معرفی
Dr. Kent Curtis is Associate Professor of History at Ohio State University specializing in environmental history with research foci on mining, environmental ideas, and food systems. He holds a PhD from University of Kansas and teaches courses on modern US history, environmental history, and food studies. As Principal Investigator on a $2M Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research grant, he developed the Mansfield Microfarm system addressing urban food insecurity through community-led agriculture.
Research examines historical relationships between resource extraction, community formation, and environmental change. Current projects include a comprehensive history of metal production and applied work in urban agriculture innovation. Mining scholarship analyzes how geological uncertainties shaped metal mining development and connections between mineral scarcity and globalization.
Publications show interdisciplinary approaches to environmental studies, connecting historical analysis of mining frontiers with contemporary food system interventions. Recent work explores WWII industrial mobilization and community-based urban agriculture models.
Developed and implemented Mansfield Microfarm system demonstrating small-plot, high-yield urban agriculture. This community-led intervention creates income opportunities in low-opportunity neighborhoods through coordinated specialty crop production and cooperative marketing.
Leads the Ecology as Social Justice initiative at OSU Mansfield's Ecolab, integrating environmental philosophy with community-based problem solving. Serves as Faculty Fellow in Office of Outreach and Engagement, promoting engaged scholarship connecting university resources with community needs.
