Salt Lake City (Jan 28, 2019) – Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Executive Director, Mike Styler, recently named, R. William (Bill) Keach II, as the new Utah state geologist and director of the Utah Geological Survey (UGS).
Keach’s appointment follows the retirement of Rick Allis, who served as director of UGS and state geologist since 2000.
“Bill comes to the Survey with a wide range of experience both in the private and public sectors,” said Styler. “It’s difficult to replace Rick’s institutional knowledge and passion after his nearly 20 years of leadership. However, Bill’s background, and his passion and experience with technology, is perfectly aligned to meet the diverse geology and environmental hazards and resources of the state.”
Keach has over 30 years’ experience in industry, academia and regulatory state government. Most recently he worked as a senior engineer at the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. He spent two decades working in the petroleum industry as a geophysicist and developing, promoting and managing technology that enabled geoscientists to better understand the earth’s subsurface.
“The UGS has a legacy of doing and delivering great work. Researchers and professional geoscientist from around the world visit Utah to study its unique and diverse geology,” said Keach. “I am excited to work with the talented UGS staff who deliver on the goal of providing timely and sound scientific information.”
Keach is currently a visiting associate professor of geology at Brigham Young University and visiting instructor at the University of Utah’s Department of Chemical Engineering. He received a bachelor’s degree in Geology from BYU and a master’s degree in Geophysics from Cornell University.
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