Brian Richards
Senior Research Associate, Biological and Environmental Engineering
Brian Richards is a Senior Research Associate in the BEE Soil and Water Lab. His research focuses on the interaction of soil, water and a wide range of substances – including trace elements, nutrients, pesticides, colloids – which in the wrong place and/or at deleterious concentrations are regarded as contaminants. Recent major research directions include the impacts of agricultural and perennial bioenergy cropping systems on soils and soil emissions.
Education
Doctorate
Cornell University
1999
Master of Professional Studies
Cornell University
1982
Bachelor of Science
Cornell University
1979
Awards & Honors
Partnership Award for Mission Integration (2008) USDA-CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service) BEE Soil & Water Group (Steenhuis, Walter, Parlange, Walter, Geohring & Richards)
Courses Taught
You’re probably reading this on the screen of an electronic device. Have you ever wondered where the resources came from to build it (or to build the factory that built it)? Or where the electricity that powers it comes from? Or more deeply, what are the environmental, economic, and social impacts, costs, and benefits of these resource flows? These questions help us understand the sustainability of a product or process, and BEE3299/5299 serves as an introduction to how these kinds of questions are answered. Students from many disciplines and majors learn how to conduct a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) to determine how environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable a system of their choosing is, while also learning from their peers' investigations. More information can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/b3299sustainabledevelopment/home)
His courses include:
- BEE 3299/5299 Sustainable Development
Contact Information
B66a Riley Robb Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
bkr2 [at] cornell.edu
Brian in the news
News
- Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station
- Homer C. Thompson Vegetable Research Farm
- Biological and Environmental Engineering