Welcome To Ocean Geothermal Energy Foundation

OGEF is a team of top experts in the geothermal energy, geology, geophysics and turbines. Each person on our team is highly respected in their fields. We are doing the research and development to put the earth’s vast geothermal resources to work replacing coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear for generating electricity. Help us keep our experts working on ocean geothermal energy.

Meet Our Team

Ken Nichols
Ken NicholsEngineer
Ken Nichols is Chief Executive Officer Emeritus and Senior Project Engineer for Barber-Nichols Inc. and is responsible for directing the design and development of turbines, compressors, turbopumps and thermodynamic systems involving turbomachinery.

Ken Nichols is Chief Executive Officer Emeritus and Senior Project Engineer for Barber-Nichols Inc. and is responsible for directing the design and development of turbines, compressors, turbopumps and thermodynamic systems involving turbomachinery.  Barber-Nichols Inc. recently constructed, with Sandia National Laboratories, a demonstration turbine using supercritical CO2 for use in nuclear power plants.  Mr. Nichols has over 45 years of professional experience in the design and development of turbomachinery.  He has been responsible for the design and development of a wide variety of unique turbomachinery including geothermal power plants, and a gas cooled turbine that operated directly on hot gasses at temperatures exceeding 2500°F.  He was a panel member of the group that wrote the MIT Study.  Most recently he has been involved with the design of turbines and compressors for supercritical CO2  power systems.
John Orcutt
John OrcuttGeophysist
John Orcutt is a Distinguished Professor of Geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography with a focus on the internal structure of ocean spreading centers and the genesis of the oceanic lithosphere, and also on marine seismology applied to both crustal and mantle structure.

John Orcutt is a Distinguished Professor of Geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography with a focus on the internal structure of ocean spreading centers and the genesis of the oceanic lithosphere, and also on marine seismology applied to both crustal and mantle structure. He is a recent past president of the American Geophysical Union and was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering “for international leadership in development of new ocean-observing infrastructure and environmental and geophysics research.” Dr. Orcutt has also been the Secretary of the Navy/Chief of Naval Operations Oceanography Chair from 1996 to the present. Dr. Orcutt will advise with respect to system design technical specifications and requirements and well specifications and requirements arising from or relating to the seafloor environment and their effect on drilling costs, manufacturing costs and life cycle costs.
Wilfred Elders
Wilfred EldersGeologist
Co-chief Scientist of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), a long term, international, drilling project.

Wilfred Elders is a Research Professor and Professor Emeritus of Geology at the University of California, Riverside, where he directed the Geothermal Resources Program. He has lectured at international geothermal institutes in New Zealand, Japan and Iceland, and served on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Education Committee of the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) of the U.S. for several years. From 1983-1988 he was Chief Scientist of the Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, which drilled a 3.1 km deep borehole that reached temperatures of 365oC and produced brines containing more than 25 wt% of total dissolved solids. Currently his main research interest is very high enthalpy geothermal resources. In 2000, Dr. Elders retired from laboratory science and teaching to devote full time to being a Co-chief Scientist of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), a long term, international, drilling project. The IDDP is aimed at bringing about the next phase in the development of geothermal resources worldwide, by exploring for deep, supercritical, geothermal fluids. In June, 2009, the first deep IDDP borehole, at Krafla, drilled into rhyolite magma at 900oC. Currently he is involved in planning the drilling of the IDDP-2 well, a deep borehole on the Reykjanes Peninsula that will provide the first opportunity worldwide for scientists to investigate the deep, high temperature reaction zone of a high-temperature hydrothermal system situated on a mid-ocean ridge-like setting. He has published over 200 papers and technical publications, from “Crustal Spreading in Southern California: The Imperial Valley and the Gulf of California Formed by Rifting Apart of a Continental Plate” (1972) in Science to “Drilling into Magma and the Implications of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) for High-Temperature Geothermal Systems Worldwide” (2014) in Geothermics.
Girardo Hiriart
Girardo HiriartEngineer
Dr. Hiriart has an international reputation as an experienced authority in renewable energy technologies, especially in geothermal systems.

Gerardo Hiriart earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and has been working in the field of geothermal energy for more than thirty years. Dr. Hiriart has an international reputation as an experienced authority in renewable energy technologies, especially in geothermal systems. Dr. Hiriart worked in different positions at the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, Mexico’s Electricity Utility), where he was involved at the managerial level in Mexico’s most important geothermal projects such as Cerro Prieto, Los Azufres, Los Humeros and Tres Virgenes. For ten years he was the General Manager for Geothermal Projects in the CFE, where he was in charge of the complete project, from the construction permits and development of environmental impact assessments of the geothermal fields, to the elaboration of technical specifications for public bids for well drilling and power plant construction. He was also responsible for the supervision of the construction process and the operation of all geothermal fields in the country. He was recognized with the prestigious Pioneer Award in year 2000 by the Geothermal Resources Council in the USA, where he served 3 years on the board of directors.
Jim Shnell
Jim ShnellAttorney
The President of OGEF, is responsible for the organization and administration of the research and development, including the preparation of all required reports. He is an attorney who also has managerial experience in the development and permitting of energy projects, and he will be primarily responsible for issues relating to environmental regulation and permitting.
Joe Iovenitti
Joe Iovenitti Geologist
Joe Iovenitti is a professional geologist in California with over 37 years of experience in applied geoscience and expertise in geothermal energy.

Joe Iovenitti is a professional geologist in California with over 37 years of experience in applied geoscience and expertise in geothermal energy. He has over 20 years of experience in conducting geothermal hydrothermal exploration, development, and/or production projects in the US, Indonesia, Philippines, Honduras and Guatemala. Joe has been the principal Investigator for a USD $2M U.S. DOE project on the development of a calibrated EGS exploration methodology using the Dixie Valley Geothermal District as the laboratory test site. He led and assembled the team for the successful $2M DOE proposal for Innovative EGS Exploration Methodology. He conducted detailed high enthalpy geoscience hydrothermal assessment of the southeast portion of the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano and a detailed development assessment of the Puna Geothermal Venture leasehold.
Peidong Yang
Peidong YangChemist
Peidong Yang is the S.K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Professor of Energy, and Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, and a Principal Investigator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Peidong Yang is the S.K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Professor of Energy, and Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, and a Principal Investigator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. B. A. Chemistry, University of Science and Technology in China (1993); Ph. D. Chemistry, Harvard University (1997); Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Santa Barbara (1997-1999). His awards and honors include the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (1999); 3M Untenured Faculty Award (2000); Research Innovation Award (2001); Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (2001); NSF CAREER Award (2001); Hellman Family Faculty Award (2001); ACS ExxonMobil Solid State Chemistry Award (2001); Beckman Young Investigator Award (2002). MIT Tech. Review TR 100 (2003); ChevronTexaco Chair in Chemistry, Berkeley (2003); First Chairperson for American Chemical Society, Nanoscience subdivision (2003); Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2004); Dupont Young Professor Award (2004), Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics (2004), MRS Outstanding Young Investigator Award (2004), ACS Pure Chemistry Award (2005), University of Wisconsin McElvain Lectureship (2006), Chinese Academy of Science Molecular Science Forum Lectureship (2006), NSF A. T. Waterman Award (2007); and Scientific American 50 Award (2008). Dr. Yang is an advisor to the Project with respect to high-temperature, high-pressure electrolysis.
Bill Rickard
Bill RickardEngineer
President of Geothermal Resource Group, a geothermal engineering company with extensive experience in drilling geothermal wells, designing geothermal power systems, conducting reservoir assessments, and managing drilling projects.

President of Geothermal Resource Group, a geothermal engineering company with extensive experience in drilling geothermal wells, designing geothermal power systems, conducting reservoir assessments, and managing drilling projects. Bill has over 30 years’ experience in drilling engineering and consulting. He specializes in project management, drilling management, and problem well diagnosis. He has an established record of reducing costs through innovative engineering, and successfully managing geothermal exploration and drilling programs. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering and has served on the Geothermal Resources Council Board of Directors. Bill is a registered Professional Engineer and is a member of the American Association of Drilling Engineers and of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Will Osborn
Will OsbornEngineer
Will manages integrated teams at Geothermal Resource Group. He has demonstrated experience in translating research and technology into commercial operation.

Will Osborn, Vice President of Geothermal Resource Group, has over twenty-five years of experience in the geothermal industry, including reservoir development and evaluation, power plant design, startup and operation, and evaluation and application of new technology. Will manages integrated teams at Geothermal Resource Group. He has demonstrated experience in translating research and technology into commercial operation. Most recently he led a successful DOE funding application effort and served as Project Manager for the Newberry Volcano Enhanced Geothermal Demonstration.
Will Osborn
Will OsbornProfessor, University of Maryland Energy Research Center
Eric Wachsman is Professor and William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research and the Director, University of Maryland Energy Research Center.

Eric Wachsman is Professor and William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research and the Director, University of Maryland Energy Research Center.
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University, 1990
Research Interests: Solid oxide fuel cells, gas separation membranes, solid-state gas sensors, electrocatalytic conversion of CH4, post-combustion reduction of NOx.
Background: Eric Wachsman, an expert on solid oxide fuel cells, is the University of Maryland Energy Research Center’s first director. Before joining the University of Maryland, he spearheaded the creation of the Florida Institute on Sustainable Energy at the University of Florida, and served as a senior scientist at SRI International.
Wachsman has focused his career on developing advanced, efficient, energy conversion devices and technologies. His research is on ionic transport in solids and the heterogeneous electrocatalysis at their surface. This research includes the development of solid oxide fuel cells, gas separation membranes, solid-state gas sensors, the electrocatalytic conversion of CH4, and the post-combustion reduction of NOx using advanced ion conducting materials.

Wachsman is a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) and the past chair of the High Temperature Materials Division of ECS. He is the editor-in-chief of “Ionics” and former associate editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. He has more than 140 publications and eight patents on ionic and electronic transport in ceramics, their catalytic properties, and device performance.

Wachsman is also a frequently-invited panelist on fuel cell and hydrogen energy research, ranging from the U.S. Department of Energy “Fuel Cell Report to Congress” and “Basic Research Needs Related to High Temperature Electrochemical Devices for Hydrogen Production, Storage and Use,” to the National Science Foundation “Workshop on Fundamental Research Needs in Ceramics,” NATO “Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conducting (MIEC) Perovskites for Advanced Energy Systems,” and the National Academies’ “Global Dialogues on Emerging Science and Technologies.”

John Newman
John NewmanRetired Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berke
John Newman is the former chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include: analysis and design of electrochemical systems; measurement of transport and thermodynamic properties of electrochemical materials; and renewable energy.

John Newman is the former chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include: analysis and design of electrochemical systems; measurement of transport and thermodynamic properties of electrochemical materials; and renewable energy.

Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, 1963.

M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of California, 1962.

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, 1960, with highest distinction.

Experience

2011-2014 Chief Engineer, Solar Fuels Institute, RTI, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

2011-2016 Professor of the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley

1970-2010. Professor of chemical engineering

1967-1970. Associate professor

1963-1967. Assistant professor

1978-2010. Faculty senior scientist, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Arum Raju
Arum RajuDirector of the Center for Renewable Natural gas (CRNG) at UCR
Arun Raju’s work at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology at UC Riverside focuses on renewable fuels, energy systems analysis including techno-economic and life cycle analysis, CO2 utilization, and optimization of energy conversion pathways.

Arun Raju’s work at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology at UC Riverside focuses on renewable fuels, energy systems analysis including techno-economic and life cycle analysis, CO2 utilization, and optimization of energy conversion pathways. He is currently Director of the Center for Renewable Natural gas (CRNG) at UCR. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UC Riverside with a focus on gasification and related processes. He has experience in research related to synthetic fuels and chemicals production, and power generation via thermochemical pathways, including waste to energy processes.  Before joining the Center for Environmental Research and Technology, Arun was the Director of Research at Viresco Energy, LLC and later served as the Director of Technology Development at Combustion Associates, Inc.