Robert M. Mitchum, a research geologist who has been credited as a pioneer in developing the disciplines of sequence and seismic stratigraphy, has been named the 2006 recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award.
Mitchum, an AAPG Honorary member with Robert M. Mitchum Exploration in Houston, heads the list of those 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, Mitchum is bestowed the Association's highest honor.
Mitchum, also a recipient of the 1992 Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Award for AAPG Memoir 26, was a "key wordsmith" in creating many of the scientific definitions used by geoscientists today.
"If Peter Vail is the father of sequence stratigraphy, Robert Mitchum is the doctor who made the delivery," reads a citation he received from the Gulf Coast Section-SEPM.
Mitchum and his fellow honorees will be recognized at the opening session of the 2006 AAPG Annual Convention, which will be held April 9-12 in Houston.
An interview with Mitchum 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 Mitchum in Houston are:
Honorary Membership Award
Presented to members who have distinguished themselves by their accomplishments and through their service to the profession of petroleum geology and to AAPG.
- Richard S. Bishop, consultant, Houston.
- Terry L. Hollrah, Hollrah Exploration, Oklahoma City.
- John Rold, consultant, Lakewood, Colo.
- Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, consultant, Albuquerque, N.M.
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.
- Richard L. "Dick" Findley, Prospector Oil, Billings, Mont.
Distinguished Service Award
Presented to those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG.
- Martin D. Hewitt, EnCana Oil and Gas, Calgary, Canada.
- Neil F. Hurley, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo.
- John Kaldi, Australian School of Petroleum, Adelaide, Australia.
- Larry C. Knauer, ChevronTexaco, Bakersfield, Calif.
- Jeffrey W. Lund, Access Exploration, Houston.
Grover E. Murray Memorial
Distinguished Educator Award
Presented for distinguished and outstanding contributions to geological education, both at the university level and toward education of the general public.
- G. Randy Keller Jr., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas-El Paso, El Paso, Texas.
- Brian E. Lock, Geology Department, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, La.
- Roger M. Slatt, School of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
- John E. Warme, Department of Geology, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo.
Special Award
Presented to individuals and organizations whose area of work may not qualify for one of the existing awards, but is worthy of Association recognition.
- Jordi "Jorge" Ferrer Modolell, retired, who was the general chair of the 2003 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain.
- Roy Helge Gabrielsen, executive director-Division for Science, Research Council for Norway, Oslo, Norway.
Public Service Award
Presented to recognize contributions of AAPG members to public affairs -- and intended to encourage such activities.
- Edward C. Roy Jr., Trinity University, San Antonio.
Pioneer Award
Presented to long-standing members who have contributed to the Association and who have made meaningful contributions to the science of geology.
- Frank Royse, retired, Oro Valley, Ariz.
Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN article published each calendar year.
- Keith W. Shanley, Robert M. Cluff and John W. Robinson, for "Factors Controlling Prolific Gas Production From Low-Permeability Sandstone Reservoirs: Implications for Resource Assessment, Prospect Development and Risk Analysis," which appeared in the August 2004 BULLETIN.
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.
- G. Michael Grammer, Paul M. "Mitch" Harris and Gregor P. Eberli, for AAPG Memoir 80, Integration of Outcrop and Modern Analogs in Reservoir Modeling.
George C. Matson Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Calgary.
- Michael R. Hudec (co-authors were Martin Jackson and Daniel D. Schultz-Ela) for "A Compressional Origin for Minibasins Near the Sigsbee Escarpment, Gulf of Mexico." Hudec and Jackson are with the Bureau of Economic Geology, the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas and Schultz-Ela is a consultant in Hotchkiss, Colo.
Jules Braunstein
Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Calgary.
- Hege M. Nørdgård Bolas, Christian Hermanrun and Gunn M.G. Teige, with Statoil (USA), Trondheim, Norway, for the poster "Seals and Overpressure in Mud-Dominated Systems."
Journalism 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.
- Michael Crichton, an international author, for his recent science-based thriller State of Fear, which still tops the Best Seller List; and for his earlier novel Jurassic Park. Both works are "serious efforts by Crichton to take current scientific knowledge and put it into an entertaining and stimulating format."