Carnegie Mellon University
Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research  ›  People  ›  Faculty Affiliates  ›  Mitchell J. Small

Mitchell Small

Mitchell J. Small (E 1975)

Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering & Public Policy

Address
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Bio

Mitchell Small is a professor emeritus in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Small’s research involves mathematical modeling of environmental systems, environmental statistics, risk assessment, and decision support.

Small has served as a member of the US EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) and has been a member of a number of US National Research Council (NRC) committees, most recently as chair of the NRC Committee on Risk Management and Governance Issues in Shale Gas Extraction. He is a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis and served as an associate editor for the journal Environmental Science & Technology (1995 – 2011), where he helped to initiate the policy analysis section of the journal.

Education

  • Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 1982
  • M.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 1979
  • B.S., Civil Engineering and Engineering and Public Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, 1975

Research

Professor Small conducts research on methods for characterizing uncertainty, its implications for regulatory decisions, and the value of information which can lead to reduced uncertainty and improved decision making. Bayesian statistical methods are applied to identify the impact of research and monitoring programs at various stages in an environmental assessment. 

Risk perception, communication, and the content and form of decision-support information can have a significant impacts on the behavior of engineers, product designers and consumers, with significant implications for environmental performance and exposure. Integrated environmental performance and exposure models are developed considering both pollutant and human behavior. Results are used for the design of decision-support and risk communication materials.

Small aims to make scientific research collaborative, to support better decision-making, especially for environmental and energy issues.