Dr. Patricia Gallagher, associate professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, has been appointed to serve as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). The purpose of NACEPT is to provide independent advice to the EPA Administration on a broad range of environmental policy, technology and management issues. NACEPT members serve as representatives of business and industry, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and state, local and tribal governments. Gallagher will serve a two-year term from 2012-2014, representing academic researchers studying sustainability.
“The EPA is working to institutionalize sustainability as both a process and a goal. The National Research Council, at the request of the EPA, recently developed an operational framework for integrating sustainability at the agency. In adopting that framework, the EPA will look to NACEPT for guidance related to sustainability implementation, performance indicators, and associated metrics. As a researcher studying sustainability, I will be a valuable resource, especially as the EPA works to develop a “sustainability toolkit” for assessing and managing sustainability,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher received her bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and geological sciences from Rutgers University, a master’s in civil engineering from the Ohio State University, and a doctoral degree in civil engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Drexel University, Gallagher was a consulting engineer involved in the design and construction of infrastructure systems. She is a licensed professional engineer in Ohio. Gallagher is the recipient of several awards and honors, including the U.S. National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award and the Alan Rothwarf Award for Teaching Excellence from Drexel University.
Gallagher is a Provost’s Fellow in Sustainability. As Provost’s Fellow in Sustainability, Gallagher is leading the Urban Sustainability Planning Initiative, which is developing an exciting new research agenda at Drexel focusing on urban sustainability through the lenses of food, water and energy. Her research involves sustainability and resilience of infrastructure. Her current focus is on incorporating life cycle assessment methods into geoenvironmental and geotechnical engineering to provide decision-making tools for enhancing the environmental sustainability of infrastructure and remediation projects.