SUNY Orange hosts lecture on fracking

MIDDLETOWN — Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, will be discussed at SUNY Orange on Wednesday, Oct. 3, by Anthony R. Ingraffea, PhD, PE, and who is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering/Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University.
Fracking refers to the procedure by which rocks below the ground are opened and widened by injecting chemicals and liquids at high pressure. The larger fissures allow more oil or gas to flow out of the formation and into the wellbore from where it can be extracted. This process also impacts the earth’s surface and its surrounding environs because of the pad sites set up for drilling.
The Marcellus shale formation encompasses the region of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

Interplay among science, politics and energy

Ingraffea has received numerous awards for outstanding teaching at Cornell University and has twice won the National Research Council/U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics Award for Research in Rock Mechanics.
He was named Co-Editor-in-Chief of Engineering Fracture Mechanics in 2005, received the ASTM Irwin Award for meritorious contributions to the practice of fracture mechanics in 2006, and was named a Fellow of the International Congress on Fracture in 2009. In 2011, TIME Magazine named him one of its “People Who Mattered.”
His research concentrates on computer simulation and physical testing of complex fracturing processes. He and his students performed pioneering research in the use of interactive computer graphics in computational mechanics.
Reflecting on the attention be given by individuals, groups, and the media on the extraction of gas from this large formation, Dr. Ingraffea states,
“The issue is an archetypical example of the interplay among science, engineering, technology, politics, sociology and the energy economy on a national scale,” Ingraffea said in the college’s press release announcing his program.
During his lecture, he will explain the connections among the mechanics, solid and fluid, of rock fracture with the technologies of hydraulic fracture stimulation, and he will further demonstrate how these “connections are fundamental drivers of the overall spatial intensity, environmental impacts, and economics of the development of this non-renewable energy resource.”

Essentials information

The presentation - entitled “Unconventional Development of Gas from Shale Using Fracking: Questions?” - will begin at 7:15 p.m. in Harriman Hall 111 Lecture Hall which is located at the corner of Wawayanda and East Conkling avenues in Middletown. Because of major construction on campus, entry to Harriman Hall is available only from East Conkling Avenue.
This lecture event is free and open to the public.
However, no pro or con signs, placards, flags, shirts, bumper stickers, literature, or similar items will be allowed in Harriman Hall or Harriman Hall 111 Lecture Hall.
Architects and engineers in attendance will receive one PDH/CEU.
For more information, call 845-341-4891, e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu or visit online at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.