The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was an active contributor at the first in-person Gulf of Mexico Conference (GoMCon) held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from April 25-28. The four-day conference gathered more than 800 researchers, resource managers, and interested stakeholders, and highlighted the intersection of scientific research and the management of human and natural systems in the Gulf of Mexico region.

“The work that you are doing is incredibly important,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards in his welcoming remarks. “There is nowhere else that is more threatened by climate impacts and more in need of coastal resilience plans than Louisiana. Some of the Gulf’s best and brightest have gathered this week to come up with ways to improve this beautiful place we all call home, and I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas that come out of the Gulf of Mexico Conference.”

During the conference, GRP’s executive director, Lauren Alexander Augustine, moderated a plenary panel centered on fostering collaborative initiatives to address the nation’s most pressing challenges. Panelists shared lessons they have learned in forming productive partnerships and discussed barriers to collaboration and approaches for incorporating as many voices as possible into decision-making.

The GRP was also involved in a number of other presentations, including a special session to discuss its recently released consensus study, An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration, which provides recommendations for assessing Gulf of Mexico coastal restoration efforts in the context of long-term environmental trends.

Additionally, staff from several GRP boards presented their work during the conference:

• Jennifer Summers of the Gulf Offshore Energy and Safety Board presented on legacy infrastructure during a session on emerging issues in oil and gas.

• Michael Feldman of the Gulf Environmental Protection and Stewardship Board presented its work on the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS) Initiative during a session on climate impacts data and modeling.

• Karena Mothershed and staff from the Board on Gulf Education and Engagement (BGEE) presented during a session titled Citizen Science: Tools and Opportunities. BGEE also participated in the poster session.

The GRP was a sponsor of the recently created GoMCon, which merges the annual Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) All Hands Meeting, the annual Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystems Science (GoMOSES) Conference, and the triannual State of the Gulf Summit.

One of the highlights for the GRP was the extensive participation of its network of fellows. Over 20 Science Policy and Early-Career Research Fellows presented their work at GoMCon either in the form of presentations or poster sessions, and they were also able to network and connect with one another. For many, it was the first time that they had been able to gather in person as a cohort.

The fellows and GRP staff convened at the GRP-hosted fellows’ networking event at LSU’s Center for River Studies, where they toured the center and saw the 10,000 square foot Lower Mississippi River Physical Model, one of the world’s largest movable bed physical models.