Tom Leschine

Professor Emeritus Leschine’s research focus is environmental decision making, with an emphasis on marine pollution management and policy. He was director of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, 2003-2014, and chaired the Marine Board of the US National Research Council, 2014-2016. Marine Board areas of emphasis during his chairmanship included efforts to assure safe marine transportation and oil development in the Arctic. These themes were also prominent in courses he taught while an active member of the faculty.  Recent research activities include risk analysis of spills and other hazardous releases from marine transportation through the Aleutian Islands, a topic on which he served on a panel of technical experts, and an assessment of U.S. efforts to develop oil and gas reserves in offshore regions of the Arctic. He has also written about international cooperation in development of the resources of the high Arctic, conducting cooperative research on behalf of the Korean government on this topic.