Subsurface Energy Resource Center Announces Daniels as Director

in
Ron Sega, Vice President and Enterprise Executive for Energy and the Environment, and Joseph Steinmetz, Executive Dean and Vice Provost of the College of Arts and Sciences, today announced that Jeffrey Daniels, professor in the School of Earth Sciences, has been named director of the Ohio State Subsurface Energy Resource Center, effective July 1. Daniels had previously served as SERC co-director with Douglas Southgate, professor of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Southgate has been named associate director of the center.


SERC was established in September 2011 to contribute to the knowledge about underground sources of energy and the environmental and socioeconomic issues that must be resolved as these sources are harnessed. SERC’s primary mission is to coordinate all of Ohio State’s subsurface expertise to ensure the university is serving as an objective, unbiased source of knowledge to citizens, business interests and policymakers.


Since its establishment, SERC has hosted workshops and discussion forums on the varied topics impacting subsurface energy issues in Ohio, including “Environmental and Public Health Concerns,” “Student/Industry Networking,” “Pipeline Construction in Ohio,” and “Shale Energy Environment and Health Issues Workshop.”


In his role as director, Daniels will lead SERC toward its goals to:
  • Coordinate communications and collaboration among Ohio State faculty and researchers, and serve as a communications link among public-sector agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), business and industry and educational institutions throughout Ohio
  • Provide educational resources and serve as a discussion forum for the full range of subsurface energy issues
  • In conjunction with the university offices of Research and Government Affairs, create opportunities for faculty investigators to attract funding and other support for research, outreach, on-campus instruction, and related activities; and coordinate and facilitate large-scale interdisciplinary research about subsurface energy at the local, state and national levels
  • Provide state and national leadership on issues related to subsurface energy
# # # 
 
Contact:         Jeff Daniels, SERC Director, daniels.9@osu.edu, 614-292-6704
                       Gina Langen, SERC Communications, Langen.2@osu.edu, 614-688-4423

July 16, 2012