People
Thomas Kalb
Director
Lamar University
Beaumont, Texas
(e) tkalb@lamar.edu
(m) (203) 803-7677
Mr. Kalb is an oil and gas executive with 43 years in financial and operating commodity businesses. He spent 35 years serving as an oil and gas focused institutional investor and provider of corporate finance advisory services, and seven years as a petroleum engineer. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Chicago where he earned a B.S. (Petroleum Engineering) in 1979 and an M.B.A. (Finance) in 1988, respectively.
Dr. Timothy Roden
Faculty Advisor
Lamar University
Beaumont, TX
(e) troden@lamar.edu
(o) (409) 880-2179
Dr. Roden is an Associate Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to his rich experience in research, Dr. Roden has published eighteen articles focusing on computer science. He is a graduate of Midswestern State University (B.A. English), Angelo State University (B.S. Computer Science), University of Texas at Arlington (M.S. Computer Science), and University of North Texas where he earned a Ph.D in Computer Science.
Dr. Helen H. Lou
Faculty Advisor
Lamar University
Beaumont, TX
(e) helen.lou@lamar.edu
(o) (409) 880-8207
Dr. Lou is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and a Fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In addition to her rich experience in research, development and education, Dr. Lou was a Board Member of the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (2009 – 2015). She is a graduate of Wayne State University where she earned a Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) and an M.A. (Computer Science) in 2001.
Industry Advisory Board
Ajey Chandra
Executive Vice President
Baker & O'Brien Inc.
Houston, Texas
Ajey Chandra is Executive Vice President of Baker & O'Brien Inc. Mr. Chandra joined Baker & O'Brien in 2022 after 28 years of experience in various facets of the midstream industry, including operations, engineering, business development, management, and consulting. Mr. Chandra has had a wide variety of assignments covering all aspects of the energy industry during his career, and has had several long-term expatriate assignments overseas, including Europe and Southeast Asia. Mr. Chandra’s operating, consulting and management experience includes working at Amoco, Purvin & Gertz, Hess, NextEra Energy Resources, and Muse, Stancil & Co. prior to joining Baker & O'Brien.
Mr. Chandra has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston. Mr. Chandra has also attended Executive Education classes at Harvard Business School and is a Professional Engineer in Texas.
Jeremy Goebel
Executive Vice President-
Commercial
Plains All American
Pipeline, L.P.
Houston, Texas
Jeremy Goebel joined Plains All American (PAA) in 2013. Mr. Goebel is currently assuming increasing responsibilities with respect to Plains’ commercial activities and was previously responsible for Strategic Planning & Acquisitions. Prior to joining PAA, he served in various roles for Simmons & Company International’s corporate finance practice, including advisor to PAA on several acquisitions. Prior to Simmons he served in a number of engineering and business management roles for Chevron and Authentix. Mr. Goebel holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas.
John Tikkanen
Retired Executive
Shawcor
Houston, Texas
John Tikkanen is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of management, strategy, marketing, sales, and M&A experience at Shawcor and affiliates where he managed a global $1 billion P&L. He has a track record of growing revenues, profits and improving safety performance. Mr. Tikkanen holds an Honors degree in Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He also graduated from the University of Toronto’s Director’s Education Program and Wharton Business's School's Executing Strategy. He is currently a Board Member of Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel, Seal of Life Industries, and the International Pipeline and Offshore Contractors Association in Geneva Switzerland. He is a past board member of PFT Systems, TorcSill Foundations, and the Alley Theater in Houston, Texas, and a past Trustee of the National Association of Pipe Coating Applicators.
John W. "Wes" Johnson
Senior Vice President
& Global General Manager
Corrpro
Houston, Texas
Wes Johnson is a Lamar University College of Engineering alumnus with 20+ years in the energy industry (up-, mid-, and down-stream). He is currently the Senior Vice President & Global General Manager of Aegion’s Corrpro Division, a leading provider of Cathodic Protection and Integrity Management. He has worked in the midstream services sector for 10+ years both internationally and domestically. Wes has worked and has extensive knowledge in mid-stream focal areas such as inspections, coatings, manufacturing, distribution, field services and engineering. Wes and his family reside in Cypress, Texas. Wes earned B.S. IE and B.S. IT degrees in 1997 and 1996, respectively, from Lamar University and was a Alpha-Pi-Mu Graduate.
Juan Cardona
Sr. Concept Development Engineer
Summit Midstream Partners, LP
Houston, Texas
Juan Cardona brings a decade of experience in the midstream oil and gas industry; his primary focus is new products and new application development. He holds an industrial engineering degree from Lamar University, is a certified Six Sigma black belt, and a senior member at IEEE. Juan understands the importance of developing reliable oil and gas midstream infrastructure. Over the past ten years, Juan has managed several facility standardization efforts to enhance the viability of oil and gas midstream projects.
Ian Glasgow
Vice President
Project Services
Blue Tide Environmental
Baytown, Texas
Ian Glasgow has over twenty years of process engineering and process integration experience for the refining, syngas, and chemical industries. Before working at Blue Tide Environmental he was the Director of Project Development at TritenIAG where he was responsible for project feasibility analysis, process scope development, and owner’s engineering support. Ian’s specialty in process technologies allows him to support acheiving business, economic, and operational objectives. Prior to TritenIAG, Ian was a Senior Process Engineer at Wood Group Mustang for over 10 years, and a Research Associate at the Process Integration in the Pulp and Paper Industry Research Chair at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. Ian is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) where he has chaired several committees. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from AIChE F&PD and the South Texas Local Section (STS). He currently serves on the advisory board for the Center for Midstream Management and Science at Lamar University and the Texas Industrial Energy Efficiency Program (TIEEP). He holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, an MS degree in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University, and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas.
Michael Birkett
Director of Operations
Nederland Terminal
Energy Transfer
Nederland, Texas
Mr. Birkett has worked 35 years in the petroleum industry and is currently Director of Operations, responsible for all operations at Energy Transfer's Nederland Terminal in southeast Texas. The Nederland Terminal has 28 million barrels of crude storage capacity, 1.2 million barrels of refrigerated propane/butane storage capacity, 800,000 barrels of ethane storage under construction, six ship docks and four barge docks, and is moving forward with 100,000 barrels per day of LPG expansion. He holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.
Dirk van Oostendorp
Director, Engineering
& Technical Services
Corrpro
Houston, Texas
Dirk van Oostendorp is the Director of Engineering & Technical Services for CorrPro, a division of Aegion, located in Houston. Dirk has more than 40 years of global experience in all aspects of pipeline and structural integrity, encompassing cathodic protection, corrosion control, material selection, protective coatings, inspection technologies, and risk assessment. More recent experience includes integrity monitoring, failure analysis, and pipeline integrity issues. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical technology and physical chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Institute of Corrosion and a NACE Corrosion Specialist. Mr. Oostendorp is the author of 22 technical articles and 36 conference papers.
Anita Riddle
Retired Executive
ExxonMobil
Houston, Texas
Anita Riddle is a retired executive from ExxonMobil. During her 28 year career in oil and gas, she led organizations in oil refining, product terminals, data science, and procurement. Anita is a 1984 graduate in chemical engineering from Cornell University. She also earned a Master of Engineering Management degree from Lamar University in 1993 and the Doctor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from Lamar in 1996. Anita was also a commissoned officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of Major. She served 12 years on active and reserve duty, commanding units in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Transportation.
Tim Edward
President
OneBridge Solutions, Inc.
Calgary, Alberta
Tim Edward spent the past 27 years researching and designing software solutions for oil and gas pipeline operators, including solutions for public awareness, pipeline asset integrity, risk, corrosion, crack and geohazard management. He is a co-founder and President of OneBridge Solutions, Inc., which developed and commercialized Cognitive Integrity Management™, the world’s first process, data and integrity management solution that leverages digital transformation, machine learning and data driven analytics to improve operational efficiencies.
Quinn Holub
Director, Oil & Gas Business Development
HUVRdata
Austin, Texas
Quinn Holub knows the O&G business from top to bottom. He started off 20 years ago as a welder, inspector and field supervisor. After completing his bachelor's degree in business management, he transitioned to operations and general management at several different industrial service companies. In 2018 Quinn joined Gecko Robotics to help spearhead new inspection methods and technologies. Drawing on his years of field experience dealing with complex tasks in hazardous environments, he has become a champion of robotics and automation that increase safety and efficiency. To that end, Quinn recently joined HUVRdata to help create a powerful ecosystem of solutions using the best technology, software and services available. Quinn is a member of Sprint Robotics, ASME and on the Mobile Unmanned Systems Committee. He provides go-to-market strategy, advises industrial technology startups and actively promotes youth involvement in "skilled trade" career paths.
Todd Patterson
Senior Manager of Enterprise Asset Management
Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Houston, Texas
Dr. Patterson is Senior Manager of Enterprise Asset Management at Buckeye Partners, LP. His current responsibilities include strategic and tactical asset-related data management to provide accurate and reliable monitoring of asset performance particularly with a focus on condition-based maintenance and predictive analytics. Todd has more than 20 years of Geographic Information Systems experience spanning multiple industries and diverse applications, including academic support, landcover mapping, imagery classification, CAD integration, environmental remediation, software development, and pipeline operations. He has been associated with the Pipeline Open Data Standard (PODS) for several years and has served as its President for the last two.
Todd holds degrees from the State University of New York, University of South Carolina, Villanova University, and an M.B.A. from Norwich University. He also serves as an adjunct instructor at Lehigh University, East Stroudsburg University, and Northampton Community College.
Ravi Kiran Dasari
Process Engineering Manager
Audubon Engineering Companies
Houston, Texas
Mr. Dasari has over 15 years of qualitative experience as a process/facilities engineering manager in upstream, midstream and downstream industries where he has worked on numerous technologies including hydrogen, petrochemicals, refineries, and LNG. He has both greenfield and brownfield work experience in feasibility studies, pre-FEED, Front End Engineering Design (FEED), and Detailed Engineering (DE). His record reflects proven success in creating process/facilities engineering deliverables including process simulations, PFD and P&ID development, equipment sizing, equipment data sheets, line sizing, line list, PSV sizing, process studies, P&ID Walkdown, mechanical completion, Pre-commissioning, commissioning, and start-up of complex facilities. Mr. Dasari is familiar with simulation software, including Aspen HYSYS, Pro-II, Pro Max, and Aspen Plus, and is well versed with Process Industry Standards: API 14C, 14E, 520, 521, 610 and ASME B31.3, B31.4 and B31.8. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas and Louisiana and holds a project management certification (PMP).
Mr. Dasari holds a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from J.N.T.University, Hyderabad, India where he graduated in the top 5% of his class.