Robert L. Hirsch
Encyclopedia
Robert L. Hirsch is a former senior energy
program adviser for Science Applications International Corporation
and is a Senior Energy Advisor at MISI and a consultant in energy, technology, and management. His primary experience is in research, development, and commercial applications. He has managed technology programs in oil and natural gas exploration
and petroleum refining
, synthetic fuel
s, fusion
, fission
, renewables, defense technologies, chemical analysis, and basic research
.
, and he is the principal author of the report Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management
, which was written for the United States Department of Energy
.
Hirsch directed the US fusion energy program during the 1970s evolution of the Atomic Energy Commission
(including initiation of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor
), through the Energy Research and Development Administration to the present Department of Energy
. In addition to his role in development of fusion energy by magnetic confinement, Hirsch was also interested in inertially confined
fusion.
His previous management positions include:
Hirsch has served as a consultant and on advisory committees for government and industry. He is past Chairman of the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academies, has served on a number of National Research Council committees, and is a National Associate of the National Academies. In recent years, he has focused on problems associated with the peaking of world conventional oil production and its mitigation.
award in 2009 by the ASPO-USA
.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4RJSP1J-9&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c6bd17ce60eba9b4456fef6dfd4aa99e
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
program adviser for Science Applications International Corporation
Science Applications International Corporation
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company headquartered in the United States with numerous federal, state, and private sector clients...
and is a Senior Energy Advisor at MISI and a consultant in energy, technology, and management. His primary experience is in research, development, and commercial applications. He has managed technology programs in oil and natural gas exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
and petroleum refining
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
, synthetic fuel
Synthetic fuel
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel obtained from coal, natural gas, oil shale, or biomass. It may also refer to fuels derived from other solids such as plastics or rubber waste. It may also refer to gaseous fuels produced in a similar way...
s, fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
, fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
, renewables, defense technologies, chemical analysis, and basic research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
.
Professional experience
Hirsch has served on numerous advisory committees related to energy developmentEnergy development
Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms for supply, cost, impact on air pollution and water pollution, mitigation of climate change with renewable energy....
, and he is the principal author of the report Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management
Hirsch report
The Hirsch report, the commonly referred to name for the report Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management, was created by request for the US Department of Energy and published in February 2005....
, which was written for the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
.
Hirsch directed the US fusion energy program during the 1970s evolution of the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
(including initiation of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor
Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor
The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor was an experimental tokamak built at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory circa 1980. Following on from the PDX and PLT devices, it was hoped that TFTR would finally achieve fusion energy break-even. Unfortunately, the TFTR never achieved this goal...
), through the Energy Research and Development Administration to the present Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
. In addition to his role in development of fusion energy by magnetic confinement, Hirsch was also interested in inertially confined
Inertial confinement fusion
Inertial confinement fusion is a process where nuclear fusion reactions are initiated by heating and compressing a fuel target, typically in the form of a pellet that most often contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium....
fusion.
His previous management positions include:
- Senior Energy Program Advisor, SAIC (World oil production)
- Senior Energy Analyst, RANDRANDRAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
(Various energy studies) - Vice President of the Electric Power Research InstituteElectric Power Research InstituteThe Electric Power Research Institute conducts research on issues related to the electric power industry in USA. EPRI is a nonprofit organization funded by the electric utility industry. EPRI is primarily a US based organization, receives international participation...
(EPRI). - Vice President and Manager of Research and Technical Services for Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCOARCOAtlantic Richfield Company is an oil company with operations in the United States as well as in Indonesia, the North Sea, and the South China Sea. It has more than 1,300 gas stations in the western part of the United States. ARCO was originally formed by the merger of East Coast-based Atlantic...
) (Oil and gas exploration and production). - Founder and CEO of APTIAdvanced Power TechnologiesAdvanced Power Technologies, Inc. was an American defense contractor which was acquired by BAE Systems Inc. in March 2003. It was renamed BAE Systems Advanced Technologies....
, a roughly $50 million/year company now owned by BAE SystemsBAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
. (Commercial & Defense Department technologies). - Manager of ExxonExxonExxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
’s synthetic fuels research laboratory. - Manager of Petroleum Exploratory Research at Exxon. (Refining R & D).
- Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Energy Research and Development AdministrationEnergy Research and Development AdministrationThe United States Energy Research and Development Administration was a United States government organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1975...
(ERDA) responsible for renewables, fusion, geothermal and basic research. (Presidential Appointment). - Director of fusion research at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and ERDA.
Hirsch has served as a consultant and on advisory committees for government and industry. He is past Chairman of the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academies, has served on a number of National Research Council committees, and is a National Associate of the National Academies. In recent years, he has focused on problems associated with the peaking of world conventional oil production and its mitigation.
Energy policy
Hirsch (2008) quantified how historic declines in world oil supply caused proportionate declines in world GDP. He provides a framework for mitigation planning including:"(1) a Best Case where maximum world oil production is followed by a multi-year plateau before the onset of a monatomic decline rate of 2-5% per year; (2) A Middling Case, where world oil production reaches a maximum, after which it drops into a long-term, 2-5% monotonic annual decline; and finally (3) a Worst Case, where the sharp peak of the Middling Case is degraded by oil exporter withholding, leading to world oil shortages growing potentially more rapidly than 2-5% per year, creating the most dire world economic impacts."
Awards
Hirsch was awarded the M. King HubbertM. King Hubbert
Marion King Hubbert was a geoscientist who worked at the Shell research lab in Houston, Texas. He made several important contributions to geology, geophysics, and petroleum geology, most notably the Hubbert curve and Hubbert peak theory , with important political ramifications. He was often...
award in 2009 by the ASPO-USA
Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, or ASPO, is a network of scientists, affiliated with a wide array of global institutions and universities, whose goal is to attempt to determine the date and impact of the peak and decline of the world’s production of oil and gas, due to resource...
.
Publications
Hirsch holds 14 patents and has over 50 publications in the energy field. http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/others/pdf/Oil_Peaking_NETL.pdf http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112160312/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112160312/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0http://www.oildecline.com/hirsch2.pdf. See the Hirsch reportHirsch report
The Hirsch report, the commonly referred to name for the report Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management, was created by request for the US Department of Energy and published in February 2005....
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4RJSP1J-9&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c6bd17ce60eba9b4456fef6dfd4aa99e
- Hirsch, Robert L., Roger H. Bezdek, Robert M. Wendling The Impending World Energy Mess: What It Is and What It Means to You, Apogee Prime, 2010.