Robert D. Francis, Professor of Geology and Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, California State University Long Beach (CSULB), has 34 years' experience in petroleum geology, including industry employment with Getty Oil Company and Texaco, consulting, and university employment. Dr. Francis holds a B.A. in Physics from UC San Diego and a Ph.D. in Earth Science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography; he joined the CSULB faculty in 1987. Specializing in the application of novel geophysical and geochemical technology to marine geology, structural geology, and oil exploration, and especially tectonic evolution of the southern California offshore and nearshore region, Dr. Francis has published over 55 articles and abstracts in journals and conference proceedings. In addition to his Chair duties, Dr. Francis is the Director of CSULB's Los Angeles Basin Subsurface Data Center, which has a collection of logs and data files for 30,000 exploratory wells in southern California, as well as legacy seismic reflection images along the southern California coast. Dr. Francis has participated in and organized onshore and offshore seismic data (reflection and refraction) acquisition projects, including in the coastal zone, where specialized techniques are required. Dr. Francis teaches courses in introductory geology, mineralogy, petrology, petroleum geology, and marine geology.
