Sally Benson, PhD

Dr. Sally M. Benson is the Director of the Global Climate Change and Energy Project (GCEP) at Stanford University, where she is also a Professor of Research in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering in the School of Earth Sciences. Her research group investigates fundamental characteristics of CO2 storage in geologic formations as a means of climate change mitigation. She teaches courses on CCS and greenhouse gas mitigation technologies. Prior to joining GCEP, Dr. Benson worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and served in a number of capacities including Division Director for Earth Sciences, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences and Deputy Director for Operations. A ground water hydrologist and reservoir engineer, Dr. Benson has conducted research to address a range of issues related to energy and the environment. Her research interests include geologic carbon storage, technologies and energy systems for a low-carbon future, influence of climate change on critical habitats, biogeochemistry of selenium and geotechnical instrumentation for subsurface characterization and monitoring. Dr. Benson was a coordinating lead author on the influential 2005 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. She graduated from Barnard College at Columbia University with a B.S. in Geology. She completed her graduate education at the University of California, Berkeley with a M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Mineral Engineering. She is the author or co-author of over 160 scientific publications, a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society.