UND, China, and The Bakken --

Sent to me by CRC, a great story on UND, China, and the Bakken.

Dongmei Wang, a soft-spoken scientist in UND’s Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, does her work far from the heart of the booming Bakken shale oil play in western North Dakota; still, she just might be the best friend the oil industry has.


The recent transplant from China, where she worked 22 years for Petrochina in that country’s most active oilfields, followed her son to America when he enrolled at the University of Michigan.  Wanting a new challenge and a quieter setting to call home, Wang took a job at UND as a petroleum engineering scientist, working with her boss, Will Gosnold, and his Petroleum Research, Education and Entrepreneurship Center of Excellence (PREEC), which already had been researching the relatively untapped geological formation known as the “Bakken.”

An internationally recognized petroleum engineer, Wang’s scientific experience in the Chinese oil industry only added to the burgeoning expertise and capabilities that have been amassing at UND’s School of Engineering and Mines.

While folks in Washington, DC, are looking for ways to disrupt/destroy/delay quality-of-life improvements, our universities, small business, and -- OMG -- big business, are all looking for ways to improved the quality of our life. 

The linked story is just too good to not read.

I have a particular fondness for this specific story. While "living" here in Boston, one of my wife's closest friend was a Chinese woman whose son went to the same kindergarten as our granddaughter. The Chinese family was here with their father who was on sabbatical for one year at a local university (Harvard? I forget.).

It was heartbreaking for all of us when the family had to return to China. Interestingly enough, my wife and she have kept up an e-mail correspondence and have mailed gifts back and forth from Boston to China (yes, I know China is a big country; if I find out the city, I will note it next time. Sheesh.).

A lot of folks have the mistaken perception that China is a bit backward. Quite the contrary. I was quite surprised how fast the mail got back and forth between the two countries, and everything got to where it was supposed to go.

I think this is incredible that this Chinese mom (in the story linked above) followed her son to the US when he enrolled at the University of Michigan.

And, oh yes, our youngest granddaughter, 5 years old, and a kindergarten student, is taking Chinese lessons after school as her "elective." Her other elective is drumming. Yes, drumming. But on African drums, not snare drums. Hmmm.