Earth and Environmental Geosciences Alumni Board

I earned my B.S. in Geology with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. After completing an internship for an environmental consulting firm in my hometown of Harrisburg, PA, I returned to school and earned my M.S. in Geology from Ohio University in 2012. Under advisement from Dr. Eung Seok Lee, my research at OHIO centered on hydrogeology, specifically building a groundwater flow and contaminant transport model of a shallow, alluvial aquifer in southeastern Ohio. After receiving my degree from OHIO, I started my career as an environmental consultant at Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. in Monroeville, PA, where I currently work. I attribute my success as an environmental consultant to the hydrogeological fundamentals I learned at Ohio University.

As a consultant and licensed Professional Geologist, I have been heavily involved in field data collection, data and project management, and report preparation. I have managed a diverse range of projects including site investigations and remediations;  solid waste landfill characterization, permitting, and reporting; hydrogeologic and geochemical investigations and geostatistical data analysis; Phase I and II environmental site assessments; and USEPA RCRA Facility Investigations and closures. I have extensive field sampling experience and oversee the successful execution of fieldwork performed by other professional members of the team. Some of my field experience includes soil boring and monitoring well installation using multiple drilling techniques, groundwater sampling via multiple techniques, surface water sampling, and surface soil and subsurface soil sampling.

I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Athens to attend Ohio University in 1993. I completed both my undergraduate (1997) and graduate work (2000) in Geological Sciences. My undergraduate focus was Environmental Geology and working with watershed groups like Raccoon Creek and Monday Creek. My adviser, Mary Stoertz, was instrumental in starting me on my career path. She took me under her wing, and I learned a tremendous amount from her, both in my professional career and personal life. I continued my education and focused on my graduate studies in Environmental Geochemistry with Dina López. Dina taught me the persistence and drive needed to answer complex scientific questions and the value of having abundant field data.

Since graduating from Ohio University, I continue to live in Athens. I worked with Rural Action, a non-profit organization where watershed restoration and community work fit nicely, from 2001-2004, striving to improve the quality of life in Appalachia while protecting the environment. Since 2004, I have worked at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service as an Environmental Project Manager, a Senior Project Manager, and now as the Director of Environmental Programs. I continue to work on water-related issues statewide and work with numerous watershed groups throughout the coal-bearing region of Ohio. In my current position at Ohio University, I can easily work with students in the Earth and Environmental Geosciences Department by offering collaborative research opportunities, field assistance, local summer internship guidance, and field trips to Raccoon Creek to see active coal mine restoration activities.

I earned a B.S. in Geology from Edinboro University and an M.S. in Geology from Ohio University. I am a licensed Professional Geologist by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After several years of environmental consulting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I returned home to Pittsburgh and spent the better part of 21 years in the technical and business risk management of the portfolio of environmental liabilities associated with the former Koppers Co.

I co-founded Field Environmental Instruments Inc. in 1995 and continue to work with them at multiple locations around the country.

My entrepreneurial spirit was awakened again in 2012 when I co-founded Field Data Solutions, a company that specializes in delivering real-time field monitoring data from environmental remediation sites to the desktop.

I have volunteered in the local community at several levels, including being elected to Borough Council, and was nominated by the governor to serve on the Ohio River Basin State Water Planning Committee, where I served as vice chairman. I am an avid Pittsburgh sports fan and outdoor enthusiast.

I grew up in Poland, Ohio, near Youngstown. I earned a B.S. in Geological Sciences from Ohio University in 1996, an M.S. in Geological Sciences (specializing in Environmental Geochemistry) from Ohio University with Dr. Dina Lopez as my advisor, and a Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Resources (with a minor in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science) from the University of Arizona. Beginning in 2013, I have been an Assistant, Associate, and full Professor in the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department of New Mexico State University (NMSU). I was also hired to support the Water Science and Management graduate program. Before starting at NMSU, I was a research scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a postdoctoral researcher, and a consultant working on open-pit lake geochemistry/closure and dewatering/slope stability for some of the largest metal mines in Australia, Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, and the United States.

Ohio University Geology training provided the scientific foundation for my career. After working with Dr. Lopez, I have continued multidisciplinary teaching and research that includes hydrogeology, environmental geochemistry, environmental engineering, soil science, contaminant transport, and geophysics, resulting in both teaching and research award recognitions. I am an Associate Editor for the Vadose Zone Journal, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrology X, and Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. I served as the NMSU Chapter of Sigma Xi elected Secretary from 2017-2021, President from 2021-2023, and am currently the Vice President. I am the Chair of the Soils and Environmental Quality Division of SSSA and a lifetime member of AGU and GSA. With several collaborators and students, I have published ~80 journal papers, a textbook, ~30 proceedings papers and reports, and ~200 presentations/abstracts.

I say my career is “in education” because I enjoy working with students to enhance their understanding of the natural world. I began to study geology as a desire to understand the processes that influence our world and enjoy having a role in the education of the next generation. I am very happy to serve the Ohio University Department of Earth and Environmental Geosciences, which has been so instrumental in my career and life.

I began my environmental/geology career in 2005 by attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia where I received my bachelor’s degree in Geology in 2009. I then attended Ohio University, where I received my M.S. degree in Geology with a focus on hydrology and water geochemistry in 2011. While at Ohio University, I studied acid mine drainage and the remedial techniques used to treat surface water and the surrounding watersheds.

After receiving my degrees, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work as an Environmental Scientist at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Athens, Ohio, as a Staff Geologist at Geosyntec Consultants in Santa Barbara, California, as a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland—Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland, as an Environmental Scientist at Geo-Technology Associates in Baltimore, Maryland, and as a Project Scientist III at Camas LLC in Jacksonville, Oregon.

In June 2023, I decided to leave the private environmental consulting realm and joined the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration where I work for the National Marine Fisheries Service as aNatural Resource Specialist. I am utilizing all aspects of my previous jobs to help protect the Klamath Watershed located in Oregon and Northern California.

My education at JMU and Ohio University has helped me find my passion in life, which provides me with great satisfaction and new learning every day. I also enjoy camping, hiking, exercise, and ceramics.

While attending Ohio University from 2007 to 2011, I switched my focus from civil engineering to geology after taking Dr. Springer’s Geology for Engineers class. So, I have Dr. Springer to thank (blame) for saving me from a boring infrastructure career. I earned my B.S. in Environmental Geology from Ohio University in 2011. 

After receiving my degree, I started my career as a staff geologist at BJAAM Environmental, Inc. in Canal Fulton, Ohio. In 2015, I started my employment at Weaver Consultants Group in Columbus, Ohio, where I still work today as a Project Manager. As an environmental consultant, I am involved with industrial site assessment, investigation, and remediation of subsurface soil and groundwater. I credit my career success to the department faculty and the fundamentals I learned at Ohio University. As a member of the Alumni Advisory Board, I hope to give back to the department by assisting students and new alumni to successful careers.

Aside from work, I enjoy playing soccer, skiing, running ultras, and watching the Browns beat the Steelers.

I am an Environmental Specialist at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in the Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization. I serve as the lead for the Groundwater Group in the RCRA program reviewing reports and correspondence related to groundwater issues at hazardous waste management facilities as well as providing technical support for other Ohio EPA divisions and the regulated community.

I received my B.S. degree in Geology from Kent State University in 2012 and my M.S. degree in Geology from Ohio University working with Dr. Eung Seok Lee. After graduation, I began at Arcadis as a geologist working on a variety of projects including historic LNAPL contamination at rail yards in Wisconsin, pipeline releases of diesel fuel in the waterways of Illinois/Indiana, and hexavalent chromium-impacted groundwater remediation in California.

I joined the Ohio EPA in 2019 originally working in the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters as a geologist implementing the Source Water Assessment and Protection Program for public water systems and coordinating the Ground Water Quality Characterization Program for the Northeast District. I joined the Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization in 2022 working as a site coordinator overseeing the remediation of multiple facilities in northeast Ohio regulated by CERCLA, RCRA, or as part of the Voluntary Action Program.

Throughout my career, I have utilized skills and knowledge acquired from colleagues and mentors from Ohio University.

I grew up in the small town of New Concord, Ohio east of Columbus, Ohio. I attended Marietta College and majored in Geology while obtaining a minor in Petroleum Engineering. I had the opportunity to intern with four different oil and gas companies while at Marietta, all within the Appalachian Basin: Artex Oil, Eastern Mountain Fuel Geoscience, Inc., EQT, and Range Resources. I did my senior capstone project at Marietta College on the Utica/Point Pleasant interval right in the middle of the first shale boom. After spending the next summer in Pennsylvania, I came back to Ohio to work full-time with Eastern Mountain Fuel (EMF) and jumped into Ohio University's Geology graduate program. Thanks to EMF and Dr. Greg Nadon, I had the pleasure of writing an M.S. thesis on sequence stratigraphy, provenance, and clay mineralogy of Ordovician shales in Eastern Ohio. All data and research were funded by EMF and Artex Energy Group.

EMF Geoscience, Inc. is a consulting exploration and investment company located in Marietta that assists oil companies in identifying the best prospects to be drilled. EMF specializes in seismic interpretation, well log analysis, and well site geology. Daily, I observe sequence stratigraphy trends, analyze well logs, calculate petrophysical characteristics, and map subsurface formations and structures. All with the goal of finding hydrocarbons and plays that generate the best economic return for our clientele. Working for a small company in the oil and gas industry is exciting because you are directly involved in the business and the science side. I am currently responsible for all Business Development activity for EMF, which includes structuring deals, managing company investments, client relationships, and overseeing all consulting projects.

I was extremely lucky that Marietta College was successful in getting their students summer internships and full-time job placement. Ohio University then helped transform me into a well-rounded geologist. My goal in joining the Ohio University Earth and Environmental Geosciences Alumni Advisory Board is to give back by assisting students to find opportunities they never knew existed.

I was raised in southeastern Ohio and ran Cross Country and Track & Field at Ohio University while studying geology from 2014-2018. Eager to start my career as a scientist, I interned with the United States Geological Survey in Orlando, Florida at the Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center as a Hydrogeologic Technician during the summers and winters of his sophomore and junior years. I reflected on my intern experience in a short article, published by the College of Arts and Sciences Forum during my senior year. As a senior, I conducted research and presented a senior thesis on sedimentary petrology of the local Blackhand Sandstone member of the Cuyahoga Formation. I continued my research characterizing the sedimentary features and extent of the Blackhand Sandstone throughout the Ohio Valley as a master’s student from 2018 to 2021 under my advisor, Greg Nadon. I was also a Teaching Assistant for Ohio University’s 2019 Field Geology course, which visited geologic classics like the Black Hills, Beartooth Mountains, and Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks.

As a consultant, I practice my craft in Salt Lake City, Utah where I live and work as a Mining Hydrogeologist for WSP’s Mine Water and Environment Group. My participation in this role has allowed me to expand my geologic exposure in Ohio, Alaska’s Arctic Circle, and South America’s Amazon rainforest. I conduct this work on the surface and underground at some of the largest mining operations in the world and support projects at all life-of-mine stages from exploration, permitting, production and operations, and mine closure and reclamation. As a consultant at a global company, I have been able to support projects beyond my primary focus and have conducted work for the oil and gas industry as well as environmental remediation work for clients in both the public and private sectors.

I recently received my Professional Geologist licensure for the state of Utah. I am an active member of the Utah Mining Association, the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, and the Utah Geologic Association, and am an advocate who fosters relationship-building across the multidisciplinary geologic spectrum. I am humbled to contribute as a member of Ohio University’s Earth and Environmental Geosciences Alumni Advisory Board and to work closely with individuals he had looked up to as a student. I continue to enjoy the sport of running and am an all-round mountain enthusiast who bikes, climbs, and skis.

I am an Associate Vice President at the ARCADIS U.S. office in Wexford, PA, working as a Principal Geologist and Project Manager for soil, groundwater, sediment, and surface-water investigation and remediation projects, primarily located in the United States, as well as in Canada and Europe. I earned my B.S. degree from Ohio University in 1981 and my M.Sc. degree from Queens University in 1984. I toured the world for a year and began my career in 1985 at Integrated GeoSciences as a geologist/geophysicist exploring petroleum targets by electromagnetic methods in the northwest and central United States.

After returning for post-graduate studies in hydrogeology at Ohio University in 1986-1987, I began my environmental consulting career with Groundwater Technology in the Washington, D.C. area. From 1993 until 2000, I worked with Philip Services Corp. in the Pittsburgh area. I took a position with PTS from 2000-2001 and began my current position with BBL/ARCADIS in 2001.

My career has focused on providing a broad range of consulting services to industrial clients during the performance of investigations and implementation of remedies under RCRA-/CERCLA-regulated programs. My projects include those targeting a wide spectrum of organic and inorganic constituents in all environmental media with a focus on those sites impacted by chlorinated solvents, wood-treating wastes, metals (primarily arsenic and lead), and petroleum fuels. My investigative experience includes the use of a broad range of techniques, including drilling/soil and sediment sampling, well installation/groundwater sampling, geological mapping, electromagnetic geophysical surveying, subsurface geophysical evaluations, and hydraulic characterization testing via state-of-the-art techniques. I have performed these investigations in a wide variety of geological environments, including karst and fractured rock, weathered rock residuum, glacial and glacial outwash deposits, alluvial deposits, and beach deposits.

I have managed projects that used the following remediation techniques: biologically based reductive dechlorination, geochemically based metals sequestration, groundwater containment and treatment, physical isolation using engineered barriers, physical state transformation/removal, direct physical removal, and monitored natural attenuation.

I serve as the primary liaison between my project team (including nationally recognized technical experts in a wide range of fields) and clients, regulatory representatives, legal representatives, and the public. In addition, I provided, and continue to provide litigation support through expert and factual witness testimony.

I earned a B.S. in Geological Sciences from Ohio University in 1982, an M.S. in Geological Sciences (specializing in structural geology) from the University of Connecticut in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences (specializing in geology and geophysics) from Rutgers University in 1997. I am a licensed professional geologist specializing in structural analyses, fractured-bedrock aquifers, and tectonics.

I retired from civil service after 32 with the New Jersey Geological Survey and am currently conducting geoarchaeological research. View my blogs, publications, virtual GeoTools, classes, and Google Earth themes.

I was born in Tennessee and grew up in Poland, OH, near Youngstown. I completed my B.S. in Geological Sciences in 1981 focusing on hydrology. I finished my M.S. in Geological Sciences in 1983 based on research in well design and efficiency under Dr. Moid Ahmad. The results were presented at the International Groundwater Conference in Johannesburg in 1984.

I started my career with Shell;in New Orleans in 1983 as a geophysicist. Initial assignments included Gulf of Mexico exploration and processing. I moved to seismic acquisition in 1986, eventually becoming Party Chief of the R/V Shell America, the most advanced seismic vessel of that time. In 1991, I moved back into interpretive and leadership assignments that ranged from rank exploration to field developments and redevelopments.

In 2000, I transferred to The Hague to take a role in the Shell flagship project Sakhalin II. This posting culminated in the position of Chief Geoscientist for Shell Russia with significant travel to Moscow and Sakhalin Island. I returned to the United States in 2007 as the Development Team Leader for Alaska. In 2009, I moved to Exploration as the Geophysical Coordinator, Appraisal Lead for the deep water Appomattox discovery (2010-2013), Appraisal Manager (2013-2014), Mesozoic Exploration Manager (2014-2017), and Paleogene Exploration Manager (2017-2020). After 37 years with Shell, I retired in 2020 as the most successful Gulf of Mexico explorer from 2010-2020.

I worked with the Geological Sciences Department to establish the Alumni Board in 2008 and co-founded the Yeats-Smith-Nance Field Camp Endowment along with the Moid U. Ahmad Hydrologic and Environmental Studies Endowment. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and adventurous travel.

I was born and raised in Colerain Township outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I originally attended DePauw University for a year before discovering a love for natural sciences, resulting in my transfer to Ohio University to study Geological Sciences. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree (2020) and a master’s degree (2022) in Geological Sciences from Ohio University. My undergraduate thesis focused on age dating and petrology of the Black Hand Sandstone under the guidance of Dr. Katherine Fornash. I switched my focus to hydrogeology in graduate school to study complex interactions between wetland ecosystems and greenhouse gas emissions under Dr. Eung Seok Lee.

During my five years at Ohio University, I was blessed with multiple opportunities to travel and grow as an aspiring geologist. These included attending a volcano monitoring research program in the Canary Islands, performing mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence at the University of Texas in Austin, and spearheading a master’s field campaign in Gunsan, South Korea. I was also fortunate to intern at Alt & Witzig Engineering in 2019 as a field geotechnical engineer.

After graduating from Ohio University, I moved back to Cincinnati to begin my career as a staff geologist for Trihydro Corporation, a small environmental consulting firm. As an environmental consultant, I am involved with the development and implementation of solutions for environmental remediation.

Aside from geology, I enjoy playing multiple sports such as soccer, softball, volleyball, skiing, and golf. I am an avid audiophile as both a bass guitar player and a collector of vinyl records.

I am excited to participate as a member of the Alumni Advisory Board and give back to a department that provided me with so much as a student. I look forward to meeting and assisting future geologists at Ohio University. Please feel free to reach out!

I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where I often worked part-time and summers in the family water well drilling and supply business. I studied electrical engineering at Duke University. In the summer of my junior year (1973), I attended a three-week “Hydrology Workshop for Professionals” at Ohio University taught by Dr. Moid Ahmad. Nearly all workshop attendees were oil geologists trying to learn about the water business, and I was the only engineer. Since the math governing groundwater flow was the same as electron flow, I discovered that electrical engineering was the perfect preparation for a career in groundwater hydrology and modeling; and Dr. Ahmad discovered that he wanted an electrical engineer as his Teaching Assistant. I returned to Ohio University after graduating from Duke and received my M.S. in Geology in 1977.

I began my professional career working in water use permitting for a Florida regulatory agency. Not finding that work challenging, I moved to Harza Engineering in Chicago, where I was responsible for using groundwater modeling to evaluate regional impacts of large-scale strip-mining operations in Wyoming. The call to return to Florida came in 1979, from Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM, now CDM Smith Inc.), where I began a 40-year career that took me all over the world. Working initially as a project manager and technical lead, I manage water resources studies including water well field design/installation, groundwater modeling studies for aquifer safe yield and saltwater intrusion protection, and containment transport evaluation. In 1984 and for the next 15 years, I served as a program manager on multi-hundred-million-dollar hazardous waste contracts for the EPA, DOE, and DOD, as well as remediation contracts for private industry. The next 12 years involved managing nationwide technical groups (environmental, water resources, management consulting). In 2011, I became the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for our Europe/Middle East/Africa Group based in Germany, and ended my career as the COO of the 2,000-person U.S.-based Technical Services Division).

I initially stayed in touch with the Geological Sciences Department and briefly served as an Adjunct Associate Professor in 1992 when I returned to Athens to teach a one-week, one-credit hour course in environmental regulations. At that time, I also funded the Johnson Fellowship, a three-year research grant for hydrology students. I am very pleased and excited to reestablish contact with the department and serve on the Alumni Advisory Board.

I grew up in Stark County, Ohio, about a three-hour drive from Ohio University. The route to Athens was one that I knew well, even before my freshman year, as I frequented Ohio University Homecomings with my alumni parents, aunt, uncle, and their college friends. OHIO was the only choice for me, and I showed up in the fall of 2010 undecided about my major but quickly found geology as the perfect intersection between science, art, and the outdoors.

After some quick research into job prospects in the oil industry and being told I could spend two more years in college for a master’s degree, I was sold. From there on I had a wonderful four years in the Geology Department, learning fundamentals and spending late nights in the old geology building, Clippinger Laboratories, and occasionally 18 W. Union St.

I was afforded many opportunities during my time in the department, including attending field camp at the Yellow Bighorn Research Association in Montana, traveling across the U.S. to national parks on an alumni-sponsored Sigma Gamma Epsilon trip, being a member of the Geology Club, and completing a senior thesis in geophysics with Dr. Douglas Green; for all of which I am very grateful.

After graduating from Ohio University, I moved to Texas and completed a master’s program in geology at the University of Texas at Austin. I was a graduate research assistant in the Bureau of Economic Geology and Fracture Research and Application Consortium and had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in the San Rafael Swell of Utah, studying deformation bands in Jurassic eolian sandstones. During my master’s program, I learned more about petroleum geology and the energy industry, as well as how to use a scanning electron microscope, and why everyone loves Austin, Texas, so much. I also met my husband, Mason, who is a geophysicist and works in climate science consulting.

I interned at ConocoPhillips in their Eagle Ford asset in 2015 before coming to work for Shell Oil full-time in 2016. My first job at Shell was working as a sedimentary petrology and reservoir quality specialist for three years. I spent a lot of time in the lab behind a microscope interpreting cores from a variety of wells and depositional systems across the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and offshore Africa. In 2019 I moved into the Upstream Deepwater Exploration business in the Gulf of Mexico — my current role. On a day-to-day basis, I do seismic interpretation and create maps of the subsurface to find hydrocarbons, evaluate the potential value of prospects to Shell’s portfolio, and plan and drill frontier exploration wells.

I am fortunate to be in my career and have been helped tremendously by OHIO geology alumni along the way to get here, so for that reason and many others, I am very excited to participate as a member of the alumni board to support the department and help students and new alumni to successful careers. I am also passionate about fundraising to provide scholarships for studies and field camp endeavors. Let’s connect!

I originally found a passion for geology in my hometown of Ashtabula, Ohio. I grew up loving the outdoors and spending a lot of time hiking through local parks where I became fascinated by the rocks I saw. I first learned about the rock cycle in my 8th grade science course and was totally captivated. My class also watched the fantastic geology movie, Dante’s Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan and I fell in love (with geology!).

After realizing that this could be a career, I was excited to start researching colleges that I might want to attend. I visited SO many schools before Ohio University, but after my first steps on the bricks in Athens, I knew I was home. During my time at Ohio University, I became very involved in the department as the president of Sigma Gamma Epsilon and a member of the Geology Club. I credit my success, both during and after my time at Ohio University, in large part to the connections I made with the geology alumni and, of course, thanks to the amazing professors in the department.

I focused my undergraduate senior thesis on sample processing techniques for investigations of shock-metamorphosed dolomite. I continued my interest in impact craters and dolomite during my time in graduate school at the University of Oklahoma. While at Oklahoma, I had the opportunity to intern with Pioneer Natural Resources. I attribute my initial interest in this oil internship to my mentors on Geology’s Alumni Advisory Board. Following my time in graduate school, I was able to start my career in the mining industry at RHI Magnesita as a direct result of a connection with an Ohio University geology alumna.

I benefitted greatly from the connections I made with Ohio University geology alumni during my time as a student and because of that, I am very excited to be on the other side and help future geologists who are currently studying at Ohio University.

I am a certified petroleum geologist currently serving as Chief Geologist and Regulatory Specialist with ALL Consulting, LLC, based out of Tulsa, OK. Before joining ALL Consulting, I retired from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management in Columbus, OH, with 25 1/2 years of service in 2014. I received my B.S. degree in 1979 and my M.S. degree in 1981, both in Geology from Ohio University.

From 1982 to 1988, I was a consulting geologist involved in the exploration and development of oil and gas and Class II injection wells in Ohio, which included well site geologic oversight, cementing of casing, geophysical logging, well completion, hydraulic fracturing, well plugging and abandonment, and oil and gas production operations. I accepted a geologist position with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas in the Underground Injection Control Section in December of 1988. The division regulates all oil and natural gas drilling in Ohio and has primacy and oversight of its Class II saltwater disposal and secondary recovery injection wells and Class III salt-solution mining injection wells from the U.S. EPA. I planned and performed independent reviews of drilling, conversion, and plugging applications for Class II and Class III injection wells which included reviewing geologic, hydrogeologic, and engineering designs for well construction, cementing, and operations of these wells. I provided technical assistance and expertise to the public, oil and gas industry, and other governmental agencies and served as an expert witness for the division in civil and enforcement court cases. Additionally, I conducted several hundred highly complex groundwater conflict investigations related to oil, natural gas, coal mining, injection wells, and highly fractured rocks associated with industrial minerals quarry dewatering operations.

I have been involved in over 70 publications and presentations on oil and gas, groundwater and stray gas investigations, evaporates, salt-solution mining, underground storage, hydraulic fracturing, induced seismicity, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and injection wells. I am a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Ohio Geological Society, the Ground Water Protection Council, and the National Ground Water Association. I also served on national workgroups for CCUS and induced seismicity.

Since joining ALL Consulting, LLC in August of 2014, I have been involved with both Class II and Class I non-hazardous injection wells including the geological evaluation and injection zone assessment; permitting oversight and review; well design and well construction; geophysical log interpretation; and preparing cost estimates for authorization for expenditure (AFE) for the permitting, drilling, and completion of Class II and Class I non-hazardous injection wells in the Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Additionally, I have been an expert witness on multiple litigation cases including induced seismicity, and participated in seismic monitoring and installation of local seismic networks and the development of seismic monitoring and mitigation plans for injection well clients. I currently serve as a member of the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission’s (IOGCC’s) national State Oil & Gas Regulatory Exchange Induced Seismicity Workgroup and GWPC’s National Class VI CCUS Workgroup.

I am originally from nearby Chillicothe, OH, where I graduated from high school with a very basic science background and had no idea what a geologist did. Near the end of my junior year of college, Geology 101 got me excited about a career that I could enjoy instead of just a job. I graduated from Ohio University with a B.S. in Geology in 2002 and completed an M.S. degree in Geology at the University of Tennessee in 2005. My thesis research at UT took me to western Montana to study the cyclicity of the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate Helena Formation of the Belt Supergroup. Upon completing my M.S. degree, I started my career as a petroleum geologist at ExxonMobil in Houston, TX. I reside in the Houston, TX, area with his wife, Amy, and daughter, Adelaide.

As an ExxonMobil geoscientist, I have had the opportunity to work on exploration, development, and production assets, worked with cutting-edge research projects at Exxon Mobil’s Upstream Research Company, and even worked within corporate Human Resources on workplace culture. Currently, I am the Global New Opportunities Manager for the Americas within the Exploration and New Ventures organization.

Throughout my career, I have been involved in characterizing subsurface risk and uncertainty, calculating in-place and recoverable hydrocarbon volumes, planning and permitting wells to either discover new hydrocarbon accumulations or reduce uncertainty around existing discoveries, and integrating well data with state-of-the-art 3D seismic data to create a fully integrated model of the subsurface. In addition to meeting evolving business needs related to individual oil and gas fields, I have also worked as a supervisor and manager where my job responsibilities included near-term and long-term career development for the geologist and geophysicists on my team.

I attribute my success in the energy industry, and as a scientist in general, to the geological fundamentals, I learned here at Ohio University. That’s why I was so excited to become a charter board member of the Ohio University Geological Sciences Alumni Advisory Board back in 2009. I am passionate about helping students understand what a petroleum geology career looks like day-to-day, how we should all be excited about every kind of geology because we’re all scientists, and what students should be thinking about now to better prepare themselves for graduate school, job interviews, and a long, exciting career in geology.

I earned a B.A. in Geology from Hartwick College in 1983, an M.S. in Geological Sciences (specializing in hydrogeology) from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. in Soil and Water Science (specializing in soil physics and hydrology) from the University of Arizona. I am a licensed geoscientist in Texas, Virginia, and Arizona.

I have been a full-time researcher in various locations since 1995 when I earned my Ph.D. I was a post-doc Fellow at Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta for a couple of years, then moved to Las Vegas and became a research professor at the Desert Research Institute, focusing mostly on the soil physics and hydrology of desert ecosystems for 10 years. During the end of my time there, I was Acting Executive Director of Hydrologic Sciences, coordinating research and administration for a division of 80 researchers. I moved to Texas in 2010 and became Associate Director for Environmental Research and Senior Research Scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, I coordinated environmental research programs for a group of about 60 researchers, post-docs, and students involved in a wide variety of environmental geosciences research spanning induced seismicity, energy/water issues, geological sequestration of CO₂, groundwater recharge processes, water quality and resources, coastal processes and geological mapping. My research interests and experiences include water/energy nexus; water and land impacts from energy development; arid system ecohydrology; and the connection between water resources, landscape development, and human interactions. In 2023, I was named Associate Dean for Research for the Jackson School of Geosciences, one of the largest geoscience programs in the country.

I have worked with several organizations, building emphases on soil physics and ecohydrology. For example, I co-founded the International Soil Modeling Consortium, an organization dedicated to widening the use of soil models in other areas of science. I also co-founded the Soils and Soil Processes Division at the Geological Society of America and the Soils and Critical Zone Processes subcommittee at the American Geophysical Union. I am the former Editor of the Vadose Zone Journal and am a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and Geological Society of America. I have authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, 200-plus presentations at scholarly meetings, and many other technical reports. I have been the adviser or co-adviser for many M.S. and Ph.D. students.

Contact information:

• Connect with Michael Young on LinkedIn.
• 512.475.8830
• michael.young@beg.utexas.edu
• University of Texas Web