Oil Prices: USC Experts Available
Iraj Ershaghi, professor of petroleum engineering, specializes in research on “smart” oil technology. He understands the ownership structure of oil operations in California and the West, such as the breakdown between multinational operators and small locally-owned drillers. He can discuss the prospects for increasing production from existing wells without environmental damage, and for increasing recovery of underground reserves. A 2006 winner of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Education Award, he can also speak about problems in the supply of young petroleum engineers to replace the large numbers now retiring. Contact him at (213) 740-0321 or (310) 991-1337 or ershaghi@usc.edu.
Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, is a proponent of drastically increased research into all aspects of energy. In a prescient op-ed in the Houston Chronicle last year, he wrote: “In silent movie style, energy is the onrushing train crashing through the $100 per barrel barrier, with the public as the hapless victim tied to the tracks, strapped by the forces of partisan politics. I have a hero in mind: Let science and technology come to the rescue.” Contact him at (213) 740-0617 or mankin@usc.edu.
Charles J. Cicchetti, professor of policy, planning and development, can address oil and gas prices as well as environmental, economic and regulatory issues, including the costs and benefits of domestic oil exploration. Contact him at (626) 683-9395, (626) 577-9551 or cicchett@usc.edu.
Surya Prakash, professor of chemistry, is an expert in alternative fuels and carbon recycling, and a proponent of methanol as a substitute for fossil fuels. He and USC’s George Olah, 1994 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, have developed a methanol fuel cell which in theory could be used to capture and recycle carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Prakash will be speaking at a two-day workshop on carbon recycling, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, to be held at USC July 9-10. Contact him at (213) 740-5984, (818) 333-3734 or gprakash@usc.edu.
Don Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering, is an internationally recognized expert on carbon sequestration, a process by which carbon dioxide produced by burning oil, gas or coal could be stored in underground lakes. Contact him at (213) 740-0567 or donzhang@usc.edu.
Mark Bernstein, visiting professor of political science and managing director of the USC Energy Institute, can talk about energy and environmental policy, energy in developing countries and the green start-up industry. Contact him at (213) 821-2588, (310) 200-4741 or mabernst@usc.edu.
Contact: USC Media Relations at (213) 740-2215 or uscnews@usc.edu
