Fred Dupriest retired in 2012 as the Chief Drilling Engineer after 35 years with ExxonMobil.  Fred has published 21 SPE papers on a wide range of operational practices and he led the development of the real time use of Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) to maximize drilling performance, which evolved into ExxonMobil’s Fast Drill^TM and Limiter Redesign^TM workflows.   As Chief Engineer he was involved in development of research and training strategies and he also represented ExxonMobil in numerous industry engagements. 

He’s an SPE Distinguished Member, was the recipient of the 2013 SPE International Drilling Engineering Award and is an inductee in the AADE Drilling Fluids Hall of Fame.  Since retiring from ExxonMobil, Fred has taken a position as a Professor of Engineering Practices at Texas A&M, where he has taught High Performance Drilling Practices and a senior capstone drilling design class. 

Kerri has broad experience in developing strategies and programs that help maximize the success of tech-enabled startups. Her experience includes entrepreneurship education, startup acceleration, educational programming, technology licensing, and commercialization. For over 25 years, Kerri has provided leadership, oversight, and strategic direction for commercialization, entrepreneurship, community engagement, and technology transfer initiatives. Kerri joined Rice University in 2004 where she serves as Associate Managing Director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Managing Director of Rice University's startup accelerator (OwlSpark), and Director of the NSF sponsored Innovation Corps program at Rice (I-Corps). In all positions, she plays a lead role in fostering collaboration, enabling entrepreneurship, and accelerating the formation of startups based on innovative technologies or scalable business ideas.

Associate Director, Center for Nanophase Research, Director, Advanced Polymers and Nanomaterials Laboratory, Texas State University-San Marcos

Prior to joining the Texas State University in 2004, Bert’s distinguished 28 year career in industry spanned a variety of roles, including  Senior Scientist  for Southern Clay Products, Director of Polymer R&D at The Sherwin Williams Company, Chemist I at The Glidden Paint Company and earlier as a Sergeant in the U.S.  Army. He is a co-recipient of the American Chemical Society's Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science and Engineering “for seminal contributions to the science and engineering of nanoclay-polymer nanocomposites which defined the concept of polymer nanocomposites for the community and established the foundation for global industrial enterprises.".

In addition to his ground breaking research work with nano technology with materials like  CLOISITE ^TM ,  aka Organically Modified Phyllosilicates, he has helped lead the creation of Texas State’s Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization PhD Program. He is an active supporter and favorite speaker for The Energy Polymer Group.