Dr. Grimshaw, G&A President, has extensive experience in energy policy development and environmental protection services. Most recently he has been working on issues related to cold fusion, including verification of apparently successful experiments, public policy toward supporting its development, and use of technology assessment methods for dealing with its secondary impacts (when or if it is widely deployed). He has also been leading projects dealing with rational regulation of shale gas and oil development, which have become quite controversial in spite of the beneficial impact they are having on the world’s energy supply.
Most of Dr. Grimshaw’s experience has occurred while managing or contributing to projects for clients and while managing and developing organizations (such as profit centers) for large consulting firms. Relevant experience in the primary G&A service areas is described where the types of services are delineated:
Throughout his career, Dr. Grimshaw has kept a close relationship with The University of Texas at Austin (UT) in various capacities, including use of research resources. Affiliations and positions held with UT and other organizations are summarized below in reverse chronological order.
Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy (CIEEP), The University of Texas at Austin
Visiting Researcher
Dr. Grimshaw has worked with the CIEEP Director to develop an initiative for development of public policy for cold fusion. The initiative, which also includes a faculty member of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, addresses both policy toward public support for cold fusion development in the public interest and addressing secondary impacts. Although cold fusion, if and when it becomes widely deployed, would be highly beneficial, it will likely also have major impacts on the energy production industries and workforce.
To address the potential need for policy development for such unintended consequences, a major part of the CIEEP cold fusion initiative is exploration of technology assessment as an appropriate method for mitigating the impacts. For example, a CIEEP-sponsored student summer internship has been performed to explore the “changing landscape” of cold fusion prospects and to examine different types of technology assessment for applicability to the cold fusion situation. The CIEEP work on cold fusion public policy resulted in presentations of two papers at an international conference on cold fusion research in 2012. One of the papers was on policy toward public financial support for cold fusion development. The other was on the application of technology assessment for secondary impacts.
In another CIEEP project, apparent successes in cold fusion experiments by a laboratory in Italy are being verified through coordination of confirmations with other labs around the world. A senior researcher of Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) put on two demonstrations of cold fusion successes in 2012. The demonstrations involved the use of hydrogen gas with a specially-treated alloy of nickel and copper (constantan).
CIEEP’s role in this project is to fully document the successes of the demonstrations as well as the confirmations by other investigators who are using the same materials and similar materials and methods. “Best practices” are also being identified to assist cold fusion investigators in achieving similar experimental success. The project is being sponsored by National Instruments, the world’s leading lab data acquisition company, in the anticipation that the ultimate success of cold fusion as an energy source will depend on careful instrumentation and monitoring at energy production facilities.
Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin (UT)
Research Fellow and Assistant Director
At the Energy Institute (EI), Dr. Grimshaw has been primarily responsible for managing interdisciplinary projects related to unconventional natural gas and oil resources, such as shale gas, shale oil, coalbed methane, oil sands, oil shale, and methane hydrate. The objective of one of these projects is to assess the future outlook of the “unconventionals” based on economic, environmental, legal, regulatory, business, and policy-related factors. The project team includes researchers from no fewer than six UT schools and research units. In another project, the issue of rational regulation of shale gas development was addressed from the standpoint of environmental impacts, public knowledge and perceptions, state and federal regulations, and degree of enforcement of the regulations.
A third project being performed under Dr. Grimshaw’s direction is examining shale gas development issues from the perspectives of water quality and quantity, water economics, local regulation, land surface (landscape) impacts, and induced earthquakes from wastewater injection. These issues are being addressed in the Barnett shale area around Fort Worth, Texas, where shale gas got its start (through the efforts of Mitchell Energy Corporation). The Barnett shale provides an excellent case study because of the proximity of natural gas development to urban and suburban settings (“urban drilling”). The team for this project includes researchers from UT and two other Texas-based universities – Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Arlington.
Dr. Grimshaw has given presentations for the EI on these projects to many organizations, including the following:
Texas Association of Professional Geologists
North Carolina Legislative Delegation
Consortium of Shale Gas Producers
Tarrant County Water District and other water agencies
Environmental Superconference (Attorneys)
Energy Council
Association of American State Geologists
National Association of Clean Water Agencies
Dr. Grimshaw has played a prominent role in accomplishing EI’s mission – good policy based on good science.
LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin
Research Fellow and Master of Public Affairs Student
Dr. Grimshaw shifted his career from environmental protection and cleanup to energy policy through his affiliation with the LBJ School. He first obtained a Master of Public Affairs (MPAff) degree and then continued as adjunct faculty. For his MPAff professional report, he addressed the topic of public policy for support of development of cold fusion as a controversial but potentially important source of cheap and clean energy.
As adjunct faculty, Dr. Grimshaw continued his movement to energy policy as co-instructor of two Policy Research Projects (PRPs), each of which was performed by teams of at least 12 students of the LBJ School:
- Shaping the Energy Technology Transition: Moving to a Low-Carbon, Renewable Energy Economy (LBJ School PRP Report 167, 2009).
- Building the Bridge to an Energy Secure Future: Energy Policies for the 21st Century (LBJ School PRP Report 172, 2011).
Both of these projects included cold fusion as one of the emerging energy technologies included within the scope of energy sources considered.
Dr. Grimshaw also taught a course on environmental policy while a member of the LBJ School adjunct faculty. During the same timeframe, he was on the adjunct faculty of Austin Community College, where he taught courses on environmental geology.
Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure (E&I), Inc. (Environmental Consulting Firm)
Senior Consultant
Dr. Grimshaw served as internal program and project consultant, where he was engaged primarily in preparation of program management plans, SOPs for a variety of project tasks, and project quality plans based on ISO 9001 criteria. For example, he prepared Shaw’s Project Execution Manual for the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) project, a major floodwall construction project near New Orleans for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Subsequently, he prepared a Quality Management System (QMS) manual for Shaw compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. Before that, Dr. Grimshaw prepared Program Management Plans for Shaw multi-service programs for Freeport McMoRan, AT&T, McDonald’s Restaurants, and the South Florida Water Management District.
Shaw Arabia Ltd. (Division of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.)
Senior Technical Advisor
Dr. Grimshaw developed senior environmental advisory services to the Presidency of Meteorology and the Environment (PME), the governmental entity responsible for environmental protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The assignment began with preparation of an organization plan for Shaw Arabia based on terms of a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement. The JV Management Plan included governance, organization management, business development, and program management.
Dr. Grimshaw then initiated senior advisor and environmental policy development services by conducting introductory meetings with Prince Turki, PME President, and other senior managers. He established an onsite office in PME headquarters in Jeddah, and provided advisory services in several areas, including project management of a Shaw Arabia subcontractor (KPMG International) for setting up a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for environmental regulation enforcement.
RMT, Inc. (Environmental Consulting Firm)
Director of Texas Operations
Dr. Grimshaw accepted a position with RMT, a mid-size environmental firm, for opportunity to employ his organization development skills for offices at three locations in Texas. He had full organizational management responsibility, including staff hiring, performance and salary reviews, development of operational procedures, and inter-office coordination and management. He accomplished multifaceted development of Texas Operations, including organization vision, staff utilization on client projects, performance review and career plan preparation, systematic project reviews, and project health and safety.
Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure (E&I), Inc. (Environmental Consulting Firm)
Director, Program and Organization Development
Dr. Grimshaw served as internal consultant performing a variety of assignments for new initiatives and turnaround situations in one of the largest environmental services firms in the U.S. His principal position was Deputy Program Manager for $40 million environmental compliance program for the largest retail sales company in the U.S. He prepared an overall program plan and oversaw preparation of individual project plans as well as Health & Safety and Quality Management Plans.
Concurrently with this assignment, Dr. Grimshaw performed a variety of other development and troubleshooting assignments for Shaw E&I. For example, he prepared a program plan for a large construction services program for the City of Atlanta. He also developed an operations manual for Shaw Coastal, Inc., a Shaw subsidiary specializing in environmental and infrastructure services in southern Louisiana. And he prepared FEMA-compliant invoices and files in Shaw’s headquarters office (Baton Rouge) for cleanup projects for commercial clients during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin
Associate Director for Environmental Programs
The Bureau of Economic Geology is an academic research unit at UT-Austin, the flagship university of Texas and one of the foremost universities in the nation. The Bureau is one of the largest and most-respected geoscience research organizations in the U.S.; it also functions as the State Geological Survey of Texas. As Associate Director, Dr. Grimshaw was responsible primarily for development of new environmental projects for the Bureau. As a member of the Directorate, he also had executive decision-making responsibilities for organizational operations.
Dr. Grimshaw successfully developed programs with federal and state agencies in support of their regulatory and research missions in Texas: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development, Railroad Commission of Texas, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (now Texas Commission on Environmental Quality–TCEQ), Texas Department of Transportation, and Texas General Land Office. He similarly accomplished international initiatives for Environmental Programs in Belize, Venezuela and on border with Mexico. This effort consisted of Washington, D.C.-based and in-country sales program, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
He also worked directly with the staffs of U.S. Congressmen and Texas Legislators to develop support for new project initiatives on the Texas coast and U.S.-Mexico border. He instituted collaborations with other Texas universities (UT at Brownsville, UT-Pan American, UT at El Paso, and Texas A&M International), with national laboratories (Argonne, Sandia), and with private companies for program development.
Earlier Positions
Dr. Grimshaw held a number of other positions earlier in his career that encompassed environmental protection and several other technical areas, including the following:
Shaw Beneco, Inc. Director of Administrative Services
Managed administrative units of $100-million/yr construction firm, including architect and engineering support, information services, software development, contract management, and human resources. Prepared written procedures for quality control and for environment, safety and health. Accomplished upgrade of custom construction project software that supports Company operations.
International Technology, Inc. (IT) Program Director, Mergers & Acquisitions and Organization Development
Provided support to acquisition, integration, and organization development of environmental and infrastructure firms. Had responsibility for all phases of M&A life cycle – identifying and screening target companies, managing due diligence investigations, and preparing for integration. Developed methodology for integration of acquired companies based on generally accepted project management practices. Prepared plans for short-term integration of 11 companies in two years. Prepared Organizational Management Plan for IT’s Facilities Management department. Strengthened organization to handle three-fold increase in number of offices due to IT’s acquisition program.
International Technology, Inc. (IT) Project Director, Enterprise System Development
Was responsible for multi-million dollar system development project to support 4000-person firm. Served as direct report to IT’s Chief Financial Officer and worked in matrix management setup with MIS Director and Price Waterhouse consultants. Prepared plan for 5-phase implementation in more than 40 offices nationwide.
International Technology, Inc. (IT) Profit Center Manager, Austin Operations
Had profit-and-loss responsibility for geosciences and engineering services office. Business included waste disposal facility permits, site investigation and remedial planning (waste disposal sites), drilling of deep waste injection wells, and environmental drilling and sampling (7 rigs). Achieved office turnaround to one of the best-run offices in IT’s 40-office network while increasing office size from under 40 staff to more than 65.
Radian Corporation Program Manager
Managed and performed all facets of client relations and business development for environmental assessment and solid/hazardous waste projects. Client base consisted of Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Chevron, Shell, Tesoro, Utah International, San Juan Coal, IBM, Texas Instruments, Cabot, General Electric, SmithKline Beckman, A.O. Smith) as well as major U.S. Government agencies (U.S. EPA and U.S. Air Force).
Radian Corporation Technical Staff Manager
Was simultaneously successful in conducting technical work as environmental geologist, managing projects to meet client needs and performing operational management duties for a dynamic, growing organization. Managed over 50 people with multiple disciplines – geologists, hydrologists, civil and environmental engineers, soil scientists, terrestrial and aquatic ecologists, social scientists, economists, land use planners, and policy analysts. Received four promotions to positions of increasing responsibility.
Summary
Dr. Grimshaw brings a variety of technical and management experience to G&A, with proven performance in many project and organization settings. This experience is brought to bear for successful consulting projects for clients that solve many types of problems related to energy production and environmental protection.