James Johnson to Chair EPA Policy Advisory Group
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson appointed James H. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D., as chair of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT), an independent committee that advises the agency on a broad range of environmental policy, technology, and management issues.
Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering and former Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He previously served the university as chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Interim Associate Vice President for Research.
Johnson’s research interests include the treatment and disposal of hazardous substances, the evaluation of minority environmental policy issues and the development of environmental curricula and strategies to increase the pool of underrepresented groups in the science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.
From 1996 to 2002, Dr. Johnson oversaw the activities of the Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence and Leadership in Education, a National Science Foundation-funded consortium. From 1989-2002, he was the associate director of the EPA-sponsored Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic Center for Hazardous Substance Research. Previous service to EPA includes six years on both the Science Advisory Board and the Board of Scientific Counselors, where he served as chair for two years.
Johnson is currently a member of the National Research Council’s Division of Earth and Life Sciences Oversight Committee, and chair of the Anne Arundel Community College Board of Trustees in Maryland. He received his bachelor's degree from Howard University, master's degree from the University of Illinois and doctorate from the University of Delaware.