The Auburn University research team is  comprised of experts in geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, hydrology and hydrogeology, land planning, economics, statistics, public policy, and public meetings. Our diverse yet relevant experiences all bring a different perspective to the study that work collaboratively towards discovering solutions to enhance the solid waste management within our state. Our research team is listed below with a brief biography. For more information on any of our researchers, please follow the links to their individual faculty pages within their respective colleges and departments.

Joel Hayworth
Joel Hayworth is an associate research professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University with more than 20 years of experience managing large technical projects in public, private, and academic settings. For 13 years, he served as president of an engineering firm specializing in environmental assessment and remediation of complex hazardous waste sites. He has managed a number of multi‐million dollar projects at superfund sites across the country, including many sites which involved municipal and military solid waste landfills. Hayworth is also skilled in the application of statistics to environmental studies and the application of geographical information systems in complex environmental studies. In addition to overall project management, Hayworth is responsible for reviewing recent technology development and applications relative to solid waste stream management, and coordinating data interpretation and evaluation activities.

 J. Brian Anderson
J. Brian Anderson is an associate professor of civil engineering specializing in geotechnical engineering. His personal expertise is subsurface investigations, soil properties, and civil infrastructure.  He brings the geotechnical design perspective to the project.  In his previous appointment at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, he was a faculty member in the infrastructure and environmental systems program, with a focus on sustainability. Anderson is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers GeoInsititute and serves at the chairman of the deep foundations technical committee. He has been involved with infrastructure research for the North Carolina and Alabama Departments of Transportation and the US Federal Highway Administration. He also works closely with geotechnical engineers, contractors, and trade organizations and is active on the professional development circuit. He has a B.S. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in civil/geotechnical engineering from the University of Florida. Anderson is responsible for evaluating the state of solid waste management in Alabama and peer states and review of emerging waste management technologies.

Charlene LeBleu
Charlene LeBleu is an associate professor in the landscape architecture program at Auburn University. Her primary areas of interest and research have been focused on public participation and water quality issues in Alabama, especially issues related to low impact development and natural resource based design. She is a member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners, and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She is the current vice president of the Alabama chapter of the American Planning Association. LeBleu has shown exceptional public/community service and leadership especially in the field of outreach working with local, state and regional partners and city planning commissions on projects such as the Mobile, Alabama Green Streets Initiative, and a Demonstration of Low Impact Development Practices to Reduce Nonpoint Source Polluted Runoff from a Residential Development in the Saugahatchee Creek Watershed. She has a B.S. in forest resources and conservation from the University of Florida, and a Master of community planning, and a Master of landscape architecture from Auburn University. LeBleu is responsible for developing and executing stakeholder and public meeting strategies during this project.

Cheryl Morgan
Cheryl Morgan is a professor in the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture at Auburn University, and is the director of the Urban Studio, a teaching and outreach venue of Auburn’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. The Urban Studio is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and under her direction, has worked with over 70 towns and communities, developing grassroots methodology that identifies (via public meetings, on‐the‐ground engagement and assets‐based planning) the distinct opportunities and potential‐of‐place that can provide a community with new strategies, partnership and incentives for improved local economies and higher quality‐of‐life. This work has evolved over the last 15 years through the Urban Studio’s Small Town Design Initiative Program (STDI,) the YourTownAlabama Program, and engagement with many state‐wide partners including the Regional Planning Commissions, ADECA, Alabama Historical Commission (AHC,) and the Center for Economic Development at the University of Alabama. Nationally, the Urban Studio’s work has been supported by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency (primarily brownfield grants.) Morgan has a B.A. in sociology from Auburn University, a B.A. in architecture from Auburn University, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois. She is responsible for providing expert consultation related to planning and execution of stakeholder and public meetings. She will also be a member of our panel of external experts and practitioners we will convene during the planning, execution, and interpretation and evaluation phases of the project.

Michael Kensler
Michael Kensler is the director of Auburn University’s Office of Sustainability. As director, he has led sustainability initiatives for campus operations, policy, management, and outreach. He has considerable experience in strategic planning, and public meeting, conference, workshop and seminar planning and execution. He has planned and executed numerous public and stakeholder meetings associated with environmental and sustainability issues, including many charrette‐style meetings. He has a B.A. in political science and an M.S. in natural resources management, planning and policy - both from the University of Michigan. He is responsible for providing expert consultation related to planning and execution of stakeholder and public meetings.