Opening: Dr. Paula Mouser
Featured: Dr. Marc Edwards
Closing: Dr. John Kelmelis
Opening Keynote Address
“Diving into Deep Shale – Microbial Travels and Persistence in the Hydraulic Fracturing Ecosystem”
Friday April 8, 2016 – 4:00 pm.
Microorganisms have the potential to influence energy recovery from unconventional shale formations, yet little is known of their functional diversity in this engineered system. Methanogenic populations, for example, can enhance the total volume of recovered hydrocarbons through the production of biogenic methane within the formation. Conversely, other microorganisms may degrade used additives, lowering the chemical’s efficacy in situ, and consequently producing agents that foul the formation or corrode installed equipment. This talk presents new molecular information supporting the presence of microorganisms indigenous to pristine shale before it is tapped for natural gas. Metagenomic data is then used to characterize the trajectory of microbial communities through time in samples produced from shale wells after hydraulic fracturing. Finally, HPLC-high-resolution mass spectrometry and 1H NMR in conjunction with gene information from isolate genomes and reconstructed metagenomes are used to confirm metabolic pathways for in situ compound degradation, providing new insight into why certain taxa persist in these engineered systems, with important implications for the industry.
Dr. Paula Mouser
Assistant Professor of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering
Ohio State University
Paula Mouser is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering. Dr. Mouser obtained a B.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Utah State University, after which she worked for the City of Logan in the Permits and Compliance Division. Dr. Mouser went on to obtain her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Vermont, where she studied under Prof. Donna Rizzo. Currently, Dr. Mouser specializes in biotechnology, as applied to microbial-environmental interactions in the sub-surface. Notably, the Mouser lab studies the microbial degradation of hydraulic fracturing fluids.
Photo Credit: https://ceg.osu.edu/
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Featured Keynote Address
“How Jonathan Baldwin Turner Saved Flint, Mich.: Public-Inspired Science and the Modern Land-Grant University”
Saturday April 9, 2016 – 11:30 am
Jonathan Baldwin Turner lost the academic job he loved, because his anti-slavery and anti-predestination views, offended large donors to his university employer. His friends abandoned him, and his farm was burned. Undeterred, Mr. Turner then launched a 12 year crusade to form a “people’s University,” that culminated in the Morrill Act, which led to the founding of the land grant college system which successfully met the academic needs of the industrial class. Our relief effort to save Flint MI, partly drew on the strength and courage of Mr. Turner’s life story–in the process we (re)discovered the power of public inspired science.
Dr. Marc Edwards
Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Virginia Tech
Marc Edwards is the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. With M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, he has been part of the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering group at VT since 1997. Dr. Edwards has worked extensively in the field of corrosion in pipes, improving the safety of drinking water in Washington DC and exposing deficiencies in the water distribution system. He is an expert in applied aquatic chemistry, specializing in water quality research. Recently, Dr. Edwards and his team investigated the lead levels in drinking water in Flint, Michigan, where an emergency has been declared due to lead poisoning.
Photo Credit: www.cee.vt.edu/
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Closing Keynote Address
“Five Things You Should Know about Science and Policy”
Scientific information moves through our society in complex ways and it often does not have the impact on policy that scientists might expect. There are a number of reasons for this. Here we will look at five issues related to science and policy. First, what is that route? Does the mere fact that scientific information travels affect its acceptance? Then I will discuss some of the things that affect the general public’s view of scientific information and how that has changed over time. Third, I ask what are some differences between the scientific and policy cultures? What are the goals and the reward structures for the scientific community and the policy community? What are the differences and do they make a difference? Those are important to the acceptance of scientific information both in the policy realm and by the general public. Fourth, interpretation of the same information varies from place to place and by a socio economic considerations. This, in-turn, feeds back across societal lines to increase the haze of acceptance. Finally, we will ask the question of whether it is possible to help facts travel well, that is, with integrity and fruitfully.
Dr. John A. Kelmelis
Professor of International Affairs
Penn State University
Professor John A. Kelmelis joined the School of International Affairs faculty in September 2008 as a scholar of national and international geography. He brings to Penn State more than thirty years of distinguished government service and leadership, during which time he has provided scientific advice on U.S. foreign policy, regional resource management, disaster response, and information infrastructure.
Photo Credit: https://www.sia.psu.edu/
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