Faculty

Course Director

Rolando di Primio holds a diploma in geology from the RWTH Aachen, Germany, and a PhD from the University of Cologne. Profound industry experience was acquired by him during several years of work as exploration geologist in the Norwegian petroleum industry (Saga Petroleum and Norsk Hydro). Rolando di Primio joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam as a senior research scientist in 2001. He meanwhile acts as Head of Petroleum System Modeling in the section “Organic Geochemistry”. His research interests include hydrocarbon phase behaviour, basin modelling and organic geochemistry. However, knowledge transfer to the industry is supported by him assuming the tasks of the Executive Director at GeoS4 GmbH, Germany, in 2006. Rolando di Primio became Adjunct Professor of Petroleum Geosciences at Jacobs University Bremen in 2009. With regard to the Executive Master in Basin and Petroleum System Dynamics, he acts as Course Director and will enrich the participants’ insight and understanding of Petroleum System Geochemistry I.

Lecturers

Sierd Cloetingh is Royal Netherlands Academy Professor of Earth Sciences at VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He earned his PhD degree in geophysics at the University of Utrecht and conducts research into tectonics, intraplate deformation, lithospheric dynamics, sedimentary basin evolution and sea level change – just to indicate core topics. Sierd Cloetingh published more than 250 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and served the Earth Science community in various functions, including Presidency of the European Geophysical Society. Thus, Jacobs University is honored to welcome him for the first week on Sedimentary Basin Evolution in the framework of the Masters programme. 
Paul Farrimond completed his Ph.D. in Geochemistry at the University of Bristol in 1987. He became the Lecturer in Geology & Geochemistry at University of Newcastle upon Tyne and focused his research on fossil fuels & environmental geochemistry. Paul Farrimond left academia in 2005 and joined IGI as Geochemical Project Manager. Customers benefit from his specialist expertise in molecular petroleum geochemistry, including oil-oil and oil-source rock correlation, petroleum biodegradation and source rock characterisation. He has profound experience in biomarker geochemistry. He has worked in many areas of the world and will share his insight during the 7th on-site learning week on Petroleum System Geochemistry II. 
  Maarten Felix started his career in the Department of Earth Sciences, at Leeds University, U.K. He holds a Ph.D. in Geology from Stanford University, U.S.A. From 2005 to 2007 he broadened his experience in the Department of Civil Engineering of Stuttgart University, Germany and joined the Basin Modelling Department at Sintef, Norway, thereafter. Maarten Felix is an expert in turbidity currents and has done research on a diverse set of regions – from the Polish Carpathians to the Espirito Santo Basin, Brazil. In co-operation with Ute Mann, he will support the participants in their efforts to deepen knowledge in Source Rock Deposition and Depositional Modelling.
Brian Horsfield earned his Ph. D. in Organic Geochemistry at Newcastle upon Tyne University, U.K. He was working with Conoco Inc. and Atlantic Richfield in the U.S.A. before joining the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, in 1986. Brian Horsfield was a professor at the University of Oslo (1997 to 2002) and holds the Chair of Organic Geochemistry at Technical University of Berlin. In 2001, he joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, where he currently heads the section “Chemistry of the Earth”. Industry contacts are maintained via GeoS4 - a specialised service provider co-founded in 2005. Brian Horsfield will guide participants through Petroleum System Geochemistry I in co-operation with Rolando di Primio.
Rob Knipe is the Professor of Structural Geology at the University of Leeds and the Director of Fault Seal the Rock Deformation Research Group who is concerned with the identification and quantification of deformation processes associated with tectonic events. As a recipient of Geological Society awards for his work on deformation processes at fault zones his current research interests, in collaboration with a significant number of hydrocarbon exploration and production companies, include: permeability barriers and fault sealing, interaction between fluid flow, deformation and mineralisation and the characterisation and evolution of fracture and fault populations. 
Ute Mann started her career at Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany and earned her doctorate at the University of Bremen, Germany in 1995. She joined SINTEF Petroleum Research, Norway in 1997 and became the project manager of the Strategic Institute Programme “Prediction of hydrocarbon phases in reservoirs by use of selected hydrocarbon components” in 2000. Ute Mann has been in charge of numerous R&D and industry projects around the globe since then - with a focus on source rock modelling at the Norwegian Continental Shelf. She will share her expertise in Source Rock Deposition and Depositional Modelling within the Masters programme.
Hans Martin Schulz earned his doctorate at RWTH Aachen University (Dr. rer. nat. in Geology) in 1994 and completed his habilitation in 2003. He did research at the Baltic Sea Research Institute, Germany, joined the Technical University of Clausthal in 1997 and moved to the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in 2004. Since 2007, Hans Martin Schulz acts as the group leader for “Quantitative Diagenesis” in the organic geochemistry section at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. The participants of the executive Masters programme will benefit from his expertise in Regional Petroleum Systems during the 9th week of learning on the Bremen campus.
David Colin Tanner is an expert in structural geology and structural restoration and will guide the participants through the Structural Geology and Structural Balancing course. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1995 at the University of Gießen and started his career at Freiburg University and at the University of Göttingen. David Tanner did structural (retro-) modelling of the `Tight Gas' Area, North Germany at the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, was part of the seismics and structural modelling team at the RWTH-Aachen thereafter, and moved to his present position at Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG) in 2007. His industry experience stems from modelling the Southern Oman Basin and several projects in the North Sea.
Vikram Unnithan started his career at University College Dublin where he also earned his PhD in Geology. He did research at the Irish Data Centre, and worked with the Geological Survey of Ireland in Dublin, the Applied Geophysics Unit, University College Galway and the Earth Sciences Department at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Vikram Unnithan worked as exploration geophysicist with Fugro Robertson, U.K. prior to joining Jacobs University in 2004. He has since then implemented a large number of research projects in close co-operation with the oil industry and will be available to support students during exam and thesis preparation.
Joachim Vogt gathered first research experience at Max-Planck-Institut for extra-terrestrial Physics (MPE), Germany. He earned his doctorate at the TU Braunschweig and served as Head of the Auroral Imaging Team at the MPE in Garching thereafter. In 1999, Joachim Vogt became Assistant Professor and taught geophysics at TU Braunschweig. He joined Jacobs University in 2001 as Associate Professor of Physics, has acted as the Geosciences and Astrophysics Program Coordinator and also directed the computer laboratory CLAMV for many years. Joachim Vogt will facilitate the deepening of participants’ knowledge in Numerical Analysis during the 9th on-site week of the Masters programme.

              		 Bjorn Wygrala holds a PhD in Geology from Cologne University, Germany. He gathered considerable industry experience working as exploration geologist with Uranerz Australia Pty.Ltd. in Australia as well as, during his PhD research project, with Eni-Agip in Italy. Bjorn Wygrala joined Integrated Exploration Systems, Germany, in 1983 and became the Managing Director of “Technology Transfer” in 2002. He has been working with customers in more than 40 countries. Supporting the Masters programme’s educational efforts in integrated analysis for petroleum exploration risk and resource assessments, Bjorn Wygrala will guide the participants through Petroleum System Modelling I and II during the 4th and 6th week of on-site learning in Bremen.