The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale are among the nation’s most significant environmental concerns, and Temple Civil and Environmental Engineering professor and chair Michel Boufadel is at the center of the effort to understand the impact of both.

Boufadel was recently named to both the National Academies’ committee examining the effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill on the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s panel studying natural gas extraction from shale formations.

Boufadel, director of the Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection in Temple’s College of Engineering, said the appointments are an honor and recognition of the important work being done by Temple’s environmental researchers.

“We have worked long and hard to achieve this recognition where Temple is now the place to go on such vital national issues concerning the environment,” he said.

Boufadel said that both the oil spill in the gulf and the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale have touched a nerve throughout the country because they revolve around energy, which he calls the “blood of a nation.”

One of 16 members selected for the National Academies’ panel, Boufadel said the group’s goal is to understand the effects of the spill on the eco-system in the gulf and, more importantly, to determine the best tools and methods for further evaluating its impact.

He is currently working on a two-month, $250,000 grant from the Unified Command investigating the persistence of oil in the gulf’s beaches. Based on the findings, he will make recommendations on whether to excavate the oil from the beaches or allow it to biodegrade naturally.

On the Marcellus Shale issue, the 23-member panel is charged with providing independent expert advice for the EPA’s draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan investigating potential public health and environmental protection issues associated with the gas extraction technique.

Boufadel is one of six panel members from Pennsylvania — the most of any state — and the only representative from eastern Pennsylvania. The other Pennsylvania representatives are from Carnegie Mellon University, the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Boufadel is teaming with faculty in Temple’s Colleges of Engineering, Science and Technology, and Liberal Arts in conducting environmental health research on Marcellus Shale drilling. He also provided public testimony last fall on the topic at a hearing held by Philadelphia’s City Council.