News :: PGE Faculty are Active Sources of Information as Deepwater Horizon Troubles Mount

Chairman Tad Patzek and Dr. Paul Bommer are busier than ever in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. When ABC, the Associated Press, the U.S. Government and the New York Times went looking for answers, this department is one of the places they came for information.

In addition to newspaper and television interviews, Chairman Patzek testified before the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and Environment on June 9th, presenting his perspective on “Beneath the Surface of the BP Spill: What’s Happening Now, What’s Needed Next”. This hearing was webcast due to the great public interest in the oil spill. Cockrell School of Engineering provides a detailed story about Patzek's testimony.

Dr. Paul Bommer, Senior Lecturer, has been interviewed as well, and is also playing a role as the only petroleum engineer on the Flow Rate Technical Group. The Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) led by USGS Director Dr. Marcia McNutt, and a scientific team led by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, is analyzing new data and bringing together several scientific techniques to estimate how much oil is flowing from Deepwater Horizon into the Gulf of Mexico. The FRTG is comprised of sub teams which separately analyze the flow rate; Dr. Bommer's team, the "Plume Modeling Team" uses particle image velocimetry analysis to estimate fluid velocity and flow volume. For more information about this topic see the School of Engineering article and the Department of the Interior press release.