Brannon Andersen

Brannon Andersen is the Rose J. Forgione Professor and Chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences at Furman University. He holds adjunct professorships at Clemson University’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences and has served as a visiting professor at the University of Zadar (2014-2015) and University of Rijeka (2020-2021) in Croatia as a Fulbright Scholar. His research focuses on biogeochemistry, sustainability science, and land-use impacts on carbon/nitrogen cycles. He has co-authored over 110 student-led abstracts and 28+ journal articles, securing $2M+ in grants.

Education: Ph.D. (Syracuse University), M.S. (Miami University), B.S. (Texas A&M University). Professional roles include editorships of Environmental Geosciences and membership in Croatia’s Institute of Political Ecology. Awards include the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Distinguished Mentor Award (2010) and Furman’s Faculty Member of the Year (2003-2004).

Research emphasizes soil health in grazing systems, Croatian vineyard management, urbanization effects on waterways, Adriatic seagrass carbon storage, and sustainability policy in Southeastern Europe. Collaborations include the River Basins Research Initiative (RBRI), involving over 170 students since 1996. He explores sustainability indicators and barriers to policy implementation nationally and regionally.

Grants and funding include NSF, EPA, NASA, and Mellon Foundation support. His teaching philosophy prioritizes transformative undergraduate research experiences, with students presenting at 100+ conferences. Recent work includes degrowth transitions analysis and HANPP modeling in agricultural watersheds.

Labs/Initiatives: Lead the interdisciplinary River Basins Research Initiative (RBRI), focusing on Piedmont/Blue Ridge ecosystems. Collaborates with Clemson University, Croatian institutions, and NGOs like The Nature Conservancy.