Dr. Burton is the newly appointed Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute of Limnology and Ecosystem Research and a Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Recently, he was Professor and Chair of the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department at Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio. While at WSU he directed the Institute for Environmental Quality, started the PhD program in Environmental Sciences, and was the Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research. His research on aquatic ecosystem stressors has taken him to all seven continents and Visiting Scientist positions in New Zealand, Italy and Portugal. Recently he was the President of the international Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry and served on National Research Council and U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board committees. He has served on numerous national and international boards and panels with over 200 publications.

Education:
University of Texas at Dallas, M.S. 1980, Ph.D. 1984
    Major:  Environmental Science (Aquatic Toxicology)
Auburn University, M.S. 1978
    Major:  Microbiology
Ouachita Baptist University, B.S. 1976
    Majors:  Biology and Chemistry

Experience:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Professor and Director, School of Natural Resources & Environment and Cooperative Institute of Limnology & Ecosystem Research, September 2008.

Wright State University, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, 2006- August 2008.
Department of Biological Sciences, 1987- 2006, Dayton, Ohio
Visiting Professor, Sept. 2008-2010.
Professor of Environmental Sciences, Sept.1996 - Aug. 2008.
Chair, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, 2006 - present.
Director, Institute for Environmental Quality, 1994 - 2006.
Interim Chair, Geological Sciences Department. October 2005 - June 2006.
Coordinator, Environmental Health Sciences B.S. Degree Program, 1985-present.
Associate Director, Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program. July 2003-2005.
Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research, 2000 - 2003.
Director, Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program.  July 2002- June 2003.
Associate Professor, Sept. 1990 - Aug.1996.
Associate Director of the Toxicant Contamination Research Program, 1987 - 1990.
Assistant Professor, Sept. 1985 - Aug. 1990.

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of  Colorado, Boulder.
Visiting Fellow, Aug. 1984 - Aug. 1985.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dallas, Texas
Life Scientist, Nov. 1980 - Aug. 1984.

University of Texas at Dallas,  Richardson, Texas
Teaching and Research Assistant, Sept. 1979 - Sept. 1984.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Sept. 1978 - Sept. 1979
Microbiologist

Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
Sept. 1976 - Sept. 1978
Teaching Assistant

Water Research Project (Army Corps of Engineers), Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Jan. 1973 - Aug. 1976
Research Technician

Honors and Awards:
Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA) Panel. 2006-2009.
National Research Council Committee on Sediment Dredging at Superfund Mega-sites. 2006-2007
Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ecological Processes and Effects Committee. 2005-2008
Past-President, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2008
President, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2007
Vice-President, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2006
World Council, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2003-2008.
Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research, 2000-2003.
Editorial Board, J. Brazilian Society of Ecotoxicology. 2006-present
Editorial Advisory Board, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 2001-2006.
Editorial Board, Chemosphere, 2003-2005.
Co-Editor, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Restoration, 1995-2003.
Editorial Board.  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.  1990-1993.
Phi Kappa Phi National Honorary Society. 2000-present.
Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society. 2004-present.
Pi Epsilon National Honorary Society. 2004-present
Board of Directors, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1993-1996.
Advisory Council, The Nature Conservancy of Ohio, 1994 - 1999.
NATO Senior Research Fellow, 1994, 1995, 1996.
Visiting Senior Scientist, Italian Institute for Hydrobiology. 1994, 2001, 2005.
Visiting Senior Scientist, New Zealand Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. 1996.
Sigma Xi, Chapter President, 1991-1992, 2000.
First place award for oral presentation, 3rd International Symposium Toxicity Testing Using Microbial Systems, Valencia, Spain.  1987.
CIRES Visiting Fellow.  1984-1985.

Professional Societies:
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
North American Benthological Society
Ecological Society of America
American Chemical Society
American Geophysical Union
Sigma Xi
Phi Kappa Phi National Honorary Society
Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society

Professional Training:
Hazardous Waste Operation Emergency Response Certification (OSHA 24 Hr, 29 CFR 1910.120)1999-2002.