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Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States (2010)

Chapter: Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
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APPENDIX B
Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches

Charles K. Paull, chair, is a senior scientist and chair of the Research and Development Division at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing, California. Dr. Paull also has a courtesy appointment as an adjunct professor at Stanford University. Prior to his work at the MBARI, he served as the Amos L. Hawley Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Paull’s research interests include the frequency, distribution, and environmental significance of continental margin pore-water seeps; the establishment of in situ characteristics of marine gas hydrates, and the understanding of the diverse processes that initially form and subsequently erode continental margins. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Geophysical Union, and the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists. Dr. Paull received his B.A. (Honors) in geology from Harvard University, his M.S. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Miami, and his Ph.D. in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.


Scott R. Dallimore has served as a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada for the past 23 years. His research interests include gas hydrate production and consideration of the climate change implications of natural methane release from warming gas hydrates. Mr. Dallimore has acted as a chief scientist for three multidisciplinary international gas hydrate production research programs at the Mallik site in Canada’s Mackenzie Delta. Field programs in 2002 and 2007-2008 included the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

first full-scale gas hydrate production test studies using the thermal and pressure drawdown stimulation methods. He has contributed significantly to the development of an integrated national gas hydrate research program within Natural Resources Canada and regional gas hydrate studies in the circumpolar Arctic. He earned his M.A.(Sc.) in geotechnical science from Carleton University.


Gonzalo (Gonz) Enciso has a wide range of international and domestic experience as an exploration geologist in the oil and gas industry. He is presently an independent oil and gas consultant, having recently retired from Shell Exploration and Production Company. He spent the first 17 years of his career with Shell working in various roles domestically and internationally. Thereafter, he joined Seagull Energy as director of new ventures in 1998. Following the merger between Seagull and Ocean Energy, he was named vice president of evaluation and chief geologist. When Ocean Energy merged with Devon Energy in 2003, Mr. Enciso was named chief geologist for the corporation, and contributed significantly to their prospect consistency effort. He then joined Spinnaker Exploration as vice president and chief geoscientist with the responsibility to establish a regional geologic perspective and to oversee project evaluation and risking. Following the merger with Norsk Hydro, he continued as an executive of the newly formed Hydro Gulf of Mexico L.L.C. as vice president of exploration portfolio and chief geoscientist. Mr. Enciso then served as a senior associate for Rose & Associates, teaching risk analysis for exploration to oil and gas companies around the world before returning to Shell as a geologic advisor. His expertise includes project risk evaluation, deep-water depositional systems, and seismic stratigraphy, and he applies this knowledge in mentoring roles. Mr. Enciso, who is fluent in Spanish, has presented a number of papers on deepwater sedimentation topics and risk analysis in national and international conferences. He is past chairman of the Diversity Membership Subcommittee of the American Association of Petroleum Geologist and past member of the Board of Advisors for the Energy Geological Institute. Mr. Enciso earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in geology from the University of Kansas.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

Sidney Green (NAE) is one of the founders and is retired president-chairman-chief executive officer of TerraTek in Salt Lake City, Utah, a geomechanics engineering firm. TerraTek was acquired by Schlumberger, the largest worldwide oil services firm, in 2006, and Mr. Green has been manager of Geomechanics Business Development for the Schlumberger Data and Consulting Services group. Mr. Green has additionally accepted a position of research professor at the University of Utah, where he holds a dual appointment in mechanical engineering and civil and environmental engineering. He has worked in the area of geomechanics for the past 4 decades, and has published numerous papers and reports, holds a number of patents, has given many presentations on geomechanics, and has received a number of rock mechanics/geomechanics recognitions. He is the past chairman of the National Academy of Sciences U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics and has recently served on the National Research Council Committee on Destruction of Non-Stockpile Chemical Weapons. Mr. Green has a B.S. from the University of Missouri at Rolla and an M.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, both in mechanical engineering. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, and he received the degree of Engineer from Stanford University in engineering mechanics in 1964.


Carolyn A. Koh is an associate professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and codirector of the CSM Center for Hydrate Research. Prior to CSM, Dr. Koh was a reader on the chemistry faculty of King’s College, London University. Her research focuses on applying a combination of spectroscopic, diffraction, and macroscopic tools, coupled with computer simulations to advance our understanding of the structure and mechanisms of hydrate crystal growth and decomposition. Dr. Koh is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and received the Young Scientist Award of the British Association for Crystal Growth in 2001. She received her B.Sc. (Honors) in chemistry and her Ph.D. in surface chemistry and catalysis from the University of West London. Dr. Koh also completed postdoctoral research training in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Cornell University. She has been a visiting professor at Cornell University, Penn State, and London University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

Keith A. Kvenvolden is retired from his position as senior scientist after 28 years at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Branch of Pacific Marine Geology in Menlo Park, California. Specializing in organic geochemistry, Dr. Kvenvolden studies natural and human-introduced hydrocarbons in the marine environment, including crude oil, hydrocarbon gases, and gas hydrates, and has published more than 300 papers on environmental geochemistry, petroleum (crude oil and natural gas) geochemistry, geochemistry of gas hydrates, geochemistry of recent and ancient sediments, organic cosmochemistry, and biochemical geochronology. He has received international honors and recognition for his investigations of organic geochemistry in settings including seafloor-spreading zones, continental shelves, beaches, and meteorites. An elected fellow of the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the Explorers’ Club, the Geochemical Society, and the European Association for Geochemistry, he is a member of a number of professional societies and has served as editor for several professional journals. He previously served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Oil in the Sea. He received his M.S. in geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and his Ph.D. in geology from Stanford University.


Charles A. Mankin retired at the end of October 2007 from the University of Oklahoma, concluding 48 years of service to the university. During his tenure, he served as director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, director of the School of Geology and Geophysics, a regents professor at the University of Oklahoma, executive director of the Energy Resources Institute, and director of Sarkeys Energy Center. With basic research and practical industry experience in all fields of geoscience, geophysics, and geology, Dr. Mankin has served on and/or chaired more than 100 boards, committees, and study panels of agencies of the federal executive branch, academic and professional organizations, including the National Petroleum Council and committees of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a member of and/or has served as an officer or board trustee on local and national earth-science organizations including the Association of American State

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

Geologists, the American Geological Institute, the American Institute of Professional Geologists, the Geological Society of America, the National Institute for Global Environmental Change, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Many of these associations have recognized Dr. Mankin’s career contributions through a variety of public service, education, and life membership awards. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.


William S. Reeburgh is professor emeritus of marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He joined UCI in 1993 and retired in 2009. Prior to UCI, he was professor of marine science at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for 25 years. His research interests include methane biogeochemistry, particularly microbially mediated methane oxidation as a flux control and globally important sink in marine and wetland systems; the rate and global extent of anaerobic oxidation of methane; and the role of microbial processes as controls and feedbacks in global climate change. Dr. Reeburgh is a member of a number of professional societies and journal editorial boards, and has served on several national and international committees, including the International Geosphere Biosphere Program, Coordinating Panel on Terrestrial Biosphere-Atmospheric Chemistry Interactions, International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Program, and the U.S. Geological Survey Global Change Research Program. He edited the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles from 1998 to 2004 and was elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Academy of Microbiology. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Oklahoma, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in oceanography from Johns Hopkins University.


Michael Riedel is a research scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada. Prior to joining the Geological Survey in 2009, he was an associate professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Riedel’s research interests are in marine geology and geophysics with a specialty in gas hydrates. He has been involved in many marine and terrestrial gas hydrate projects over the past years and has sailed

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

onboard the drilling vessel JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Institutions Deep Earth Sampler) Resolution as co-chief scientist for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 311 and the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01. Dr. Riedel was a member of the expert panel for the Assessment of Gas Hydrates as an Energy Resource, conducted by the Council of Canadian Academies on behalf of Natural Resources Canada. Dr. Riedel received his Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Victoria in 2001 and his Diplom (M.Sc. equivalent) in geophysics from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, in 1998.

NRC Staff

Elizabeth A. Eide, a senior program officer with the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, is a geologist with specialization in geochronology applied to crustal processes. Prior to joining the National Research Council, she was a research scientist and team leader at the Geological Survey of Norway for 12 years where she built and managed the Survey’s 40Ar/39Ar geochronology laboratory. She completed a Ph.D. in geology at Stanford University and a B.A. in geology from Franklin and Marshall College.


Courtney R. Gibbs is a program associate with the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR). She received her degree in Graphic Design from the Pittsburgh Technical Institute in 2000 and began working for the National Academies in 2004. Prior to her work with BESR, Ms. Gibbs supported the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board and the former Board on Radiation Effects Research.


Deborah Glickson received her Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Washington in 2007. She joined the Ocean Studies Board as an associate program officer in 2008, and is involved with studies of future ocean research and technology needs. Her doctoral research focused on magmatic and tectonic contributions to mid-ocean ridge evolution and hydrothermal activity. In 2008, she participated in the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and worked on coastal and ocean policy and legislation in

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

the U.S. Senate. Prior to her Ph.D. work, she received an M.S. in geology from Vanderbilt University in 1999 and was a research associate in physical oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.


Nicholas D. Rogers is a financial and research associate with the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources at The National Academies. He received a B.A. in history, with a focus on the history of science and early American history, from Western Connecticut State University in 2004. Mr. Rogers began working for the National Academies in 2006 and has primarily supported the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources on earth resource issues and the board’s interdisciplinary projects.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
Page 153
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
Page 154
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
Page 155
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2010. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12831.
×
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Natural gas, composed mostly of methane, is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels, emitting 25-50% less carbon dioxide than either oil or coal for each unit of energy produced. In recent years, natural gas supplied approximately 20-25% of all energy consumed in the United States. Methane hydrate is a potentially enormous and as yet untapped source of methane. The Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program has been tasked since 2000 to implement and coordinate a national methane hydrate research effort to stimulate the development of knowledge and technology necessary for commercial production of methane from methane hydrate in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States evaluates the program's research projects and management processes since its congressional re-authorization in 2005, and presents recommendations for its future research and development initiatives.

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