e-cmes Alumni Voices: Dr. Thomas R. Stauffer, 1935-2005: Some Personal Reflections

e-cmes Alumni Voices: Dr. Thomas R. Stauffer, 1935-2005: Some Personal Reflections: "February 16, 2006HOME >> ALUMNI VOICES
Dr. Thomas R. Stauffer, 1935-2005: Some Personal Reflections
by John Gault



Dr. Thomas R. Stauffer, the widely respected energy analyst, author, educator, consultant, and graduate of Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), died in March 2005 after a long illness.

I first met Tom in the autumn of 1967 at Harvard. Basim Musallam introduced us. Tom was at the time a research fellow at the Center who was completing his Ph.D. dissertation, doing research on the petroleum industry, and teaching courses on Middle East economics. At 32 years old, Tom joked that he was a perpetual student who might never complete his dissertation. Tom's office was in the suite of his (and my) mentor, Prof. A. J. Meyer, Associate Director of the Center, then located at 1737 Cambridge Street.

Tom completed his brilliant dissertation in 1971 and, almost simultaneously, developed and introduced the now standard methods of analysis of petroleum fiscal regimes. Tom and A.J. Meyer were instrumental in creating and expanding Harvard¹s oil and energy seminar which became one of the most popular courses in the wake of the two oil price shocks in 1973 and 1979.

But Tom was far more than a superb economic analyst and inspiring teacher. Tom had an abiding interest in the culture and traditions of the Middle East. In the 1960s, he and his wife Ilse traveled with the Qashqai nomads and made several films about their lifestyle and rug-making. (Tom later donated these films to the Smithsonian Institution.)

Tom became one of the advisors of my own doctoral dissertation and I was privileged to work with him on a number of interesting assignments, in addition to serving as his teaching assistant in several courses. Over the years we collaborated on issues related to natural gas pricing and rationing
in the United States, the design and negotiation of a new type of production sharing agreement, inter-fuel competition, and the optimal design of petroleum fiscal systems.

By the 1980s, I had moved from Boston to Geneva while Tom had taken up a teaching position at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. We visited each other often during this fruitful period. I discovered the countryside around Vienna with Tom and his family, while Tom accompanied me on a number of hiking and cross-country ski expeditions in the mountains near Geneva. Later, after Tom and his family had moved to Washington, DC, we continued to meet on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tom's prodigious professional writings spanned such subjects as the measurement of corporate rates-of-return; the economics of gas-based industrialization in the Gulf; the impact of tax systems on oil exploration incentives; the effects of tariff designs on pipeline economics; the politics of water in the Middle East; and the economic cost to the United States of its Middle East policies.

Some of Dr. Stauffer's writings reflected his frequent involvement as an expert in arbitrations. Among his oft-cited papers are those dealing with risk and hydrocarbon property evaluation; regression models and their limitations in litigation; and the valuation of expropriated assets.

Tom was a good friend of OPEC and an advisor to the oil ministers of several member countries. OPEC invited Tom to speak frequently at its secretariat in Vienna, and awarded Tom a prize for his career accomplishments at the OPEC Seminar in autumn 2004.

Dr. Stauffer was also a serious stamp collector with an odd specialization: stamps overprinted and re-issued by occupation forces or revolutionary regimes, particularly in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia.

I cannot close without emphasizing the irrepressible curiosity and the indefatigable good humor which were essential parts of Tom's personality.

At a memorial service in Washington in June 2005 I recounted how Tom had introduced me to the Belgian cartoon character and boy journalist Tintin. Some of our shared adventures in Latin America and the Middle East were quite Tintin-esque, including a narrow escape from a revolution reminiscent
of "Tintin et les Picaros".

Like Tintin, Tom had eclectic interests, was always ready for a new adventure, clearly saw through the pompous posturing of politicians and ideologues, and took risks to set the record straight.

Dr. Stauffer is survived by his wife, three children and one grandson.


John Gault (PhD '75) is an independent consultant on energy economics based in Geneva."