Orr grew up and attended high school in Houston, Texas. He attended Stanford University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1969. While at Stanford, he studied abroad at Imperial College in London and was named Rotary Undergraduate Scholar. In 1969, he became a graduate student of chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota department of chemical engineering and materials science under doctoral advisor L. E. Scriven. He left for two years, 1970-1972, to serve in the U.S. Public Health Service. His thesis was published in 1976 with the title, "Numerical Simulation of Viscous Flow with a Free Surface". During his time in graduate school, Franklin also prepared journal publications with his advisor, including:
F.M. Orr, L.E. Scriven, A.P. Rivas, "Pendular rings between solids: meniscus properties and capillary forces", Journal of Fluid Mechanics 67, 723-742.
F.M. Orr, R.A. Brown, L.E. Scriven "Three-dimensional menisci: Numerical simulation by finite elements", Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 60, 137-147.
F.M. Orr, L.E. Scriven "Rimming flow: numerical simulation of steady, viscous, free-surface flow with surface tension", Journal of Fluid Mechanics 84, 145-165.
Academic career
Franklin became an Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford University in 1985 followed by promotion to Professor in 1987. In 1991 he became Chair of the Department of Petroleum Engineering; in 1994 he was selected as Dean of the School of Earth Sciences. He was the Founding Director of two energy and conservation projects: the Global Climate and Energy Project in 2002 and the Precourt Institute for Energy in 2009. He became Professor Emeritus in 2014.
Government service
Along with the previously mentioned time with the Public Health Service, Orr also joined the United States Department of Energy as Under Secretary for Science and Energy under President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in 2014, where he remained until January 2017. In this role, he served as the principal advisor on energy and science initiatives and clean energy technologies in general. He was also tasked with integrating the basic science, applied research and technology development and deployment occurring across the various divisions of the U.S. Department of Energy. Part of this effort included oversight of the office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, and Science, which included 13 national laboratories.
Journal publications
Orr has authored more than 100 journal articles describing significant advances in flow in porous media, enhanced oil recovery, and geological CO2 storage, including:
M. Blunt, F.J. Fayers, F.M. Orr "Carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery", Energy Conversion and Management, 34, 1042.
R. Juanes, E.J. Spiteri, F.M. Orr, M.J. Blunt "Impact of relative permeability hysteresis on geological CO2 storage", Water Resources Research, 42, 1042.
S. Taku Ide, K. Jessen, F.M. Orr "Storage of CO2 in saline aquifers: Effects of gravity, viscous, and capillary forces on amount and timing of trapping", International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 1, 481-491.
M.A. Hesse, F.M. Orr, H.A. Tchelepi "Gravity currents with residual trapping", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 611, 35-60.
F.M. Orr "Onshore Geologic Storage of CO2", Science, 325, 1656-1658.
Awards and honors
Orr's contributions to research, education and government service have received numerous awards, many of which highlight his passion for problems associated with energy, fuels and sustainability. In 2000, Orr was appointed to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering; his election citation stated: Other awards and honors include:
