AAB Members

Bill Zempolich is the General Manager of Global Reserves and Storage for Chevron, a role he assumed in July 2016. He began his career with Chevron in 2010 as General Manager, Asset Development and Exploration in the Appalachian Basin. Since then, he has served as Principal Advisor, Unconventional Resources and General Manager, Shale and Tight Assets for Chevron Africa and Latin America E&P Headquarters. 

Prior to Chevron, Bill worked in geoscience and exploration for several oil and gas companies around the world. In the positions of Exploration Manager and Asset Development Director (OKIOC/AgipKCO), he oversaw a large, multi-disciplined, international workforce that successfully planned and completed the exploration, appraisal and early development of the supergiant Kashagan field (Kazakhstan) and other prospects of the North Caspian Sea license area. 

Bill was drafted out of high school as a pitcher by the San Francisco Giants, but instead chose to attend Duke University as a student-athlete, where he earned Bachelor’s degrees in both chemistry and geology and All-Atlantic Coast Conference academic honors. He received a Master of Science degree in geology from the University of Michigan (1985) and a PhD in geology from The Johns Hopkins University. 

Bill has been recognized for academic and professional contributions as an American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Distinguished Lecturer in 2001-02, and in 2006, was awarded the Distinguished Geologist Award by the Kazakh Ministry of Geology. He and his wife, Beth Meany (Michigan BBA 1986), have three sons, who have graduated from university and are pursuing careers in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

Jessica Bleha is a project hydrogeologist with LimnoTech, an environmental science and engineering consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jessica’s areas of expertise include hydrogeological assessments of surface and groundwater resources; environmental site assessments; conceptual modeling; data management systems; mine remediation; permitting; inventory of orphaned oil and gas wells; and monitoring well, soil boring, and remediation system installations. Her experience includes over a decade of project management, planning, and coordination of projects.

Prior to joining LimnoTech, Jessica worked as a project hydrogeologist with NewFields Mining and Energy Services based in Missoula, Montana and as a geologist with North Jackson Company in Marquette, Michigan. At NewFields, she served as an assistant project manager for permitting an open-pit mine in the Basin and Range Province. She developed technical scopes of work and conducts field investigation activities such as drilling supervision, well construction, aquifer testing, packer testing, groundwater sampling, and acquires physical and chemical data for surface and underground mines in the West and Southwest regions of the U.S. and for a Superfund site in western Montana.

While at North Jackson, Jessica served as project manager and client lead for hydrological assessments of surface water streams, groundwater aquifers, and wetlands of an underground copper and nickel mine in northern Marquette County, Michigan. She helped design and develop a GIS web-enabled data management tool for documenting National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System reductions in a Great Lakes Area of Concern.

Additionally, Jessica has worked as a consulting geologist for Holman Consulting Engineers in Missoula, Montana and as an instructor at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, Michigan. While consulting as a field and laboratory geologist, Jessica had the opportunity to work on a $100+ million dam removal and remediation Superfund site in western Montana. As an instructor, Jessica established and taught two new courses in physical geology and remote sensing to undergraduate students.

Jessica received her BS in Geological Sciences from the University of Michigan in 2004 and her MS in Geosciences from the University of Montana in 2006; where her thesis involved the development and application of a MODIS driven snowmelt model for both a large and small mountain basin in northwestern Montana.

Areas of Experience:

• Hydrogeology
• Environmental Geology
• Consulting

Andrea D. Cicero is a geologist with the United States Geological Survey, Central Energy Resources Science Center, located in Lakewood, CO. She works in the Energy and Minerals program on the National and Global Assessment of Petroleum Resources Project (“NAGA”) and is currently the Permian Basin task lead. She is a native New Yorker who began her geological studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton where she earned her BS, followed by her MS at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor under the tutelage of Dr. K. C Lohmann. Andrea has held technical positions with various energy companies since 2001, including: ConocoPhillips; BP America; Newfield Exploration; Concho Resources; BHP Billiton; and as an analyst at Petro.ai. Her areas of expertise include the regional and exploration geology of onshore Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico, focusing on the Permian, East Texas, Maverick, and Gulf Coast basins. She also is certified in data analytics and visualization from Rice University and has a strong passion for data management. She has published papers on the stratigraphy of the Haynesville and Bossier Shales, and was recipient of the 2010 Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies’ Grover E. Murray Best Published Paper Award. When not serving the best interests of the federal government or advising with this board, Andrea is active within the CrossFit H-town and Houston Concert Band communities.

Daniel Core is the chief geophysicist at Fathom Geophysics LLC, an Ohio-based data analysis consultancy serving the mining and petroleum industries.

As part of his work at Fathom Geophysics, Daniel has developed methods for rapidly extracting the underlying structural and geological information contained in geophysical and remotely-sensed data. Daniel also develops targeting software to aid mineral exploration programs in greenfields, brownfields, and near-mine locations.

Daniel has been engaged by more than 50 companies, including BHP Billiton, First Quantum Minerals, and Petronas, as well as mid-tier and junior explorers.Prior to launching Fathom Geophysics, Daniel was a project coordinator with Geoinformatics Exploration (now Kiska Metals). This role included managing regional targeting projects and developing new targeting methodologies.

Daniel holds a PhD in geology from the University of Michigan (2004), and a BA in geology and mathematics from the College of Wooster (1998).

Amanda Ash Dasch is an Area Manager on the Permian Basin Asset, responsible for subsurface technical evaluation and maturation of exploration and development opportunities.   She has worked as a production and development geologist in multiple onshore assets and deep water Gulf of Mexico, and as an energy analyst and consultant in finance, business planning and strategy.  Prior to working at Shell, Amanda was the Paleobotany Collections Manager at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where she researched the ecological and environmental impacts of ancient climate change through the study of fossil plants and insects.  Dasch holds a B.A. in geology from Amherst College and a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Michigan.  Amanda is passionate about delivering safe, responsible energy and inspiring a love and appreciation of science in people of all ages.   She lives in Houston with her husband, son and daughter.

Lawrence (Larry) Davis is Senior Advisor and Chief Scientist at MAP Royalty, Inc., a Palo Altobased energy investment company. He assumed this role after stepping down from being thePresident and Managing Director of MAP’s Natural Gas activities. Prior to joining MAP, heserved as President of Enernet, Inc., an oil and gas consulting and management firm located inOklahoma City, through which he acted as MAP’s principal acquisition agent from 1998 through2002. Prior to Enernet, Mr. Davis worked as a petroleum geologist for Terra Resources, DABLimited, and the Getty Oil Company.

Mr. Davis holds a BA with High Honors in Archaeology and Geology from Wesleyan University,an MS in Geology from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma.

Mr. Davis is a Certified Petroleum Geologist and a Certified Professional Earth Scientist. Mr.Davis is currently on and the immediate past chair of the alumni advisory board to the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Michigan. He is a former NationalDirector of the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists. Mr. Davis is also a memberof the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Society of ProfessionalEvaluation Engineers (SPEE), Society of Professional Well Log Analysts (SPWLA), GeologicalSociety of America (GSA), and Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG). He is aDirector and Treasurer of the Oklahoma Geological Foundation (OGF) and a Trustee Associateof the AAPG Foundation. Mr. Davis is director and member of the executive board of theOklahoma City Museum of Art, the president of the Oklahoma Metropolitan Library EndowmentTrust, the president of Hillel at The University of Oklahoma, the president of the advisory boardfor Chabad of Oklahoma City, the director of the Oklahoma City Jewish FOundation and is alsoa past President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City as well as Temple B’naiIsrael in Oklahoma City.

Although no longer actively involved in MAP Royalty’s daily activities, his current activitiesinclude:1) Advising various energy transition start-ups as to general business practices as well as geologyrelated resources.2) Advising undergraduate students desirable education training (i.e. courses) that will benefitmany employers.3) Discussing with undergraduate and graduate students career related job possibilities with NGOsand start-up companies.

Kate Denton is an accomplished marketer and executive, with a career spanning nearly 20 years in consumer goods, music and sports. She is currently the Vice President of Marketing for Pacers Sports and Entertainment where she oversees brand and digital marketing, creative development and content creation as well as media buying. Her scope includes the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 

Prior to PS&E, Kate served as a member of the Executive Committee and highest level marketing for leading cannabis companies such as Green Thumb Industries and Loudpack. At those firms she led the expansion of consumer acceptance and trial in the legal cannabis business as well as the development of brands to meet the needs of various consumer segments.  At Loudpack, Kate led the redesign of Kingpen, the nationally recognized leader in cannabis vape, developed the Loudpack brand, partnered with Dan Bilzerian on the launch of Ignite, and licensed the award winning Smokiez brand from Washington. 

Kate also spent 4 years at the SVP of seventeenfifty, an internal creative lab at Capitol Music Group. She brought 4 critical functions together under one team to better maximize opportunities for artists. Her team led consumer insights and research for the label group, executed strategic media buys, led creative sync licensing deals and secured key brand partnerships. Her work led to a variety of innovative endeavors on behalf of the company’s artists, including:  securing branded product placements for Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez and Capital Cities; partnering with Intel and MTV to execute a live stream concert from roof of Capitol Music Tower for launch of Arcade Fire album Reflektor; developing the breakthrough collaboration between Lil Yachty and Nautica and securing the partnership between Migos and Finish Line. During her time at Capitol Music Group, she was recognized with the 40 Under 40 in Music by Billboard Magazine.

Kate began her career in consumer packaged goods, having worked at major companies such as Pepsico and Kraft Foods, where she was responsible for breathing new life into trusted brands such as Gatorade and Cool Whip. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelors in Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Alumni Advisory Board at the University of Michigan. 

Alison Duvall is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is a geologist and geomorphologist who integrates the broad fields of surface processes, structural geology, and tectonics to tackle a host of questions relating to tectonically driven landscape evolution. She and her research team explore these topics at field sites around the world, including New Zealand and the Himalaya/Tibetan Plateau, and in locations closer to home, such as the Cascades, the Wallowa Mountains of NE Oregon and central Idaho. Alison received the 2016 AGU Luna B. Leopold Award (Earth Surface Processes early career award) for her “contributions to fluvial, hillslope, and tectonic geomorphology that have fundamentally advanced understanding of landscape dynamics across a wide range of scales”. She delivered the 2016 Sharp Lecture in San Francisco at the AGU annual meeting as part of this honor.

Alison received a BS in Geosciences from Virginia Tech (2000), an MS in Geology from the University of California at Santa Barbara (2003), and a PhD in Geology from the University of Michigan (2011). Following a CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she joined the faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Anne Fitzpatrick’s passion for sailing and anything on the water led to an environmental career in contaminated sediment management and remediation. Over 26 years ago, she started as a field geologist with Hart Crowser located in Seattle Washington, then became a Vice President at RETEC/ENSR/AECOM, and recently joined Geosyntec Consultants Inc. in 2016 as a Senior Principal. She has in-depth experience managing high-profile investigation and remediation projects under a variety of regulatory programs with oversight from regulators, media, and the public. Hands-on experience includes sediment coring, sediment trap designs, radioisotope profiling, CERCLA cleanup goal negotiations, sustainability metrics, and interpretation of site conceptual models with physical, chemical, and biological components. She has led or participated in regulatory negotiations for 9 sediment CERCLA sites nationwide. In 2009, she was awarded Best Paper at the national ABA conference for Developing Long-Term Sustainable Management Strategies for Complex Contaminated Sediment Projects and has been called upon as a technical expert in sampling techniques to oversee controversial investigation projects. She has chaired several sessions at national sediment conferences, and was part of a technical expert panel tasked with revising the Washington State regulations for contaminated sediments. She is a University of Michigan graduate (BS 1986) and has an MS in marine science/toxicology from Western Washington University.  She lives in Seattle with her husband Chris, and two boats.

BS ’73 Geology, MS ’76 Geology, PhD ’80 Geology - John Geissman a Professor of Geoscience at the University of Texas at Dallas and an Emeritus Professor at the University of New Mexico.  He received a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Geology (now Earth and Environmental Sciences) from the University of Michigan.  After two years of postdoctoral study at the University of Toronto, he joined the Geology and Geological Engineering Faculty at the Colorado School of Mines, where he taught for four years.  He moved to the University of New Mexico in 1984 and retired in 2010, when he moved to the University of Texas at Dallas.  John Geissman’s research interests lie in the paleomagnetism and rock magnetism and their use in addressing geologic problems, in particular in structural geology and tectonics.  John Geissman has served in several university and professional society positions.  He was Faculty Senate President at the University of New Mexico for two and a half years, Chair of the Committee on Governance for two years, and was Chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UNM.  He has served on several editorial boards, was the Editor for the Geological Society of America Bulletin, the solid Earth Science Editor for Eos, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Tectonics.  He has served on several National Science Foundation advisory and review panels for the Earth Sciences and, as Council Member for the Geological Society of America, was Chair of its Publications Committee, and earlier was Chair of the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division of GSA.  He is Past-President of GSA.  He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America.  John Geissman has published over 190 papers, and has given numerous invited scientific presentations.  He continues as an adjunct Full Professor at the University of Michigan, where is his active in the Earth and Environmental Sciences 440 course taught at Camp Davis.  He is currently the Department Head for Geosciences at UTD and Laboratory Technician.  He is married to Molly Geissman (BS 1974) and has one adopted son.  Among recent personal accomplishments, he presented Mr. Bill Mckibben (well-known environmental and human sustainability activist and author of Eaarth, The End of Nature, Deep Economy, and numerous other books and the founder of 350.org) with the GSA President’s Medal in 2012.

Kenneth Grubbs has been General Manager of Piñon Petroleum LLC since 2001.  Ken received his B.S. Geology from the University of Michigan in 1973 and received a M.S. Geology from U of M in 1975. He has spent over 40 years in the exploration business with Gulf Research, Aminoil, UPRC and Nobel finally ending up at Piñon which he founded in 1988. He has been fortunate spending the majority of those years in Colorado.His focus has been on integrated geophysical / geological investigations in many global as well as North American exploration areas. The evolution of Rocky Mountain U.S. and Canadian Basins are an area of particular interest.Ken is a member of GSA, AAPG, SEG and the RMAG. He also serves on the board of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and is President of the Storm Peak Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. He frequently stops by Camp Davis in route to flying (and skiing) in the Tetons and occasionally uses it as a landing area.Ken and his wife Colleen have two daughters Elizabeth and Rachel in their early 20’s and resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Jim Hnat is currently a Team Lead and Staff Geologist in Shell’s Permian Asset, where he leads a group of geologists and engineers focused on appraising and developing opportunities in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.  During his time in Shell, Jim has worked exclusively onshore U.S., having worked as an exploration geologist in Shell’s Appalachia Asset in Pittsburgh, where he appraised unconventional opportunities in the Ordovician and Devonian rocks of the Appalachian Basin, and as a development geologist, where he evaluated prospects of Oligocene sands in the conventional gas fields of South Texas.  Jim has also led a number of fieldtrips, taught internal classes, and has contributed to multiple internal and external publications in his time at Shell.  Jim holds a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Michigan (2009) and a B.S. in geology from Clarion University of Pennsylvania (2003).  Jim resides in Fulshear, TX with his wife Amanda.

Katy Keller is a Geoscience Advisor and Appalachia Subsurface Manager at Shell, responsible for management of projects in the Appalachian Basin, technical assurance, and staff development. Her previous work at Shell includes regional evaluation to extend the unconventional Utica play into northern Pennsylvania, conventional prospect generation in Appalachia, fieldwork and structural analysis of Ancestral Rocky Mountains systems, and exploration and operations geology in various other onshore plays. Katy is currently the lead recruiter for Shell’s Geoscience recruiting team at U of M, and enjoys sharing her interests in science and the future of energy with students of all ages through AAPG/SEPM and local STEM events.

Katy received a BA (1999) and MS (2001) in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College. She graduated with a PhD in Geological Sciences from University of Michigan (2006), where her research with Joel Blum focused on geochemical tracers of permafrost thaw in arctic Alaska. Katy lives in Houston with her husband and two children, and the family enjoys vacations to anywhere with a proper winter.

Bob Klein; MS (1992), PhD (1996).  Bob is currently a Senior Geologist for Ridgewood Energy Company in Houston, Texas, where he acts as basin modeling lead for the Deepwater GOM.  Ridgewood is a relatively small, private equity firm focused on finding and developing oil assets at a cost of $20 per barrel.  During his career he has worked for Samson Energy, Amoco, BP, and Paradigm, all the while focusing on domestic exploration.  Bob met his wife, Carolyn, an undergrad in SNRE at the time, while at UM.  Their twin sons were born at University Hospital.  Carolyn has had a fruitful career as a high school teacher in Environmental Science at Westside HS.  Our sons have recently graduated college, and Ryan is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Chemistry at Northwestern, and Matt is working towards his PhD in Economics at Wisconsin-Madison.  We are truly a Big 10 family, but all are Michigan fans first and foremost.  We enjoy camping, backpacking, kayaking and exploring greater Texas.  You can always contact me at bklein@ridgewoodenergy.com.  Go Blue!

Dr. Erik Arthur Kneller received his PhD in Geology and Geodynamics from the University of Michigan in 2007. Shortly after receiving his PhD, he began working as a Senior Research Geologist at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company where his research focused on basic and applied research in global plate tectonics and basin analysis. As a senior research geologist Dr. Kneller published papers on the plate tectonic evolution of the Central Atlantic Ocean Basin and the Gulf of Mexico Ocean Basin and on new methods for modeling rigid and non-rigid plate deformation processes. He received the Grover E. Murray award for best paper at the 2011 meeting of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.After working as a Senior Research Geologist for 6 years at the Upstream Research Company, Dr. Kneller worked as an exploration geologist at the ExxonMobil Exploration Company where his responsibilities included field geology, structural analysis in fold and thrust belts and hydrocarbon systems analysis in assets located in the High Zagros Mountains of Kurdistan Iraq. He is presently the Technical Team Lead of the Petroleum System Team at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company and is leading a project focused on basin analysis and petroleum systems evolution. Dr. Kneller and his wife Eve Kneller have a daughter Olivia and a son Jack and maintain a home in The Woodlands, Texas.

Kevin Mackey works for Esri as an account executive on the utility and telecom team. Esri is a geographic information systems (GIS) software company, and organizations around the world use Esri technology to manage and analyze geographic information, make better decisions, and improve operational and business results. Kevin has been in the GIS industry for 23 years. He began by using GIS applications to support environmental investigations, and now he works with utility and telecom executives to develop comprehensive location strategies for their businesses.Kevin chose geology as a major after attending Geo 116 immediately after high school. He worked at Camp Davis during the summers, completed Geo 440, and met his future wife Kate—a Geo 116 student and U of M alumna—at Camp Davis. Kevin’s job history is as varied as his fishing experience and, like all fishing tales, is best told around the campfire. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in geology from Western Michigan University. Kevin and Kate now reside in Denver.

Rock Elm Capital Management LLC – PartnerKarr McCurdy has over 35 years of geologic and project development experience combined with executive management, finance, and technical advisory. Currently, he is a Partner of Rock Elm Capital, a commodities-focused alternative investment and advisory firm. Karr was CEO of minerals industry advisor Behre Dolbear and served as global head of mining and metals for Standard Chartered Bank and Citigroup. He has completed over 200 transactions valued at over $100 billion and has personally visited hundreds of development projects and operating sites worldwide. As a geologist, he helped discover and develop the world-class Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the Dominican Republic. Karr earned an MBA from Thunderbird and a BSc (geology) from the University of Michigan. He serves on the boards of Bacchus Capital, a London-based investment banking boutique, Pivot Industries, a Denver-based technology startup providing a collaborative SaaS platform for subject-matter experts working with capital-intensive industries, HonestDig, a technology start-up providing IoT and DLT technology solutions to stakeholders in the extractive industries, the Alumni Advisory Board of the University of Michigan’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and non-profit community organizations in Denver, Colorado. Karr is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Denver and works with its Daniels College of Business MBA program, teaching a core offering entitled, Creating Sustainable Enterprise. He serves as a Senior Advisor to U.K.-based Martello Risk, a leading provider of independent, third-party supply chain audits.

David Mogk is Professor of Geology and former Head of the Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University. He earned his BS degree from the University of  Michigan (1975) and MS and PhD degrees from the University of Washington (1978, 1984). He is a metamorphic petrologist by training, with research interests in genesis and evolution of Archean continental crust, mid-crustal petrogenetic processes, and spectroscopy of mineral surfaces. He has worked in mineral exploration for precious, base and industrial minerals, and has also worked on environmental remediation of mine sites. For the past 25 years he has worked to promote excellence in geoscience education. He was program officer in NSF’s Division of Undergraduate Education; Chair of GSA’s Education Division; worked to establish the Digital Library for Earth Science Education and the National  Science Digital Library; is currently co-PI of the On the Cutting Edge program for geoscience faculty professional development (recipient of the AAAS Science Magazine Prize for Online Resources in Education, 2010); has served on the EarthScope and EarthChem national advisory boards; served on the NRC Board On Science Education panels on Integrating Research and Education in Biocomplexity Projects, Promising Practices in STEM Education, and Discipline-Based Education Research; and is co-editor of GSA Special Paper volumes on Earth and Mind: How Geologists Think and Learn About the Earth and  Field Geology Instruction: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches.  For the past couple of years he has led the initiative in the United States to promote Teaching Geoethics Across the Geoscience Curriculum. Mogk has received the American Geophysical Union Award for Excellence in Geophysical Education (2000), and is elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America (2010) and the Mineralogical Society of America (2008).  At Montana State University, he has been awarded the College of Letters and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, Burlington Northern Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching, BEST Award, and Provost’s Award for Excellence

Dr. Dexter Perkins is a Professor of Geology, and the Associate Director of the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of North Dakota.He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester in 1973, and a Master’s degree and PhD from Michigan in 1977 and 1979.  After several years as a post doc at the University of Chicago, Dexter joined the faculty at the University of North Dakota and has been there nearly 35 years.His research was focused on mineralogy, metamorphic petrology and thermodynamics for many years and, more recently, on geoscience education.  His publication record includes four books and nearly 100 other publications.  He has had sabbaticals in Switzerland and France while conducting his studies.During his academic career, Dexter has been editor or associate editor of several professional publications, including the American Mineralogist, the Journal of Geoscience Education, the North Dakota Quarterly and In the Trenches.  He has also been an active member in many scientific organizations, including the Geological Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, the American Mineralogical Association, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Sigma Xi, and the North Dakota Academy of Sciences.Dexter has won many teaching awards and, in 2010 was recognized as North Dakota Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Science.Dexter has played leadership roles for many environmental organizations and is also very active in his community, working with several different organizations that promote lifelong learning and senior education, outdoors experiences for kids, and adventurer/endurance sports for athletes of all ages.

Mike Richey is the Reservoir & Completions Optimization Lead of the Chevron North America – MidContinent Business Unit and is a corporate-recognized advisor responsible for reservoir characterization, engineering, and performance optimization support progressing themes of subsurface interpretation, static & dynamic modeling, formation evaluation, completion design and big-data analytics for Chevron’s vast Permian unconventional reservoir portfolio. Prior to assuming this role in 2012, he served two years as the Reservoir Characterization Lead for Chevron-South Africa Business Unit where he led reservoir optimization studies for producing fields, and five years in impact technical roles as Subsurface Lead for Chevron-Nigeria.He served the first 7 years of his career with Chevron-California as a reservoir and technology geologist supporting reservoir management activities in heavy oil fields. Key contributions were initiating heat management first principles and 4D heat modeling of thermal fields leading to predictive performance capability, including business roles as Asset Development Planner and Reserves Coordinator.Mike his 20yr Chevron career as an intern with legacy Texaco in 1997 after a successful UofM Industry Career Night discussion and interview. He holds a Master of Science in Geology from the University of California-Santa Barbara (’00), a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Michigan (’97), is a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (’94) and is an AAPG A. I. Levorsen Award recipient.Mike currently resides in The Woodlands, TX with his wife Jessica, 7 year old twins Jack and Sophie, and gray faced golden retriever Barry.

Dr. Laura Sherman is the President of Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC) and the Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI). She most recently served as the organization’s Vice President for Policy Development and as a Senior Consultant at 5 Lakes Energy. In her current capacity, Laura leads Michigan EIBC’s policy advocacy work at the Michigan Public Service Commission and state legislature as well as advanced energy research, policy initiatives, and education efforts.

Before joining Michigan EIBC, Laura served as the policy advisor to Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) on energy, agriculture, and environment issues. In that capacity, she led a team in Washington, D.C. and Colorado to develop legislation, analyze policy issues, and negotiate bipartisan solutions. Laura was involved in crafting the 2015 extensions of the renewable tax credits, advancing federal initiatives on building energy efficiency, and supporting land conservation efforts.
Laura received a B.S. in Geological and Environmental Science from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Michigan. Her graduate and postdoctoral research utilized novel techniques to trace mercury pollution from sources like coal-fired power plants into rainfall and aquatic ecosystems across the Great Lakes Region.

Dr. Scott Tinker's passion—bringing academe, government, industry, and NGOs together to address major societal issues in energy, environment, and the economy—has led him to nearly 60 countries where he has presented 700 keynotes and invited lectures to government, industry, academia, and the public. Dr. Tinker is an AAPG Halbouty Leadership Medalist, AGI Campbell Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, a Fellow of the Geologic Society of America, and has been broadly awarded by AIPG, AGI, AAPG, and TIPRO for his successful efforts to engage the public in science. Tinker had a 17-year career in industry before joining The University of Texas at Austin in 2000, where he serves as director of the 275-person Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, and a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences. Dr. Tinker has been president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Association of American State Geologists, the American Geosciences Institute, and the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, and he serves on private, public, academic, and government boards. Dr. Tinker co-produced and is featured in the award-winning energy documentary film, Switch, seen by over 15 million viewers in 50 countries and used in thousands of educational campuses worldwide. Scott is producing another film, Switch On focused on energy poverty. Scott is the voice of EarthDate, bringing weekly stories about earth and science to over 300 National Public Radio stations in all 50 U.S. states. Tinker’s degrees are from the University of Colorado, the University of Michigan, and Trinity University.

Dan Wiitala, BS ’86 Michigan; MS ’89, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Dr. Robert Taylor, advisor, applied geophysics) has been practicing as a professional geologist in the field of hydrogeological consulting continuously since 1989.  His career started with Barr Engineering Company in Minneapolis and focused on groundwater contaminant transport investigations and remediation from which he built a successful consulting practice centered on legacy mining environmental impacts remediation in the Upper Great Lakes basin (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan).  That practice has evolved into a science and engineering consulting firm established in Marquette, Michigan (North Jackson Company) in 1998 that specializes in groundwater/surface water resources evaluation; water supply well and systems design; and environmental impact assessment and permitting (wetlands, streams and large quantity groundwater withdrawals); and web-based environmental monitoring database management and remote, automated hydrological data acquisition.  North Jackson Company has been consulting on predictive hydrology, monitoring and data management services to the Eagle Mine copper-nickel project in Marquette County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 2002, and also on numerous iron mining projects in Michigan and Minnesota.   Dan is a licensed professional geologist (P.G.) in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

A chance run in with Kacey Lohmann at Kerrytown markets while attending parent weekend at Michigan in fall 2012 resulted in the opportunity to provide a guest lecture titled “Anatomy of a Mine” to Dr. Adam Simon’s Geo 380 class on mining, economics, and the environment, where he has returned as a guest speaker for the past 4 years – including hosting a mining panel for the Geoclub in 2015.  Dan currently Chairs the Alumni Advisory Board Subcommittee for Professional Employment hopes to help motivated Earth and Environmental Sciences students get connected to job opportunities in their chosen fields. 

Dan has also taught hydrology as an adjunct faculty to Northern Michigan University Department of Geography, and stays active as a volunteer cross country skiing coach in Marquette.  He resides on a Lake Superior beach front in Marquette with his wife Debby (Michigan BA ’86; MSW ’87) and their 3 children (Ellen, Michigan BS Biochemistry, ‘16; Mike, Michigan Engineering Sophomore; and Eli).

Antonio Arribas

Aboud (Abdulkader) Afifi

Robert Basse

Robert G.Blair

Matthew D. Cabell

Helen L. Foster

Tracy Frank

Steve Glass

John F. Greene

Steven Henry

Andrew M. Isaacs

Paul Koch

Curtis L. Lundy

Frederick W. Metzger

Eva Moldovanyi

Cary Mrozowski

Tina Nielsen

Edward Poindexter

Grigore Simon

Krystyna Swirydczuk