Paul Hsieh - HWR Alum and National Hero

A national report on the response to the Macondo Well blowout and resulting oil spill was released yesterday by the Associated Press. The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Response was released on Monday. Paul Hsieh a UA-HWR alum and USGS research scientist was instrumental in the decision to leave the well capped during July. Some had wanted to remove the cap but Paul's calculations based on a cell phone photo and a full night spent double checking calculations resulted in a decision to wait and see and then leave the cap on. The interim measure was key to minimizing the damage from the spill which was already the largest man caused disaster in US history.

From the AP article:
One scientist took a cell phone picture of pressure readings and e-mailed it to a government researcher in California for advice.

Just using that cell phone photo, Paul Hsieh, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist, created a model to explain what was happening under the cap and how - despite low pressure readings - there was no leak. He was convinced the containment cap wouldn't blow. He got more data, which bolstered his case.Hsieh, a research hydrologist who normally works with water, labored through the night without the aid of caffeine. He stayed up all night triple checking calculations, going on adrenaline.

"I just knew a decision had to be made the next day," he said. "I had participated in the conference call. I had sensed the tension everyone had and that just kind of kept me going."

Hsieh laid out his case and it persuaded the other scientists to wait.

The government waited six hours, then a day. Nothing happened. The cap held.