L. Frank Brown Jr., a leader in research and development of the concept of depositional system tracks, seismic stratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy, has been named the 2010 recipient of the AAPG’s prestigious Sidney Powers Award.
Joining him at the top of the awardees list is Patrick J.F. Gratton, independent geologist and president of Patrick J.F. Gratton Inc. of Dallas, and a past AAPG president, who is this year’s recipient of the Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award.
Brown and Gratton head a list of 33 AAPG award winners, all of whom will be recognized at the opening session of the 2010 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, set April 11-14 in New Orleans.
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.
Brown, professor emeritus at the Bureau of Economic Geology, began his career at the BEG in 1957, having faculty appointment at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966-89. He also taught at Baylor University in 1960-69 and worked as a full-time consultant in 1989-98.
Brown has served as a mentor to scientists and geoscientists at the BEG as well as leading industry companies all over the world and has contributed to many publications, including AAPG Studies in Geology 41 – an atlas of exploration for Cretaceous lowstand traps.
He is a recipient of the AAPG Pioneer Award, and has served as AAPG BULLETIN associate editor, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer – both domestic and international – and as the leader of short courses and many field trips.
Gratton is the fourth recipient of the Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award, given in recognition of outstanding and exceptional leadership in the petroleum geosciences.
Interviews with both Brown and Gratton 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 Brown and Gratton in New Orleans 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.
- Adebayo O. Akinpelu, Chevron, San Ramon, Calif.
- John R. Hogg, MGM Energy, Calgary, Canada.
- Pinar O. Yilmaz, ExxonMobil, 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.
- John J. Amoruso, Legends Exploration, Houston.
- J. Denny Bartell, Legends Exploration, Houston.
- Larry Bartell, Legends Exploration, Houston.
Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award
- Martin P.A. Jackson, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas.
Distinguished Service Award
Presented for those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG.
- Martin M. Cassidy, consultant, Cypress, Texas.
- Rebecca L. Dodge, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas.
- Bob A. Hardage, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas.
- Dwight “Clint” Moore, ION Geophysical, Spring, Texas.
- Terence G. O’Hare, Emerald Energy, Dallas.
- Craig W. Reynolds, Cobra Oil and Gas, Wichita Falls, Texas.
- John W. Robinson, North Ranch Resources, Littleton, Colo.
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.
- Wayne M. Ahr, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
- Eric A. Erslev, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.
- Murray K. Gingras, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
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.
- Robert W. Allen, independent, Ardmore, Okla.
- George P. Mitchell, founder and former chairman and CEO of the Mitchell Energy and Development Corp., The Woodlands, Texas.
Public Service Award
Presented to recognize contributions of AAPG members to public affairs – and intended to encourage such activities.
- Thomas C. Burgeon, Century Exploration, Metairie, La.
- Ahmed N. El Barkooky, Shell Egypt and adjunct professor at Cairo University, Egypt.
- William B. Harrison III, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich.
- Tako Koning, Chevron Angola, Bellaire, Texas.
Pioneer Award
Presented to long-standing members who have contributed to the Association and who have made meaningful contributions to the science of geology.
- Thomas D. Barrow, Houston.
Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN article published each calendar year.
- David R. Pyles, for “Multiscale Stratigraphic Analysis of a Structurally Confined Submarine Fan: Carboniferous Ross Sandstone, Ireland,” which appeared in the May 2008 BULLETIN (volume 92, number 5). Pyles is with the Chevron Center of Research Excellence, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo.
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.
- Stephen P. Cumella, Keith W. Shanley and Wayne K. Campfor editing “Understanding, Exploring and Developing Tight-Gas Sands: 2005 Vail Hedberg Conference.” Cumella is with Bill Barrett Corp., Evergreen, Colo., Shanley is a consultant in Littleton, Colo., and Camp is with Anadarko Petroleum, Houston.
John W. Shelton Search and Discovery Award
AAPG’s newest award, presented annually to honor the best contribution to the Search and Discovery Web site, “for originality of concepts and/or techniques, applicability to and impact on exploration for and/or development of hydrocarbon resources and/or energy-mineral resources, clarity in presentation, and quality and added value of illustrative material.”
This is its inaugural presentation.
- Paul M. “Mitch” Harris, with Chevron Energy Technology Co., San Ramon, Calif., who authored or co-authored 53 posted articles in 2008.
George C. Matson Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Denver.
- Barbara Tilley, with the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, for the paper “Isotopic Evidence for Fault-Induced Gas Mixing in Sweet Spots of the Sukunka Gas Field, Western Canadian Foothills.” Her co-authors were Pradeep Bhatnagar, Scott McLellan, Bob Quartero and Byron Veilleux, all with Talisman Energy, Calgary; andKarlis Muehlenbachs, with the University of Alberta.
Jules Braunstein Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Denver.
- Nikki Hemmesch and Nicholas Harris, for the poster “Sequence Stratigraphic Architecture for the Late Devonian Woodford Shale, Southern Permian Basin, West Texas.” Hemmesch will be honored posthumously in New Orleans; the awards announcement came shortly after she died suddenly on July 9 (see August EXPLORER). Hemmesch was a graduate student and Harris her professor and adviser at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo.