The Best of the Best - AAPG and SEPM Recognize Geoscience Student Achievements

Students who strive for excellence and demonstrate strong communication, innovation and collaboration abilities, in addition to their strong technical skills, were recognized at the recent 2019 Annual Convention and Exhibition (ACE) in San Antonio. Awards were presented to outstanding geoscience students and AAPG student chapters at the AAPG and Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Student Reception, held Monday evening, 20 May at ACE.

Best Student Paper/Oral Presentation Awards

Each year the Best Student Paper Awards are presented to students who give exceptional oral presentations of their research papers that contribute to the advancement of knowledge, technique or practice. Awardees are selected by a panel of judges, selected by the Matson Award Committee chair, who look for a high quality of scientific content as well as presentation skills. Recipients of this year’s Best Student Paper Award include:

• Fourth place, with US $500, goes to Wen Lin (McMaster University) for his research titled, “Depositional Facies and High-Resolution Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis of a Mixed-Process Influenced Deltaic System in a Stormy Ramp Setting: the Cretaceous Gallup System, New Mexico, U.S.A.”
• Third place, with US $1,000, goes to Daniel Favorito (University of Arizona) for his research titled, “Empirical Constraints on Fault Displacement Vectors and Implications for Fault Mechanics and Strain Prediction, Taranaki Basin, Offshore New Zealand.”
• Second place, with US $1,500, goes to Arve Sleveland (University of Oslo) for his research titled, “Compensational Stacking and Architecture of Mouth-Bar Deposits in a Mixed-Process Deltaic Environment; Mulichinco Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina.”
• First place, with US $2,000, goes to Caroline Nazworth (University of Kansas) for her research titled, “Evaluating Models for Cretaceous Paleodrainage and Sediment Routing Using Detrital Zircon U-Pb Provenance and Geochronology in the Colorado Front Range.”

Student Poster Awards

Student Poster Awards are presented to students whose posters reflect exceptional research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge, technique or practice. Awardees are selected by a panel of judges, selected by the Braunstein Award Committee chair, who look for a high quality of scientific content as well as excellent presentation skills. Top winners of this year’s Student Poster Awards are:

• Fourth Place, with US $500, goes to Daniel Bell (University of Manchester) for his research titled, “Bed-Scale Modeling of Deep-Water Architectural-Elements: What Heterogeneities Matter to Flow?” 
• Third Place, with US $1,000, goes to Jefferson Nwoko (University of Manchester) for his research titled, “Flow and Substrate Interactions of MTDs With Submarine Channels: 3-D Seismic Examples From Taranaki Basin, Offshore New Zealand.”  
• Second Place, with US $1,500, is awarded to Adriana Crisostomo Figueroa (University of Leeds) for her research titled, “A New Modeling Approach for Turbidite Stratigraphic Trap and Reservoir Distribution Prediction: Examples Using Deepwater Systems of the East Coast Basin, New Zealand.”  
• First Place, with US $2,000, is awarded to Jack Kenning (University of Houston) for his research titled, “Controls of Cenozoic Mass Transport Deposits on Hydrocarbon Prospectivity of the Mexican Ridges Fold-Belt, Western Gulf of Mexico.”  

Outstanding Student Chapter Awards

AAPG Student Chapters offer students the opportunity to learn more about the geosciences, to participate in events and activities and to network with other students and industry professionals. Outstanding Student Chapter Awards recognize AAPG Student Chapters, both in the United States and internationally, that are enthusiastic about the geosciences, the chapter’s activities and the chapter’s impact on formulating the education and professional demeanor of its membership. Awardees are selected by the Student Chapter Committee. This year’s Outstanding Student Chapter Award recipients are:

• Outstanding Student Chapter, Region, Suez University, Egypt.
• Outstanding Student Chapter, Section, University of Oklahoma.
• Outstanding New Student Chapter, Industrial University of Tyumen, Russia.
• Outstanding Small Student Chapter, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The AAPG Student Chapter YouTube™ Video Contest

The AAPG Student Chapter YouTube™ Video Contest gives student chapters a chance to share their activities for the year, introduce their members and officers and capture their passion for the geosciences on video. In selecting the winners, each member of the Student Chapter Committee casts a vote for their favorite and an additional “popular vote” is considered by the number of views and likes the video receives after it is posted to the AAPG Student Programs Facebook page. This year’s winners of the AAPG Student Chapter YouTube™ Video Contest are:

• Third place, with US $300, the AAPG Student Chapter at Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Peru.
• Second place winners, with US $700, the AAPG Student Chapter at Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
• First place, with US $1,500, the AAPG Student Chapter at Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL).

AAPG offers students and student chapters valuable opportunities to develop technical and professional skills, form networks with other students and industry professionals and engage in events to further their future careers in the geosciences. 

AAPG recognizes the importance of welcoming students into the premier organization for the geosciences, by making it easy for students to join. Undergraduate and graduate students attending an accredited university and majoring in geoscience can visit the AAPG Membership page to get started. Visit the AAPG Students page to learn more about the activities, events and awards open to students studying the geosciences, and visit the AAPG Foundation page to find more about funded graduate and undergraduate geoscience student grants, scholarships and other educational initiatives.