eXECUTIVE tEAM AND FOUNDERS
TDI-Brooks was formed in mid-1996 when both Dr. James Brooks and Dr. Bernie Bernard left their management positions with a research center at Texas A&M University in College Station. Over the past 25 years, both Jim & Bernie has built TDI-Brooks into a leading global provider of offshore seabed services and vessels.
The corporate headquarters are situated on 100 acres just north of Houston in College Station, Texas. Here you will find our environmental, geochemical and geotechnical laboratories.

Dr. James Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer
Email: jimbrooks@tdi-bi.com or drjmbrooks@aol.com
(Cell): 979-220-3798, (Office): 979-693-3446
Dr. Brooks' BIO
Dr. Brooks is President of TDI-Brooks Int’l , Inc. a company specializing in offshore research and survey studies for federal/state agencies as well as the oil industry. TDI-Brooks was founded in May 1996. The company owns and operates four (4) multi-use oceanographic research vessels.
Dr. Brooks was the founder and Director of GERG at TAMU until Sept. 1995. As Director between 1975 and 1996, he built an organization specializing in high quality analytical, oceanographic and environmental research and services with annual revenues between 1991 and 1995 of around $10 million/year. In August 1995, he directed a staff of ~130 people, including 28 Ph.D. level senior personnel, ~60 professional MS- and BS-level full-time research scientists and ~40 other staff. He has been Project Director on many federal projects for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Minerals Management Service (MMS), Bureau of Ocean Energy Mgt (BOEM) the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and other state and federal agencies. He has extensive experience in the management of large environmental and oceanographic projects as well as the technical competency in environmental and geochemistry, surface geochemical exploration, oil spill assessment, gas hydrates, chemosynthetic ecosystems, stable isotope geochemistry, and oceanography. He has academic credentials consisting of 210+ peer-review publications including numerous publications in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature. He has served on many national committees, conferences and workshops. He has chaired 19 M.S. and Ph.D. committees at TAMU. He has won the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Research awarded annually by the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University. He previously held an appointment in the Faculty of Toxicology at Texas A&M University as well as an Advisory Council Member, Southeast Advisory Council for Undersea Research and Education (SEACURE) for NOAA’s Undersea Research Center at UNCW (NURC).
Dr. Brooks at continues to manage federal projects such as the NOAA National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch project, which is the premier, long standing coastal environmental monitoring program in the nation. He is in his 20+ year of management of this project. He is also involved in the commercial and/or technical management of generally over $30 million yearly of industry sponsored projects many of which are multidisciplinary. Dr. Brooks has been conducting research and oil industry-sponsored service projects in the Gulf of Mexico for the last 35+ years.
As part of his surface geochemical exploration (SGE) studies, which he developed for industry in the early 1980’s, he has collected 10,000+ cores in the Gulf, mostly in the deep water. These SGE coring studies resulted and contributed to the discoveries of macro oil seepage, chemosynthetic communities, and gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico. He was a co-discoverer of oil seep and chemosynthetic communities in the deep water Gulf of Mexico in 1985. He made the first discoveries of thermogenic gas hydrates in the deep water Gulf of Mexico that was published in Science as well as participated in the initial discoveries of other oil-seep related phenomena including oil-stained cores on the continental slope, widespread occurrence of shallow and outcropping gas hydrates, brine seepage, and visible oil seepage to the sea surface. In the late 80’s and early 90’s he was awarded extensive NOAA National Undersea Research Program (NURP) JOHNSON SEA-LINK, ALVIN, and Navy NR-1 submersible dive time in the Gulf of Mexico.
More on Dr. Brooks HERE

Dr. Bernie Bernard, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Email: berniebernard@tdi-bi.com
Phone (Office): 979-693-3446
Dr. Bernard's BIO
Dr. Bernard received a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from Texas A&M University in 1978. For the next two years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and Geophysics, Dr. Bernard taught graduate level courses in Organic Geochemistry and Isotope Geochemistry. In 1980, he accepted a position as Vice President of O.I. Analytical, Inc., a supplier of analytical instruments for the measurement of trace organics in water, soil, and air. While at OI, he was the director of R&D, designing and bringing to market instruments for the measurement of gases, volatiles, and petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment. In 1993 he was appointed Deputy Director of the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group of Texas A&M University, serving with his long-time friend and Director of GERG, Dr. James M. Brooks.
In 1996, Dr. Bernard partnered with Dr. Brooks in forming TDI-Brooks International, Inc., where he is a co-owner, Vice President, and Technology Director. TDI-Brooks is a Texas company that delivers high-quality field surveys, analytical services, and scientific interpretation, to the marine oil exploration, geotechnical, and environmental survey marketplace. Dr. Bernard has over 40 years of experience in natural gas geochemistry, including a career focus in the measurement and interpretation of molecular and isotopic compositions of the light hydrocarbon gases in the marine environment. His published models for the interpretation of the natural sources of light hydrocarbon gases have become commonly known in the scientific literature as “Bernard Plots” and are cited by investigators world wide in their research, papers, and presentations. The analytical methods he has developed for the measurement of the concentrations of interstitial gases in marine sediments are also in wide use, and have resulted in an accumulation of and data from over 30,000 cores taken in the continental shelves, slopes, and the deep water adjacent to continental margins worldwide. In addition, Dr. Bernard has led the development of several innovative seabed survey tools used in offshore geotechnical engineering surveys, including the TDI-Brooks CPT-Stinger, Gravity CPT tool, and an Auto-T-Bar instrument.
More on Dr. Bernard HERE
lEADERSHIP TEAM














Complete Staff Listing for TDI-Brooks along with downloadable resumes
TDI-Brooks has a staff of nearly one-hundred individuals including Ph.D. level oceanographers, geochemists, biologists and geologists. Some of our senior staff continue to have academic appointments. About a third of the staff is part of our affiliated laboratory, B&B Labs. The other staff is involved in our offshore research and survey operations.
Management and Administrative Staff
- James M. Brooks, President / Chief Executive Officer
- Bernie B. Bernard, Vice President/Chief Technology Officer
- Melissa Wood, Director of Sales and Marketing
- Richard Byno, Director of Marine Operations
- Les Bender, Director of Environmental Services *
- Jayme McBee, Director of Geochemical Services
- Brandt Broussard, Director of Geophysical Services
- Michael Kullman, GIS/Geophysical Survey Manager
- Jennifer Simonson, Director of Business Administration
- Donell Frank, Quality Manager
- Dr. James Howell, HSE Manager*
- Jake Wiersig, HSE Manager – Facilities
- Shannon Smith, Vessel Systems Manager
- Thomas J. McDonald, Senior Project Manager
- Gary Wolff, Data Manager
- Gail Mills, Controller/Corporate Treasurer
- Chris King, Senior Product Engineer and Corporate Secretary
- Gina Harp, Assistant Controller
- Emily Evans, Administrative Assistant
- Brad Bernard, College Station Office Manager/Project Manager
*Field Staff As Well
Field Staff
- Daniel Brooks, Geologist, CPT Specialist, Project Manager *
- Charlie Emerson, Port Engineer
- Roy Robbins, Port Captain / DPA / Vessel Captain
- Kevin Swart, Geoscientist/Survey Manager
- Mark Mitcheltree, Vessel Captain
- Scott Munro, Vessel Captain
- Channing Boswell, Vessel Captain
- Brion Dolan, Field Party Chief
- Peter Hitchcock, Field Party Chief
- Cameron Wythe, Field Party Chief
- James R. Brooks, Vessel Deck Chief
- Larry Lane, Vessel Deck Chief
- Kenneth Craigue, Hydrographic Surveyor
- Timothy Mattern, Coring/Marine Technician
- Joseph Stearns, Marine Technician
- Samuel Sweeney, Marine Technician
- Forest King, Coring Technician
- Blanton Beard, Technical Systems Manager
- Christian Urqueza de Leon, Laboratory Technician
- Kenneth Allen, Navigator
- Paul Clark, Navigator
- Megan Brooks, Field Logistics Coordinator
Marine Engineering
TDI-Brooks Main Campus
- Ivan Svrcek, Mechanical Engineer
- Joe Brandesky, Senior Engineer Specialist*
- Matthew Mattern, Senior Engineering Specialist*
- Adam Ariganello, Engineering Specialist*
*Field Staff As Well
TDI-Brooks Nacogdoches Campus
- Ronald “Ron” Boggess, Cone Services Manager
- Chris Duncan, Cone Services Supervisor
- Wayne Deacon, Cone Services Technician
- Trevin Dowdy, Mechanical Technician
- Sandra Farmer, Administrative Assistant
Laboratory Staff
Geochemical / Environmental Laboratory
- Mike Gaskins, Geochemical / Environmental Laboratory Manager
- Juan Ramirez, Data Manager / Quality Control Manager
- Hillary Agbo, Geochemical/Environmental Laboratory Supervisor *
- Chase Brewster, Instrument Analyst *
- Yiwei Miao, Instrument Analyst
- Garrett Slaton, Instrumentation Engineer & Senior Chemist
- Amanda Brewster, Laboratory Account Client Manager
- Jake Wiersig, Laboratory Technician
- Cienna Kirkland Sample Custodian
- Douglas Johnson, Radiation Safety Officer
- Eduardo Nieto, Laboratory Technician
- Rosa Esquivel, Laboratory Technician
- Megan Konarik, Instrument Analyst
Geotechnical Laboratory
- Moslem Moradi, Advanced Technical Analyst
- Shelby Fox, Geotechnical Laboratory Sample Custodian
*Field Staff As Well
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Department
- Mark Broussard, IT Systems Manager
- William Lewright, Programmer/IT Engineer & Support, Navigator*
- Daniel Vitale, System Analyst*
- Mike Kirk, Programmer/IT Engineer & Support, Navigator*
- Carl Perkins, Systems Administrator
*Field Staff As Well
Facilities
TDI-Brooks Main Campus
- Ron Yoakum, Facilities Manager
- Drew Gorney, Facilities
- Camerino Serrato, Facilities
- Juan Nieto, Facilities
Professional Associates
- Dr. Jean Audibert, Sr. Geotechnical Engineer
- Dr. Neil Summer, Sr. Geologist, Shallow Water Projects Director
International Staff
Locate US
Corporate Offices
Office building: 14391A S. Dowling Rd
Lab building: 14391B S. Dowling Rd
Technical building: 14391C S. Dowling Rd
College Station, TX 77845
- Directions from Downtown Houston to TDI-Brooks Campus HERE
- Directions from IAH Airport Houston to TDI-Brooks Campus HERE
- Directions from College Station Airport to TDI-Brooks Campus HERE
- Directions from Dallas DFW Airport to TDI-Brooks Campus HERE
- Directions from San Antonio SAT Airport to TDI-Brooks Campus HERE

cAREERS
careers at TDI-Brooks
TDI-Brooks operates 4 Research Vessels on a global basis and are always looking for people with the right experience and expertise which are vital to the success of our projects.
Our current vessels are here: https://www.tdi-bi.com/contact-us/vessels-charters/
Browse the latest vacancies below and see where your career at TDI-Brooks can take you.

Marine Position: Masters
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW II/2 – Mate license endorsement (Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch)
5) STCW IV/2 – GMDSS
6) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
7) STCW VI/2-1 – Lifeboatman
8) STCW VI/3 – Advanced Fire Fighting
9) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
10) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: Mate
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW II/2 – Mate license endorsement (Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch)
5) STCW IV/2 – GMDSS
6) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
7) STCW VI/2-1 – Lifeboatman
8) STCW VI/3 – Advanced Fire Fighting
9) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
10) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: Chief Engineer
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW III/2 or III/3 – Chief Engineer license endorsement (Officer in Charge of an Engineering watch)
5) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
6) STCW VI/2-1 – Lifeboatman
7) STCW VI/3 – Advanced Fire Fighting
8) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
9) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: Assistant Engineer
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW III/1, III/2 or III/3 – Assistant Engineer license endorsement (Officer in Charge of an Engineering watch)
5) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
6) STCW VI/2-1 – Lifeboatman
7) STCW VI/3 – Advanced Fire Fighting
8) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
9) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: Oiler
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW III/5 (or III/4 Ratings Forming Part of an Engineering Watch) – Oiler Endorsement
5) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
6) STCW VI/2-1 – Lifeboatman
7) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
8) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: AB
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW II/4 or II/5 – AB Endorsement
5) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
6) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
7) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: Cook
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) ILO MLC Cook Training Certification
5) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
6) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
7) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Marine Position: OS
Please email all required documents to applications@tdi-bi.com
For TDI-Brooks to determine if you are fully qualified for a position on one of our international ships, please provide color scans of the following (NO faxes, photographs, or Xerox copies please):
1) Passport
2) IMO seafarer’s medical fitness report
3) Inoculation record (primarily yellow fever)
4) STCW VI/1 – Basic Safety Training Endorsement -or-
STCW VI/1-1 – Personal Survival Techniques
STCW VI/1-2 – Basic Fire Fighting
STCW VI/1-3 – Basic First Aid
STCW VI/1-4 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibility
5) STCW VI/6 – ISPS Security Training
6) Merchant Mariner Credential / National Mariner Credential
Incomplete application packages (lacking any of the above required documents) will not be reviewed. Do not send in an incomplete application. Wait until you have all information and certificates in the required form before submitting.
Thank you for your interest in a mariner position at TDI-Brooks International.
Contact Us
TDI-Brooks International, Inc.
14391 S. Dowling RD
College Station, TX 77845
Email: info@tdi-bi.com
Phone: +1 (979) 693-3446
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