Distinguished Alumni Honorees

Varadarajan “DW” Dwarakanath was born on April 30, 1970, in Bombay (now Mumbai), India to Champa and K. Varadarajan.  His grandparents on the maternal side were Rajalakshmi and Govindarajan and on his paternal side were Rajalakshmi Ammal and Krishnasami.

Arlen Edgar, a native of Stephenville, Texas, earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1957 after receiving an associate degree in engineering from Tarleton State University.

Dr. Omar Varela’s academic background and interests — he holds bachelor's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology — led him to apply to the University of Texas at Austin where he received a full scholarship to pursue an MSPE. He enjoyed the academic and research experience so much that the initial plan changed when he decided to pursue his PhD with Professors Carlos Torres-Verdin and Larry Lake. His academic adventure took him on a journey into reservoir engineering, flow in porous media, optimization and geophysics, on which topics Varela has several publications. He held multiple summer jobs in the oil and gas industry while pursuing his degrees. These jobs supported one of his interests: traveling to nature destinations like the Amazon rainforest and Norwegian fjords.

A third generation engineer, Jeff Edgar earned his MSPE from UT Austin in 1997. As a graduate student, Edgar was awarded a Texaco Foundation Fellowship to conduct research in the application of oil field technology to remediate U.S. Department of Energy superfund sites under the supervision of Professor Gary Pope.

Dr. Ben H. Caudle was born in Midlothian, TX in 1923, attending school in Dallas and graduating in 1939 at the age of 16. On his father’s recommendation, Caudle attended junior college before coming to UT Austin, where he studied chemistry and graduated in 1943 with a BS in natural sciences-chemistry.

Louis A. Beecherl, Jr., former chair of The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering Advisory Board (1985) and former member and two-time chairman of The University of Texas System Board of Regents, was born in Dallas on February 10, 1926. He entered Tulane University under the new V-12 Navy engineering program in 1943. After graduating Tulane in two years with a degree in mathematics he served a short time with the Navy before being discharged in July 1946. Shorty thereafter, he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a BSPE in 1948.

Charles Brady Grant was born Oct 5, 1920, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the oil boom. His father was director of the bank and his motherʼs family, the Hamilton Bradys, had come from Pennsylvania to look for oil. Grant’s only sibling, Louis Wesley Grant, Bud, was born in 1925.

William “Bill” Murray, Jr. grew up in the oil fields of northwest Texas by his father’s side where he became interested in the oil business.  He went on to Simmons College, now Hardin Simmons University, in Abilene, and after two years transferred to The University of Texas at Austin where he received his BSPE in 1936.  He went on to earn his MSPE in the first graduating class from the program in petroleum engineering from the university in 1937.  While completing his MSPE, Murray also taught and graded undergraduate courses as an instructor.

Lois graduated in 1984 with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Lois was a member of the UT Freshman Engineering Honor Society where she benefited from the smaller class size and engaging professors. Under the tutelage of the legendary mathematics professor Dr. William Guy, Lois won first place at the Albert A. Bennett Calculus contest. Lois thoroughly enjoyed her time at UT and was a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She received her degree after three years of study.

Russell E. Parker was born and raised in Midland, TX. Growing up during the bust of the mid ’80’s, he initially decided to stay out of the oil business and follow his interest in atmospheric flight. But after two years in Aerospace Engineering, his roommate convinced him to switch majors to Petroleum Engineering. He quickly discovered a new found interest in Reservoir Engineering and Geology.