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Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology (1995)

Chapter: APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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APPENDIX G
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

George A. Thompson, who chaired the committee, is professor emeritus, former chairman of the Department of Geophysics, former Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, at Stanford University. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1992. He is the recipient of awards from the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union for his research and contributions to the study of the Basin and Range structure and tectonics, processes of extensional regimes, and deep crustal structure from seismic reflection and refraction measurements. He was an earth science consultant to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent committee that advises the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He received a Ph.D. in geology from Stanford University.

Thure E. Cerling is professor of geochemistry at the University of Utah and for the last year has been visiting research scientist at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He has worked in several desert regions of the world. His major research interests are in soil geochemistry, the use of tritium as a hydrologic tracer, environmental geochemistry, dating of surface processes, and the geology of paleoanthropological sites. He earned a Ph.D. in geochemistry at the University of California (Berkeley).

G. Brent Dalrymple is dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. He retired a geologist from the U.S. Geological Survey specializing in isotopic dating of geologic materials. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1993 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992. He served as president of the American Geophysical Union and on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the American Institute of Physics. His interests and contributions to the field of isotopic dating include improvements to the instrumentation and methods of dating, recognition and dating of reversals of the earth's magnetic field, the history of Pacific plate motion, and lunar basin chronology.

Robert D. Hatcher, Jr. is Distinguished Scientist and professor of geology at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He was president of the Geological Society of America (GSA, 1993) and is president-elect of the American Geological Institute. He was given the first GSA Distinguished Service Award in 1988 after serving as editor of the GSA Bulletin. His primary research is directed toward the evolution of continental crest through the formation of mountain chains. He is also involved in studies of the relationships between fractures, hydrology, and containment migration, along with regional studies of fractures and intraplate seismicity. He received his Ph.D. in structural geology at the University of Tennessee.

Austin Long is professor in both the Departments of Geosciences, and Hydrology and Water Resources Research at the University of Arizona, as well as chief scientist at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry. His main fields of interest

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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include Pleistocene geochronology, research in radiocarbon dating, and chemical equilibria and ground-water systems. He has done research on C-14 dating, transport of contaminants in the unsaturated zone, decision analysis methodology for assessing the performance of the proposed Yucca Mountain site, atmospheric C-13, and isotopic investigations of ground water in desert environments. He received his Ph.D. in geochemistry from the University of Arizona.

Martin D. Mifflin is president and senior hydrogeologist of Mifflin and Associates, Inc., a hydrologic consulting firm that has served as a consultant to the State of Nevada concerning the high level radioactive waste site at Yucca Mountain. He previously served as associate director and research professor at the Desert Research Institute Water Resource Center, University of Nevada System, for several years; Associate Professor of Geology at the University of Florida; and World Bank Resident Consultor to the National Water Plan of Mexico. Most of his studies and research have been related to hydrology in arid regions. He has a Ph.D. in hydrogeology from the University of Nevada.

June Ann Oberdorfer is professor of hydrology at San Jose State University. Her primary research is in evaluation of contaminated sites from hydrocarbon releases, numerical modeling of landfill contaminated sites, remedial action and aquifer test analyses, etc. She also consults for the Earth Science and Environmental Protection Divisions of Lawrence Livermore National Lab. She earned a Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaii.

Kathleen C. Parker is an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia. Most of her recent research centers on ecological relationships of cactus population, vegetation, and bird communities in the deserts of the southwestern U.S. She has been active on several committees and panels of the Association of American Geographers and has served on the panel on Conservation and Restoration Biology of the National Science Foundation. She received a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Duncan T. Patten is professor of botany at Arizona State University and Director of the Center for Environmental Studies. His research is in the ecology of montane and subalpine zones of the northern Rockies, ecology of desert plants, and heat and water flux within desert ecosystems. He served as scientific consultant to the National Science Foundation and consultant to the Public Land Review Commission on the environmental impact of open mining in the southwest. He has served on the panel on Environmental Biology and Ecological Sciences of the National Science Foundation and the Science Advisory Council of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He received a Ph.D. in botany/ecology from Duke University.

Dennis W. Powers is a private consulting geologist with broad experience and expertise that has been applied in site evaluation. He also specializes in sedimentology, evaporite geology, and environmental geology. He was involved in the site characterization of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (Carlsbad, NM) and served as supervisor of the Earth Sciences Division at Sandia National Laboratories. He received his Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University.

Stephen J. Reynolds is an associate professor at Arizona State University teaching tectonics, field mapping, and coupled tectonic/fluid processes. Prior to that he worked for the

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

Arizona Geological Survey, has mapped many areas of the southwestern Arizona desert, and published numerous papers on the geology and tectonics of the region. His research is in mid-Tertiary crustal extension in Arizona, core complexes, coupled tectonic/fluid processes. He received his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Arizona.

John B. Robertson is executive vice president and principal hydrogeologist of HydroGeoLogic, Inc., a hydrologic consulting firm specializing in Superfund site investigations and remediation. He retired from the U.S. Geological Survey. in 1984 as Chief of the Office of Hazardous Waste Hydrology. He has broad expertise and experience in ground-water hydrology related to quantitative analysis, treatment of contamination problems, chemical-physical-biological problems, siting criteria and assessment for low-level radioactive waste disposal. He chaired the Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Committee, National Center for Groundwater Research. He received his Geological Engineering Degree (M.S.) from the Colorado School of Mines.

Bridget R. Scanlon is currently research scientist with the Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas (Austin) and also teaches unsaturated zone hydrology at the university. Her research focuses on the use of soil physics, environmental tracers, and numerical simulations to quantify subsurface flow in add regions. She served as a consultant to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. She received her Ph.D. in geology at the University of Kentucky.

J. Leslie Smith is a professor of hydrology at the University of British Columbia. His research examines transport processes in fractured media, radionuclide transport in groundwater flow systems, thermal effects of ground-water flow, and the role of ground-water flow in geodynamic processes. He has received hydrology awards from the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union (Meinzer and Macelwane). He consults for a variety of Canadian and U.S. agencies on projects related to site characterization, hazardous waste management, and peer reviews for work in these areas. He received his Ph.D. in geology from the University of British Columbia.

Bruce A. Tschantz is the R. M. Condra distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee. His research focuses on dam failure and safety analysis, hydrologic and river hydraulic modeling, and sediment transport modeling. He was chief of Federal Dam Safety for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and served as a consultant to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the areas of dam safety and water policy; the Tennessee Departments of Conservation and Transportation; and the U.S. Geological Survey. He is a nationally-known engineering consultant and expert witness to industry, engineering firms, and attorneys in the areas of watershed hydrology and dam safety and has received national awards for both his teaching and research. He received his Sc.D in civil engineering from New Mexico State University.

Scott W. Tyler holds concurrent positions as associate research professor at the Desert Research Institute and associate professor at the University of Nevada (Reno), specializing in research in water and solute transport through unsaturated zones in arid environments. He has chaired Department of Agriculture research projects, and peer reviewed and edited several professional journals in hydrology, ground water, and soil science. He earned his Ph.D. in hydrology/hydrogeology from the University of Nevada (Reno).

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

Peter J. Wierenga is head of the Department of Soil and Water Science at the University of Arizona. His major research interests are processes of water flow and contaminant transport through saturated and unsaturated soils, movement of radionuclides, pesticides, heat, etc. and computer models of the processes. He is past chair of the Soil Physics Division of the Soil Science Society of America, and a former member of the board of the society. He has been awarded excellence in research awards, and consults for a variety of entities, including the Office of Technology Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and several national labs. His Ph.D. is in soil science from the University of California (Davis).

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×
Page 239
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×
Page 240
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×
Page 241
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX G - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×
Page 242
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The book examines specific scientific and technical safety issues related to the proposed low-level radioactive waste site at Ward Valley, California. It includes, among other issues, evaluation of the potential for infiltration by shallow subsurface water, contamination of ground water and the Colorado River, damaging effects on the desert tortoise habitat, and restoration of the native vegetation.

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