OU Geology & Geophysics students Carlos Santacruz and Kevin Hathaway

On March 12-14, 2009, the ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics at University of Oklahoma, hosted the 9th Annual AAPG/SEG Spring Break Student Expo.   They had a record-breaking registration of 221 students from 62 universities, including a student who came from Mexico.  Of the 221 students registered, it was estimated that 205 attended the Expo. 

Universities from the following states represented at the Spring Expo included:  Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Canada.

Event Sponsors ($3,000 and up) MAP Exploration, Inc. Chesapeake Energy SandRidge Energy Shell Marathon Oil Devon Energy ExxonMobil Mewbourne Oil Platinum Sponsors ($1,500 to $2,999) BP America SEG Mt. Dora Energy Chuck Noll (Alumni) Nexen Petroleum Brian E. O'Brien (Alumni) Gold Sponsors ($500 to $1,499) Myra B. Ward (Alumni) Minerals Management Service Robert Stephenson (Alumni) CGGVeritas Jon Withrow (Alumni) EnCana Oil & Gas Noble Energy Silver Sponsors ($100 to $499) Fugro Seismic Imaging ConocoPhillips Chevron Jim Caylor (Alumni) Continental Resources Bill Clopine (Alumni) Schlumberger Kate Moore (Alumni) I H S Marlan Downey (Alumni) Kirkpatrick Oil Company Burk Royalty Company, Ltd. (Alumni) Core Laboratories Robert W. Allen (Alumni) Questar David Campbell (Alumni)

SPRING BREAK EXPO A SUCCESS -- GOLF TOURNAMENT A BIG HIT!

The winning golf tournament team l-r:  Monta Sewell, Carlos Santacruz, Austin Heape and Scott Heape

This year's first ever AAPG/SEG Spring Expo Kickoff Golf Tournament was a great success.  It was held on Wednesday, March 11 at the University of Oklahoma's Jimmy Austin Golf Course.  Although the weather was a windy 35 degrees for much of the day, players were in high spirits. Fifty-six players registered for the event which included a near 50/50 mix of students from both Oklahoma and visiting schools, as well as members of the oil and gas industry who chose to support AAPG/SEG.  The event gave companies the opportunity to meet and play with students both from the University of Oklahoma and others visiting for the Expo. Their vision was to match up teams with employees from industry, alumni from the university, and students.  The cost was $150/per recruiter/alumni to play in the event. This included green fees, cart fees, food and beverages. The cost also helped sponsor students to play.

Before the tournament began, a 100ft putting contest was held, and a brand new Ping putter went to the winner Ben Davis.  Prizes were awarded to the top three teams as well as to closest to the pin and long drive contest holes. The winning team consisted of Scott Heape, Monta Sewell, Carlos Santacruz and Austin Heape with a score of 62.5 after factoring in handicaps.  In the end, AAPG/SEG were able to raise over $1000, which will be allocated to the department's student organizations.

Despite the weather, the event was a success and positive comments were received from the participants.   According to AAPG Vice President, Austin Heape, "we hope to make this tournament a tradition in the following years, so we hope that all of those who played return to play again next year.  We would also like to extend one last "thank you" to all the sponsors who made the tournament possible."

Note:  Volunteers for the golf tournament included all the cabinet members of the AAPG/SEG student organizations, spearheaded by AAPG vice-president, Austin Heape and Jonathan Funk, a first-year graduate student.  Contributing editors Jenny Cole and Austin Heape.

OU Teams come up BIG winners in SEG Challenge Bowl!

The 3rd Annual SEG Sooner Challenge Bowl was held in conjunction with the Spring Expo.   Two teams from the University of Oklahoma entered the bowl, winning both won first and second places.  The OU team going to national competition includes Bradley Wallet (Geophysics, PhD) and Oswaldo Davogustto (Geophysics, MS), whose prize includes a trip to the finals in Houston (sponsored by Shell and MicroSeismic).  Second place team winners include Jonathan Funk and Jeffrey Chang. 

A total of eight teams participated--three from the University of Oklahoma, three from the University of Houston, one from Saint Louis University, and one from the University of Texas at Dallas.  Peter Duncan of MicroSeismic was the Bowl Emcee.
(Jenny Cole, contributing editor).

Pictured on the left: 1st and 2nd place team winners at SEG/AAPG Challenge Bowl, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, March 2009.  :  Bradley Wallet, Oswaldo Davogusto, Peter Duncan, Jonathan Funk, Jeffrey Chang

Real Deal Mid-Continent Expo

MCEE winning students (l-r): Michael Murrell, Andrew Thiel, and Christopher Althoff are shown with OGS Director Randy Keller.   Not shown: OU student Sarah Fadaiepour

The Real Deal Mid-Continent Prospect Expo for geologists, geophysicists, landmen and engineers (those in the trenches) held on October 29,  2008 at the Oklahoma Museum of History in Oklahoma City was a huge success!  The Expo, a joint venture between the Oklahoma Geological Survey and Oklahoma City Geological Society, was designed to be a service to OCGS members and the geologic community in the Mid-Continent.  Because of the Expo's success, OCGS and OGS were able to fund scholarships for a total of eight geology and geophysics students at OU and OSU. Over 230 attendees viewed prospects in 24 prospect booths and the services and goods of 15 vendors.  Attendees came from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Colorado.  Prospect exhibitors reported meeting with decision makers and many prospects were sold.  Vendors commented that attendees were the very people they wished to target.

KUDOS TO OUR STUDENTS:



SPE Team wins "Relay-for-Life" Awards

The SPE Team was named a Gold Level Team by the American Cancer Society for raising the most money of all groups on the OU campus.  The walk-a-thon, which took place on the North Oval, lasted from 7 pm April 25 to 7 am April 26, 2009.  Team Captains were Michael Barber and Kristin Weyand.  Members of the team were John Ammon, Karen Anthis, Mark Ballard, Michael Barber, Erin Britton, Jonathan Chastain, Jeremiah Cook, Kyle Dahlgren, Blake Hodgson, Kyle Ray, Brandon Shaw and Tyler Smith.  Dr. Carl Sondergeld served as the faculty advisor to the group for this year's event. 
The OU SPE Team was sponsored by Halliburton (suits), ConocoPhillips (a $1,000 philanthropy donation), and Red Bull (free beverages).  The OU SPE Team raised the most money of all groups on campus.  They raised a total of about $8,500 toward their goal of $10,000, surpassing their previous year's total of $5,500.  For comparison, the second highest team this year raised about $3,500. 

In addition to raising the most money, the team also won most of the awards: Intramural Football Champions, Intramural Dodgeball Champions, Hope Award, and Best Decorated Site Award.  In addition, two students participated in the Miss(ter) Relay pageant and raised $140 together from donations they received on Campus Corner.  These great guys (who were very good sports about dressing in drag) placed second and third in the contest.

SPE involvement was very good at the event, despite being the weekend of both the Norman Music Festival and the FE exam.  Many other SPE students who were not part of the official team came out to walk and play in the intramural games.  Twelve hard-working and dedicated souls came out early on Saturday morning to pick up lumber from Home Depot and start construction of the derrick, which turned out even better than last year's!

According to Co-Captain, Kristin Weyand, "one of our best fundraisers this year was the Class War between Dr. Rai's Well Logs class and Dr. Sondergeld's Rock Properties class.  The decided victor was the Rock Properties class, which raised about $1900 (compared to just over $100 for the Well Logs class)!!  Students contributed an additional $370 through online and cash donations, and donations continue coming in!"

Dr. Sondergeld praised the students for the outstanding job they do every year and marvels at the fact that "while the students live off Red Bull and Skittles, they still sleep out that night and maintain the relay through the night."  He feels that the event adds a human dimension to their hectic and demanding college experience. 

Team Co-Captain Kristin Weyand says, "I am so glad the event was such a success.  I felt like everyone really stepped up to the plate to make this event the best it has ever been.  We really have an exceptional group of students in the petroleum engineering program.   I'm already excited for next year, which will only get better!"
(Contributing editors Kristin Weyand, John Barber, Carl Sondergeld)

Emad Alabbad-- Outstanding Senior for the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy (see related story in Summer 2009 Earth & Energy magazine issue).  Emad, who is graduating with a bachelor's in Petroleum and Geological Engineering, will carry the banner for the College in the May 15 Commencement ceremonies. The ConocoPhillips School of Geology & Geophysics: Mohammed Salih K. Altarooti – Estwing Hammer Award Bethany Carolyn Hogrefe – Charles N. Gould Outstanding Senior Award Andrew Daniel Thiel – David W. Stearns Outstanding Senior Award Aliya M. Urazimanova - Alan Witten Outstanding Senior Award (Aliya will be the banner carrier for the CPSGG) The Mewbourne School of Petroleum & Geological Engineering: Kylie Michelle Bohanan – Outstanding Freshman Kristin Alexandra Weyand – Outstanding Sophomore Nkiruka Ifunanya Nweze – Outstanding Junior Emad Abbad Alabbad – Outstanding Senior

MCEE Students awarded Colombian OU Alumni Association (COUAA) scholarships

Recently, the Colombian OU Alumni Association awarded scholarships totaling $12,600 to Colombian Student Association (COLSA) members.   Among the recipients were four students in the Mewbourne College of Earth & Energy.  Recipients are chosen anonymously by COUAA Alumni on the basis of need and GPA, and are required to submit an essay.  The scholarships, which are matched by the OU Foundation, were announced by Dean Larry Grillot at Colombian Night on February 28, 2009. Schlumberger DCS contributed $1000 towards the scholarships. COUAA thanks Schlumberger for their generous donation, and especially Mr. Bob Davis, Scientific Advisor, who made this possible. MCEE recipients are: MCEE recipients are: Mewbourne School of Petroleum & Geological Engineering Juan S. Galindo/undergraduate ($2,000) David Galvis/ graduate ($500) Bielenis Villanueva/graduate ($500)

Bielenis Villanueva, David Galvis, Diana Parada. Not pictured Juan S. Galindo

Conoco Phillips School of Geology & Geophysics
Diana Parada/graduate ($500)

COUAA has close to 20 members, most of them alumni from the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.  For more information on how to join the association, visit the COUAA website at http://www.couaa.com.

Dewey Bartlett, a junior in the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, was elected the UOSA Vice President for the academic year 2009-2010.  Dewey, who served as the Interfraternity Council President during this past academic year, jumped at the chance to run when he was approached by Katie Fox and asked to be her running mate as Vice President of UOSA. "I've always been very proud of our great University and want to improve it in as many areas as I can."  Among their goals for the coming year, Dewey lists starting a UOSA tailgate on game days for all students, creating a Fine Arts season pass, and creating a director of international affairs within the executive branch as some of the many others he has in mind.  Dewey is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Dewey Bartlett, Jr. and Susan Bartlett. MPGE Sophomore – National Debate Winner Petroleum Engineering sophomore, RJ Giglio, and teammate, Nick Watts (history junior), won the Cross Examination Debate Association tournament held in Austin, Texas in early April.  They competed against 140 teams from colleges across the country.  Each year, every debate program in the country prepares to argue for or against hypothetical policy proposals of the same theme.  This year's topic was agricultural subsidies. (Birdwell/The Daily  Apr 29 2009)

When he's not in classes, Darryl Blackburn is a volunteer for school-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cleveland County program.  He visits his "little brother" at a local elementary school in Norman once a week to do homework or just play soccer or chess with him.  A sophomore in petroleum engineering, Darryl grew up in Houston experiencing what it was like to be a "little brother" himself.  He says that his ‘bigs' worked for the oil industry, and that is what influenced him to apply for the MPGE program here at OU.  He will spend his summer doing an internship with Apache Corporation in Hobbs, NM.  Darryl and his "little brother" were recently featured in stories published in The Oklahoman and The OU Daily.