Brian
D. Fath, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Towson
University
Towson, MD 21252 USA
Office: 273 Smith Hall
Phone: 410-704-2535
Fax: 410-704-2405
Email: bfath(at)towson.edu
Areas
of Specialization:
Systems
Ecology, Network Analysis,
Ecosystem Ecology,
Sustainability,
Integrated
Environmental Assessment.
Editor-in-Chief,
Ecological
Modelling
Journal.
Research Scholar, Advanced Systems Analysis Program, IIASA,
Austria.
Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Environmental Sciences, Parthenope
University of Naples, Italy. 2012.
President, North American Chapter of the International
Society for Ecological Modelling
Chair, Baltimore
County Commission on Environmental Quality
TEACHING
Towson University, Towson, Maryland. 2001–present.
BIOL 105:
Environmental Biology
BIOL 204: Education and Career Planning for the Biologist
BIOL 306: Human Ecology and
Sustainability
BIOL 486: Senior Biology Seminar
BIOL 491: Independent Study in Biology
BIOL 797: Graduate Seminar
ENVS 471: Independent Study in Environmental Science
ENVS 482: Environmental Research
ENVS 491: Environmental Science Senior Seminar
ENVS 604: Ecosystem
Ecology
ENVS 798: Environmental Practicum
ENVS 897/898: Environmental Thesis
HONR 497: Honors Independent
Investigation
IDNM 315: Networks: Science of Connections
Invited
International Courses
China, Beijing Normal University Ecological Network Analysis
Croatia, University of Zagreb Environmental Biology
Denmark, University of Copenhagen Ecosystem Modelling
Germany, University of Kiel Ecosystem Theory
France, Iremer, Sete Economic & ecological networks
Portugal, University of Coimbra Environmental Management
Russia, Moscow State University Economic Growth: Modelling Dimensions
RESEARCH
The
goal of my research is to understand better Sustainability Science, which I address using
three different approaches: network analysis, integrated environmental assessment, and
complex systems science. Sustainability Science is a critically important area that
encompasses a broad range of research interests including ecosystem
services, biodiversity, natural resources, human cultures, and specific
environments. I use network
analysis to investigate thermodynamic sustainability indicators. These indicators are often referred to as ecological goal
functions, which
are used to describe the direction of development that ecosystem
properties such as
energy or exergy flow, biomass production, or respiration undergo during succession.
These metrics help understand the overall behavior and health of
that system and its response due to perturbations. A main advantage to using
network analysis is the ability to view the ecosystem as a
connected web of interactions. I
like to think that it is a more holistic approach because it considers the
behavior of individual compartments as embedded in a larger network of
interactions. I am also
interested in how ecosystems interact with human systems and vice versa. Integrated
environmental assessment is an interdisciplinary and social process
linking knowledge and action in public policy aimed at identifying and
analyzing interactions of natural and human processes which
determine both the current and future states of environmental quality.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in these areas and are considering the graduate program at Towson University.
I have also worked each summer since 2002 in the Advanced Systems Analysis Program (formerly DYN) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria (photo). IIASA is a leading international research institute focusing on inter-disciplinary scientific studies on environmental, economic, technological and social issues in the context of human dimensions of global change.
SELECT RECENT PUBLICATIONS (Reprints are available upon request).
Associate Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2008. Elsevier.
Jørgensen SE, Fath BD. 2011. Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling: Applications in environmental management and research, 4th edition. Elsevier.
Jørgensen SE, Fath BD, Bastianoni S, Marques JC, Müller F, Nielsen SN, Patten BC, Tiezzi E, Ulanowicz RE. 2007. Systems Ecology: A new perspective. Elsevier. 275 pp.
Seppelt R, Fath BD, Burkhard B, Fisher J, Grêt-Regamey A, Lautenbach S, Pert P, Hotes S, Spangenberg J, Verburg P, Van Oudenhoven, A. Form follows function? Proposing a blueprint for ecosystem service assessment studies based on reviews and case studies. Ecological Indicators. In press.
Burkhard B, Fath BD, Müller F. 2011. Adapting the adaptive cycle: Hypotheses on the development of ecosystem properties and services. Ecological Modelling. 222, 2878-2890.
Chen S, Fath BD, Chen B. 2011. Information-based Network Environ Analysis: A system perspective for ecological risk assessment. Ecological Indicators. 11, 1664–1672.
Zhang Y, Yang Z, Fath BD, Li S. 2010. Ecological network analysis of an urban energy metabolic system: model development, and a case study of four Chinese cities. Ecological Modelling 221, 1865–1879.
Su M, Fath, BD, Yang Z. 2010. Urban ecosystem health assessment: A review. Science of the Total Environment 408, 2425–2434.
Scharler UM, Fath BD. 2009. Comparing network analysis methodologies for consumer–resource relations at species and ecosystems scales. Ecological Modelling 220, 3210–3218.
Lobanova G, Fath BD, Rovenskaya E. 2009. Exploring Simple Structural Configurations for Optimal Network Mutualism. Communications in Nonlinear and Numerical Simulations 14, 1461–1485.
Pinto R, Patrício J, Baeta A, Fath BD, Neto JM, Marques JC. 2009. Review and Evaluation of Estuarine Biotic Indices to Assess Benthic Condition. Ecological Indicators 9, 1–25.
Family Photos
Last Updated October 21, 2011