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
I am professor 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 social and environmental
science research throughout the United States, Central America, and the
Caribbean with over $12.8 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 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.”
Recent
Articles:
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, in press.
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2024.2325080
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
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