Professor Emeritus
Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, College of the Environment
Email: Wayne.Landis@wwu.edu
Phone: 360-650-6136
Education
Ph.D. Zoology, Indiana University, 1979.
M.A. Biology, Indiana University, 1978.
B.A. Biology, Wake Forest University, 1974.
Research and Accomplishments
Dr. Landis’ current area of research is ecological risk assessment at large spatial and temporal scales. Dr. Landis’ research contributions also include: creation of the Action at a Distance Hypothesis for landscape toxicology, the application of complex systems theory to risk assessment, and development of the Relative Risk Model for multiple stressor and regional-scale risk assessment. He has developed specialized methods for calculating risk due to invasive species, emergent diseases, synthetic biology and microplastics. He has patents and papers on the use of enzymes and organisms for the degradation of chemical weapons. Dr. Landis has authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications and government technical reports, made over 500 scientific presentations, edited four books, and wrote the textbook, Introduction to Environmental Toxicology, now in its fifth edition.
He has consulted for industry; non-governmental organizations as well as federal (U.S. and Canada), state, provincial, and local governments. Dr. Landis serves on the editorial board of the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, serves as Deputy Editor for Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, and served as the ecological risk area editor for Risk Analysis. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and served on the SETAC Board of Directors from 2000-2003. In 2007 he was named a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis. He served two 4-year terms on the Science Panel for the Puget Sound Partnership, a state agency that focuses on the restoration of Puget Sound. In 2012 Dr. Landis was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water and Energy. In 2016 he was named a Fellow of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.