People

Center for Environment, Biodiversity and Conservation

The CEBC is a collaboration among faculty from multiple departments focusing on conservation science. This includes the Department of Biology, where faculty and graduate students are involved in research and teaching on various aspects of environment, biodiversity, and conservation; the Department of Social Sciences, which provides expertise in environmental economics, ethnoconservation, and geographic information systems (GIS); the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which addresses aspects of environmental science such as air and water pollution and water flow analysis; and others. The Center brings all of the faculty on campus who have expertise in environmental issues under a single, cohesive group and facilitates collaborations and synergy. 


The following faculty are currently part of the CEBC (by department):

Department of Biology

Joshua Banta

Director, Center for Environment, Biodiversity, and Conservation
Associate Professor
Evolutionary and ecological genetics and landscape ecology, with a focus on imperiled species

Office: HPR 129

Phone: 903.566.7189

E-mail: jbanta@uttyler.edu

Blake Bextine

Professor
Bioengineering of sustainable and secure food supplies;genetics of emerging insect-borne human and agricultural pathogens

Office:BEP 107

Phone: 903.566.7323

E-mail: bbextine@uttyler.edu

Neil B. Ford

Professor, Ecology of threatened and endangered species

Office: HPR 109

Phone: 903.566.7249

E-mail: nford@uttyler.edu

Katrin Kellner

Assistant Professor
Population genetics and microbial ecology

Office: HPR 140

Phone: 903.566.7280

E-mail: kkellner@uttyler.edu

Jessica Coleman

Lecturer
Herpetology, ornithology, turtle ecology, and conservation biology

Office: BEP 104

Phone: 903.566.7009

E-mail: jcoleman@uttyler.edu

Jon Seal

Associate Professor
Biodiversity of ants

Office: BEP 259

Phone: 903.565.5931

E-mail: jseal@uttyler.edu

Lance R. Williams

Professor
Biogeography and ecology of aquatic animals

Office: HPR 105

Phone: 903.565.5878

E-mail: lwilliams@uttyler.edu

Marsha Williams

Research Associate
Geographic information systems; landscape ecology of imperiled aquatic animals

Office: HPR 117

Phone: 903.565.5883

E-mail: mwilliams@uttyler.edu

Riqing Yu

Assistant Professor
Environmental Microbiology

Office: HPR 118

Phone: 903.566.7257

E-mail: ryu@uttyler.edu

 

 

Department of Social Sciences

Marco Castaneda

Assistant Professor
Game theory; economics of non-profit organizations

Office: BUS 204B

Phone: 903.565.5790

E-mail: mcastaneda@uttyler.edu

Luis Gautier

Assistant Professor
Environmental economics

Office: BUS 204C

Phone: 903.566.5397

E-mail: lgautier@uttyler.edu

Meryem Saygili

Assistant Professor
Environmental economics and regulation

Office: BUS 239

Phone: 903.566.7366

E-mail: msaygili@uttyler.edu

Elizabeth Sills

Assistant Professor
Geographic information systems

Office: BUS 235

Phone: 903.566.7442

E-mail: esills@uttyler.edu

 

Department of History

Matthew Stith

Associate Professor
Environmental history

Office: BUS 238

Phone: 903.566.7430

E-mail: mstith@uttyler.edu

 

 

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Torey Nalbone

Associate Professor and Chair
Air and water pollution analysis, contaminant controls, chemical risk assessment

Office: RBS 1008

Phone: 903.565.5520

E-mail: tnalbone@uttyler.edu

 

 

Department of Management and Marketing

Venu Gopalkrishna Remani

Associate Professor
Green supply chains and their management

Office: BUS 117

Phone: 903.565.5807

E-mail: venugopal@uttyler.edu

 

 

Department of Computer Science

Arun Kulkarni

Professor
Remote sensing

Office: COB 315.07

Phone: 903.566.7403

E-mail: akulkarni@uttyler.edu