A University of Arkansas at Little Rock faculty member will play a hand in keeping the state’s drinking water safe.

Dr. Lashun K. Thomas, P.E., was appointed to a six-year term with the Arkansas Drinking Water Advisory and Operator Licensing Committee through the state Department of Health.

When her term begins on July 1, Thomas will be the only representative from an Arkansas university on the committee. She is scheduled to serve through June 30, 2022.

Thomas is an assistant UALR professor and the environmental engineering program coordinator for the university’s Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering. She joined the university in 2014.

Improving water quality is a major focus of Thomas’ research. She previously worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University and as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the South Carolina Water Science Center.

About the UALR environmental engineering program

The environmental engineering program equips students to manage water, air, and land resources in future careers.

More information about environmental engineering and other unique UALR construction and engineering academic programs is available online.