Hey, Penn State Professor Engelder! Who's Your Daddy?

[Divernan]

http://m.post-gazette.com/business/news/the-marcellus-boom--origins-the-story-of-a-professor-a-gas-driller-and-wall-street-1133325?p=0
The Marcellus Boom Origins the story of a professor a gas driller and Wall Street
2011-03-20
Jonathan D Silver Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(This is a large, detailed article. Following are some snips about Engelder, the sole academic representative to the Governor's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.)

"That background set the stage for his long association with the petroleum industry. Shortly after Mr. Engelder arrived in State College, oil giant Shell approached him and offered to subsidize research by some of his students into fracturing and gas shales.

"Shell's offer, Mr. Engelder said, must be seen in a broader context. Penn State prides itself, he said, on broad collaborations on research with industry, which contributes roughly $100 million a year to the university.

"A long line of other petroleum companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dominion, Range Resources and Texaco -- would eventually help fund research at Penn State through Mr. Engelder's lab.

"Mr. Engelder estimated that over his career his research has benefited from at least $6 million in grants from industry and $8 million from government.
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So how many millions are environmental groups donating to Penn State for research, as opposed to Big Oil? Probably zilch. And it's not like Penn State isn't desperate for every dollar since Corbett slashed their budget.
Conclusion: Big Oil, and I mean REALLY Big Oil has bought out Penn State.

The new Penn State cheer: We are . . . .Big Oil!

[Divernan]

1. Engelder made unsubstantiated claims until proven wrong.

This guy ignores his scientific training and loses his objectivity when his financial interests are at stake. The term "hired gun" comes to mind.

"Additionally, Engelder and industry sources have charged that gas will not migrate from the Marcellus to the surface, but a U.S. Geological Survey study in Tioga County, Pa., showed that gas migrated from below the Marcellus to the surface. Because of this, gas can compromise groundwater and can explode.
After the interview, Engelder contacted Voices to say he had followed up on that study and that indeed the conclusion was that the gas did migrate, though researchers did not investigate how."
http://voicesweb.org/risks-marcellus-shale-drilling-are-worth-potential-gains-says-psu-prof

[Divernan]

2. Engelder lauded as the "go-to industry authority on Marcellus Shale"

http://www.geosc.psu.edu/-engelder/AFS/InsideAFS/InsideAFSindex.html
"His assessment of the Marcellus reveals that a lot of experimentation will be necessary to properly assess the actual extraction. We will be the guinea pigs in this experiment.
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"Schlumberger's Oilfield Review published an article which I have that concurs with Engelder and states that the industry has a lot to learn about hydraulic fracturing."
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"In the international area, he has worked on exploration and roduction problems with companies including Saudi aramco, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Agip and Petrobras."
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"Engelder holds degrees from Penn State B.S.('68), Yale M.S.(72) and Texas A & M Ph.D. ('73)."
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As a former doctoral student, I find it beyond belief that anyone with a master's degree could enroll in a doctoral program in the hard sciences in a different school and complete the coursework, and write and defend a doctor's thesis in only one year. Granted a school the quality of Texas A&M would accept transfer credits from Yale, but that would only have been 2/3 of the credits required for a Ph.D.. A&M still should have required another year's worth of coursework, along with a thesis. Love to see this guy's transcript & thesis. Perhaps he just recycled his Yale master's thesis.

[howaboutme]

3. Academic integrity is regularly compromised by moneyed interests

"Inside Job" the Academy Award documentary illustrated how business schools (i.e Harvard, etc) have been compromised by the bankers that have bought off professors who then promote corrupt economic theory. How better to buy off government and the people than throwing money at and which will taint supposedly objective academic institutions.

Universities should be restricted from taking money from commercial sources that inevitably will corrupt the process.