Sam Brody

Sam Brody studies coastal environmental planning, flood and natural hazards mitigation. His findings have been published in numerous scientific journals and in 2011 he authored “Rising Waters: The Causes and Consequences of Flooding in the United States.” In addition to teaching graduate courses in environmental planning and sustainable/resilient coastal development, he works in the public and private sectors to help local coastal communities develop environmental and flood mitigation plans. He has a joint appointment as a professor of urban planning at Texas A&M in College Station and holder of the George P. Mitchell ’40 Endowed Chair in Sustainable Coasts in the Department of Marine Sciences at Texas A&M at Galveston, as well as director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores there. The Center for Texas Beaches and Shores was established in 1993 by the Texas Legislature to address beach erosion and wetlands loss throughout the state. This center helps conserve and protect the Texas shoreline, bays and waterways through innovative research in cooperation with government and private sector agencies. Center staff focus on developing comprehensive, holistic approaches to Texas coastal research and restoration solutions while incorporating natural, economic and political processes. Brody earned a bachelor’s in environmental studies and anthropology from Bowdoin College, a master’s in resource policy and behavior from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.