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Brent Sheets

Director - Natural and Energy Resources Engineering Center

University of Alaska - Fairbanks

1 Event

Biography

Brent Sheets is dedicated to the wise development and responsible use of Alaska’s abundant natural resources. Since 2016, he has served as Director of the Natural and Energy Resources Engineering Center (NEREC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, overseeing research conducted by the Petroleum Development Laboratory and the Mineral and Industrial Research Laboratory. In this role, he leads multidisciplinary programs that unite industry, state agencies, and academic partners to advance sustainable resource development and infrastructure innovation.

His work spans a broad portfolio, including critical minerals research (exploration, beneficiation, and extraction), enhanced oil recovery, CO₂ capture and sequestration, small-scale coal-based power generation, and value-added, non-fuel uses of coal and its byproducts.

From 2011 to 2016, Brent was Deputy Director of UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power, where he advanced the deployment of local energy resources such as coal, geothermal, and in-river hydro. In 2002, he left U.S. Department of Energy headquarters to become the inaugural Regional Manager of the DOE Arctic Energy Office, fostering research on Alaska’s fossil energy resources and addressing the state’s unique energy challenges.

Prior to relocating to Alaska, Brent served as Deputy Budget Director for the DOE Office of Fossil Energy, overseeing development and execution of a $900 million annual budget. From 1990 to 1999, he was Business Director for the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves, managing more than $400 million in annual oil and gas sales and overseeing all aspects of business operations.

Related Events

1 Events

December 2, 2021

Past Event

CONSENSUS Webinar: Introduction to the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative for U.S. Basins: Part One

In April of this year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management announced the 13 winners of a $19 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), titled "Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative for U.S. Basins." This FOA sought projects in traditionally fossil fuel-producing communities across the country to support production of rare earth elements and critical minerals vital to the manufacturing of batteries, magnets, and other components important to the clean energy economy. The funding awards aligned with the recommendations of the White House Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, which outlined a national roadmap to partner with local communities to ensure that the shift to a clean energy economy creates good-paying union jobs, spurs economic revitalization, and supports workers. Selected U.S. basins that have the potential to produce rare earth elements and critical minerals include: Alaska, the Appalachian Basin, Green River - Wind River Basin, Gulf Coast Basin, Illinois Basin, Powder River Basin, San Juan River-Raton-Black Mesa Basin, Uinta Basin, and the Williston Basin. The below recording is the first a two-part webinar series introducing the CORE-CM initiative and its winning project teams.
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