
A veteran of the electrical utility industry, Richard has more than 30 years of experience in various roles at Southern Company. He is currently leading R&D on a wide range of energy-related issues including carbon management associated with CCUS, bulk energy storage, and geothermal power.
Richard holds a B.S. and M.S. degree in geology, an M.S. degree in environmental management, and a Ph.D. in engineering with a dissertation focus on CO2 enhanced oil recovery and geologic storage in saline formations.
Richard also serves in an academic role on the Ph.D. research faculty as a graduate student advisor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is currently the president of the Alabama Geological Society, Chair of the Energy Division of the Geological Society of America and serves on the Executive Committee for the International Energy Agency – Greenhouse Gas Technology Program Executive Committee, Board Selection Panel for the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI).
Richard serves on several advisory boards and participates in research-need assessments related to carbon management and most recently chaired the CO2 Storage Chapter for the National Petroleum Council’s report entitled Meeting the Dual Challenge: A Roadmap to At-Scale Deployment of Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage. Richard has published extensively and lectured internationally on a wide range of CCUS related issues.