President

Jaime Jemuel Austria Jr., PhD.

Dr. Austria, also known as Jem, commenced his tenure at Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in 1994 as a Reservoir Engineer. Throughout his 28-year career at EDC, he has held numerous leadership positions, including Head of Reservoir Engineering, Leyte Sustainability and Development, Leyte Resource Management, Reservoir Modeling and Evaluation, and Geoscientific and Resource Services.

Presently, Dr. Austria serves as the Head of Reservoir Technology within the Integrated Subsurface Group at EDC. In this capacity, he is responsible for mitigating risks associated with well assets and implementing proven technologies for wells and producing fields. His work primarily focuses on technological programs that align with business strategy and address risks concerning resource health, asset integrity, and steam supply from Drilling Operations.

He earned his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in 1992. During his employment at EDC, he pursued advanced studies, obtaining a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iceland in 2008 and a PhD in Engineering Science from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 2015. He is also a distinguished Fellow of the United Nations University Geothermal Training program (2003) and the Geothermal Institute of New Zealand (1996).

In 2021, the U.P. Alumni Engineers recognized Dr. Austria with the Professional Degree Award in Mechanical Engineering. This esteemed award acknowledged his significant contributions to advancing renewable energy policies, disseminating geothermal knowledge, enhancing the skills of geothermal professionals in numerical modeling and wellbore diagnostics, and pioneering the application of new technologies to de-risk geothermal development.

Through his involvement with the National Geothermal Association of the Philippines (NGAP), Dr. Austria endeavors to enhance geothermal generation by advocating for policies that augment geothermal energy's contribution to the Philippine energy mix. Furthermore, he is committed to upskilling NGAP members and other geothermal stakeholders, and fostering improved collaboration among companies to facilitate the adoption of new technologies for de-risking geothermal development.