Meckley manages the Effects of Sea Level Rise (ESLR) Competitive Research Program. The ESLR program provides a suite of science products to inform coastal managers of local coastal vulnerability and solutions that mitigate flood risk to ecosystems and communities; he also supports scientific and management activities regarding hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.
An ecologist by training, Meckley received his B.S. from Millersville University, and both his M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University while studying the invasive sea lamprey migration in the Great Lakes. These studies involved the use of mathematical and statistical techniques to develop mechanistic models of organism movement that answer applied questions on invasive species control. This foundation guides Meckley’s management of applied research programs that often support the advancement of modeling methods to identify solutions to mitigate coastal flooding and nutrient pollution issues.