Personal bio: Larry Meinert is Deputy Associate Director –Energy & Mineral Resources at the U.S. Geological Survey where he is responsible for leading the research, assessment, and information-gathering functions of more than 500 scientists.  Previously he served in Congress as an AAAS Congressional Fellow in the offices of Senator Chris Coons (DE) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, (AZ 8th), staffing the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.  Prior to that he had a successful academic career spanning three different universities where he managed research laboratories and advised dozens of postdoctoral scientists and Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. students engaged in cutting edge mineral resource research, funded by NSF and private industry. He has an active research program with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and is chief editor of the leading international scientific journal in this field, Economic Geology.  He earned a Ph.D. degree in geology from Stanford University and B.A. from Carleton College.  In his spare time he operates a small winery specializing in a barrel-fermented Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, and Malbec.  In 2011 and 2014 he ran the Boston Marathon and has completed all the major military marathons, including the Marine Corps Marathon in 2013.