Greg Parnell, research professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, has been named chair of a Transportation Research Board/National Academy of Engineering study on the safety and risks associated with offshore oil and gas operations. The committee will review safety progress since Macondo Well Deepwater Horizon Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The committee is composed of experts in petroleum engineering, offshore operations, offshore safety and regulation, safety management systems, risk assessment, organizational psychology, and remote sensing technologies.

The study, requested by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the Department of the Interior, will look at ways government and industry can work together to improve safety in offshore oil and gas operations. They will focus on regulations, compliance, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the operators, contractors and regulators. The goal will be to modify inspections to focus on risk, enhancing safety, and to ensure compliance with regulations.

In addition, the offshore oil and gas practices of international regulators will be studied including Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico.

Parnell also serves as the director of the Master of Science in Operations Management and director of the Master of Science in Engineering Management programs within the Industrial Engineering Department.

About the National Academy of Sciences: The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academy of Sciences, a private, nonprofit organization of the country’s leading researchers. The academy recognizes and promotes outstanding science through election to membership; publication in its journal, PNAS; and its awards, programs, and special activities. Through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences provides objective, science-based advice on critical issues affecting the nation.