ATHENS, GA – The Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems welcomed a special guest on Wednesday, August 21: NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Dr. Steven Thur. In this position, Dr. Thur oversees the foundational research that is key to understanding weather, climate, and marine and Great Lakes ecosystems.
Thur’s focus is on applying service through science in order to manage, restore and conserve marine resources, and he visited with IRIS faculty, research staff and students to share insights on the collaborations that make such research possible.

Throughout the morning, Thur met with IRIS leadership, graduate students, research staff and faculty affiliates for roundtable meetings, sharing ideas and learning about ongoing research at IRIS. In the afternoon, he met with campus-wide research leadership and gave a seminar on NOAA research at UGA’s Driftmier Engineering Center.
Discussions throughout the day ranged widely: Thur provided insights on partnerships between academic and federal institutions, collaboration with communities and the importance of interdisciplinary work in environmental and engineering research. The full-day visit was busy, but allowed time for Thur to speak to almost every level at UGA, from undergraduate engineering students to department heads.

We’re very thankful to Dr. Thur and his team for getting involved at IRIS. To learn more about NOAA’s interdisciplinary research, click here.
To learn more about research at IRIS, visit our projects page.
