Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Paul Bommer
Spring 2007
The University of Texas at Austin is a Bommer family tradition. Dr. Paul Bommer, a senior lecturer, in petroleum engineering followed in his father’s footsteps by earning a degree in PGE. Once Paul finished (with three degrees), his brother came along and completed a PGE degree. Paul returned to UT in 2004 after years of working for his own consulting company that conducted drilling, production, and supervision. From his years in the field, he has found that teaching application courses (drilling, production, artificial lift, and the capstone course) are rewarding and he works at making his classes visual and practical.
His first exposure to the FIC was through teaching a graduate production course via distance learning. He found that having posted lectures allowed for flexibility and now when his students, for example, attend a conference, they no longer miss class for they watch it on the Web. In the past, he took students on field trips, but now with larger classes, it is more difficult to arrange. So he is making the most of the FIC’s video and animation expertise. Last summer, they produced a video of oil pump so that the students could see more than they would have in real time – for the video includes animations of the drill at work below the surface. Student feedback was very positive and plans are underway to bring to life through the art of animations a variety of pumping units.
The use of videos and animations allow Dr. Bommer to introduce his students to “the big picture” and he can then follow up with the details in class over the course of the semester. He would also like to expand the drilling lab sequence videos that were made by Dr. Martin Chenevert and the FIC. He wonders if he “has just scratched the surface of the FIC’s capabilities” but he realizes that he has come to rely on the FIC to help in supporting and enhancing instruction. For examples of the animations, see:
A comparison of the configurations and pump cycles of two different types of pump jacks
http://utwired.engr.utexas.edu/Erik/bommer/2conv_mrk2.movA cut-away view of each step in the process of drilling an oil well.
http://utwired.engr.utexas.edu/Erik/bommer/anim1_5small.movA cut-away animation of the bottom of an oil well showing how the pressure valve functions
http://utwired.engr.utexas.edu/Erik/bommer/1valves_jack.mov