Household Water Insecurity in the Global North: A Critical Review. WIREs Water 7(6):e1486. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1486

 

Mohebbi, S., Q. Zhang, E. C. Wells, T. Zhao, H. Nguyen, M. Li, N. Abdel-Mottaleb, S. Uddin, Q. Lu, M. J. Wakhungu, Z. Wu, Y. Zhang, A. Tuladhar, and X. Ou. 2020. Cyber-Physical-Social Interdependencies and Organizational Resilience: A Review of Water, Transportation, and Cyber Infrastructure Systems and Processes. Sustainable Cities and Society 62:102327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102327

 

Wells, E. C., W. A. Webb, C. M. Prouty, R. K. Zarger, M. A. Trotz, L. M. Whiteford, and J. R. Mihelcic. 2019. Wastewater Technopolitics on the Southern Coast of Belize. Economic Anthropology 6(2):277-290. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12145

 

Prouty, C., E. S. Koenig, E. C. Wells, R. K. Zarger, and Q. Zhang. 2017. Rapid Assessment Framework for Modeling Stakeholder Involvement in Infrastructure Development. Sustainable Cities and Society 29:130-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.12.009

 

Mihelcic, J. R., C. C. Naughton, M. E. Verbyla, Q. Zhang, R. W. Schweitzer, S. M. Oakley, E. C. Wells, and L. M. Whiteford. 2017. The Grandest Challenge of All: The Role of Environmental Engineering to Achieve Sustainability in the World’s Developing Regions. Environmental Engineering Science 34(1):16-41. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2015.0334

 

Wells, E. C., R. K. Zarger, L. M. Whiteford, J. R. Mihelcic, E. S. Koenig, and M. R. Cairns. 2016. The Impacts of Tourism Development on Perceptions and Practices of Sustainable Wastewater Management on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize. Journal of Cleaner Production 111:430-441.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.050

 

 

Select Recent Grants:

 

Jones, D., and E. C. Wells. 2023-2027. “Brownfields Job Training Program for East Tampa.” Brownfields Job Training Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; $500,000. https://java.epa.gov/acrespub/gfs/factsheet/12230

 

Ergas, S., E. C. Wells, J. Mihelcic, M. Arias, Q. Zhang, M. Nachabe, and M. Lusk. 2023-2026. “Zombie to Living Community Ponds by Novel Bio-infiltration.” Gulf of Mexico Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; $1,499,759. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-125-million-funding-environmental-justice-grants-program-gulf-mexico-0#:~:text=EPA%20plans%20to%20award%20approximately,closes%20on%20May%208%2C%202023.

 

Bolden, D., K. Owusu-Daaku, and E. C. Wells. 2023-2025. “Using Transformative Scenario Planning to Address Structural Racism in Health in North Port St. Joe, Florida.” Interdisciplinary Research Leaders, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; $125,000. https://irleaders.org/team/using-transformative-scenario-planning-to-address-structural-racism-in-health-in-north-port-st-joe-florida

 

Trotz, M. A., E. C. Wells, K. A. Alfredo, R. Sears, and M. E. Carrasquillo. 2022-2026. “Collaborative Research: Challenging Anti-Black-Racism in Civil and Environmental Engineering Curriculum.” Improving Undergraduate STEM Education, National Science Foundation; $1,500,000. https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2142714

 

Wells, E. C., L. Ward, and W. Washington. 2022-2026. “Community-wide Brownfield Assessment for Tallevast, Manatee County, Florida.” Community-wide Brownfield Assessment Grant Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; $500,000. https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2022-brownfields-assessment-rlf-cleanup-arc-grants-and-rlf

 

Jones, D., and E. C. Wells. 2020-2022. “Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program for East Tampa.” Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; $200,000. https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy20-environmental-workforce-development-and-job-training-grants

 

Wells, E. C., and S. Combs. 2017-2019. “Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Project for the University Area Community, Hillsborough County, Florida.” Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; $200,000. https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/national-brownfields-area-wide-planning-grant-selected-proposal-descriptions

 

Zhang, Q., E. C. Wells, S. Mohebbi, X. Ou, and Q. Lu. 2016-2020. “Integrative Decision Making Framework to Enhance the Resiliency of Interdependent Critical Infrastructures.” Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes, National Science Foundation; $1,963,542. http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1638301

 

Mihelcic, J. R., E. C. Wells, M. Trotz, and C. McKayle. 2013-2019. “Context Sensitive Implementation of Synergistic Water-Energy Systems.” Partnerships for International Research and Education, National Science Foundation; $3,920,644. http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1243510