FIU experts on oil spill

MIAMI – Florida International University has several experts who are available to discuss various issues surrounding the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its consequences.

For questions or assistance in contacting any of the following experts, please call the Office of Media Relations:

Maydel Santana-Bravo: 305-348-1555, santanam@fiu.edu

Yusila Ramirez: 786-547-0779, yramirez@fiu.edu

Madeline Baro: 305-348-2234, mbaro@fiu.edu

Jean-Paul Renaud: 305-348-2716, jprenaud@fiu.edu

JoAnn Adkins, 305-348-0398,jadkins@fiu.edu

Oil Industry

Jorge R. Piñón
Jorge Piñón is a visiting research fellow with FIU’s Cuban Research Institute.  He began his 32-year career in the energy sector at Shell Oil and served as president and CEO of Transworld Oil USA, president of Amoco Corporate Development Company Latin America, president of Amoco Oil de México, and president of Amoco Oil Latin America.  After the 1999 merger between Amoco and BP, Piñon managed BP Europe’s western Mediterranean petroleum supply and logistics operations. Piñón, an emerging market consultant, also is an expert on Cuba’s energy sector and the island’s future economic transition challenges and opportunities. He is a frequent guest energy analyst on CNN En Español, CNN International, Bloomberg Financial News Services and other news outlets. Piñón speaks Spanish.
Cell:305-926-6910
E-mail:pinonenergy@aol.com

Environmental Impact

Joseph Boyer
Dr.  Boyer is the director of the Southeast Environmental Research Center at FIU. His expertise includes microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal oceans, estuaries and groundwater ecosystems with specific expertise in nutrient cycling. His current research addresses both natural and human-induced physical effects on nutrient cycling, ecosystem metabolism, and water quality of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, Whitewater Bay area, Ten Thousand Islands and the Southwest Florida Shelf.
Office: 305-348-4076
E-mail: joseph.boyer@fiu.edu

James Fourqurean
Dr. Fourqurean, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, studies the susceptibility of costal marine ecosystems in South Florida. Recently, Dr. Fourqurean completed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass losses and found that these coastal meadows, home to a variety of underwater life, are decreasing at an alarming rate. His research interest include the biogeochemistry of coastal ocean, nutrient cycling in the marine environment, primary productivity of aquatic systems, seagrass physiological ecology and ecosystem modeling.
Office: 305-348-4084
Cell: 305-815-0287
E-mail: fourqure@fiu.edu

Hector Fuentes
Professor Fuentes teaches and conducts research in environmental and water resources engineering at FIU. He is member of the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Environmental Engineering. From his experience with R&D oil-spill work, he is able to comment on the change of physical and chemical properties of oil spills due to aging and weathering as well as expected fate and transport patterns of the spill using mathematical and computer models. He can assit in the development of complex trajectory and weathering models, and the estimation of hazard, exposure and risk characterization for human health and ecosystems. Professor Fuentes’s credentials also involve related areas such as environmental and sanitary engineering, water resources and quality engineering, solid, hazardous and radioactive waste engineering, green engineering and pollution prevention and control. He is also able to comment on aspects of environmental legislation and policy. Dr. Fuentes speaks Spanish.
Office: 305-348-2837
Email: Fuentes@fiu.edu

Piero Gardinali
Dr. Gardinali studies the chemistry of the oceans and its creatures. His research interests include the transport of organic pollutants in marine ecosystems, the analytical chemistry of organic contaminants and the biological markers of chemical exposure. He can address the chemical impact an oil spill would have on marine life and its environment. Dr. Gardinali speaks Spanish.
Office: 305-348-6354
Email: piero.gardinali@fiu.edu

Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm
Dr. Miralles is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the NASA WaterSCAPES University Research Center. He can discuss how oil spills spread and what harm they can do to the marine and coastal ecosystems. His research expertise is in hydrologic modeling, with particular emphasis on simulation of physical, chemical and biological processes in aquatic environments. Dr. Miralles speaks Spanish.
E-mail: miralles@fiu.edu
Office: 305-348-3653
Cell: 305-776-8128

John H. Parker
Dr. Parker is a professor of Environmental Science and Chemistry at FIU.  His research interests focus on ecological landscaping, passive solar cooling, energy efficiency, solar energy, energy policy and environmental education.
Office: 305-348-3083
E-mail: parker@fiu.edu

John Proni
Dr. Proni is the executive director of the Applied Research Center at FIU. Part of Proni’s focus at ARC is to identify innovative solutions in the remediation and restoration of contaminated sites. Proni formerly worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a principal investigator at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami. There, he carried out research in energy production, satellite observations of oceanic features and the use of acoustics in pollution studies.
Office: 305-348-4249
E-mail: john.proni@fiu.edu

Berrin Tansel
Dr. Tansel is a professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.   She is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. She has conducted extensive research on oil-water emulsions and remediation of contaminated media (water, sediments and soil).  Her research interests include lab and field studies on weathering of crude and refined oils, formation and treatability of oil-water emulsions, partitioning and persistence of oil based fractions in different phases (slick, emulsion, dispersed, sediment and tar) and their mobility.
Office: 305-348-2928
E-mail: tanselb@fiu.edu

Crisis Management

Edward Glab
Dr. Glab, clinical professor in the Department of Management and International Business and co-founder of the Energy Business Forum at FIU, has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, including 25 years in the private sector.  Dr. Glab is an expert on various aspects of the global energy industry, including oil and other fossil fuels. Dr. Glab speaks Spanish.
Cell: 305-299-7155
E-mail: glabe@fiu.edu

Energy Alternatives

Jerry B. Brown
Dr. Brown is a founding professor of Sociology and Anthropology at FIU, where he teaches courses on anthropology, energy policy and the impact of technology on society. Dr. Brown is co-author of “Profiles in Power” (1997), which predicted the emerging global shift to renewable energy, and of numerous articles on energy and social change.  His recent co-authored book, “Freedom From Mid-East Oil” (2007), shows how the U.S. can save five million barrels of oil a day in ten years.
Cell: (305) 321-5612
Office:  (305) 348-2247 (Ask for Michelle Lamarre)
Email: jbbrown@gate.net

George Philippidis
Dr. Philippidis is associate director of FIU’s Applied Research Center, co-director of the Energy Business Forum, and director of the Center for Energy and Technology of the Americas at FIU. Dr. Philippidis, an expert on biofuels, renewable energy, and energy security issues can discuss the political, economic and other ramifications of energy policy and technology, including issues such as ethanol, biodiesel, alternative forms of energy (solar, wind, ocean etc), oil and offshore drilling. Dr. Philippidis also can discuss clean-up obtions, including alternative methods.
Office: 305-348-6628
Cell: 305-606-9998
E-mail: George.Philippidis@arc.fiu.edu

Geology

Grenville Draper
Dr. Draper is professor of geology in the Department of Earth and Environment. He studies tectonics and deformation processes in the Earth’s crust including the behavior of faults and earthquake generation. He can discuss oil production and ocean currents, including the clockwise Gulf current that could bring oil from the spill to the Southern tip of Florida. Dr. Draper speaks Spanish.
E-mail: Draper@fiu.edu
Office: 305-348-3087
Home: 305-386-9041

Michael R. Gross
Dr. Gross is a structural geologist in FIU’s Department of Earth and Environment whose research focuses on the development of faults and fractures in the earth’s crust.  Dr. Gross has developed techniques to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of oil and gas reservoirs.  He combines observations from rock outcrops on the earth’s surface with core samples and geophysical data collected from wells drilled thousands of feet below the earth’s surface, in an effort to target promising zones within rock formations for the extraction of oil and natural gas.  Dr. Gross can discuss the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, as well as energy resources and policy.
E-mail: grossm@fiu.edu
Office: 305-348-3932

Political Science/Disasters

Richard Olson
Dr. Olson, professor and chairman of the Political Science department, teaches about the political fallout from man-made and natural disasters such as the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, which was precipitated when a massive cyclone hit the Southeast Asian country. Olson, a former contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has done work in the aftermath of disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in Central America. Dr. Olson can discuss why disasters such as the oil spill become political crises. Dr. Olson speaks Spanish
E-mail: Richard.Olson@fiu.edu
Office: 305-348-6398

Health

Berrin Serdar
Dr. Serdar is an assistant professor in the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work. Dr. Serdar’s research involves assessing environmental and occupational exposures to chemicals and investigating their link to health outcomes in different populations. Her previous work involved developing biomarkers to assess exposures to JP-8 jet fuel among U.S. Air Force personnel and to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coke oven workers. Dr. Serdar is currently conducting a study to assess DNA damage in South Florida roofers who are exposed to asphalt and coal tar.
Office: 305-348-7795
E-mail: serdarb@fiu.edu