Dr. Keith Baarson is an Associate Faculty Member and Senior Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNC Charlotte. He holds a B.S. in Biology, a B.A. in Sociology, and a M.A. in Sociology from Western Michigan University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science from New York University. Dr. Baarson is a member of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at UNC Charlotte, and leads the private and public outreach activities for the University's IDEAS Center. Dr. Baarson brings his industrial experience in program development and management to the Center's efforts to build its program creatively and with high regional impact.

Dr. Baarson has over 25 years of industrial experience as an environmental health and safety leader and program manager. He has an extensive background in industrial environmental stewardship and problem solving and is a strong advocate for applying environmental technology and related tools to infrastructure management. He provides the IDEAS Center with well-honed management skills and with links to regional sustainability efforts and contacts with the public and private sectors.

At UNC Charlotte, Dr. Baarson's research has been funded by the NC Biofuels Center, the NC Green Building Fund, Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities, and the City of Charlotte. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation SBIR award.