David Newburn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland-College Park. He has developed an applied research and extension program focused on two main themes: 1) water quality and the Chesapeake Bay; and 2) smart-growth policies and land-use change modeling.

He has expertise in the adoption of best management practices (BMPs) for both residential and agricultural sectors. This includes econometric analysis on the adoption for urban stormwater BMPs (e.g., rain gardens, rain barrels, low fertilizer lawn care) and the household-level response to rebates offered. He has also conducted research on incentive-based programs for the adoption on farm conservation practices (e.g., conservation tillage, cover crops, buffer strips, etc.). This analysis focused on the additionality from federal Farm Bill programs (CRP, EQIP, CSP) for the adoption of agricultural BMPs. In related work, he has analyzed the water quality trading between agricultural nonpoint and municipal point sources, with a focus on the institutional structure and analysis of the reverse auction bidding. He has used this expertise to inform managers at the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) regarding the institutional design for nutrient trading in Maryland.

He has worked extensively on spatially explicit models of land-use change over the last decade. This includes several research projects to study how residential land-use patterns are affected by smart growth policies, such as zoning, urban growth boundaries (UGBs), riparian buffer setback regulations, Maryland's Forest Conservation Act, septic bill, and adequate public facility ordinances (APFOs). In particular, this research has analyzed how these land-use policies have a heterogeneous effect on residential developed served by septic systems versus municipal sewers. This has important implications for nutrient loading from residential development for the TMDL. Because of this expertise, he is currently serving on the Chesapeake Bay Program Land Use Workgroup, coordinated by Peter Claggett.

He has experience working in multidisciplinary research groups. He is a member of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) and working on an NSF Water Sustainability and Climate project in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region on urban development and impacts to the urban water cycle and nutrient export. His research articles have appeared in both economic and multidisciplinary journals including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Land Economics, Annual Review of Resource Economics, Conservation Biology, Ecological Applications, and Journal of the American Water Resources Association.