Inequality

Dr. Blount (they/them) is a socio-ecohydrologist who is interested in the interactions between hydrology (water), ecology (vegetation), and society (people). Dr. Blount joined the faculty at UIS in Fall 2022 after completing a postdoctoral research appointment in urban ecohydrology at Washington State University Vancouver. They received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Hydrology from Colorado School of Mines (2020; 2018) and a B.S. in Environmental Geosciences from Texas A&M University (2013). When not working, they enjoy spending time with their dog, running, CrossFit, outdoor recreation, and visiting coffee shops and breweries.

Information for Prospective Students

Dr. Blount is interested in working with M.S. and undergraduate students who are curious about exploring any aspect of water resources and urban development including physical hydrology, water quality, water management and governance, and the role of water in ecosystem functions. They are also open to any other exciting projects in the realm of physical environmental sciences or those that use innovative, quantitative data analyses. Dr. Blountâ¿¿s first M.S. advisee completed a project to model and characterize groundwater transport of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) in a Northern Illinois community in May 2023, and a new cohort of six undergraduate and Master's students are currently working on a funded project examining urban microclimate modeling and redevelopment. They enjoy providing support and mentorship to students for individual development, whatever their individual career aspirations, including employment in the public, private, or academic sectors. Interested students should contact Dr. Blount via email (wblou2@uis.edu), and you can find updated postings of funded opportunities on the News page of my Website or on Twitter.

Additional Links and Contact Information

Academic Website: https://kyleblount.weebly.com/

Twitter: @hydro_kyleb

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1LndTtUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Office Location

PAC 326

Research

Dr. Blount's research focuses on the interactions between hydrology, ecology, and society in the contexts of wildfire and urban development. They employ a variety of methods including remote sensing, modeling, field data collection, and hydrologic and microclimate modeling to monitor, understand, and predict environmental dynamics in these systems. Their recent work examines how urban development affects the movement of water and heat within cities with the goal of promoting equitable and sustainable water resource management and urban development. Areas of focus include:

ecohydrology
socio-hydrology
water resource management
urban heat, water, and vegetation interactions
land-atmosphere interactions
remote sensing of water resources
hydrologic and microclimate modelling

School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability, and Public Health

Phone Number

217-206-8524

Publications

Blount, K., V. Shandas, and K. Moffett. Assessing the role of proximity to cool land covers and advective cooling on urban land surface temperature at the city scale. In preparation.
Blount, K. and T.S. Hogue. The role of urban redevelopment in closing the water supply gap in Denver, CO. In preparation.
Kubinec, K.*, K. Moffett, and K. Blount. Prediction of summer urban air temperatures from high-resolution land cover data and ground-based thermal imaging of residential streetscapes. Submitted.
Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and J. Wolfand. ET Cool Home: Innovative Educational Activities on Evapotranspiration and Urban Heat. In review, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. https://hess.copernicus.org/preprints/hess-2023-296/. 
Blount, K., R. Abdi, C.L. Panos, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue (2021). Building to conserve: Quantifying the outdoor water savings of residential redevelopment in Denver, Colorado. Landscape and Urban Planning, 214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104178. 
Blount, K., J. Wolfand, C.D. Bell, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue (2021). Satellites to sprinklers: Assessing spatiotemporal patterns of outdoor water use using remote sensing. Water Resources Research. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027587. 
Blount, K., C.J. Ruybal, K.J. Franz, and T.S. Hogue (2020). Increased water yield and altered hydrologic partitioning follow wildfire in a forested catchment in the western U.S. Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2170. 
Blount, K. and A. Kroepsch (2019). Adventures in Post-Wildfire Watershed Management: Improving Water Resources Resilience in Colorado. Case Studies in the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2019.sc.960306. 
Blount, W.K. (2013). Future Flooding in Houston: Modeling the Impacts of Climate and Land Cover Change on Hydrology in the Buffalo-San Jacinto Watershed. Texas A&M University Honors and Undergraduate Research. Available electronically from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/154891.

wblou2@uis.edu

Involvement

Chancellor's Committee on Belonging, Dignity, and Justice (Committee Member)
Safe Zone/Brave Space (Planning Committee, Training Facilitator)
Institute on Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Justice (Steering Committee Member, Affiliated Faculty)
Urban Heat, Water, Vegetation, and Equity Hydrology Section Sessions at AGU Fall Meeting (Primary Convener, OSPA Liaison)
Inclusive Teaching Book Club and Conference (Member, Planning Committee)
ENS Executive and Personnel Committees (Member)
Several search committees for faculty, staff, and administrators

Lectures

Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and K. Moffett. Urban microclimate interactions: Land cover heterogeneity affects near-surface heat and water dynamics. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 13, 2023.
Blount, K. Evaluating the Impacts of Urban Configuration on Heat and Water Transfer using ENVI-met Microclimate Simulations. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 12, 2023.
Small, E. and K. Blount. Using Geospatial Analyses to Identify Contaminant Source Area and Transport of a PFAS Plume at the Sandy Hollow Groundwater Contamination Site in Winnebago County, Illinois. Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference, Champaign, IL, April 18-19, 2023.
Small, E. and K. Blount. Identifying PFAS contaminant source area and transport via geospatial methods: A case study in Winnebago County, Illinois. UIS Student Technology, Arts, & Research Symposium (STARS), Springfield, IL, April 14, 2023.
Blount, K. Water and Heat in U.S. Cities: Examining Biophysical Feedbacks for Sustainable Urban Environments. Energy-Water-Environment Sustainability (EWES) Seminar, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, March 27, 2023. Invited presentation.
Blount, K. Water in Changing Cities: Managing Urban Water Resources Under Redevelopment and Climate Change. UIS Confluence Lab Speaker Series, Springfield, IL, March 22, 2023. Invited presentation.
Blount, K., G. Pignotti, and J. Wolfand. Feelinâ¿¿ the Heat: Adapting a Classroom Activity on Urban Heat and Water Dynamics for Informal Learning Experiences. AGU Fall Meeting. Chicago, IL, December 12, 2022.
Blount, K. and T.S. Hogue. Opportunities to Reduce Regional Water Supply Gaps through Infill Development in Denver, Colorado. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, December 15, 2021.
Blount, K. and K. Moffett. Cityscape Configuration and Streetscape Composition Impacts on Urban Surface and Air Temperatures. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, December 15, 2021.
Blount, K. Fire and watershed hydrology: re-plumbing source water supplies in the Western U.S. National Academies of Sciences: Natural and Prescribed Wildland Fire Impacts on Soil Health Meeting. Virtual. November 2, 2021. Invited presentation and panelist.
Blount, K., R. Abdi, C. Panos, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue. Changes to Outdoor Water Demand Associated with Residential Redevelopment Highlight the Importance of Integrated Land Use and Urban Water Planning. AGU Fall Meeting. Virtual [COVID-19], December 15, 2020.
Blount, K. Toward sustainable urban systems: Water, vegetation, heat, and urban redevelopment. Colorado School of Mines CEEN 596 Environmental Seminar Series. November 6, 2020. Invited presentation.
Blount, K. The collaborative management of watersheds in response to wildfire. Portland State University School of the Environment Seminar Series: Geographies of Uncertainty. October 22, 2020. Invited presentation.
Blount, K. Collaborative governance for post-wildfire watershed management. Cascadia Wildfire & Urban Smoke Working Group Webinar. October 14, 2020. Invited presentation.
Blount, K., J. Wolfand, C.D. Bell, N.K. Ajami, and T.S. Hogue. Modeling Irrigation using Remote Sensing to Assess the Influence of Evolving Urban Dynamics on Water Demand in Denver, Colorado. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA, December 12, 2019.
Blount, K., C.D. Bell, K. Spahr, and T.S. Hogue: Understanding Urban Evapotranspiration Changes Due to Redevelopment and Infill through Remote Sensing Analysis in Denver, Colorado. AGU Fall Meeting. Washington D.C., December 14, 2018.
Hogue, T.S., K. Blount, C.J. Ruybal and A. Rust: Wildfire and water: Utilizing remote sensing and in situ observations to monitor post-fire impacts on water supply in the western U.S., AGU Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., December 11, 2018. Invited presentation.
Ruybal, C.J., Blount, K., and T.S. Hogue: Evaluating Hydrologic Partitioning and Water Yield Following Wildfire in Forested Watersheds. AGU Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., December 12, 2018.
Blount, K., K. Clarke, M. Darveau, P. Eranki, K. Knechtel, M. Mattjik, A. Salazar-Morgan, J. Simbai, A.E. Landis: Engineering Learning in the Minesâ¿¿ Strategic Plan for Diversity, Inclusion, & Access. Engineering Learning Conference, Golden, CO, August 14, 2018.
Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Advancing Remotely-sensed Evapotranspiration Estimates using the MODIS Soil Moisture-Evapotranspiration (MOD-SMET) Model. American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, January 7-11, 2018.
Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Application of MODIS Soil-Moisture-Evapotranspiration (MOD-SMET) Model to Evaluate Landscape and Hydrologic Recovery after the High Park Fire, Colorado, USA. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 11-15, 2017.
Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Use of remote sensing products to evaluate hydrologic response in fragmenting landscapes in East Africa. University of Oklahoma International WaTER Conference, Norman, OK, September 18-20, 2017.
Blount, W.K., T.S. Hogue, K.J. Franz, and K.R. Knipper: Evapotranspiration and partitioning of the hydrologic cycle in fragmented landscapes in the Western United States. University Council on Water Resources/National Institute of Water Resources (UCOWR/NIWR) Annual Conference, Fort Collins, CO, June 13-15, 2017.
Hogue, T.S., S. Saxe, R. Logan, K. Knipper, and W.K. Blount: Short and Long-Term Recovery in Burned Watersheds and the Impact on Streamflow Dynamics. Geological Society of America (GSA) National Conference, Denver, CO, September 25-28, 2016.

Teaching

At UIS, Dr. Blount primarily teaches classes that focus on water resources, physical environmental sciences, and environmental methods. Courses taught or planned to develop include:

ENS 251 - Introduction to Environmental Sciences
ENS 404 - Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems
ENS 465 - Water Resources and Society
ENS 466 - Ecohydrology
ENS 467 - Ecohydrology Lab
ENS 543 - Environmental Data Analysis with R
ENS 551 - Environmental Natural Sciences

Editorial Boards

Journal of Hydrology, Associate Editor (Urban hydrology; Ecohydrology)
Active reviewer for: NSF Division of Earth Sciences - Hydrologic Sciences Program, GIScience & Remote Sensing, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment; Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Landscape and Urban Planning, Scientific Reports, Science Advances, Sustainable Cities & Society, Sustainability, and Water Resources Research

Assistant Prof.

Area of Specialization

ecohydrology
water resource management

Brandon Derman

Directory — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:58:52 +0000

Brandon Derman Directory Mon, 12/07/2020 - 08:58

Area of Expertise

Government Legislation/Politics

Human Rights

Inequality

International Affairs/U.S. Foreign Policy

Brandon Barclay Derman is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, in the School of Integrated Science, Sustainability and Public Health, part of the College of Health, Science and Technology at ��ý Springfield. Dr. Derman received his Ph.D. in Geography (with additional specialization in Sociolegal Studies) from the University of Washington. Professor Derman specializes in environmental politics, law, policy and justice, with an emphasis on climate change. His research interests include climate justice, energy transitions, political and policy-making alliances, and environmental alienation. Dr. Derman's 2020 book is Struggles for Climate Justice: Uneven Geographies and Politics of Connection (Palgrave Macmillan). His work has also appeared in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Political Geography, the South African Journal of Human Rights, the OÃ±ati Socio-Legal Series, Climate Policy, the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, and in edited volumes on climate justice and global health governance.

Office Location

PAC 323

School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability, and Public Health

Phone Number

217-206-8581

Publications

Books

Derman, B. Climate Justice: Five Angles on the Crisis and the Movement. Palgrave Macmillan. (2024)

Derman, B. Struggles for Climate Justice: Uneven Geographies and the Politics of Connection. Palgrave Macmillan. (2020)

Journal Articles

Derman, B. â¿¿Polyvocal Articulations of Climate Justice and the Commonality of Loss.â¿¿ Political Geography 99 (2022): 102765

Derman, B. â¿¿Revisiting Limits to Legal Mobilization for Global Climate Justice: Power, Complexity, and the Legibility of Responsibility.â¿¿ OÃ±ati Socio-Legal Series 9, no. 3 (2019): 333-360.

Derman, B. â¿¿Climate Governance, Justice and Transnational Civil Society.â¿¿ Climate Policy 14, no. 1 (2014): 23-41.

Derman, B. â¿¿Contesting Climate Injustice During COP17.â¿¿ South African Journal on Human Rights 29, no. 1 (2013): 170-179.

Herbert, S., B. Derman, and T. Grobelski. â¿¿The Regulation of Environmental Space.â¿¿ Annual Review of Law and Social Science 9 (2013): 227-248.

Albrecht, J., B. Derman, and L. Ramasubramanian. â¿¿Geo-ontology Tools: The Missing Link.â¿¿ Transactions in GIS 12, no. 4 (2008): 409â¿¿424.

Camay, S., L. Ramasubramanian, B. Derman, E. Bohn, J. Albrecht, W. Milczarski, M. Boile, and S. Theofanis. â¿¿Ferry Parking and Landside Access Study: Implementing Public Outreach and Impact Assessment.â¿¿ Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2077, no. 1 (2008): 39â¿¿45.

Book Chapters and Sections

Derman, B. â¿¿Legal Geographies.â¿¿ In International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, edited by Audrey Kobayashi, Elsevier, 2019.

Derman, B. â¿¿â¿¿Climate Change is ��ý Usâ¿¿: Fence-line Communities, the NAACP, and the grounding of climate justice.â¿¿ In Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice, edited by Jafrey, T., Routledge, 2018.

Derman, B. â¿¿Participation of Corporations in International Organizations.â¿¿ In Researching Corporations and Global Health Governance: An Interdisciplinary Guide, edited by Lee, K. and B. Hawkins, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Derman, B. â¿¿Contesting Climate Injustice during COP17.â¿¿ In Climate Talk: Rights, Poverty and Justice, edited by Dugard, J., A. St. Clair, and S. Gloppen, Johannesburg: Juta, 2013.

bderm2@uis.edu

Involvement

Environmental Justice Task Force, Springfield Faith Coalition for the Common Good

Teaching

ENS 332/IGS 331: Cultural Geography; ENS 419: Environmental Law; ENS 463: Our Changing Climate; ENS 476: Environmental Ethics; ENS 483: National Environmental Policy Act; ENS 552: Environmental Social Sciences and Humanities; ENS 581 Environmental Policy and Analysis; ENS 587: Natural Resources Policy and Administration; Urban GIS (University of Washington); Coastal GIS (University of Washington)

Associate Prof.

Area of Specialization

Environmental and natural resource politics and policy

Social movements

Political ecology

Law, rights, and the environment

Richard Gilman-Opalsky

Directory — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:58:52 +0000

Richard Gilman-Opalsky Directory Mon, 12/07/2020 - 08:58

Area of Expertise

Dr. Richard Gilman-Opalskyâ¿¿s teaching and research focus on the history of political philosophy, Continental and contemporary social theory, Marxism, capitalism, autonomist politics, postmodern philosophy, critical theory, global social movements, and feminist philosophy.

Dr. Gilman-Opalsky earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at The New School for Social Research (2006). His M.A. (The New School for Social Research) and B.A. (Hofstra University) are in Philosophy.

He is author of many books, including: Imaginary Power, Real Horizons (2024), The Communism of Love (2020), Riotous Epistemology (2019), Specters of Revolt (2016), Precarious Communism (2014), Spectacular Capitalism (2011), and Unbounded Publics (2008). He is co-editor of Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century: A Reader of Radical Undercurrents (2018).

Spectacular Capitalism was selected as "Book of the Month" for October 2011 by The International Herbert Marcuse Society. Dr. Gilman-Opalsky has published numerous articles in social theory and political philosophy, especially on revolution, global revolts, philosophy of praxis, and capitalism and its culture. He has lectured on his research throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, and China. His work has been published in German, Greek, Spanish, and French.

Dr. Gilman-Opalsky was named University Scholar 2018-2019.

Listen to Dr. Gilman-Opalsky on NPR Illinoisâ¿¿ Community Voices (2022).

BOOKS

Communist Ontologies: An Inquiry into the Construction of New Forms of Life (Autonomedia, 2024)

Imaginary Power, Real Horizons: The Practicality of Utopianism (AK Press, 2024)

The Communism of Love: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Exchange Value (AK Press, 2020).

Riotous Epistemology: Imaginary Power, Art, and Insurrection (Autonomedia / Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, 2019).

Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century: A Reader of Radical Undercurrents (Temple University Press, 2018).

Specters of Revolt: On the Intellect of Insurrection and Philosophy from Below (Repeater Books / Random House, 2016).

Precarious Communism: Manifest Mutations, Manifesto Detourned (Autonomedia, 2014).

Spectacular Capitalism: Guy Debord and the Practice of Radical Philosophy (Autonomedia, 2011). Also available in Greek translation.

Unbounded Publics: Transgressive Public Spheres, Zapatismo, and Political Theory (Lexington Books, 2008).

SELECTED ARTICLES

Critical Reflections on Capitalist China: Notes from the China Lectures (Situations Journal, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 and 2).

The Communism of Love: How the COVID pandemic has revealed anew the importance of Marxâ¿¿s Gemeinwesen (Public Seminar at The New School, May 2021).

The Communist Secret of Love (Ill Will Editions, January 2021).

Love: a counterpower to capital worthy of its name (ROAR Magazine, January 2021).

Capitalismo, revuelta y comunidad. Entrevista a Richard Gilman-Opalsky (SociohistÃ³rica, n. 47, e133, Marzo-Agosto 2021).

The Eternal Return of Revolt: A Conversation with Richard Gilman-Opalsky (Ill Will Editions, July 2020).

Spectral Compositions in a Time of Revolt [Co-authored with Stevphen Shukaitis] (Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present/ASAP Journal, Johns Hopkins University Press, May 2018.

Revolt as Reason, Reason as Revolt: On the Praxis of Philosophy from Below (In Spontaneous Combustion: The Eros Effect and Global Revolution, Edited by Jason Del Gandio and AK Thompson, SUNY Press, 2017).

The Ferguson Revolt Did Not Take Place (The Journal of Aesthetics & Protest, May 2015).

Marxism Not Statism: Autonomist Trajectories in the 21^st Century (Left Curve: Journal of Art, Critical Culture, Theory and Politics, Number 38, June 2014).

The Reasonable â¿¿Madnessâ¿¿ of Revolt (Fifth Estate, Volume 48, Number 2, Issue 390, Fall/Winter 2013).

Becoming-Ghost, Specters of Revolt: The Ghosts of Geist and Capital (SolidaritÃ©: Journal of Radical Theory, Volume 1, Number 2, August 2013).

Unjamming the Insurrectionary Imagination: Rescuing DÃ©tournement from the Liberal Complacencies of Culture Jamming (Theory in Action, Volume 6, Number 3, July 2013).

Beyond the Old Virtue of Struggle: Autonomy, Talent, and Revolutionary Theory (Rhizomes Journal, Issue Number 24, 2012).

Why New Socialist Theory Needs Guy Debord: On the Practice of Radical Philosophy (Crisis, Politics, and Critical Sociology, Edited by Graham Cassano and Richard A. Dello Buono, Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume 17, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2012).

Upheaval as Philosophy: Eleven Theses on Guy Debord (Left Curve: Journal of Art, Critical Culture, Theory and Politics, Number 35, April 2011).

Selectively Forgetting Baudrillard: Rescuing Praxis from the Wreckage (Theory in Action, Volume 3, Number 2, April 2010).