Timothy Collett

Timothy S. Collett is a research geologist in the Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). He has been Project Chief of the North Slope of Alaska Gas Hydrate Project since 1985. Before joining the USGS in 1983, he was an instructor in the Petroleum Engineering Department at the University of Alaska. Most recently, Collett was a Co-Chief scientist and Operational Manager for the India NGHP Expedition-1 gas hydrate research project. Collett was also Co-Chief Scientist of an international cooperative gas hydrate research project that was responsible for drilling dedicated gas hydrate production research wells in the Mackenzie Delta of Canada under the Mallik 1998 and 2002 efforts. Collett also sailed as the Logging Scientists on the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 164 and 204 gas hydrate research cruises. Collett also sailed as Co-Chief Scientist on the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 311 gas hydrate research cruise.

Collett is a member of the ODP Gas Hydrate and Arctic Climate Program Planning Groups. Collett was also the Principal Investigator responsible for organizing and conducting the 1995 USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment of natural gas hydrates. This assessment included for the first time a systematic, geologic-based, appraisal of the volume of gas in the gas hydrate accumulations of the United States.

Since 1997, Collet has been a member of the USDOE Federal Government Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee. This committee was responsible for developing the rekindled interest in the USDOE National Gas Hydrate Research Program. On this committee, Collett’s personal responsibilities included conducting technical briefings for the National Laboratories, industry and USDOE representatives. Collett has also provided witness testimonies before both House and Senate subcommittees. Collett was also the co-founder of the Gas Hydrate Research Committee in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Collett has published more than 200 research articles on the geology of both Arctic and marine gas hydrates.

Collett holds a BS in geology from Michigan State University, a MS in geology from the University of Alaska, and a PhD from the Colorado School of Mines.

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