A faculty member in the University of Georgia College of Engineering will testify before a U.S Senate subcommittee to provide lawmakers with insight on the problem of marine debris and its impact on wildlife.

Jenna Jambeck, an associate professor, is the only university researcher invited to testify in Washington at the May 17 oversight hearing “Marine Debris and Wildlife: Impacts, Sources and Solutions.” The Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the Committee on Environment and Public Works will host the hearing.

Jambeck has emerged as a leading scholar on the issue of marine debris after leading a study that quantified for the first time the amount of mismanaged plastic waste flowing into the world’s oceans.

Other witnesses scheduled to testify include:

• Jim Kurth, Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Chris Pallister, President and Co-Founder, Gulf of Alaska Keeper
• Nicholas Mallos, Director, Trash Free Seas Program, Ocean Conservancy
• Jonathan F. Stone, Executive Director, Save the Bay