How can you tap into the power of shared wisdom and experience? By attending this mentorship event featuring EARTH alums with experience in hydrogeology, water quality, carbon capture, contaminant remediation, exploration geology, and business. They have work experience in a variety of settings, including small consulting firms, large corporations, start-ups, academia, and governmental agencies.

Come to this informal event and interact with alums through round-robin-style small group discussions and set up additional connections with alums.

Whether you’re a first-year student, a soon-to-be grad, or in the middle of your degree program (undergrad or grad), get your questions answered by alums who are here to help you as you explore careers and prepare for life after graduation. Team members from the University Career Center and LSA Opportunity Hub will also be present to help answer your questions about career exploration at UM.

This event is open to all Earth & Environmental Sciences students. Snacks will be provided.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences and its Alumni Advisory Board, in partnership with the University Career Center and the LSA Opportunity Hub.


Alumni Bios

Franek Hasiuk is a Principal Research Geologist at Sandia National Laboratories, where he applies his skills in the geochemical and petrophysical analysis of rocks and fluids to various projects in subsurface energy storage and reservoir management. Franek (rhymes with sonic) earned a BS in Geology (with honors) and BA in Greek and Latin from the University of Iowa. He earned an MS and PhD from the University of Michigan in carbonate geochemistry. His professional career has included experiences at ExxonMobil Upstream Research, Iowa State University, and the Kansas Geological Survey. Now at Sandia, Franek works on a variety of projects related to hydrogen, nuclear waste, carbon capture/use/storage, critical minerals, salt, 3D printing, and road-building materials. He is the current president of the Energy Minerals Division of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Of all his professional accomplishments, he is proudest of his students the most.

Jessica Bleha is a project hydrogeologist with LimnoTech, an environmental science and engineering consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jessica’s areas of expertise include hydrogeological assessments of surface and groundwater resources; environmental site assessments; conceptual modeling; data management systems; mine remediation; permitting; inventory of orphaned oil and gas wells; and monitoring well, soil boring, and remediation system installations. Her experience includes over a decade of project management, planning, and coordination of projects. Jessica received her BS in Geological Sciences from the University of Michigan in 2004 and her MS in Geosciences from the University of Montana in 2006; where her thesis involved the development and application of a MODIS driven snowmelt model for both a large and small mountain basin in northwestern Montana.

Jim Hnat is currently a Team Lead for Deepwater Exploration at Shell, where he leads a group of geoscientists focused on finding new opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico using exciting new technology and sound geologic principles. Jim has only recently joined the offshore business, having spent the bulk of his career in the onshore U.S., having worked as an exploration manager in the Permian Basin, focused on appraising and developing new opportunities; an exploration geologist in Shell’s Appalachia Asset in Pittsburgh, where he appraised unconventional opportunities in the Ordovician and Devonian rocks of the Appalachian Basin; and as a development geologist, where he evaluated prospects of Oligocene sands in the conventional gas fields of South Texas. Jim has also led a number of field trips, taught internal classes, and has contributed to multiple internal and external publications in his time at Shell. Jim holds a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Michigan (2009) and a B.S. in geology from Clarion University of Pennsylvania (2003).

Lawrence (Larry) Davis is Senior Advisor and Chief Scientist at MAP Royalty, Inc., a Palo Alto-based energy investment company. He assumed this role after stepping down from being the President and Managing Director of MAP’s Natural Gas activities. Before joining MAP, he served as President of Enernet, Inc., an oil and gas consulting and management firm located in Oklahoma City, through which he acted as MAP’s principal acquisition agent from 1998 through 2002. Before Enernet, Mr. Davis worked as a petroleum geologist for Terra Resources, DABLimited, and the Getty Oil Company. Larry Davis holds a BA with High Honors in Archaeology and Geology from Wesleyan University, an MS in Geology from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma.