Release Date: May 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the first recipient of a Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship. Ms. Monica Heintz, a doctoral student at the University of California at Santa Barbara, will receive the inaugural award, which is part of a new program that provides support for graduate and post-graduate scientists in fields related to the study of methane hydrates.

Ms. Monica Heintz, inaugural recipient of DOE's Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship

The program is directed by the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and helps foster scientific development of one of the world's most promising, but least understood future energy sources.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that methane hydrate may contain more organic carbon than all of the world's coal, oil, and natural gas combined, and this immense global storehouse of methane could be an abundant source of energy. One of the greatest challenges, though, is that scientists are unsure of the role gas hydrates play in the global carbon cycle and global climate, and therefore, the potential environmental implications of exploiting methane hydrates.

For her fellowship research, Ms. Heintz will explore processes that moderate the flow of methane through the oceans to the atmosphere - an important consideration in development of hydrates as an energy source and in understanding the potential role hydrates play in global climate change. Her research will concentrate on identifying the microorganisms responsible for methane oxidation in water and will investigate the ways in which this "biological filter" controls the rate and amount that methane released from the seafloor might eventually reach the atmosphere.

Ms. Heintz studies microbial communities associated with marine hydrothermal systems with U.C. Santa Barbara professors Rachel Haymon and Dave Valentine. In December 2005 and January 2006, she was part of a team of 38 scientists who ventured to a deep-sea site north of the Galapagos Islands to conduct research on the global mid-ocean ridge. The expedition was jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Exploration Program. Ms. Heintz received her undergraduate degree in geological engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

NETL has a long history of building synergistic relationships with research universities, viewing academic research as a "win-win" situation. The U.S. government benefits by tapping into some of the best minds available for solving national energy problems, universities get support to maintain cutting-edge faculty and laboratories, and students are provided with opportunities that help them along their chosen path of study, ultimately strengthening the national pool of scientists and engineers.

The two-year fellowships awarded under this program are available to students pursuing advanced degrees related to methane hydrate science and feature competitive stipend structures and an annual travel allowance. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is responsible for creating and administering the program in association with NETL and the ongoing interagency research and development effort in methane hydrates.