On April 20, 2010, one of the largest accidental marine oil spills in the history of petroleum industry occurred, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It is estimated that 210 million gallons were discharged and multiple efforts to contain the flow failed.

Ronald Tjeerdema counseled on the response to the spill and its aftermath and will discuss what happened behind the scenes at a talk at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village on May 19.

Tjeerdema has a focus on marine and freshwater systems. His areas of expertise range from chemical fate in the environment, sensitive lifestage bioassays and biochemical mechanisms of toxicity, and he has worked extensively with pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, dispersants and marine algal toxins. He has pioneered the new field of environmental metabolomics via the use of nuclear magnetic resonance, and his research on oil spills and dispersants resulted in the development of the widely-used standardized CROSERF methods for toxicity assessment.

The program will begin at 6pm, with refreshments and no-host bar from 5:30-6pm.

Seating is open at 5:30pm to guests who have pre-registered, open seating starts at 5:50pm. A $5 donation will be collected at the door. Register online.