Dr. Deborah L. Swackhamer is Professor in Science, Technology, and Public Policy in the Hubert H, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Co-Director of the University’s Water Resources Center. She also is Professor in Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health, and is trained as an environmental chemist. She joined the Minnesota faculty in 1987.
She studies the processes affecting the behavior of, and exposures to, toxic chemicals in the environment and works on policies to address these potential risks. When not in the classroom or lab, she serves as Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the US EPA and several NAS/NRC committees. In 2009 she received the prestigious Founders Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry for lifetime achievement in environmental sciences.