Thursday, June 29, 2017

Mexico: GRC Member Works for USA - Mexico Geothermal Energy Cooperation

Patrick Dobson: Hosted by the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education at Ensenada (CICESE), Mexico (Fulbright Specialist Program)

The Fulbright Specialist Program provides a GRC Member with the opportunity to work one-on-one and try to kindle cross border cooperation in a more sustained way.


Geologist Patrick Dobson (a GRC Member) is an expert in geothermal systems at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by the University of California. His research on geothermal systems and volcanic centers during his career has taken him to Japan, Indonesia, Central and South America, and Mexico.

Dobson wanted to return to Mexico to work more closely with Mexican counterparts and students after attending a technical workshop on clean energy across the border organized by the California Energy Commission.

“Back in the late 1970s and 80s there was a major collaborative research effort on geothermal systems between our lab and Mexican researchers. But funding dried up. We’d like to reinitiate a formal relationship,” says Dobson.