Women's History Month Profile: Barbara Kutchko

Barbara Kutchko is a senior research scientist at NETL who specializes in wellbore isolation, oil well cementing and subsurface materials characterization. She has a doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in civil and environmental engineering and a master’s degree in geology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Barbara works with oil and gas companies, government agencies and universities to evaluate current cementing practices and research needs to ensure the safe placement of cement related to offshore drilling, shale gas production and carbon and hydrogen storage. This includes leading and collaborating with teams of diverse researchers, professors, students and industry experts to plan, manage and execute research related to energy production.

She currently represents NETL on the American Petroleum Institute’s Cement Subcommittee 10C, which develops and maintains standards on various oil and gas wellbore cementing procedures for the U.S. petroleum industry, and is actively involved in several working groups. Her research has informed federal policy and increased scientific understanding of the chemical reactions that occur in geological formations under carbon sequestration conditions.

Away from work, Barbara’s interests include the Korean martial art Tang Soo Do, astronomy, reading and playing the piano. Her children and interacting with them are her greatest joys. “I am a single mom, so I fully understand and embrace the importance of a life-work balance,” Barbara said.

Why is it important that women are equally represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields?

It is important to have representation (or role models) for girls as they grow up. For example, my daughter and her friends know that fields such as science, math and engineering are not gender-based and that women can be just as successful in these fields as men. My role models growing up were more abstract, but just as important. Women such as Jane Goodall (primatologist) and Sally Ride (astronaut and physicist) were my role models.

We simply cannot leave half of Earth’s population behind when it comes to STEM. Too often, I have walked into a conference or workshop and been the only woman. I distinctly (and fondly) remember one conference where I was giving a talk. I looked down and in the front row was a group of young women all smiling up at me. It was then that I realized I had shifted to being a role model myself (a nice way of saying I am older now). Women are important in developing the technological advancements of our future. We need to nurture that in any way we can.

What is one highlight of your career at NETL that you would like to share?

My career highlight was getting the oil and gas community to work together to ensure the safe drilling and cementing of wells in the Gulf of Mexico. I was brought on as an unbiased expert in the DOJ v. BP case and continued to work with operators and service companies to conduct research on placing foamed cement in offshore deepwater wells. My research garnered multiple awards and enabled me to become a Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer. The SPE DL is one of the petroleum industry’s greatest honors.
 

Barbara Kutchko