The Advanced Environmental Research Institute is one of the "Institutes of Research Excellence" at the University of North Texas. AERI is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of researchers committed to collaborating on large research projects with an emphasis on the application of research findings to solutions for the most pressing environmental issues. AERI also fosters mentored research and training opportunities for students to help prepare them for career fields that address challenging environmental, sustainability, and injustice issues in novel ways.
AERI is founded on UNT's strong legacy of investigating and addressing environmental issues, which began with the eminent scientist, Dr. J.K.G. "Doc" Silvey, who began water research at UNT. For nearly 80 years, our researchers have been investigating the complex nature of the environment and how people's actions influence it.
The mission of AERI is to foster, facilitate, and conduct collaborative interdisciplinary science-based environmental research that provides an understanding of how human actions impact the environment and then uses that knowledge to suggest scientific, engineering, policy, and/or educational solutions to mitigate real-world environmental problems.
Areas of Expertise
- Air Quality
- Water Quality
- Water Resource Management
- Environmental Air Pollution Toxicology
- Ecotoxicology
- Aquatic Toxicology
- Climate Change
- Community Ecology
- Ecosystems and Conservation Biology
- Land Use
- Public Health
- Sustainable and Equitable Urban Planning
- Hazard Mitigation
- Remote Sensing
- Economics
AERI is directed by Dr. Amie Lund, an environmental toxicologist.