Dr. Kent Hoekman, a research chemist who has studied motor vehicle emissions and fuel formulation for the petroleum industry and advised state and national agencies on emission control policy, has been appointed executive director of the Desert Research Institute's Division of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS). Hoekman's position is equivalent to a dean on teaching campuses within the University and Community College System of Nevada.
Hoekman, with Chevron for 21 years, conducted detailed chemical characterization of the emissions from vehicles fueled with various formulations of diesel, gasoline and alcohol, to determine the air quality benefits that could be achieved by modifying fuel compositions. He also worked in a senior advisory capacity to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board on regulatory issues, and with the Coordinating Research Council, jointly funded by the petroleum and automotive industries to underwrite public air quality research programs.
As the new DAS director, Hoekman would like to leverage DRI's existing strengths in basic atmospheric science and meteorology, climatology and air pollution to develop a more "holistic approach" to environmental air quality issues. He sees the possibility of expanding this effort into the public health arena, possibly through partnerships with scientists in epidemiology and environmental medicine.
Hoekman would also like to increase DRI's energy related research to do assessments and evaluations of the comparative costs, benefits, and environmental consequences of energy sources, both conventional and renewable , and examine how to encourage a strategic approach to a mix of energy sources.
"The world needs to be more diverse in its selection of energy resources and its approach to producing, distributing and utilizing energy in all forms " he said. "Matching resources with need doesn't have to be a matter of picking winners and losers, but finding the optimum mix among all the sources."
Hoekman received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University. He will be based at DRI's Northern Nevada Science Center in Reno.