Chris Higgins

Chris Higgins is an Honorary Professor at Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) and leads research activities at the Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). With an h-index of 40, his work focuses on environmental health sciences with particular expertise in PFAS research and environmental risk assessment.

Professor Higgins' research interests include:

• Characterization of PFAS behavior in the environment
• Development of treatment and remediation approaches for contaminated sites
• Environmental monitoring methodologies
• Chemical exposure assessment
• Risk assessment frameworks for emerging contaminants

His research portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on environmental contaminants, particularly PFAS, with emphasis on practical remediation technologies and environmental monitoring systems that address real-world contamination challenges faced by land managers and regulators.

Professor Higgins maintains active research collaborations including:

• Principal Investigator on an ARC Special Research Initiative for PFAS remediation
• Co-Chief Investigator on a SERDP proposal to the US Department of Defence

These partnerships have facilitated knowledge exchange, method harmonization, and staff/student mobility between QAEHS and CSM. As leader of a research team at CSM, Professor Higgins mentors students and early career researchers in environmental health sciences, with his foundational work over the past 12+ years shaping current approaches to chemical contamination management.