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ASPO-USA is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to the Board of Directors. All three will bring a wealth of experience, ability, intellectual rigor, and thoughtful leadership to our work. The new appointees are: Tadeusz (Tad) Patzek, Professor, University of Texas at Austin; Kurt Cobb, prolific author and speaker on Peak Oil and energy issues; and Jeffrey Brown, independent consulting geologist, and leading Peak Oil and energy analyst.

Image RemovedTad Patzek is the Lois K. and Richard D. Folger Leadership Professor and Chair of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin. Between 1990 and 2008, he was a Professor of Geoengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to Berkeley, he was a researcher at Shell Development, a unique research company managed for 20 years by M. King Hubbert. Tad’s research and teaching involves mathematical and numerical modeling of earth systems, and the thermodynamics and ecology of energy supply for human survival. He is also conducting research on unconventional natural gas and oil resources. Tad is a coauthor of over 200 papers and reports, and one book.

Image RemovedKurt Cobb is the author of the peak-oil-themed thriller novel, Prelude, and a columnist for the Paris-based science news site Scitizen. His work has also been featured on Energy Bulletin, The Oil Drum, 321energy, Common Dreams, Le Monde Diplomatique, EV World, and many other sites. Kurt has worked as a newspaper reporter, an advertising executive and a media consultant to political campaigns. He maintains a blog called Resource Insights.

Image RemovedJeffrey J. Brown is a licensed Professional Geoscientist. He has discovered several oil and gas fields in West Central Texas, and currently manages an exploration program searching for oil and gas fields in this region. Jeff has conducted analysis of the Peak Oil issue for several years, and has written and coauthored several articles on Peak Oil related topics, with a special emphasis on world net oil export capacity. In early 2006, he proposed a simple mathematical model for oil exporting countries called the “Export Land Model,” (ELM). In 2007, 2009 and 2010, he presented papers at the ASPO-USA annual conference, based on work that he and his frequent co-author, Samuel Foucher, have done on the top five net oil exporting countries, and most recently on Global Net Exports. Jeff is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University.

ASPO-USA warmly congratulates and welcomes these distinguished individuals to the Board of Directors, and looks forward to having the benefit of their service.