Michael D. Max, 78, dies from cancer

Michael D. Max, an eminent geologist, author and a six-year member of the National Press Club, died May 31 of cancer. He was 78 and lived in D.C.

Max authored more than 300 scientific papers and three textbooks, and at the time of his death was with Hydrate Energy International, a consulting company specializing in unconventional natural gas, particularly natural gas hydrate. His expertise included geology, geophysics, chemistry, acoustics, and information technology.

Max had worked for the Geological Survey of Ireland on nearshore underwater exploration; the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., on shallow water acoustics, and NATO’s Undersea Research Center in La Spezia, Italy, where he designed and conducted at-sea experiments on major research vessels. He was involved with more than 40 patents and patent applications and helped write the U.S. Gas Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000.

From 2014 to 2018, Max served on the Department of Energy's  Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee and was co-chair of the Diving Committee of the Marine Technology Society. He conducted research around Antarctica and from 1999 to 2011. He was CEO and head of research for Marine Desalination Systems, a research-and-development company which established a hydrate research laboratory and explored industrial applications of hydrate chemistry.

Max received a bachelors of arts in history and geology from the University of Wisconsin, a masters of science in petroleum and economic geology from the University of Wyoming and a doctorate in geology from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.  

His memberships included the Geological Society of America, Geological Society of London, American Geophysical Union, American Chemical Society, Explorers Club, Marine Technology Society, Acoustical Society of America, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor, and daughter, Rachel, a graduate student in Hamburg, Germany. Services will be private.