Team
Management Team and Board of Directors
Bret T. Barnhizer, Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President. For more than 25 years, Mr. Barnhizer provided engineering, operations management, and project management services to Chevron, BP, Unocal, Occidental Petroleum, and others in the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia. Mr. Barnhizer has managed and been involved in projects of varied scope, ranging from 40 million to over 500 million dollars in value. His leadership philosophy – learned in the military and honed in the oil industry –led to the adoption of breakthrough applications of technology, now in widespread industry use, that have resulted in dramatically improved economics and performance in upstream operations. Mr. Barnhizer is a US Army veteran of the Vietnam War. There he and fellow director John Chatterton served as infantry combat medics, beginning an association that continues to the present. After leaving the military, Mr. Barnhizer worked as a steelworker, oilfield roughneck, and in building demolitions while attending university on the GI Bill. He attended Youngstown State University and the University of Colorado and went on to a career in the oil industry, working his way from drilling rig worker, through operations and project management, both in the US and internationally. His corporate style has three tenets: Lead by example; think outside the box; empower talent.
Sergey V. Gazenko, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development. Dr. Gazenko was awarded his doctoral degree from The Institute of Applied Biochemistry in Moscow. Dr. Gazenko has worked for more than 25 years in the area of microbiological diagnostics and is the author of numerous scientific publications and patents. He is the original author of the concept of BioNanoChannel(TM) testing technology, a revolutionary approach for rapid and early detection of bacteria. Dr. Gazenko's current research focus is on both medical testing and treatment technology and research on the production of Hydrogen through the use of bioreactors.
John Chatterton, Director. John Chatterton is one of the world’s most accomplished and well known underwater explorers. John was co-host on all 57 episodes of the History Channel’s successful series Deep Sea Detectives. He is a consultant to the film and television industries and has worked with the Discovery Channel, PBS, CBS, HBO, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures.
Daniel Barnhizer, Director. Daniel Barnhizer is an associate professor of law at Michigan State University College of Law, where he teaches and writes in the areas of business, contract, securities, and commercial law. In addition to his academic work, Professor Barnhizer also maintains an active consulting practice in corporate and securities law. Prior to joining the MSU College of Law faculty in 2001, Professor Barnhizer worked as a litigator in Washington, D.C. with the law firms of Hogan & Hartson and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where his primary practice areas focused on corporate governance, securities law, and white collar criminal law. Professor Barnhizer graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 1995 where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review.
Jeff Long, Director. Jeff Long is a novelist, historian, advertising writer, and human rights advocate. He has written and developed advertising and catalogs for various companies including Overseas Adventure Travel, Lowe Alpine Systems, Thompson Safaris, and others, and is the founder of Witness Inc., a human rights and foreign aid group.
David Barnhizer, General Counsel. David Barnhizer is Professor of Law Emeritus at the Cleveland State University College of Law. He teaches in areas that include Trial Advocacy, Strategy and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He earned a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from Harvard Law School and received his Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) summa cum laude, from the Ohio State University College of Law. In a rich and varied career he has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of London’s Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, a Ford Urban Law Fellow at Harvard Law School, Visiting Professor at Westminster University School of Law in London, and taught human rights and international environmental law in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has been designated a Diplomate in Trial Advocacy by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, been a Senior Advisor to the International Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council, served as General Counsel for Earth Summit Watch, and worked as International Consultant in the Government of Mongolia’s, Mongolian Action Programme for the 21st Century. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Performance Capital Management, LLC, and was a strategic consultant to British Petroleum/Sovonics Solar Systems joint venture, as well as Rapporteur to the National Foresight Capability Workshop of the U.S. House of Representatives, Energy and Commerce Committee. Among the numerous books and articles he has authored is THE WARRIOR LAWYER: Powerful Strategies for Winning Legal Battles.