Colin Brown
Professor

Profile

Biography

Colin Brown was appointed to a Chair in Environmental Science at the University of York in September 2004. He has been Head of the Department of Environment and Geography (2010-2015), and Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Sciences (2015-2019). Colin has 35 years' experience of research into agricultural systems, including the fate and effects of organic contaminants in the environment and systems research framed by mathematical modelling.

Current research focuses on integrated catchment management, for example: working within the Water Friendly Farming platform to design and test interventions that deliver combined benefits for downstream flood risk, sediment delivery to water, water quality (nutrients, pesticides) and aquatic biodiversity; leading the Drought and Flood Risk Mitigation workstream of the NERC Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP); and leading integrated chemical modelling for nine Yorkshire catchments within the ECOMIX project, part of NERC’s 2022-2026 Programme on Quality of UK Freshwaters. Colin has advised UK Government through membership of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and chairing its Environmental Panel. He chaired the DG-Sanco FOCUS working group on Landscape and Mitigation Factors in Environmental Risk Assessment, and the BioResources Group of the Society of Chemical Industry. He chairs the International Conference on Pesticide Behaviour in Soils, Water and Air held every four years in York. Colin is a Trustee of the Freshwater Habitats Trust.