AAPG Honorees Named
Bouma Picked for Powers
Arnold H. Bouma, who has a sequence named after him because of his discovery of dividing deepwater turbidites into intervals, has been named the 2007 recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award.
Bouma, an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University, heads the list of those persons being honored this year by the Association.
AAPG awards, approved by the Executive Committee, are presented annually to recognize individuals for service to the profession, the science, the Association and the public.
As a recipient of the Powers Medal, Bouma is bestowed the Association’s highest honor.
In addition, this year’s slate of honorees includes a new award – the inaugural Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award, approved earlier this year by the Executive Committee to honor those who have provided excellence in Association leadership (see related story).
Receiving the inaugural Halbouty Outstanding Leadership award is John Amoruso, of Amoruso Petroleum in Houston, an AAPG Honorary member, former AAPG president and member of the AAPG Foundation Corporation.
Bouma, Amoruso and their fellow honorees will be recognized at the opening session of the 2007 AAPG Annual Convention, April 1-4 in Long Beach, Calif.
An interview with Bouma will be published in a future EXPLORER, and biographies and citations of all award winners will be included in a future BULLETIN.
Those award winners approved by the Executive Committee and who will be honored along with Bouma in Long Beach, Calif. are:
Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award
- John J. Amoruso, Amoruso Petroleum, Houston.
Honorary Member Award
Presented to members who have distinguished themselves by their accomplishments and through their service to the profession of petroleum geology and to AAPG.
- Edward D. Dolly, The Houston Exploration Co., Denver. Marlan W. Downey, Dallas.
- Daniel L. Smith, Sandalwood Oil and Gas, Houston.
Outstanding Explorer Award
Presented to members in recognition of distinguished and outstanding achievement in exploration for petroleum or mineral resources, with an intended emphasis on recent discovery.
- Dan B. Steward, Republic Energy Co., The Woodlands, Texas.
Distinguished Service Award
- Adekunle A. Adesida, Shell Petroleum (Nigeria), Lagos, Nigeria.
- Alfredo E. Guzman, Pemex, Veracruz, Mexico.
- Andrew Hurst, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland.
- John C. Lorenz, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Erik P. Mason, Shell Oil, Katy, Texas.
- Valary L. Schulz, Matador Resources, Dallas.
Grover E. Murray Distinguished Educator Award
Presented for distinguished and outstanding contributions to geological education, both at the university level and toward education of the general public.
- Janok Bhattacharya, University of Houston, Houston.
- A. Eugene Fritsche, retired (emeritus – California State University at Northridge), Winnetka, Calif.
- Stephan A. Graham, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Special Award
Presented to individuals and organizations whose area of work may not qualify for one of the existing awards, but are worthy of Association recognition.
- Richard D. Fritz, executive director, AAPG, Tulsa.
- Marcus Milling, executive director of the American Geological Institute in Alexandria, Va., since 1992. Milling died Oct. 17 after a long illness.
Public Service Award
Presented to recognize contributions of AAPG members to public affairs – and intended to encourage such activities.
- Peter T. Flawn, retired (president emeritus, the University of Texas at Austin), Austin, Texas.
- Lee C. Gerhard, Thomasson Partner Associates, Lawrence, Kan.
- Edward M.Warner, Expedition Oil Co., Denver.
Pioneer Award
Presented to long-standing members who have contributed to the Association and who have made meaningful contributions to the science of geology.
- W. Herbert Hunt, Petro-Hunt, Dallas.
Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN article published each calendar year.
- Shankar Mitra, Gerardo Correa Figueroa, Jesus Hernandez Garcia and Antonio Murrillo Alvarado, for “Three- Dimensional Structural Model of the Cantarell and Sihil Structures, Campeche Bay, Mexico,” which appeared in the January 2005 BULLETIN. All are with the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author/editor of the best special publication dealing with geology published by the Association.
- Amos Salvador, for AAPG Studies 54, Energy: A Historical Perspective and 21st Century Forecast. Salvador is with the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
George C. Matson Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Houston.
- Steven H. Brachman, for “Integration of 3-D Seismic With Geologic Knowledge Can Detect Non-Amplitude Combination Traps and Discover New Pay Zones in the 600 BCF Mature Play, Northern Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.” Brachman is with Pogo Producing, Houston.
Jules Braunstein Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Houston.
- George W. Shurr, Thomas Haggar and Sarah A. Chadima, for the poster “Exploration Strategies for Ultra-Shallow Microbial Methane on the Eastern Margin of the Williston Basin.” Shurr is with GeoShurr Resources, Ellsworth, Minn., and Haggar and Chadima are both with the South Dakota Geological Survey, Vermillion, S.D.
Geosciences in the Media Award
Presented for notable journalistic achievement in any medium, which contributes to public understanding of geology, energy resources or the technology of oil and gas exploration. Granting of this award in any year is discretionary.
- Michael J. Economides, a prolific author with 11 books either authored or co-authored to his credit, and with two more books in press; honored for his most recent best-seller, The Color of Oil. Economides is one of the most recognizable names in the energy industry and is a professor at the Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston.
He will be the featured speaker at the All-Convention Luncheon at the 2007 AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif.
