Davis joins EL as Deputy Director

Published Feb. 25, 2011

Feb. 25, 2011

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Vicksburg, Miss. —Dr. Jack Davis has joined ERDC's Environmental Laboratory (EL), as deputy director, making a permanent leap from the Center's Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) where he spent 27 years as a researcher and in various leadership positions.

"I wasn’t a stranger to EL," said Davis. "The lab's significant areas of work include water quality, wetlands restoration and navigation dredging and I've teamed up with their researchers many times in the past. I enjoyed my prior assignments in CHL, but I look forward to new challenges."

Davis spent the past six months serving as acting deputy director through a developmental assignment, and found the job used much of his knowledge and skill. In the position, he will assist EL Director Dr. Beth Fleming in managing operations, overseeing the execution of the work program, developing and implementing business processes and policies, developing new and strategic research programs and managing physical assets.

"I want to ensure EL's staff, facilities, equipment, technical programs, processes and procedures help us achieve our short- and long-term goals," said Davis. "In the near-term, I will also be working with other ERDC deputy directors to make our laboratory process more consistent—in particular, how we recruit, integrate, develop and manage our staff. I'm excited about the opportunity to shape the organization."

Prior to accepting his current position, Davis served as ERDC's technical director for Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction. He also managed several Corps research and Development programs and spent time as a research hydraulic engineer, working in subjects including reservoir water quality, river control structure design, wind-wave generation and propagation, coastal wetland restoration, sediment management and shore protection structure design.

Davis worked as a co-op student at ERDC's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in 1980, prior to the laboratory becoming part of ERDC. He earned a bachelor's in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a master's from The University of Texas at Austin. He also earned a doctorate in ocean engineering from Texas A&M University under Dr. Billy Edge.