Distinguished Lecture Series

The Colorado School of Mines Faculty Senate Distinguished Lecturer Award was established in 1990 as a means for the Mines faculty to annually honor one of their outstanding colleagues.

Nominations for the award are solicited from all faculty members. Nominees, who may be either active or retired members of the faculty or administration, represent people who are admired and respected by their peers in their role as educators and for their reputation for having stimulating ideas to convey and ability to communicate those ideas effectively.

The recipient, selected from the nominations by a committee of past honorees, and approved by the Mines Faculty Senate, is invited to make a presentation on a topic of his or her choice.

The honorees are further awarded a commemorative plaque and a monetary gift to their discretionary account by the Mines Provost and Executive Vice President.

Contact us

Brandon dugan

Faculty Senate President
Associate Department Head/Professor, Geophysics
Baker Hughes Chair in Petrophysics and Borehole Geophysics

dugan@mines.edu
(303) 273-3512

2025 Distinguished Lecturer: christoper higgins

 

 

Chasing Forever Chemicals Forever? The Imminent Challenges of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment

Growing concerns about human exposure to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), two members of the broad family of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), have recently led to significant public and regulatory interest. However, society’s path forward is not immediately evident for these chemicals, particularly if they are broadly defined. Even when narrowly defined, significant challenges are evident for developing PFAS treatment technologies, mainly due to both their recalcitrance and their chemical complexity. Finally, the complexity of the routes of human exposure to PFASs ensure that PFASs are likely to be a dominant environmental and public health challenge for years to come. In this overview, these challenges will be discussed in the context of characterizing PFASs in the environment, evaluating human exposures to PFASs, and developing treatment technologies. Further, the need for a broader societal conversation on PFASs will be discussed.

 

Christopher P. Higgins is an environmental chemist at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Higgins’ received his A.B. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and graduate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. He joined Mines in 2009, attaining the title of University Distinguished Professor in 2022. He was the recipient of the 2019 Huber Prize in Civil Engineering Research awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was the lead Principal Investigator for the 2020 Environmental Restoration Project of the Year for the U.S. DoD’s Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program. His research focuses on the movement of contaminants in the environment. In particular, he studies chemical fate and transport in natural and engineered systems, with a focus on poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Dr. Higgins has authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications.  His research has been supported by NSF, NIH, EPA, USDA, and the DoD.

Past Lectures