Dr. Sally M. Benson is a Staff Scientist in the Earth Sciences Division at Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She has just recently completed a four-year term as Deputy Director for Operations at the Lab. Prior to this position, she served as Division Director for Earth Sciences and Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences at the Laboratory. A groundwater hydrologist and reservoir engineer, Dr. Benson has conducted research to address a range of issues related to energy and the environment, including environmental remediation, gas storage, and geothermal energy production. For the past four years she has been working on carbon sequestration, particularly on sequestration in deep geologic formations.

Dr. Benson graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University, in 1977, with a B.A. in Geology. She completed her graduate education in 1988, at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Mineral Engineering. While attending UC Berkeley, Dr. Benson began her scientific career at the Laboratory as a technical assistant in the Energy and Environment Division. In addition to her administrative position as Deputy Director for Operations, she is a staff scientist in the Earth Sciences Division.

Dr. Benson is a member of various organizations and has served on numerous committees, such as: the Department of Energy Environmental Management Strategic Laboratory Council; the University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Executive Committee; the Pacific Northwest Laboratory Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Advisory Board; the Stanford University Earth Sciences Advisory Board; and the Department of Energy Water Cycle Initiative.

In 1996, Dr. Benson was awarded the Department of Energy Certificate of Appreciation for her lead in the development of the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Program Plan. She is author or co-author of approximately 160 scientific publications. She often travels, both throughout the United States and abroad, to lecture about her scientific research.