CBE Seminar: David Allen

Gertz Regents Chair in Chemical Engineering, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Increased Oil and Natural Gas Production, Methane Emissions, and Climate

Abstract

Hydrocarbon products derived from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale formations (shale gas and shale oil) have greatly expanded US oil and natural gas production, and, in 2014, made the US the world’s largest natural gas and petroleum producer.  Collectively, these resources have transformed North America’s energy landscape. However, the environmental impacts associated with ‘‘fracking’’ for shale gas and oil have made the process controversial.  This presentation will focus on one of the environmental issues associated with shale gas and oil production: the emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  Data from recent field studies will be summarized and measurements made using top-down methods (aircraft, satellites) will be compared with bottom-up measurements (direct measurements of emissions at their source).  The data will be used to assess the net climate impacts of more widespread use of natural gas. 

Bio

Dr. David Allen is the Gertz Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of seven books and over 250 papers, primarily in the areas of urban air quality, the engineering of sustainable systems, and the development of materials for environmental and engineering education. Dr. Allen has been a lead investigator for multiple air quality measurement studies, which have had a substantial impact on the direction of air quality policies. He directs the Air Quality Research Program for the State of Texas, and he is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the American Chemical Society’s journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. He has developed environmental educational materials for engineering curricula and for the University’s core curriculum, as well as engineering education materials for high school students. He led the development of a year-long high school engineering course, Engineer Your World, which is used in hundreds of high schools nationwide. The quality of his work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the State of Texas; he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2017. He has served on a variety of governmental advisory panels and from 2012 to 2015 chaired the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. He has won teaching awards at the University of Texas and UCLA and the Lewis Award in Chemical Engineering Education, from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Dr. Allen received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, with distinction, from Cornell University in 1979. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering were awarded by the California Institute of Technology in 1981 and 1983. He has held visiting faculty appointments at the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Department of Energy.