After 29 years of service, Professor Knapp Announces Retirement
Dr. Roy Knapp joined the University of Oklahoma January 1, 1979 as Director of the School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering. Now a senior faculty member and the Curtis Mewbourne Professor of Petroleum Engineering in the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, Dr. Knapp has announced his retirement after 29 successful years of service. A special reception was held in honor of Dr. Knapp on February 1 in the Sarkeys Energy Center. He has taught almost 2600 OU students. 8 of his 15 doctoral students have been university faculty.
Knapp is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Petroleum Institute, American Society for Engineering Education, the Canadian Petroleum Society and the Society for History of Technology. He has served petroleum engineering and SPE on many committees and currently represents the Mid-Continent NA region on the SPE Board of Directors. He has also been active in community service particularly at the University and he was the 2005-2006 Chair of the OU Faculty Senate.
2007
College of Earth and energy named in the honor of Curtis Mewbourne
OU's College of Earth and Energy has been newly named in honor of Curtis Mewbourne of Tyler, Texas. A 1958 OU petroleum engineering graduate who founded Mewbourne Oil Co. in 1965 was honored at a news conference on November 2, featuring remarks by OU President David L. Boren, and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy Dean Larry Grillot.
Curtis Mewbourne was honored the same evening with the Trailblazer Award for his professional achievements and lifetime commitment to the energy industry.
PetroBowl Championship
The University of Oklahoma student team won the 2007 PetroBowl Championship at the International Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition this week, held in Anaheim CA. Beating the University of Texas in the final round during the sixth annual competition, Sooners, Bryce Ballard, Johnathan Gilbert, Daniel Tobin, Johnathan Ashcraft, and Chineye Excel Ogugbue were awarded the silver trophy and a $500 scholarship each from EnCana. The PetroBowl was sponsored by the SPE Gulf coast Section Young Professionals Program and PetroSkills. The PetroBowl consisted of 16 student SPE chapter teams from all over the world. Dr. Carl Sondergeld is the faculty sponsor and ‘coach’ for the Mewbourne School of Petroleum Engineering SPE student team.
MPGE Student Places Third in International Paper Competition
MPGE Senior, Bryce Ballard competed with undergraduates from around the world in the International Student Paper Contest Sunday in Anaheim at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. He won third place in the competition. His paper is titled "Quantitative Mineralogy of Reservoir Rocks Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy".
2005
Dean S. Oliver appointed as Executive Editor for SPE Journal
Dean S. Oliver, Director MPGE has been appointed as Executive Editor of Society of Petroleum Engineers flagship journal SPE Journal. His appointment is for two years, October 2005 through September 2007. As Executive Editor, he will finalize Editorial Board members’ approvals of technical papers on fundamental research into all aspects of petroleum engineering. The SPE Journal Executive Editor approves and schedules technical papers to appear in each quarterly issue from those peer-approved. He will also write the Executive Summary that appears in each issue.
The College of Earth and Energy
President Boren’s decision to re-shape the
structure of energy education and research at OU has
resulted
in the creation of a new college to be established
on January 1, 2006. The College of Earth and Energy
will address the needs of educating students for
the future and conducting research that will benefit
our
industry and our nation. Transition of the Mewbourne
School of Petroleum & Geological Engineering,
the School of Geology & Geophysics, Sarkeys
Energy Center, and the Oklahoma Geological
Survey is well
under way. Faculty and professional staff
have been busy throughout the summer to ensure
that
the needs
of our students, the University, and our
industry are best served by the new college.
Enrollment
MPGE is pleased to announce that in three years
we have not only met, but surpassed our
five year goal
of having 200 enrolled undergraduate students.
This accomplishment is due to several
factors: MPGE consistently
ranked in the Top 5 petroleum engineering
schools nationally by US News and World Report,
our
expert faculty, dedicated staff, and the aggressive
recruitment of top science and math students
into the program.
We have seen an increase in highly qualified
transfer students from both other majors and
other colleges.
In addition, we have seen a marked increase
in
the quality of students admitted to Petroleum
Engineering,
Geological Engineering and Natural Gas & Energy
Management at the MS and PhD levels.
Internship Trends
We have noticed some new and exciting internship trends.
Compared to the last few years we are seeing many
companies offering more freshmen and graduate student
summer internship opportunities. We are even becoming
aware of some companies offering internships to students
the summer before they start their freshman year.
Students have reported that the pay of their internships
has increased. The range of pay for our 2005 students
that interned is $2500 a month - $5500 a month. In
addition to regional internships our students worked
in such diverse area as Wyoming, Houston corporate
offices, Alaska and off-shore rigs in the Gulf of
Mexico. Internships are priceless chances for the
student and the company. We truly appreciate all
who take part in offering our students internships.
100% Placement
Congratulations to our 14 Mewbourne School
of Petroleum and Geological Engineering 2005
Bachelor
of Science graduates. We are proud of their
tremendous accomplishments.
We are pleased to announce that MPGE
can continue
to boast 100% placement rate of all
OU’s
petroleum engineering graduates that
wish to enter industry.
We would like to thank all the companies
that take an active part in recruiting
these exceptional
students. Good luck to our graduates
and industry partners
in all future endeavors.
We look forward to a productive and exciting 2005-2006
year!
Dean Oliver, MPGE director, was named as the 2004 recipient of the Reservoir Description
and Dynamics Award, which recognizes significant contributions to petroleum
engineering technology. Oliver was nominated several petroleum industry leaders.
The laboratory built by professors Chandra Rai and Carl Sondergeld
and valued at $2.4 million, is highly automated and capable of maintaining
core samples at low temperatures and being transported to remote locations.
It was most recently used on the Maurer/Anadarko/DOE Hot Ice well on the
North Slope of Alaska. Radio
interview on the donation. (click here for
more details)
Steve Richards, executive vice president
with Key Energy initiated an internship program
for all freshmen and first-time interns. Twenty-five
students took advantage of the Key Energy internship
obtaining positions at various company
field locations.
Richard Hughes receives CoE Outstanding Faculty
Adviser Award (March 2004)
Richard Hughes was selected as the
outstanding faculty adviser for the College of
Engineering in 2004. This is the first time the
award has been given and is a reflection of the
dedication that Hughes gives to the students.
Don Zhang joins faculty (March 2004)
On March 1, Don Zhang became the Martin
Miller Chair Professor of Petroleum Engineering.
He has expertise in modeling of pore-level flow,
uncertainty analysis for flow in porous media,
and carbon sequestration. He comes to MPGE from
Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Walter Huber Research Prizes is awarded by the American
Society of Civil Engineers for notable achievements in research related
to civil engineering. Preference is given to younger members (generally
under age 40 years) of early accomplishment who can be expected to continue
fruitful careers in research. The award was presented at the national conference.
Faruk Civan has been selected as 2003 recpient of the SPE
Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty. This
award will be presented during the SPE 2003 Annual Technical Conference.
Djebbar Tiab received the 2003 Formation Evaluation Award at the
SPE Annual Technical Convention Awards Presentation in Denver. Shoham
was nominated by his colleagues for his outstanding research and service
to the industry.
Mike Wiggins was recognized as Distinguished
Member at the SPE Annual Technical Convention’s Awards Presentation in
Denver. Distinguished Members have "attained eminence in the petroleum
industry or the academic community, and/or have made unusually significant
contributions to SPE."
