The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) is an exciting and innovative initiative to train the next generation of industry, academic and government policy leaders.

Set up in 2014, the CDT is run out of Heriot-Watt University (HWU) and consists of a collaboration between 7 core academic partners, 12 associate academic partners and other associate industry sponsors providing support ‘in kind’ through data or training, and 9 core industry sponsors.

The CDT currently comprises three cohorts of PhD students, who are undertaking their degrees at one of the 19 academic institutes. The PhD research topics being undertaken are focused on the following four areas: Environmental Impact & Regulation; Extending the Life of Mature Basins (e.g. North Sea); Exploration in Challenging Environments and Unconventional Oil & Gas Resources 
   
Industry involvement was identified as one of the key measures of success for the UK CDT for Oil and Gas. It was a bold visionary move at the outset to propose a Training Academy, fully funded by industry, to be the sole provider of the CDT training modules. The positive response of industry to this call, both in financial support and by providing staff to present training modules, illustrates the enthusiasm the industry has for this initiative. So why has the reaction been so positive and support so constant during a period of such uncertainty? In this presentation some of the reasons why the Oil and Gas CDT has attracted this support will be discussed and some of the key differentiators which make this initiative so unique amongst industry and academia collaborations will be highlighted.

Biographies

John Underhill gained his first degree in Geology at Bristol University in 1982. He was awarded a PhD entitled ‘Neogene and Quaternary Tectonics and Sedimentation in Western Greece from the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1985.

He worked for Shell in The Hague and London as an exploration geoscientist between 1985-89 before being appointed as a Lecturer in the Grant Institute of Geology (as it was then) in 1989 becoming Professor of Stratigraphy there in 1998. Whilst at Edinburgh, he spent sabbaticals in BP (1992-93) and Norsk Hydro (1997-99). John remained at Edinburgh until the summer of 2013 when he made the short move across to HWU in the same city.
 
His main area of geological research is understanding the structural and stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins through the integration of seismic interpretation methods and field geology. His research not only informs our understanding of petroleum systems but also has contributed to the location of safe geological storage sites for carbon sequestration.
 
John was elected to the Board of the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE) in 2009, an organization he subsequently was President of in 2011-12. In 2012, he was awarded the Geological Society’s Petroleum Group‘s top award, The Silver Medal and the Edinburgh Geological Society’s Clough Medal. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) bestowed their prestigious Distinguished Educator Award to John at their Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh in May 2013 and he won the EAGE’s Alfred Wegener Award in 2014. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Geological Society’s prestigious Lyell Medal.

Keith Gerdes gained his first degree in Geology and Geophysics at Durham University and after taking part in geophysical research cruises in the Arctic, Atlantic and Indian Oceans he was awarded a PhD from the University of Wales.
 
His career in the energy industry has spanned a wide range of technical, operational and managerial roles in both major International companies and smaller exploration-focused, independent organizations. His exploration activities have contributed to the discovery of new reserves in the Far East, Europe, Africa and the former Soviet Union. He has taught in both industry and academia and has published a number of papers on various aspects of petroleum geoscience.
 
Keith has led the organising and technical committees of a number of international conferences for professional geoscience organisations such as the AAPG, GSL and EAGE. He is a recent Past-President of the European Region of the AAPG, a fellow of the Geological Society of London, an AAPG Visiting Lecturer and an Honorary Professor at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
 
Keith is actively involved in furthering the links between Industry and academia, and is a member or chairs Industrial Liaison Boards at a number of UK and European Universities. He is the technical focal point for the Shell Centre for Exploration Geoscience at HWU. He leads the Industrial Advisory Board of the UK Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil & Gas and serves on the CDT Management and Project Committees.

For the opportunity to see John and Keith’s talk, as well as all the other great features of PETEX 2016, register today!