Scott Fendorf, PhD, is the founding chair of the Earth System Science Department and the Senior Associate Dean in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Science at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow in Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. He is a soil scientist and biogeochemist conducting research focused on the chemical and biological processes of contaminants and nutrients.

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Dr. Fendorf’s work on the fundamental biogeochemistry of arsenic coupled with field work from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, and California has led to an understanding of how arsenic and other contaminants enter groundwater, a process that affects aquifers around the globe. He has helped connect different groups that are focused on solving what is termed the largest mass poisoning in history. Fendorf has a BS in Soil Science from California Polytechnic State University, an MS from University of California, Davis, and a PhD in soil and environmental chemistry from University of Delaware.