Kurt Preston, associate vice chancellor for research, has been appointed to the Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The board provides outside, expert and independent advice and recommendations to chief of engineers on environmental issues facing the Corps. The board is made up of five to 10 members with diverse expertise or experience in the natural, social and related sciences.

Preston’s appointment is for three years. He will attend his first advisory board meeting in September.

Preston joined UNL in 2012 as associate vice chancellor for research and professor of biological systems engineering. Previously, he was division chief of the U.S. Army Research Office in Durham, N.C., where he directed the Environmental Science Basic Research Program and the University Research Initiative Program. Earlier, he served in several leadership roles for the U.S. Army related to the environment, safety and health. Preston holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Georgia, master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from Purdue University and a juris doctor from North Carolina Central University.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages one of the largest federal environmental missions: restoring degraded ecosystems; constructing sustainable facilities; regulating waterways; managing natural resources; and cleaning up contaminated sites from past military activities.