Paul M. "Mitch" Harris, a much-celebrated and award-winning geoscience researcher, author, editor, lecturer and professor, will receive the Sidney Powers Memorial Award - AAPG's highest honor - during the opening session of the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Denver.
Harris, an AAPG Honorary member, is senior research consultant-Earth Science R&D for Chevron Energy Technology Co. in San Ramon, Calif.
Joining Harris at the top of this year's awardees list and receiving his award in Denver is Alfredo E. Guzmán, a past AAPG vice president-Regions and past president of AAPG's Latin America Region, who has been named recipient of the Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award.
Guzmán, a longtime executive with Pemex, the Mexican national oil company, is now with Altamira Petroleum Co., in Veracruz, Mexico.
And honored at the opening session will be David Worthington, this year's winner of the L. Austin Weeks Memorial Award, the AAPG Foundation's highest honor.
They and 50 others will be honored during the ACE opening session, set at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31, at the Colorado Convention Center.
The program is preceded in the same room at 3 p.m. by the AAPG Imperial Barrel Award ceremony, and the premiere of a dazzling new movie "A Brief History of Colorado Through Time," produced by the Interactive Geology Project at the University of Colorado, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Colorado Plateau Geosystems (see related story, page 14).
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.
This year's list of awardees features a new technical publication award - the first SEG/AAPG Best Paper in Interpretation Award, created specifically for contributions to the jointly produced journal, Interpretation; one member who will be receiving two awards (Kitty Milliken); and a posthumous honor for a pioneer woman geologist.
Harris, the 68th person to win the Powers Award, has been an influential and dynamic leader in geoscience research, technical programming and scientific knowledge for more than 35 years - and as a two-time AAPG Distinguished Lecturer was instrumental in personally sharing the latest in geologic thought and concepts with thousands of professionals around the world.
He also has been published in more than 200 books, journals and guidebooks; served as an editor on 30 volumes; and with AAPG has won the John W. Shelton Search and Discovery Award, the Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award and twice won the Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Award (see related story, page 16).
Guzmán is the ninth recipient of the Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award, given in recognition of outstanding and exceptional leadership in the petroleum geosciences.
He has a long record of achievements, both as a petroleum geologist and in leadership positions, particularly in the Mexican and Latin American petroleum industry.
A three-time past AAPG Distinguished Lecturer, Guzmán was president of the AAPG Latin America Region in 2005, and served on the AAPG Executive Committee as vice president-Regions in 2009-11 (see related story, page 22).
Worthington, a significant contributor to the AAPG Foundation and an officer and leader of both the Foundation and the Trustee Associates, will receive the Weeks Memorial Medal in recognition of "extraordinary philanthropy and service in advancing the mission of the AAPG Foundation."
He is the award's eighth recipient.
Worthington, the former CEO of TGS-Calibre and chairman of TGS-NOPEC, now resides in Naples, Fla.
Award winners announced by AAPG and who will be honored along with Harris, Guzmán and Worthington in Denver are:
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.
- Abdulrahman S. Al-Sharhan, Middle East Geological Establishment, Al Ain, U.A.E.
- William J. "Bill" Barrett, retired, Denver.>
- Wallace G. Dow, Cimarex, Tulsa.
- David H. Hawk, Energy Analysis and Answers, Boise, Idaho.
- John C. Lorenz, FractureStudies LLC, Edgewood, N.M.
- Kay L. Pitts, consultant, Bakersfield, Calif.
- Scott W. Tinker, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas.
Norman H. Foster
Outstanding Explorer Award
Presented in recognition of distinguished and outstanding achievement in exploration for petroleum or mineral resources, with an intended emphasis on recent discovery.
- Hans Christian Ronnevik, Lundin Petroleum Norway, Baerum, Norway.
Ronnevik has had a remarkable career as an explorationist, particularly in the North Sea, where his discoveries have included the giant Snorre Field, the Alvheim Field, the Volund Field and the giant John Sverdrup Field,
Robert R. Berg
Outstanding Research Award
Presented to honor a singular achievement in petroleum geoscience research.
- Kitty L. Milliken, senior research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas - and a global authority in sedimentary petrography.
She also is a co-recipient of this year's Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award; ([PFItemLinkShortcode|id:19653|type:standard|anchorText:see related story|cssClass:asshref|title:see related story|PFItemLinkShortcode]).
- Mark D. Zoback, Benjamin M. Page Professor, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. - a principal investigator of the SAFOD project and a global expert on Earth stress and its impact on drilling (see related story, page 32).
Distinguished Service Award
Presented to those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG.
- Ronald F. Broadhead, New Mexico Bueau of Geology, Socorro, N.M.
- Ross A. Clark, Kallisto Energy Corp., Calgary, Canada.
- Denise M. Cox, Storm Energy, Panama City, Fla.
- John C. Dolson, DSP Geosciences and Associates, Coconut Grove, Fla.
- Meredith Faber, Noble Energy, Houston.
- William S. Houston, New Zealand Oil and Gas, Willington, New Zealand.
- Mark W. Longman, QEP Resources, Denver.
- John A. Minch, John Minch and Associates, Mission Viejo, Calif.
- James F. Reilly, American Public University System, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Gabor Tari, OMV, Vienna, Austria.
- Peter Wigley, Lynx Information Systems, London, England.
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.
- Samuel O. Akande, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
- Donald W. Boyd, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyo.
- James O. Puckette, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
- V. Paul Wright, director of PW Carbonate Geoscience and honorary research fellow at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.
Harrison Schmitt Award
Presented to recognize individuals who, for a variety of reasons, do not qualify for other Association honors or awards.
- Anita Harris, honored posthumously for her long career with the U.S. Geological Survey, best known for her work with conodonts, which resulted in a significant new method for locating petroleum plays ([PFItemLinkShortcode|id:19659|type:standard|anchorText:see related story|cssClass:asshref|title:see related story|PFItemLinkShortcode]).
Public Service Award
Presented to recognize contributions of AAPG members to public affairs.
- Logan MacMillan, Littleton, Colo., honored for his work with a variety of governmental and policy groups, including service on the RMAG Public Issues Committee.
- Timothy M. Ryan, Ryan Exploration, Englewood, Colo., honored for "promoting earth science to the general public," especially in his work with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Pioneer Award
Presented to long-standing members who have made meaningful contributions to the Association and to the science of geology.
- Ben E. Law, Pangea Hydrocarbon Exploration, Lakewood, Colo.
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.
- Iain S. Stewart, professor of geoscience communication at the University of Plymouth and the host/producer of several earth science documentaries that have been presented on the BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel and YouTube, including "Earth: The Power of the Planet," "Hot Rocks: Geology of Civilization" and "How Earth Changed History." ([PFItemLinkShortcode|id:11280|type:standard|anchorText:See August 2014 EXPLORER|cssClass:asshref|title:See August 2014 EXPLORER|PFItemLinkShortcode]See August 2014 EXPLORER.)
Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN article published each calendar year.
- Kitty L. Milliken, Mark D. Rudnicki, David N. Awwiller and Tongwei Zhang, for "Organic Matter-Hosted Pore System, Marcellus Formation (Devonian), Pennsylvania," which appeared in the February 2013 AAPG BULLETIN.
Milliken and Zhang are with the Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas; Rudnicki and Awwiller are with ExxonMobil, Houston.
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.
- Dengliang Gao, for AAPG Memoir 100 -Tectonics and Sedimentation: Implications for Petroleum Systems.
Gao is with the Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.
J.C. "Cam" Sproule Memorial Award
Presented to recognize and reward younger authors of papers applicable to petroleum geology.
- Mark R.P. Tingay, for the paper "Evidence of Overpressure Generation by Kerogen-to-Gas maturation in the Northern Malay Basin," which appeared in the April 2013 AAPG BULLETIN.
Tingay is with Chevron Australia, Manning, Australia.
SEG/AAPG Best Paper
In Interpretation Award
Presented in recognition of the best contribution to the new SEG/AAPG journal, "Interpretation."
- Bruce Hart, for the paper "Whither Seismic Stratigraphy," which appeared in August 2013 issue.
Hart is a geologist in Statoil's shale oil and gas research group, Houston.
John W. Shelton
Search and Discovery Award
Presented in recognition of the best contribution to the "Search and Discovery" website in the past year.
- Konstantin Sobornov, for the paper "Structure and Petroleum Habitat of the Pay Khoy-Novaya Zemlya Foreland Fold Belt, Timan Pechora, Russia."
Sobornov is with Nord West Ltd., Moscow, Russian Federation.
George C. Matson Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the 2014 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston.
- Peter Hennings, for the paper "Relationship Between Reservoir Quality and the Deformation Associated With Anticlinal Folding in the Tensleep Sandstone at Alcova Reservoir, Central Wyoming."
Hennings is with ConocoPhillips, Houston.
Jules Braunstein Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the 2014 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston.
Rosanne McKernan, Julian Mecklenburgh, Ernest Rutter, Kevin Taylor and Stephen J. Covey-Crump, for the poster "Influence of Effective Pressure on Shale Matrix Permeability."
All are with the University of Manchester, Manchester, England.
Gabriel Dengo Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the 2014 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey.
- Zamir Bega, for "Deep Oligocene Reservoirs as Potential Oil Play in Deep Waters of Western Black Sea Basin."
Bega is with OMV Petrom, Bucharest, Romania.
Ziad Beydoun Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the 2014 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey.
- Grant Ellis, for "Late Authigenic Pyrite - An Indicator of Oil Migration and Entrapment in the Bonaparte Basin, Timor Sea, Australia."
Ellis is with Eni Australia Ltd., Dalkeith, Australia.
House of Delegates Honorary Member
- Donald D. Clarke, geological consultant, Lakewood, Calif.
- George Bole, consultant, Houston.
House of Delegates
Distinguished Member
Robert R. "Randy" Ray, R3 Exploration Corp., Lakewood, Colo.
Deborah K. Sacrey, Auburn Energy, Houston.