Each year, the SPE confers its highest honors and awards on members whose contributions to SPE and the oil and gas industry merit special recognition. The SPE Board of Directors approved the 2016 International Award recipients at their most recent meeting. Recipients of this year’s awards will be recognized during the Annual Awards Banquet at the 2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Dubai.
Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership is conferred on individuals for outstanding service to SPE and/or in recognition of distinguished scientific or engineering achievement in fields encompassed in SPE’s technical scope. Honorary Membership is the highest honor SPE confers on an individual and is limited to 0.1% of SPE’s total membership.
Ali A. Daneshy is the president of Daneshy Consultants International. He previously served as director of the petroleum engineering department at the University of Houston and spent 35 years at Halliburton in various positions. From 1996 to 2004, Daneshy was vice president of Halliburton Integrated Technology Products. He was named an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2004–2005 and was named an SPE Distinguished Member. He served as a director-at-large on the SPE Board of Directors from 2004 to 2007, chaired the board’s Audit Committee from 2005 to 2006, and chaired its Committee on Education from 2006 to 2007. The author of 50 technical papers, Daneshy has chaired several other SPE committees, including the Transactions Editorial Review Committee, the Publications Review Committee, the North America Forums Committee, and the Meetings Evaluation Committee. He also founded the SPE Forum Series in Asia Pacific in 1990. He holds an MS in mining engineering (rock mechanics) from the University of Tehran, an MS in mineral engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a PhD in mining engineering (rock mechanics) from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
C. Shah Kabir is the proprietor of CS Kabir Consulting. He has 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with stints at Dome, Arco, Schlumberger, Chevron, and Hess. He has published more than 140 papers and two books, and contributed to SPE Transient Well Testing. He was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2006–2007 and has been involved in several SPE peer-reviewed journals, serving as an associate editor of SPE Production and Operations, an associate editor and technical editor of SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, and a technical editor of SPE Journal. He chaired three SPE Forum Series from 2010 to 2012 and is an editor of the SPE textbook Pressure Transient Testing. Kabir received the SPE Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award in 2010 and an SPE Distinguished Membership Award in 2008. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology at Dhaka, and a master’s degree in chemical engineering with petroleum engineering specialization from the University of Calgary.
Sunil L. Kokal is a principal professional for the reservoir engineering technology team at Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center. Since joining Saudi Aramco in 1993, he has been involved in applied research projects on enhanced/improved oil recovery, reservoir fluids, hydrocarbon phase behavior, crude oil emulsions, and production-related challenges. Kokal has written more than 100 technical papers and authored two chapters in the revised edition of the SPE Petroleum Engineering Handbook. He has served as an associate editor for the SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering journal. He received the SPE DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal in 2012, the SPE Distinguished Service Award in 2011, the SPE Regional Technical Award for Reservoir Description and Dynamics in 2010, and an SPE Distinguished Member Award in 2008. In 2007–2008 he served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer. Kokal holds a BS in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Calgary.
Daniel Moos is a Baker Hughes technology fellow and chief scientist at the company’s Innovation Center. He cofounded GeoMechanics International in 1996 to help deliver technologies to the oil and gas and geothermal industries. He was named chief scientist of Baker Hughes’ Reservoir Development Services organization after the company’s acquisition of GeoMechanics in 2008. In 2013, he cofounded the Innovation Center. Moos is currently a member of the SPE Western Hemisphere Forum Series Implementation Committee. He has organized and served on committees for SPE workshops and forums, and has served as a reviewer and special volume editor. Moos has developed technologies and holds patents in wellbore imaging, stress determination and stress‑based wellbore steering, acoustic detection of hydrocarbons, pore pressure prediction, and fractured reservoir characterization and exploitation. He holds a BS in geology from Cornell University and a PhD in geophysics from Stanford University.
John Franklin Carll Award
The John Franklin Carll Award recognizes distinguished contribution in the application of engineering principles to petroleum development and recovery.
Christine A. Ehlig-Economides is a professor of petroleum engineering and the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair at the University of Houston and professor emerita at Texas A&M University. She has published 115 SPE conference and journal papers and has served as a member of numerous steering, technical program, and award committees. She also served on the SPE Ad Hoc Task Force on Diversity and Governance. In 1982, Ehlig-Economides was awarded the SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty and was named Alaska SPE Engineer of the Year. She also received the SPE Formation Evaluation Award in 1995, the Lester C. Uren Award in 1997, the SPE Anthony Lucas Gold Medal in 2010, and the SPE Innovative Teaching Award in 2014. In 1996, she was named an SPE Distinguished Member, and served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 1997–1998. Ehlig-Economides holds a BA in math-science from Rice University, an MS in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal
Established in 1936, the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal recognizes achievement in improving the technique and practice of finding and producing petroleum.
George J. Hirasaki is the A.J. Hartsook professor emeritus at Rice University. He had a 26-year career with Shell Development and Shell Oil Companies before joining the chemical engineering faculty at Rice in 1993. At Shell, Hirasaki’s research focused on reservoir simulation, enhanced oil recovery, and formation evaluation. At Rice, he studies nuclear magnetic resonance well logging, reservoir wettability, surfactant enhanced oil recovery, foam mobility control, gas hydrate recovery, asphaltene deposition, and emulsion separation. Hirasaki received the SPE Lester C. Uren Award in 1989 and was named an Improved Oil Recovery Pioneer at the 1998 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium. In 2016, he received the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Heritage Award. He holds a BS in chemical engineering from Lamar University and a PhD in chemical engineering from Rice University.
Lester C. Uren Award
The Lester C. Uren Award recognizes distinguished achievement in the technology of petroleum engineering by a member who made the contribution before age 45.
Bobby D. Poe Jr. is the production interpretation advisor for Schlumberger Software Integrated Solutions. He has served on the Production and Reservoir Monitoring Organizing Committees at ATCE for the past 14 years, the SPE Latin America and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference for 5 years, and on the organizing committees for 15 SPE Advanced Technology Workshops. Poe has authored more than 40 technical papers on developments in production and reservoir engineering analyses. He holds a BS, an ME, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.
DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal
The DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal recognizes distinguished and outstanding service to SPE, to the professions of engineering and/or geology, and to the petroleum industry.
Behrooz Fattahi retired from Aera Energy, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, in 2014 after a 37-year career in the oil and gas industry. His last position at Aera was as learning advisor, where he taught several internal company technical courses. He had also served as the heavy oil development coordinator at the company. Fattahi chaired the SPE Continuing Education Committee, as well as the Soft Skills Committee. He has also served as executive editor of the SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering journal, as director of the Western North America Region, and as president of SPE Americas. Fattahi was president of SPE in 2010, president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers in 2014, and is currently the vice president of the SPE Foundation. He holds PhDs in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering from Iowa State.
C. Susan Howes is vice president of engineering at Subsurface Consultants and Associates. She spent 25 years at Anadarko in various capacities, including stints as learning and organizational development manager, employment manager, engineering training and recruiting manager, engineering recruitment and development, supervisor, and senior staff engineer. She also worked as a reservoir management consultant at Chevron. Howes is the coauthor of more than 20 technical papers and articles on uncertainty management, risk management, and talent management for SPE conferences and publications. She chaired the SPE Gulf Coast Section (GCS) Board in 2004 and held a variety of additional leadership roles with the section. Howes received the SPE GCS Exemplary Volunteer Award in 2014 and 2016, the SPE Distinguished Service Award in 2005, the SPE Distinguished Member Award in 2003, and the SPE Regional Service Award for the Gulf Coast North America Region in 2003. She also received the SPE GCS Section Service Award in 2001, and the SPE Young Member Outstanding Service Award in 1997. Howes holds a BS in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal
The Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold medal recognizes distinguished achievement in mining administration, including metallurgy and petroleum.
David A.T. Donohue is the founder and president of International Human Resources Development Corporation and Arlington Storage. He is a technical specialist, businessman, attorney, and lecturer who teaches oil and gas business management programs. Donohue developed and is the former owner of various independent underground gas storage facilities in New York, and in his early career, held positions in engineering and research for Exxon. He is an SPE Distinguished Member. Donohue holds a PhD in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a JD from the Boston College Law School.
Robert Earll McConnell Award
The Robert Earll McConnell Award recognizes beneficial service to mankind by engineers through significant contributions that advance a nation’s standard of living or replenish its natural resource base.
Yuri F. Makogon is a retired Texas Engineering Experiment Station research engineer in the petroleum engineering department at Texas A&M University. In 1965, he discovered natural gas hydrate deposits in nature, proving their ability to accumulate as large natural deposits in porous layers. During a nearly 60-year career in oil and gas education and research, he has authored six books on gas hydrates and more than 270 technical papers. Makogon received the OTC Heritage Award in 2006. He also served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2002–2003. Makogon holds degrees from the Krasnodar Technical School and the Gubkin Petroleum Institute. He also holds an MS and a DrSc from the Gubkin Oil and Gas Institute.
Public Service Award
The SPE Public Service Award recognizes distinguished public service to a country, state, community, or the public through excellence in leadership, service, or humanitarianism, provided the service is above the requirements of employment and is therefore not a compensated activity.
Richard J. Murphy is an in-class science, technology, engineering, and mathematics tutor at Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas. In his career, Murphy worked for Phillips and Marathon, holding various management positions in international production, economic evaluations, and worldwide exploration. In 2011, a year after his retirement from Marathon, he began volunteering at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, helping with the institute’s Patient Family Center and providing high school math tutoring services. In 2013, he created a volunteer in-class chemistry and physics tutoring program at Dulles High School. With the help of the SPE Gulf Coast Section (GCS), this program has expanded to four additional high schools, with 12 volunteers contributing a total of 200 hours per month. In 2015, SPE GCS awarded Murphy the Exemplary Volunteer Award. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a degree of engineer in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty
This award recognizes superior teaching, excellence in research, significant contributions to the petroleum engineering profession, and/or special effectiveness in advising and guiding students.
Kishore K. Mohanty is a professor of petroleum and geosystems engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and the director of the Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. His research includes work on enhanced oil recovery, foams, wettability alteration, fractured carbonates, hydrates, and nanotechnology. He has published more than 200 papers and holds 10 patents or patent applications. Mohanty served as executive editor of SPE Journal from 2002 to 2004, as chairperson of the SPE Reprint Series Committee from 2006 to 2007, and on the editorial board of JPT Special Series from 2003 to 2007. He is currently a member of the SPE Research and Development Technical Section Committee. He received an SPE Distinguished Member Award in 2007. Mohanty holds a BTech in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Distinguished Service Award
The SPE Distinguished Service Award recognizes contributions to the Society that exhibit such exceptional devotion of time, effort, thought, and action as to set them apart from other contributions.
Léon Beugelsdijk is a senior development planner at Shell. In 2001, he served as a program committee member for the SPE European Formation Damage Conference. Two years later, he co-organized the first SPE Young Professionals Workshop in Stresa, Italy. He is a cofounder of the Ambassador Lecturer Program, The Way Ahead, and the Young Professional Coordinating Committee, on which he served as the inaugural chairman. Beugelsdijk has been active in the SPE Netherlands section, chairing the section from 2008 to 2010 and serving as director of the North Sea Region from 2010 to 2013. He received the SPE Young Member Outstanding Service Award in 2006. He is currently on the ATCE Management and Information program subcommittee and is a trustee and chairman of SPE Europe. He holds an MSc in mining engineering from Delft University with an international diploma from Imperial College London.
Stephen K. Cheung is president and founder of SteveIOR Consulting and an adjunct associate professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Southern California. He worked at Chevron from 1980 to 2009 as a senior consulting engineer and a team and project leader. An SPE member for more than 30 years, Cheung was named an SPE Distinguished Member in 2013, served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2006, and received the SPE Regional Distinguished Service Award in 2015. He is a member of the SPE Global Training Programs Committee and has chaired numerous sessions at ATCE. Cheung also chaired the 2010 SPE Western Regional Meeting (WRM) and is a member of the technical committee for the 2016 WRM. He cochaired the SPE Western North America/Rocky Mountain Joint Regional meeting in 2014. From 2012 to 2013, he chaired the SPE Los Angeles Basin Section. He holds an MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California and a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Irvine.
Arnis Judzis is head of development and services in the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah. He has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, holding various management and technical positions in the US and the UK with BP, TerraTek, and Schlumberger. Judzis served on the SPE Board of Directors from 2009 to 2012 and has also served on numerous SPE program committees. He chaired the management committee for the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference and the OTC Board of Directors, and from 2007 to 2008 he was chairman of OTC. He holds a BS in chemical engineering from Cornell University and an MS and PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.
Gene M. Narahara is a senior consultant reservoir engineer at Chevron. He has also worked for ExxonMobil and Phillips Petroleum in his 29-year career, specializing in the appraisal and development of new deepwater fields. Narahara has chaired and served as a member on numerous SPE committees, including the Emerging and Peripheral Technology, Gas Technology, and Program Coordinating committees for ATCE. He was named ATCE Program Chair in 1998 and served on the SPE Board of Directors as technical director of reservoir description and dynamics from 2009 to 2012. The recipient of the SPE Distinguished Membership Award in 2005, Narahara holds a BS, an MS, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.
Bernard J. Seiller is vice president of reserves at Total. He has held several technical managerial positions at the company, including past stints as vice president of research and development and geoscience reserves manager. Seiller is the chairman of the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Committee, having previously served on the committee from 2001 to 2005, 2006 to 2009, and from 2013 to the present day. He has been a member of the SPE France Section since 1998. Seiller holds a civil engineering degree from the National Institute of Applied Sciences at Lyon and a petroleum engineering degree from the French Institute of Petroleum School.
Young Member Outstanding Service Award
The Young Member Outstanding Service Award recognizes contributions to and leadership in the public community arenas, as well as SPE, the profession, and the industry, by a member under age 36.
Bandar Alkhamies is Saudi Aramco’s representative at the World Economic Forum, where he currently serves as manager of knowledge management and integration for energy industries. He was also selected as a Global Leadership Fellow at the Forum. He previously worked as the head of Saudi Aramco’s Young Leaders Advisory Board. He joined SPE in 2004. In 2014, he was elected as chairman of the SPE Saudi Section, leading the section to the 2015 SPE President Award for Section Excellence, the SPE Most Active Section Award, and the Ambassador Lecturer Program Outstanding Achievement Award. Alkhamies was later appointed to the SPE Distinguished Lecturer Selection Committee and named to the SPE Saudi Section Board of Directors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in petroleum engineering and international petroleum management from Texas A&M University.
Toby T. Deen is an operations manager in the Eagle Ford business unit at Devon Energy, focusing on projects such as choke management, fracture hit mitigation, completion designs and modeling, horizontal refracture, and field development strategies. He is the director of the SPE Oklahoma City Section and founded that section’s Future Trailblazers Mentoring Program. He is a member of the SPE Tight Oil and Liquids-Rich Gas Workshop Committee and served on the SPE Production and Reservoir Performance Through Pressure Management Workshop in 2015. From 2011 to 2014, Deen was on the SPE Oklahoma City Young Professionals Committee. This year, he received the SPE Mid-Continent Region Production and Operations Award. In 2014, he received the SPE Mid-Continent Region Young Member Outstanding Service Award and the SPE Oklahoma City Section Young Professional of the Year Award. Deen holds a BS in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
Chiedozie K. Ekweribe is a well reliability and optimization project manager at Chevron, specializing in production optimization modeling using steady state and transient flow simulators. He has served in numerous positions on the boards of the SPE Delta Section and Gulf Coast Section. He is the outgoing chair of the SPE Gulf Coast Section Young Professionals Board and is a technical editor for the SPE Production and Operations journal. He received the 2016 SPE Gulf Coast North America Region Young Member Outstanding Service Award. Ekweribe holds a BS and MS in chemical engineering from Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Moscow, and a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
Esuru Rita Okorafor is a senior reservoir engineer at Schlumberger. She has worked with the company for more than 10 years, previously serving as a sales manager and a reservoir domain champion. Okorafor was an editor for The Way Ahead from 2006 to 2015 and also contributed several articles to the magazine. She is the research and development chair of the SPE Lagos Section, YP chair of the SPE Nigeria Council, a member of the SPE Women Work Group, and a leader of the Innovation Subcommittee of the SPE International Young Member Outstanding Service Award. Okorafor holds a BEng in petroleum engineering from the University of Port Harcourt and an MS in petroleum engineering and project development from the Institute of Petroleum Studies at Port Harcourt.
Oladugba Odunayo is a petroleum engineer at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company. He currently serves as membership chairperson for the SPE Benin City Nigeria Section and on several committees for the SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition. Odunayo is a lecturer for the SPE Ambassador Lecturer Program in Benin City, and was a recipient of the SPE Benin City Nigeria Section Personality of the Year Award in 2015. He holds an MSc in petroleum engineering from Heriot-Watt University and a BEng in electrical/electronic engineering from the University of Benin.
Cedric K. Ferguson Young Technical Author Medal and Certificate
The SPE Cedric K. Ferguson Medal recognizes professional achievement in petroleum engineering. The medal is given for a paper written by an SPE member age 35 or under at the time the paper was peer-approved. Coauthors of the selected paper who are age 36 and over and who are SPE members received the Cedric K. Ferguson Certificate. The paper being recognized is “Material-Balance Method for Dual-Porosity Reservoirs With Recovery Curves to Model the Matrix/Fracture Transfer.”
Georg M. Mittermeir is a researcher at VRVis, an Austrian research company and competence center for virtual reality and visualization. He has more than 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with a focus on consulting, training, and software development. Mittermeir served the SPE Leoben Student Chapter, organizing field trips to European oil and gas companies. In 2002, he placed third in the SPE Vienna Basin Section student paper contest, and in 2014 he was nominated as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer. Mittermeir holds a BS, an MS, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Montanuniversität Leoben.
SPE Technical Awards
The following SPE Technical Awards recognize outstanding achievement or contributions to the advancement of petroleum engineering in the noted technical discipline.
Completions Optimization and Technology Award
Ding Zhu is a professor of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University. A committee member and chairperson for many SPE conferences and workshops, she currently serves on the SPE Education Information Committee, SPE Books Development Committee, and SPE Production and Operation Advisory Committee. Zhu received the SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty in 2010 and was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2011. She is an associate editor for SPE Production and Operations journal and authored more than 150 technical papers. Zhu was named an SPE Distinguished Member in 2011. She holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Science and Technology, Beijing, and an MS and PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Drilling Engineering Award
Robello Samuel is a technology fellow at Halliburton. He has more than 30 years of multidisciplinary experience in domestic and international oil and gas drilling operations, management, consulting, and software development. In 2013, he received the SPE Gulf Coast Section Drilling Engineering Award, and the following year he was named an SPE Distinguished Lecturer. The author of 165 technical papers and 12 books on drilling, Samuel is currently a representative on the SPE Research and Development Advisory Board. He holds a BS and MS in mechanical engineering, and an MS and PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.
Formation Evaluation Award
Arthur C. Cheng is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the National University of Singapore. He cofounded the Earth Resources Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has also worked at Western Atlas, Baker Atlas, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton in various managerial and consulting positions. He served on the editorial board for SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, and on the organizing committees of a number of SPE workshops. Cheng holds a BS with distinction in engineering physics from Cornell University, and a ScD in geophysics from MIT.
Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility Award
Marina M. Voskanian is the division chief of the California State Lands Commission’s mineral resources management division. She has held various engineering and management positions with the State of California since 1987 and has also held positions at Exxon and Southern California Gas Company. Voskanian chaired the SPE Los Angeles Basin Section from 1986 to 1987 and was director of the SPE Western Region from 1993 to 1997. She was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2006–2007, 2009–2010, and 2012–2013. She received an SPE Regional Service Award in 1991, the SPE Distinguished Service Award in 2000, an SPE Regional Information and Management Award in 2010, and an SPE Regional Health, Safety, Environment, and Social Responsibility Award in 2013. An SPE Distinguished Member since 2000, Voskanian holds a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Tehran and an MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California.
Management and Information Award
Stephen H. Begg is a professor of petroleum engineering and management in the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. Prior to joining the university faculty in 2002, Begg served as director for decision science and strategic planning at Landmark Graphics, a Halliburton company. He also worked at BP for 13 years. Begg was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2003 and 2011. In 2012, he received the SPE Asia Pacific Management and Information regional award, and is currently a member of the SPE Management and Information discipline committee and the Distinguished Lecturer Committee. Begg holds a BS and a PhD in geophysics from the University of Reading.
Production and Operations Award
Brian J. Schwanitz is a fellow at Welltec, having previously served in a number of vice presidential roles within the company. He has been an active member of SPE for 36 years, serving on eight conference program committees. An SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2012–2013, Schwanitz currently serves on the SPE Energy Information Committee for Public Education. He has authored 22 articles for SPE, the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts, and various trade journals. He holds a BS in applied geophysics from the Michigan Technological University.
Projects, Facilities, and Construction Award
Jefferson L. Creek is an adjunct professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice University, an affiliate professor in chemical and biological engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and a principal advisor for the Letton Hall Group. He spent 38 years working in various research positions at Chevron, including a stint as senior research consultant from 2005 to 2015. Creek was named a Chevron Fellow in 2013. He previously served as chairman and vice chairman of the SPE Flow Assurance Technical Section. Creek holds a BS in chemistry and mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University, and MS and PhD degrees in physical chemistry from Southern Illinois University.
Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award
Russell T. Johns is the Victor and Anna Mae Beghini professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering in the department of energy and mineral engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He is also the Foundation CMG Chair in fluid behavior and rock interactions. In 1993, Johns received the SPE Cedric K. Ferguson Medal for his research on the combined condensing/vaporizing gas-drive process. He served as co-executive editor of SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering from 2002 to 2004. In 2009, he was named an SPE Distinguished Member. Johns holds a BS in electrical engineering from Northwestern University and MS and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Distinguished Membership
SPE Distinguished Membership recognizes SPE members whose achievements and/or service to the society are deemed worthy of special recognition. SPE members become Distinguished Members when they are elected by the SPE Board of Directors, or once they become a past president of SPE or the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; an SPE Honorary Member; a recipient of the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, John Franklin Carll Award, Lester C. Uren Award, DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal, Public Service Award, or Distinguished Service Award.
Leon Beugelsdijk, Shell
Curtis A. Cheatham, Weatherford
Budhin Deuri, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Jean-Marc Dumas, PCMC
Fred E. Dupriest, ExxonMobil
Bala R. Gadiyar, Schlumberger
Osayande Igiehon, Shell
Arnis Judzis, University of Utah
David G. Kersey, Saudi Aramco
John E. Killough, Texas A&M University
Jenn-Tai Liang, Texas A&M University
Yuri F. Makogon, Texas A&M University
Daniel Moos, Baker Hughes
Richard J. Murphy, Marathon Oil (retired)
Jon E. Olson, University of Texas at Austin
Bobby D. Poe, Jr., Schlumberger
Martin Rylance, BP
Robello Samuel, Halliburton
Bernard J. Seiller, Total
Vijay K. Shrivastava, Computer Modelling Group
Allan J. Twynam, BP
Eric van Oort, University of Texas at Austin
Yiaw Hin Wee, Petronas
Michael D. Zuber, Schlumberger
