New Faculty and Staff Members Chandra Rai, pr<strong>of</strong>essor, Integrated Core Characterization Center, Tulsa Prior to joining Amoco Production Co. in 1982, Chandra Rai conducted research in the area <strong>of</strong> high pressure and temperature geophysics at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Hawaii. He was employed at Amoco from 1982 to 1<strong>99</strong>9, and is the principal or co-author on 10 U.S. patents. Along with Carl Sondergeld and Bruce Spears, he was responsible for developing the mobile, highly automated and versatile core characterization system, GEM, that led to the IC» . He and Sondergeld are also responsible for the development <strong>of</strong> the rock properties database that is one <strong>of</strong> the most comprehensive in industry and academia. Rai’s undergraduate and master’s degrees in applied geophysics are from the Indian School <strong>of</strong> Mines, India. He earned his doctorate in geology and geophysics from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Hawaii. Rai joined PGE in November 1<strong>99</strong>9. Rai and his wife, Usha, have a daughter, Rachna, 18, who will graduate from Tulsa Union High School in May 2<strong>00</strong>0, and a son, Rohit, who is 12. Dan O’ Meara, associate pr<strong>of</strong>essor and interim director, Reservoir <strong>Engineering</strong> Group. Dan O’Meara joined Sarkeys Energy Center as director <strong>of</strong> the Institute for Reservoir Characterization in 1<strong>99</strong>2 and joined the School <strong>of</strong> <strong>Petroleum</strong> and Geological <strong>Engineering</strong> as interim director <strong>of</strong> the new Reservoir <strong>Engineering</strong> Group and associate pr<strong>of</strong>essor in October 1<strong>99</strong>9. Before coming to OU O’Meara managed the Integrated Reservoir Characterization Team at British <strong>Petroleum</strong>’s Houston Technology Center. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Rochester and his master’s and doctoral degrees, both in chemical engineering, from Princeton <strong>University</strong>. 16 Carl Sondergeld, pr<strong>of</strong>essor, Integrated Core Characterization Center, Tulsa Carl Sondergeld earned his bachelor <strong>of</strong> arts degree and master’s <strong>of</strong> arts degree in geology at Queens College <strong>of</strong> the City <strong>of</strong> New York and his doctorate in geology from Cornell <strong>University</strong>. He is the principal or co-author on 14 patents and has published extensively in the area <strong>of</strong> rock mechanics and petrophysics. He has been associated with the Tulsa Research Center since 1981. He and Rai are considered the “founding fathers” <strong>of</strong> the Integrated Core Characterization Center for their instrumental roles in laboratory automation, system and equipment design, and interpretation and application <strong>of</strong> resulting data. Sondergeld and his wife, Rose Marie, have two daughters who will both graduate this spring: Amy, 21, will graduate from Trinity <strong>University</strong>, San Antonio, Texas, and Lindsay, 18, from Union High School, Tulsa. Dr. Jonathan Kwan, Martin G. Miller Chair and visiting pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jonathan Kwan joined PGE in May 1<strong>99</strong>9 after working at Unocal Corp. for 20 years in various technical and management positions in research, operations, marketing and business development. Over the past four years, he has promoted the use <strong>of</strong> natural gas in power generation, chemical manufacturing and gas-to-liquid conversion throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Kwan received his undergraduate degree from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> California at Berkeley and his master’s <strong>of</strong> science and doctorate in Chemical and Environmental <strong>Engineering</strong> from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Southern California. His research interests are in strategic planning, scenario analysis, system thinking, project economics, natural gas engineering and trading, enhanced oil recovery, heavy oil and asphaltene formation. He and his wife, Anne, have two sons, Lesley, 18, and Kevin, 17. OU Discovery School <strong>of</strong> <strong>Petroleum</strong> and Geological <strong>Engineering</strong> Bruce Spears Bruce Spears is responsible for the day- to-day operations and management <strong>of</strong> IC» in Tulsa. Bruce designed much <strong>of</strong> the equipment used in the Center and wrote and maintains the s<strong>of</strong>tware used for lab automation and multiple Web pages in support <strong>of</strong> IC» . Spears’ career with Amoco Production began at the Tulsa Research Center in 1976 when he was the first student selected for a cooperative program between <strong>Oklahoma</strong> State <strong>University</strong> and Amoco to give students work experience prior to graduation. Bruce earned his bachelor <strong>of</strong> science degree in electrical engineering at <strong>Oklahoma</strong> State <strong>University</strong>. He and his wife, JoBeth and family live on a 3<strong>00</strong>-hundred acre farm outside Pawnee, <strong>Oklahoma</strong>. He has five children: Carrie, 25; Justin, 24; Molly, 21; Michael, 12; and Grant, 11. Joao Tadeu Vidal de Sousa Joao Tadeu Vidal de Sousa is serving as a postdoctoral research fellow in PGE at the Well Construction Technology Center. De Sousa completed his doctorate in mining science at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Leoben, Austria, in March 1<strong>99</strong>9. His master’s degree is from the State <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Campinas, Brazil. His responsibilities are in the areas <strong>of</strong> development <strong>of</strong> drilling research proposals, mathematical modeling and computer simulations <strong>of</strong> drilling processes; and characterization <strong>of</strong> drilling fluids. He and his wife, Lucivania, have a 3-year old son, Joao Tadeu Vidal de Sousa Filho, and live in Norman. Nicolette Gosvener Nicolette Gosvener joined the department in October 1<strong>99</strong>9 as coordinator for Financial Operations. Nicolette earned her accounting degree at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Tulsa and has been a licensed CPA since 1982. Nicolette lives in Norman and has two sons: Dylan, 15, and Cody, 11.
OU Discovery School <strong>of</strong> <strong>Petroleum</strong> and Geological <strong>Engineering</strong> <strong>Petroleum</strong> and Geological <strong>Engineering</strong> Chandra Rai Dan O’ Meara Carl Sondergeld Jonathan Kwan Bruce Spears Joao Tadeu Vidal de Sousa Nicolette Gosvener 17
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