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Mack Kennedy Receives GRCs’ Geothermal Special Achievement Award

by Maryann Villavert

Awards Energy Geosciences Division Energy Resources Program Domain Geochemistry Department Geothermal Systems

Kennedy collecting He gas samples at The Geysers. (Photo Credit: P.F. Dobson, Berkeley Lab).

Mack Kennedy, a geochemist in the Energy Geosciences Division (and former Geothermal Systems Program Lead), received the Geothermal Special Achievement Award from the Geothermal Resources Council, one of the world’s preeminent geothermal associations, during its 41st Annual Meeting held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kennedy was recognized for his outstanding contributions and dedication to developing the science and engineering needed for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).

In particular, his work in noble gases and isotope geochemistry related to geothermal systems has had a significant and lasting impact on the understanding of geothermal system evolution and has provided a valuable tool related to geothermal system exploration.

Mack Kennedy

Kennedy also mentored many scientists throughout the geothermal community, is a member of the the California Geothermal Energy Collaborative (CGEC) Steering Committee and has served as Co-Chair of the CGEC Geothermal Resource Committee. He has also served as an instructor at the National Geothermal Academy.

Kennedy previously led the geothermal R&D efforts at Berkeley Lab and continues to work with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office. At present, Kennedy co-leads the efforts to establish an EGS laboratory at Fallon, Nevada, which is one of two sites currently under consideration by the DOE as the final location for FORGE (Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy), a controlled field laboratory dedicated to developing the science and engineering needed to enable widespread adoption of EGS.