University Professor of Environmental Sustainability appointed to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Board 

A Clemson University professor will serve on a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Board designed to examine human interactions with the biophysical environment and integrate social and behavioral science research into environmental decision making.

Gary Machlis, University Professor of Environmental Sustainability in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS) and the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences (CAFLS) at Clemson, has been appointed to the National Academies’ Board on Environmental Change and Society (BECS) for a three-year term.

The Board on Environmental Change and Society utilizes board members’ interdisciplinary expertise to identify solutions to emerging scientific and governmental concerns and offer evidence-based responses for the social, political, economic and equity dimensions of environmental change.

National Academies Boards are commissioned to conduct research and develop peer-reviewed consensus reports that guide policy and practice for challenges facing the nation and world. Currently, the BECS is reviewing a decadal study of climate change in an effort to understand its mitigation and adaptation from a social and behavioral science perspective.

“It is exhilarating to learn from and collaborate with experts who have come together for the good of the nation,” said Machlis. “We are pooling our unique expertise and backgrounds for one common goal – informing policy with science.”

Over the course of his three-year term, Machlis said he hopes to work on projects that examine the effect of climate change and wildfires on society. He also plans to encourage the board to focus attention on rural America – specifically, examining how environmental changes contribute to food access and insecurity.

“Dr. Machlis’ career-long contributions to the advancement of interdisciplinary science are outstanding,” said Leslie Hossfeld, dean of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. “And as a BECS board member, he has the opportunity to represent Clemson and CBSHS during collaborative conversations about some of our nation’s most pressing issues.”

Machlis, who has a joint appointment in the Departments of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management and Forestry and Environmental Conservation, also serves on the National Academies’ Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability.

The College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences is a 21st-century land-grant college joining together a unique combination of schools and departments: Communication, Nursing, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health Sciences and Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice. These areas have distinctive characteristics and missions – all joined together by a common thread of service to people and communities.