| Ashanti Johnson, a faculty research associate in the UT Arlington College of Science, has been appointed to a 24-member panel creating a strategic vision for the National Academy of Sciences' Gulf of Mexico program.
The Gulf of Mexico program is a $500 million, 30-year endeavor established as part of the settlements of federal criminal complaints against BP and Transocean Ltd. following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. It will focus on human health, environmental protection and oil system safety and will fund and carry out studies, projects, and activities in research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring.
The new advisory committee, which includes 23 other leaders from around the country, "will articulate the program's mission, goals, and objectives - including preliminary thinking about metrics to measure its impacts - and outline how the program will operate in the first three to five years," according to a news release from the National Academies.
Johnson said she is looking forward to helping shape the future of the Gulf of Mexico and the United States' Outer Continental Shelf.
"I am honored to have been asked to participate in such an important activity that will have a long-lasting impact on the stewardship of our coastal and marine resources," said Johnson, who joined UT Arlington in 2011. "It is my hope that as a member of this group I can make a valuable contribution as an oceanographer, educator and mother who is committed to engaging in |
