Petroleum Division to Convene Energy Policy Event in Houston for Early Career Engineers

Feb. 10, 2017

Phil Grossweiler

The ASME Petroleum Division will hold a special discussion and networking event for early career engineers next week in Houston, Texas, featuring two ASME members who have offered their engineering expertise to help shape U.S. energy policy through the ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program. The meeting, “Public Policy and the Energy Sector,” will take place Thursday, Feb. 16, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Dogwood-Midtown lounge.

This unique public policy event will provide attendees with an overview of the ASME Washington Office and its activities, as well as highlight the accomplishments of ASME Congressional Fellows who work in the energy sector.

One of the evening’s guest speakers, former ASME Congressional Fellow Phil Grossweiler, served as a 2007 ASME Federal Fellow in the office of Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). In this position, he advised Rep. Wilson on energy, science, natural resources and climate change issues and co-authored energy legislation later introduced by Rep. John Boehner (R-OH). Grossweiler began his career as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, which included engineering duties on ships stationed in the North Atlantic, Greenland and Russian Arctic regions. He later worked for 25 years at Exxon, where he was assigned to Exxon’s production companies in the United States and Norway, as well as Exxon’s Upstream Research and Upstream Development companies. Grossweiler currently serves as principal consultant at M&H Energy Services in Houston.

Noël Bakhtian

The event’s second guest speaker, Noël Bakhtian, Ph.D., is an energy advisor on issues related to energy, water and food. Dr. Bakhtian recently finished her term as the 2016 ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow, serving in the environment and energy division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Her experience also includes overseeing coordination and strategy efforts as the inaugural Energy-Water Nexus lead for the Department of Energy, acting as technical advisor in the DOE’s Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, preparing energy legislation in the U.S. Senate, and consulting on energy R&D and investment for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The program will also feature an overview of ASME’s Government Relations department by Melissa Carl, manager of public affairs for ASME at the ASME Washington Center. A member of the Washington Center staff for more than 15 years, Carl’s duties include supporting the ASME Industry Advisory Board and managing public-policy-related STEM workforce and bioengineering issues.

Registration for the early career event in Houston is $10, which includes complimentary food and beverages. To sign up to attend the discussion, contact Javanni Kiezer, ASME Conferences and Events, (281) 810-5452 or by e-mail at kiezerj@asme.org.