geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
who worked with
M. King Hubbert
Marion King Hubbert (October 5, 1903 – October 11, 1989) was an American geologist and geophysicist. He worked at the Shell research lab in Houston, Texas. He made several important contributions to geology, geophysics, and petroleum geolog ...
, the creator of the
Hubbert peak theory
The Hubbert peak theory says that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve. It is one of the primary theories on peak ...
, at the
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
research laboratory in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. He claimed
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...
ancestry.About Ken Deffeyes at his Princeton Peak Oil site
Deffeyes made a lively personal impression. McPhee characterized him in ''Basin and Range'' (1981): "Deffeyes is a big man with a tenured waistline. His hair flies behind him like
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
. He lectures in sneakers. His voice is syllabic, elocutionary, operatic. ... His surname rhymes with 'the maze.'"John McPhee, ''Basin and Range.'' 1981, Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Biography
Deffeyes earned a B.S. in
petroleum geology
Petroleum geology is the study of the origins, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels. It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons ( oil exploration).
...
from the
Colorado School of Mines
The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...
and a Ph.D. in
geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, studying under
F.B. van Houten
FB, Fb, or fb may refer to:
Arts and media
* F♭ (musical note)
* FB (band), an electronic music collaboration of Benny Benassi and Ferry Corsten
* Facebook, a social networking website, also known as FB.com
** Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook ...
.
Deffeyes Ph.D. dissertation research concerned volcanic ashfalls in Nevada that had been altered to
zeolite
Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...
s. Not much was known about the potential uses of zeolites, so Deffeyes wrote a review paper on zeolites in sedimentary rocks. This resulted (according to both Deffeyes and John McPhee) in the founding of the natural zeolite industry. Zeolites have important uses in
water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...
, as
catalyst
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
s in the
petrochemical industry
file:Jampilen Petrochemical Co. 02.jpg, 300px, Jampilen Petrochemical co., Asaluyeh, Iran
The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics industry, plastics (poly ...
, and as
molecular sieve
A molecular sieve is a material with pores of uniform size comparable to that of individual molecules, linking the interior of the solid to its exterior. These materials embody the molecular sieve effect, in which molecules larger than the pore ...
s.
He taught at Princeton from 1967 to 1998, when he transferred to
professor emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
status.
He was the author of ''Hubbert's Peak'', published in 2001. In 2005 he published the book '' Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak''. On February 11, 2006 Deffeyes claimed that world oil production had peaked on December 16, 2005.
In non-fiction
In
John McPhee
John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourt ...
's 1981 book ''Basin and Range'', about the origin of
Basin and Range
Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...
topography, Deffeyes teaches
geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
to McPhee and his readers by analyzing road cuts and the exposed geologic strata that resulted from the construction of Interstate highway 80. On one trip, Deffeyes picks up a piece of
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
shale near
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
* "Crude oil is much too valuable to be burned as a fuel."Excerpt, ''Hubbert's Peak'' /ref>
* Of world peak oil production: "There is nothing plausible that could postpone the peak until 2009. Get used to it."
* "The economists all think that if you show up at the cashier's cage with enough currency, God will put more oil in ground." Associated Press, 2005
Jean Laherrère
Jean H. Laherrère (born 30 May 1931) is a French petroleum engineer and consultant, best known as the co-author of an influential 1998 Scientific American article entitled ''The End of Cheap Oil''.
Career
Laherrère studied at the Ecole Polyte ...