On April 18, 2024, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology will host a workshop aimed at furthering the advancement of geothermal energy development in the state. Dr. Shari Kelley, Senior Geophysicist/Field Geologist at the Bureau, will lead the event, building on the outcomes of a previous workshop held in September 2023. INTERA’s Emily Woolsey and Lee Dalton, who both attended the previous workshop, are assisting Dr. Kelley in establishing a Geothermal Rising Regional Interest Group for New Mexico and in developing the agenda for the workshop. Scheduled to take place at the Fidel Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro, NM, the workshop will feature presentations and panel discussions advocating for the integration of thermal storage networks and geothermal power plants into alternative energy portfolios. Additionally, efforts will be made to encourage indigenous communities and the oil industry to engage in geothermal energy projects. The workshop aims to address technical, policy, economic, and regulatory aspects of geothermal development, with the overarching goal of fostering partnerships and expediting geothermal initiatives in New Mexico. Registration for the event is open, with both in-person and virtual attendance options available. For more information visit https://www.geothermal.org/events/advancing-geothermal-development-new-mexico.
INTERA’s Emily Woolsey and Lee Dalton to Support New Mexico Workshop on Advanced Geothermal Development
On April 18, 2024, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology will host a workshop aimed at furthering the advancement of geothermal energy development in the state. Dr. Shari Kelley, Senior Geophysicist/Field Geologist at the Bureau, will lead the event, building on the outcomes of a previous workshop held in September 2023. INTERA’s Emily Woolsey and Lee Dalton, who both attended the previous workshop, are assisting Dr. Kelley in establishing a Geothermal Rising Regional Interest Group for New Mexico and in developing the agenda for the workshop. Scheduled to take place at the Fidel Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro, NM, the workshop will feature presentations and panel discussions advocating for the integration of thermal storage networks and geothermal power plants into alternative energy portfolios. Additionally, efforts will be made to encourage indigenous communities and the oil industry to engage in geothermal energy projects. The workshop aims to address technical, policy, economic, and regulatory aspects of geothermal development, with the overarching goal of fostering partnerships and expediting geothermal initiatives in New Mexico. Registration for the event is open, with both in-person and virtual attendance options available. For more information visit https://www.geothermal.org/events/advancing-geothermal-development-new-mexico.
Pat Jurcek and Beronica Lee-Brand to Present at the Indiana Section AWWA 116th Annual Conference
INTERA Senior Hydrogeologists, Pat Jurcek and Beronica Lee-Brand will co-present at the Indiana Section, American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) 116th Annual Conference, to be held April 8 -11, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their presentation entitled, “De-Risking Groundwater Supply Investments in the Age of PFAS”, will take place during Track 2: PFAS scheduled on Wednesday, April 10, at 10:45 AM.
Additionally, INTERA’s Theresa Landewe, Oliver Wittman, Rhett Moore, Natalie Mattner, Brad Schroeder, Liberty Flora, and Dan Haddock will be in attendance at this event.
To learn more and to register, visit: https://www.inawwa.org/event/2024-annual-conference-april-8-11th/
Abhishek Singh and Tyler Hatch Co-Author Articles in Winter 2024 Issue of HydroVisions
INTERA’s Dr. Abhishek Singh, PE, President, Water Resources and Supply and Principal Water Resources Engineer, and Tyler Hatch, Director of California Technical Services and Principal Engineer, are both supporting authors on two articles featured in the Groundwater Resources Association’s (GRA) HydroVisions, Winter 2024 issue (Volume 34). Dr. Singh is co-author on, “Part 10 – PFAS Source Areas and Groundwater Plume Persistence”, which focuses on the nature of vadose zone PFAS source areas and how those areas create and sustain groundwater plumes. Mr. Hatch is co-author on, “Subsidence Data: Techniques, Availability, and Interpretation”, which is the second installment of a five-part series on land subsidence (the lowering of land surface elevation) and provides an overview of methods to measure and monitor land subsidence. An overview of the physical mechanisms leading to subsidence due to groundwater pumping and sediment compaction can be found in “California’s Sinking Feeling: An Introduction to Subsidence” (published Summer 2023). To view the articles, visit: https://issuu.com/hydrovisions/docs/2024_hydrovisions_-_winter_-_issuu/4?fr=sNDQ1OTcxNDExOTA
Drs. Jeremy White and Marsh Lavenue Publish a review article on the pilot point method (PPM)
Drs. Jeremy White and Marsh Lavenue of INTERA have published a review article on the pilot point method (PPM) for model inversion and uncertainty quantification in a special issue of Comptes Rendus Géoscience (2023, Vol. 355, Special Issue SI)—an internationally peer-reviewed electronic journal covering the full range of earth sciences and sustainable development. This special issue was assembled by former students and current friends and colleagues of Professor Ghislain de Marsily to honor his more than 50 years of achievements and contributions to the field of geosciences. Since de Marsily first developed the PPM in 1978, its use has grown significantly in applied decision-support modeling settings including hydrogeology. A technique that was once confined to academic realms, the PPM is now widely accepted as one of the industry pillars of inversion and uncertainty quantification for groundwater modeling. The article by Drs. White and Lavenue, entitled “Advances in the pilot point inverse method: Où En Sommes-Nous maintenant?”, provides an update to de Marsily’s paper entitled “Four Decades of Inverse Problems in Hydrogeology” [De Marsily et al., 2000], with a particular focus on the incredible adoption and advancement of PPM and related inverse techniques over the last 20 years in the field of predictive groundwater modeling. Significant reductions in inversion time are transforming the way in which practitioners are deploying the PPM to improve their understanding of hydrogeologic systems, and, ultimately, to provide decision support for water resource management. The special issue of the publication can be accessed here – https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/item/CRGEOS_2023__355_S1/ and to learn more about the life of Professor Ghislain de Marsily, a brief biography can be accessed here – https://timecapsule.iah.org/person/ghislain-de-marsily/
In Loving Memory of Steve Cook
INTERA lost a dear friend, colleague, and one of our most accomplished Principal Engineers last week, and he will be missed by all of us. This summary of Steve Cook’s life and career was written in collaboration with Jeff Glaser, PE, and Gerry Grisak, PG, two of Steve’s closest friends and colleagues.
Steve Cook, PE, was an outstanding engineer and leader whose list of professional and personal accomplishments is long. Steve was a team builder and a positive thinker. He was a leader in our industry and throughout his career executed complex projects across Texas. Steve, together with Tom Joyce, established Cook-Joyce, Inc. (CJI) in 1983, and he made it a fun place to work with a family atmosphere. When it came to creating a family-friendly environment, Steve was ahead of his time. A former colleague at CJI put her career on pause to raise her family, and Steve welcomed her back several years later when she was ready to resume her engineering career.
Steve loved to celebrate! He always hosted CJI’s Thanksgiving lunches, Christmas lunches, company anniversary parties at the former office on 11th St, and summer picnics at great locations around the Austin area. Steve mentored many engineers and geologists throughout our careers and empowered us to take ownership of our projects. Many people owe their careers to Steve providing opportunities, mentoring, insight, and advice. Steve even generously gave some of his staff more than one opportunity to succeed.
Gerry referred to Steve as “the Austin environmental engineering constant”. Steve was a mentor to so many and a model of engineering excellence and integrity. Steve and Tom Joyce exhibited the absolute best of the technical and personal standards we all aspire to. Gerry met Steve in 1984 at a client meeting in Illinois, where he and John Pickens were providing a groundwater modeling presentation. It was clear that Steve was the client’s Principal Technical Lead, to the extent that he was virtually indistinguishable as a consultant. Steve invited INTERA to join forces on the CJI landfill studies in the Gulf Coast, and INTERA found numerous opportunities over the years to combine their environmental engineering excellence with our quantitative flow and transport capabilities. Gerry has said time and again that much of his career is modeled on Steve’s generous and inclusive nature and his extraordinary example of client-centric consulting service. Steve cut Gerry and so many INTERAns into numerous of his personal relationships, many of which Gerry and all of us retain today as clients and close friends.
We thank, honor, and salute Steve Cook, a remarkable and unique friend and colleague! We will all miss him for many years to come, and we will continue to try to live up to the high technical standards that Steve exemplified, and live with a kind and generous heart as he did so well!