Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology and senior fellow at the Carsey Institute

When BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April 2010 and released nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, UNH researchers responded by sharing their expertise with the government, the media, and the scientific community. On Monday, Sept. 23, they’ll bring their perspectives to the public at the inaugural event of the Faculty Research Excellence Seminar Series. 

Seminar: Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Monday, Sept. 23, 4 – 6:30 p.m., Squamscott Room, Holloway Commons. A reception will follow.

Speakers:       

Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology and senior fellow at the Carsey Institute at UNH

Nancy Kinner, professor of civil and environmental engineering; director of the Coastal Response Research Center

 Larry Mayer, director of the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering and the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at UNH

                                                            W. Kelley Thomas, Hubbard Professor in genomics; director of the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies at UNH

Nancy Kinner, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UNH and director of the UNH-NOAA Coastal Response Research Center

RSVP by Sept. 16: https://www.events.unh.edu/RegistrationForm.pm?event_id=15496 

In the face of one of the United States’ worst environmental disasters, researchers from across the UNH campus were called upon to provide measurements, guidance, and innovative studies to help those charged with responding to and understanding the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  

Hamilton and colleagues researched how residents of Louisiana and Florida altered their views on environmental issues

Larry Mayer, director of UNH’s School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, professor of Earth science and ocean engineering

after the spill. Kinner, whose UNH/NOAA Coastal Response Research Center convened several scientific meetings in response to the spill, testified before federal lawmakers and spoke with hundreds of media outlets in the wake of the spill. 

Mayer led the National Research Council committee that produced a congressionally mandated report on the spill; in addition, he and researchers from the UNH/NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center he co-directs worked in the Gulf of Mexico after the spill using sonar imaging to track the fate of oil and gas in the water column. With a National Science Foundation RAPID grant, Thomas and colleagues looked at the impact of the spill on microbial organisms along the Gulf of Mexico beaches. 

W. Kelley Thomas, Hubbard Professor of genomics at UNH and director of UNH’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies.

The Faculty Research Excellence Seminar Series, sponsored by the UNH Research Office, recognizes and celebrates the quality and diversity of UNH faculty research accomplishments, brings together multi- and inter-disciplinary perspectives, and provide opportunities for faculty to network to explore possible collaborations. The series will continue monthly.