Gardella named to EPA Science Advisory Board

UB chemistry professor Joseph A. Gardella Jr. has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board.

Gardella — SUNY Distinguished Professor and the John and Frances Larkin Professor of Chemistry — is well-known in Western New York for his decades of work on issues at the intersection of chemistry and the environment.

He is an expert in environmental analytical chemistry, a field that aims to identify and quantify levels of pollutants in the environment. He has extensive experience using advanced analytic techniques to perform this research. In the Buffalo Niagara region, for example, he has conducted numerous studies examining the environmental impact of industrial pollutants on local communities.

Gardella’s term on the EPA Science Advisory Board began Nov. 14; it will end Sept. 30, 2019.

“I relish the chance to interact with EPA and other scientists in ways to support environmental protection and public health,” Gardella says. “I am grateful for this opportunity to serve America and its citizens.”

The EPA Science Advisory Board is made up of independent experts who provide advice to the EPA on scientific and technical issues requested by the administrator.

In a letter inviting Gardella to join, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy wrote, “Your expertise in environmental chemistry and work with underserved communities would be a great asset to the board.”

Gardella earned his PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. He has been a member of the UB faculty since 1982, devoting much of his career to public service.

He has been recognized regionally and nationally for his work. Among other honors, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007. In 2005, he was presented with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from the White House and National Science Foundation.

Earlier this year, the EPA named Gardella as one of 28 recipients of the Environmental Champion Award in New York State. The honor recognized Gardella’s years of work in ensuring that the local community’s voice was heard as the federal government decided what to do with nearly 200,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste stored in Lewiston, New York — remnants of the Manhattan Project that produced the country’s first nuclear weapons.