In - Out + Generation = Accumulation




Experience

 
 
 
 
 
February 2017 – Present
Seattle, WA

Data Scientist

Amazon Web Services

  • Create, maintain, and extend software tools for assessing cloud network availability risks
  • Find solutions to complex business problems with an emphasis on delivering simple, inventive, and actionable results
 
 
 
 
 
May 2009 – August 2009
Pittsburgh, PA

Engineering Intern

Dept. of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory

  • Organized and led field study to test methods for identifying abandoned wells via methane leaks
  • Developed software tools for post-processing collected geospatial data using Matlab and ArcGIS
 
 
 
 
 
December 2006 – December 2017
Salt Lake City, UT

Research Associate

Univ. of Utah Dept. of Chemical Engineering

  • Wrote forecasting tools used by regulatory agencies to estimate emissions from oil and gas wells
  • Evaluated the economic feasibility and key barriers to novel oil production technologies
  • Applied computational fluid dynamics tools to model heat and mass transfer in porous media
  • Characterized and designed systems for generating aerosols to simulate chemical weapons
 
 
 
 
 
April 2002 – April 2008
Hill AFB, UT

Aircraft Mechanic

United States Air Force Reserve

  • Performed ground handling, servicing, inspection, and general maintenance on F-16 aircraft
  • Certified and trained on aircraft battle damage repair
  • Honorably discharged at rank of Staff Sergeant

Selected Publications

In this study, emissions of ozone precursors from oil and gas operations in Utah’s Uinta Basin are predicted (with uncertainty estimates) from 2015–2019 using a Monte-Carlo model of (a) drilling and production activity, and (b) emission factors. Cross-validation tests against actual drilling and production data from 2010–2014 show that the model can accurately predict both types of activities, returning median results that are within 5% of actual values for drilling, 0.1% for oil production, and 4% for gas production. A variety of one-time (drilling) and ongoing (oil and gas production) emission factors for greenhouse gases, methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are applied to the predicted oil and gas operations. Based on the range of emission factor values reported in the literature, emissions from well completions are the most significant source of emissions, followed by gas transmission and production. We estimate that the annual average VOC emissions rate for the oil and gas industry over the 2010–2015 time period was 44.2E+06 (mean) ± 12.8E+06 (standard deviation) kg VOCs per year (with all applicable emissions reductions). On the same basis, over the 2015–2019 period annual average VOC emissions from oil and gas operations are expected to drop 45% to 24.2E+06 ± 3.43E+06 kg VOCs per year, due to decreases in drilling activity and tighter emission standards.
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2016

Recent Publications

. Economic Analysis of In Situ Oil Shale Development in the Uinta Basin. Utah Oil Shale - Science, Technology, and Policy Perspectives, 2016.

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. Oxyfiring with CO2 capture to meet low-carbon fuel standards for unconventional fuels from Utah. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2014.

PDF DOI

. A market assessment of oil sands and oil shale resources. Univ. of Utah Institute for Clean and Secure Energy, 2013.

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