Dr. Erik Arthur Kneller received his PhD in Geology and Geodynamics from the University of Michigan in 2007. Shortly after receiving his PhD, he began working as a Senior Research Geologist at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company where his research focused on basic and applied research in global plate tectonics and basin analysis. As a senior research geologist Dr. Kneller published papers on the plate tectonic evolution of the Central Atlantic Ocean Basin and the Gulf of Mexico Ocean Basin and on new methods for modeling rigid and non-rigid plate deformation processes. He received the Grover E. Murray award for best paper at the 2011 meeting of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.After working as a Senior Research Geologist for 6 years at the Upstream Research Company, Dr. Kneller worked as an exploration geologist at the ExxonMobil Exploration Company where his responsibilities included field geology, structural analysis in fold and thrust belts and hydrocarbon systems analysis in assets located in the High Zagros Mountains of Kurdistan Iraq. He is presently the Technical Team Lead of the Petroleum System Team at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company and is leading a project focused on basin analysis and petroleum systems evolution. Dr. Kneller and his wife Eve Kneller have a daughter Olivia and a son Jack and maintain a home in The Woodlands, Texas.
