APPENDIX C
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Dr. Steve Ramberg (Chair) is a distinguished research fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University (NDU) on assignment from the Applied Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University. At NDU he occupies the Chief of Naval Research Chair where he provides analysis and advice on science and technology topics and policies, primarily in areas of naval relevance. During his career, he served as a fellow and as vice president for Arete Associates during 2007 to 2010; as the director of the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) in LaSpezia, Italy, from 2003 to 2007; and as director and chief scientist for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) from 2001 to 2003 after joining ONR in 1988. Earlier, he worked at the Naval Research Laboratory where he published over 60 unclassified papers in the archival literature on fluid dynamics of bluff bodies, nonlinear ocean waves, stratified wakes, turbulence near a free surface, and related remote-sensing topics.
Dr. Michel Boufadel is professor of environmental engineering and director of the Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a professional engineer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dr. Boufadel has conducted, since 2001, research projects funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on oil dispersion and transport offshore. He has adopted a multiscale approach where he conducts experiments in flasks and wave tanks of various sizes and models processes from the microscopic scale to the sea scale. Dr. Boufadel was involved in the response to the Deepwater Horizon blowout and assisted NOAA personnel conducting various tasks within the response. Dr. Boufadel has more than 80 refereed articles in publications such as Marine Pollution Bulletin, Environmental Science and Technology, and Journal of Geophysical Research. He also has more than 30 publications in oil spill conference proceedings, such as those of the International Oil Spill Conference and Arctic and Marine Oil Spill. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Dr. Victoria Broje is an emergency response specialist and environmental scientist for Shell Exploration and Production Company. She has developed the science behind oil spill response for nearly 15 years. Her master’s research was in modeling of oil spills and oil spill response techniques. As a result of her Ph.D. work, she significantly improved efficiency of mechanical recovery equipment. In 2010, Dr. Broje served as an advisor to the Deepwater Horizon response in the Gulf of Mexico. During her work with Shell, she has been involved in a variety of international projects focused on oil spill preparedness and response, including alternative response techniques. She also managed numerous research projects aimed at improving efficiency of response techniques, modeling and detection of oil spills, and better understanding of environmental impacts. Dr. Broje received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dr. Deborah French McCay is director of Impact Assessment Services at RPS ASA. She specializes in quantitative assessments and modeling of aquatic ecosystems and populations, pollutant transport and fates, and biological response to pollutants. Her population modeling
work includes models for plankton, benthic invertebrates, fisheries, birds, and mammals. She has developed water quality, food web, and ecosystem models for freshwater, marine, and wetland ecosystems. She is also an expert in modeling oil and chemical fates and effects, toxicity, exposure, and the bioaccumulation of pollutants by biota, along with the effects of this contamination. These models have been used for impact, risk, and natural resource damage assessments, as well as for studies of the biological systems. She has been principal investigator and primary author of more than 100 technical reports and papers and is an internationally recognized expert in oil spill fate and effects modeling. She has provided expert testimony in hearings regarding environmental risk and impact assessments. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island in Oceanography.
Dr. Antonio Possolo is chief of the Statistical Engineering Division in the Information Technology Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Prior to joining NIST, he had experience in industry with General Electric and Boeing and in academia at Princeton University, the University of Washington, and the University of Lisboa. He is committed to the development and application of probabilistic and statistical methods that contribute to advances in science and technology, with an emphasis on measurement science and on the evaluation of measurement uncertainty. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Yale University.