Edwin Brands
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Geography and International Studies
Ph.D. The University of Iowa. 2004.
B.A. Biology and German, Grinnell College. 1996.
"My interest in geographical knowledge (both natural/physical and social science) and environmental law (water quality monitoring, in particular) is grounded in personal experiences growing up on a farm with parents who were both teachers, playing basketball in Germany and Ecuador, and working in a law firm on underground storage tank litigation."
Currently, my main interests lie in three overlapping areas: 1) in incorporating place-based knowledge into the implementation of major federal environmental laws, which drive billions of dollars of investments in pollution control and prevention technologies, systems, and approaches. This entails utilizing historical and collecting current data to identify relevant patterns (e.g. land use) and processes (e.g. climate), and determining how contaminant monitoring might best capture desired statistical parameters (for example, peak concentrations); 2) many aspects of water, including quantity and quality, monitoring program design, and policy and politics; 3) grassroots and NGO approaches to solving major local, regional, and global problems such as poverty, illiteracy, climate change, and health. In the classroom, I believe in spoon feeding as little as possible. In my experience, students who take responsibility for course material become exceedingly responsible and active learners.
Recently, I have been blessed with the opportunity to develop a course on social entrepreneurship in India, with Dr. Rajagopal. For me, this course has been an opportunity to work with motivated students and explore firsthand, (through organizations working on issues including child labor, microfinance, waste management, and healthcare for the poor and destitute) an important contemporary social movement that has intrigued me for the last decade.
Courses Taught:
Consequences of Global Environmental Change
Contemporary Environmental Issues
Environmental Impact Analysis
Environmental Quality: Science, Technology, and Policy
International Environmental Policy
Microfinance for Women-Run Enterprises (Winter 2006; Tamil-Nadu, India)
Research Methods (Iowa Biosciences Advantage Program)
Field Experience in Social Entrepreneurship (Winter 2007, Tamil Nadu, India) http://www.uiowa.edu/~uiabroad/programs/india-winter/
Publications:
Published
Brands, E.P. and R. Rajagopal. 2007. “Economics of Place Based Monitoring Under the Safe Drinking Water Act: Part I: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Contaminants, and Design of Screening Strategies.” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 10.1007/s10661-007-9959-9
Brands, E.P. and R. Rajagopal. 2007. “Economics of Place Based Monitoring Under the Safe Drinking Water Act: Part II: Design and Development of Place-based Monitoring Strategies.” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-007-9960-3
Brands, E.P. and R. Rajagopal. 2007. “Economics of Place Based Monitoring Under the Safe Drinking Water Act: Part III: Performance of Place-based Monitoring Strategies.” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-007-9961-2
Balakrishnan, U., Troyer, L., Brands, E.P. 2007. “Surveying the Need for ‘Technology Management for Global Health’ Training Programs.” Industry & Higher Education. (August, 2007). 279-286.
Balakrishnan, U., Troyer, L., Brands, E.P. 2006. “Surveying the Need for ‘Technology Management for Global Health’ Training Programs.” The Journal of the Association of University Technology Managers, Vol XVIII No. 2.
In Review/Submission Process
Brands, E.P., and R. Rajagopal. “Do we all drink water of the same quality? Evaluation of drinking water quality in Eastern Iowa.” Under review
In Progress
Brands, E.P. and R. Rajagopal. The Evolution of Environmental Innovation: A Dynamic Feedback Process Linking Technology, Culture, and Policy.
Hulse, R., Rajagopal, R. and E.P. Brands. “Sequential Screening as an Alternative Method of Monitoring Pesticide Compounds in Ambient Surface Water.”
Hulse, R., Brands, E.P., Rajagopal, R., and M. Skopec. “Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Pesticides in Iowa’s Rivers.”
Future/planned work:
R. Rajagopal and E.P. Brands, edited compendium of 2 decades of research on the use of screening techniques for improving environmental monitoring
Grants:
Water Quality Protection in Agroecosystems: Integrating Science, Technology, and Policy at the Watershed Scale” (with R. Rajagopal, PI, and David Bennett): $394,000, US Department of Agriculture 2001-2005. Co-authored proposal and managed grant for four years. http://www.iowawaterquality.org
Media Citations
Shinn, Sharon. Making a Major Impact with Microfinance. BizEd Magazine. May/June 2007. 26-31. http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/Archives/MayJun07/26-31_bized.pdf
Other/Service Interests:
Urban agriculture
Links:
City Farmer http://www.cityfarmer.org/
Urban Agriculture: An Abbreviated List of References and Resource Guide 2000 http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/urbanag.htm
Tire Crafting is Fun http://www.tirecrafting.com/
My multi-level raised bed tire garden, made from ~200 used tires:
Social Entrepreneurship
Ashoka http://www.ashoka.org
Social Edge http://www.socialedge.org
Other
I enjoy spending time with family, home repair/improvement projects, biking, running, hiking, disc golf, ultimate Frisbee, and can still, on occasion, play a mean game of basketball.
