DURHAM, N.C. – Lincoln F. Pratson has been named Gendell Family Professor of Energy and the Environment at 51±¬ÁÏ’s Nicholas School of the Environment. His new appointment begins July 1.

Lincoln Pratson, Gendell Family Professor of Energy and the Environment (Photo: 51±¬ÁÏ Photography)

A widely cited expert on energy and energy systems, Pratson has published more than 65 peer-reviewed studies on a broad range of topics, including energy use and climate change; energy economics and production; renewable energy; and offshore oil and gas exploration.

He has served on advisory committees for the National Science Foundation, Geological Society of America and American Geophysical Union, and has received numerous professional awards, including an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship and a President’s Award from the Research Triangle Institute.

Pratson joined the Nicholas School faculty as assistant professor in 1998. He was promoted to associate professor in 2003 and to full professor in 2009. In 2011, he was named Truman and Nellie Semans/Alex Brown & Sons Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences. The same year, he was selected by 51±¬ÁÏ to be a Bass Fellow in recognition of his excellence in research and teaching.

In addition to his responsibilities in the classroom and lab, he has served as director of the 51±¬ÁÏ Energy Hub; associate director of the Gendell Center for Engineering, Energy & the Environment at 51±¬ÁÏ; chair of the Nicholas School’s Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences; and program chair of its Master of Environmental Management (MEM) concentration in Energy and Environment.

Praton earned his PhD in marine geology and geophysics from Columbia University in 1993; his Master of Philosophy in geology from Columbia in 1992; his Master of Science in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island in 1987; and his Bachelor of Science in geology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1983.

The Gendell Professorship was endowed as part of a gift in 2005 from Jeffrey and Martha Gendell of Greenwich, Conn., to support an expanded curriculum in energy studies at the Nicholas School. The Gendells’ gift endowed two new full-time faculty positions in the school’s Energy and Environment program, along with an energy research fund, a speakers’ series, a visiting executives program and a general fund to support energy innovation.

###