Eric Garza

Midwest Crossroads AGEP
Indiana University, Bloomington

Indiana University Graduate Student Eric Garza is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Studies and he's interested in toxicology and sustainability. The lab Eric currently works in looks at environmental issues through the lens of an analytical chemist, and right now, he's studying how polymers absorb different chemicals, like PCBs.

The idea, he said, is to find a way to sample an environment more quickly and efficiently. Cost is a big factor when sending a test to a lab and if his research can make the test more affordable, it will also make the test more accessible -- available to more people.

For example, say there was a way for someone at home to test for PCBs in their water. Perhaps it is as simple as putting a piece of special plastic into their water supply for a few days. If the test could then be sent out to the lab instead of the technician coming in to test the water, the cost will be much reduced.

Eric has always been interested in the outdoors. He even created a local tracking club with friends from across the IU and Bloomington community after arriving in Bloomington for graduate school. The club takes nature interpretation walks on Sunday afternoons, usually around the IU teaching preserve.

After getting his B.S. in biology, Eric's first full-time job was as a wildlife technician for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). But, it wasn't a perfect fit and he soon began contemplating graduate school.

Eric's college advisor suggested Indiana University, among other institutions. Eric fell in love with Bloomington at first sight and never completed the other campus visits.

Although his long-term academic goal is to get a Ph.D., he first applied only for the master's program. Once here, he took a semester to get a feel for his department in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) and to find a mentor for the Ph.D. program. He said he looked for someone who is easy to talk to and who wouldn't mind working on a first name basis, which he was used to from his position with the USGS. Eric believes that in a Ph.D. program, it's important to know what kind of person you best work with on a long-term project. Luckily, his first summer here, Eric worked in Dr. Debera Backhus's lab. Her expertise in chemistry and her work ethic matched Eric's interests, and he knew then he had found a good mentor.

All in all, Eric has about three or four years left to his degree. He still has to do a qualifying exam and finish up a few courses, but he's excited about his future research. The goal, Eric said, is to find a way to combine his work in toxicology and chemistry that he currently conducts in Dr. Backhus's lab, with his interest in making communities more self-sufficient and thus more sustainable.

"Make sure you understand what you want from a Ph.D. program before jumping in," Eric said, "and that goes for master's degree programs too, because you don't want to invest a lot of time and money into something that you don't enjoy doing."