Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Steven Bohlen, of Sonoma, as supervisor of the California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) on Tuesday, May 13th.

Dr. Bohlen, 61, has been program director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 2013, and was deputy program director there from 2011 to 2013.

Bohlen was a research professor and interim director of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program at Texas A&M University from 2008 to 2010, and was chief executive officer at Joint Oceanographic Institutions from 2000 to 2008.

He was a consulting professor at Stanford University from 1995 to 1999, and held multiple positions at the U.S. Geological Survey from 1988 to 2000, including associate chief geologist and research geologist. Dr. Bohlen was an assistant associate professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1982 to 1988.

He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree and Master of Science degree in geology from the University of Michigan. Dr. Bohlen, who is a Democrat, will be on loan from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where his salary is $232,000. This position does not require Senate confirmation.