When
Geospatial Investigations of Indigenous Environmental and Health Challenges
Dr. Joseph Hoover
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science
University of Arizona
This will be our first of a two week focus on Indigenous Geography in the Southwest (stay tuned for Andrew Curley's talk next week!).
Joseph Hoover is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science and faculty affiliate with the Indigenous Resilience Center at the University of Arizona. He co-directs the Center for Native Environmental Health Equity Research at the University of New Mexico, a National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence for Environmental Health Disparities. As a geographer and environmental scientist, his line of research emphasizes 1) spatial modeling of potential exposure to environmental contaminants, principally through drinking water; 2) visualization and communication of chemical, environmental, and water quality information; and 3) health impacts of environmental exposures. Dr. Hoover received a Masters Degree in Geography from the University of Arizona in 2009, and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Denver in 2012. He then completed a National Institutes of Health funded IRACDA post-doctoral fellowship with the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. He has held faculty appointments at the University of New Mexico, Montana State University Billings, and joined the University of Arizona faculty in Fall 2022.
Abstract. Indigenous communities in the United States experience health and exposure disparities. Chemicals from a variety of sources, including more than 160,000 abandoned hardrock mines and unregulated solid waste dumping sites, may contribute to these disparities. Through the Center for Native Environmental Health Equity an interdisciplinary team is employing community engaged practices to address environmental and exposure disparities with three Indigenous nations. The overarching mission of the Center is to promote resilience through reducing the effects of environmental exposure disparities on the health of Indigenous Communities. In this talk I will provide an overview of the Center and highlight several projects I lead with geospatial components including 1) water quality of unregulated groundwater on the Navajo Nation; 2) mapping unregulated solid waste disposal locations with Indigenous communities; and 3) community-engaged approaches for monitoring and modeling potential contaminant exposure.
ENR2 Room S107
Snacks starting at 3:00pm
Talk starting at 3:30pm
For optional Zoom link, email Beth Tellman, btellman@arizona.edu