Lance Manuel has been elected to serve a 3-year term, beginning November 1, on the Marine Board, which is a program unit under the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and provides independent, objective advice to inform policy with evidence, spark progress and innovation, and confront challenging issues for the benefit of society. 

The Marine Board is an internationally recognized source of expertise on maritime transportation, marine technology and offshore development.  The purpose of the Marine Board is to identify research needs and provide a forum for exchange of information relating to new technologies, laws and regulations, economics, the environment, and other issues affecting the marine transportation system, offshore industries, port operations, coastal engineering, and marine governance.

The Marine Board is supported by various standing committees, particularly those involved with ports and channels, inland water transport, ferry transportation, freight systems, marine safety and human factors, and the marine environment. It develops activities that encourage the discussion and examination of maritime transportation, marine research, policy issues, and technology developments in a broad context.

Lance Manuel was selected to serve on the 20-member Marine Board as a result of his long association with research, teaching and practice related to the reliability, risk and safety assessment of offshore oil and gas platforms, offshore wind turbines, and wave energy converters.

Lance Manuel is the Texas Atomic Energy Research Foundation Professor of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.  His current research is related to the quantification of uncertainties in load and response characteristics of engineered systems, with a prime focus on offshore/marine systems, civil engineering infrastructure systems, and energy generation. He is an elected Fellow of AAAS, ASME, ASCE, and ASCE-SEI; he is also a Diplomate of the Academy of Coastal, Ocean, Port & Navigation Engineers (ACOPNE).  He serves as Editor-in-Chief of ASME’s Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering and as Chair of ASME’s Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division’s Executive Committee.  He also serves as an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering.  Dr. Manuel earned BTech, MS and PhD degrees, respectively, from the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay), the University of Virginia, and Stanford University.