Sweet Lecture at 4:30pm in BiHall 216

What goes down our drains? Out of sight, out of mind?

Rapidly urbanizing regions often face unique challenges related to water quantity and water quality. For example, research indicates that a number of endocrine disrupting compounds, personal care products and pharmaceuticals are released to the environment by wastewater treatment plant effluents. These “emerging” contaminants have been detected in groundwater, streams and lakes and drinking water supplies. Subsequently, this presentation will explore the potential human and ecological aspects of “emerging” aquatic contaminants.

SPEAKER BIO: Bryan W. Brooks serves as an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Dr. Brooks holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of North Texas, and a M.S. and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Mississippi. Research in the Brooks lab is interdisciplinary, often integrating aspects of water quality, environmental toxicology and chemistry, applied aquatic ecology and risk assessment. Current research projects focus on water reuse, aquatic impacts of emerging aquatic contaminants (e.g., pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine disrupting and modulating chemicals, harmful algal toxins) and other water quality aspects of watershed and reservoir linkages, particularly in rapidly urbanizing and effluent-dominated systems. Specifically, Dr. Brooks’ research with pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and endocrine disrupting/modulating chemicals in effluent-dominated streams has received attention from the international scientific community and has been featured by various media groups (e.g.,
CNN, NPR Science Friday, Washington Post, Discovery Channel). Since arriving at Baylor in 2002, Dr. Brooks and his students have contributed over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and technical reports, and over 80 professional research presentations. His research program (~$3M) has been supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 3M Foundation, WateReuse Foundation, Altria Foundation, and the US Army. Dr. Brooks is a Past President of the South Central Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Gulf Coast Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology, Past Chair of the Freshwater and Marine Sciences section of the Texas Academy of Sciences and Past President of the Texas River and Reservoir Management Society. In addition to serving as a peer-reviewer for numerous journals, he routinely reviews grant proposals for various entities and has served as an expert witness. He also serves as the academic representative from North America on steering committee for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s Pharmaceuticals Advisory Group and a recent Pellston workshop on Veterinary Medicines in the Environment. Dr. Brooks is currently editing a book entitled “Human Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Current and Future Perspectives.”