2014 Distinguished Alumni Honorees
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November 12, 2014
UT PGE alumni, faculty and students gathered in The Driskill Hotel to honor four Distinguished Alumni and one Distinguished UT PGE Professor on Friday, November 7. The ballroom was filled with 200 guests, who have made a significant impact on furthering the department’s excellence.
Honoree Dr. George Stegemeier receiving his award (l to r: DA Committee Chair Russell Parker, George Stegemeier and UT PGE Chair Tad Patzek)
The fifth annual UT PGE Distinguished Alumni Program centered on the theme of “thank you,” which included a video of UT PGE faculty and students revealing what UT PGE means to them through chalkboard messages.
The recipients, who made key contributions to energy production, the Texas economy, and higher education, includes a leading oil and gas executive and philanthropist, a prominent entrepreneur, a game-changing industry veteran, a highly-recognized oil and gas consultant, and a world-renowned scholar.
Jack C. Zarrow (BSPE ‘47)
Executive Vice President, Sooner Pipe and Supply Company
Founder and Trustee, Zarrow Families Foundation
Jack Zarrow, a Russian immigrant's son who built a philanthropic pipeline that continues to fuel various charity efforts in and beyond Tulsa, died February 2, 2012. He was 86. The younger brother of Henry Zarrow, founder of Tulsa-based Sooner Pipe and Supply Co., Jack Zarrow joined the business in 1947. In helping Sooner Pipe become one of the most prominent oil-and-gas supply companies worldwide, he would serve as the company's executive vice president, as well as president and CEO of the Zarrow family's growing stable of non-pipeline oil enterprises.
Born in Tulsa in 1925, Jack C. Zarrow was the third child of Russian immigrants Sam and Rose Zarrow. Sam Zarrow had come to America from Russia as a young man to escape anti-Jewish pogroms. The family relocated to Tulsa from Milwaukee in 1916. Jack Zarrow married Texas-native Maxine Foreman, another UT Austin graduate, in 1947, the same year he graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor of science in petroleum engineering. Zarrow, who waited tables while completing his degree at UT Austin, was the first of his family to graduate from college.
After graduating from UT Austin, he returned to Tulsa to join the family scrap business, which his brother had started in 1938 and by that time also included their father. As president and CEO of the family's nonpipe enterprises, Jack Zarrow oversaw the Bigheart group of oil transport companies, TK Valve & Manufacturing, Prime Actuator Control Systems and Zarrow Holding Co. Employing more than 1,000 people on four continents, the companies designed and manufactured high-tech equipment used by oil firms around the globe.
Business success would enable the Zarrows to support countless causes and charities. The Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation provides funding primarily to Tulsa-area charities, especially those supporting the arts, children, mental health and Jewish concerns. Beyond Tulsa, the foundation has established professorships at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin, and has donated to Jewish causes in the United States and Israel.
Jack Zarrow also co-founded and served as a trustee for the Zarrow Families Foundation. He served on the boards of many Tulsa institutions, including the University of Tulsa and the Gilcrease Museum, where he was a former chairman and a director emeritus. He was also a longtime donor, underwriting many museum improvements, including its 1987 expansion. Zarrow also served on the boards of Hillcrest Medical Center, the Tulsa Education Foundation, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Jewish Federation of Tulsa and the Tulsa Jewish Retirement & Health Care Center, which he and his wife were instrumental in establishing. Jack was also a long time board member of the Grand River Dam Authority for the State of Oklahoma.
Fighting homelessness was another favorite cause of the Zarrows. The Jack and Maxine Zarrow family, together with the Henry and Anne Zarrow family, donated the land where the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless was built.
A Distinguished Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering, Jack and Maxine established 10 endowed funds to support engineering and education at UT Austin, including the Jack C. Zarrow Centennial Professorship in Petroleum Engineering.
George L. Stegemeier (MSPE ’54, PhD ‘59)
Shell Oil Company
George Stegemeier is an engineer with more than 60 years’ experience in oil exploration and production. He holds degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (B.S. ‘52) and from the University of Texas (M.S. ‘53), and (Ph.D. ‘59). He was born in Wood River, Illinois, the son of George H. and Rose A. (Smola) Stegemeier. There, along with his two brothers Rich and Bob, he grew up in the carefree freedom of his parent’s small town and on his grandparent’s farms.
Stegemeier began his oil and gas career in 1952, as a roustabout for the Ohio Oil Company in the Robinson, Illinois field. In 1953, he was employed by Shell Oil Company as an exploitation engineer in the Tulsa Area. Upon graduation from UT, he joined Shell Development Co. at the Bellaire Research Center, where he worked as a research engineer on a variety of improved oil recovery processes, and later became a manager and consultant for fundamental research. In 1965-1966 he was named exchange scientist in thermal recovery research at the Shell International Research Laboratorium in Rijswijk, Holland. From 1970 to 1974 he worked for Shell Oil, as a reservoir engineer in their West Coast Division, in Los Angeles.
Stegemeier, a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, is the author of over 25 professional society publications, over 50 unpublished Shell reports, and more than 100 patents. Some of the technical subjects of his work include: reservoir test analyses, including interwell transient pressure testing and tracer testing; exploratory reservoir engineering and petrophysics; and research and development of oil recovery processes, including caustic flooding, miscible/CO2 flooding, surfactant flooding, hot water flooding, steam drive, and thermal conduction by electric heating. He participated in, or directed, over thirty field projects and pilots. Upon retirement in 1993, Stegemeier formed GLS Engineering, Inc. and thereafter has provided consultation and invention for Shell’s TerraTherm technology, an in-situ thermal process for environmental remediation of soils and subsurface formations, and for Shell's thermal conduction processes for oil shale and tar sands.
Of all the projects on which he participated, Stegemeier’s most significant technical contribution to Shell's oil production was the use of theoretical and experimental models of field pilots to develop an understanding of steam drive recovery of heavy oil. The ability to accurately predict the oil/steam ratio encouraged Shell to install its first major steam drive in the watered-out Mt. Poso field. Since that proof of concept, steam drive has resulted in over one billion barrels of thermal oil for Shell in the US alone and several more worldwide.
In recent years Stegemeier has been engaged in thermal engineering studies of global warming and in the preparation of a book, Principles of Geo-Solar Engineering, An Energy Balance of the Earth’s Atmosphere.
For past contributions to the oil and gas industry and to the environmental industry, Stegemeier was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001, and to the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science in 2004. In 2006 he was appointed a University of Missouri Distinguished Research Professor, and in 2013 a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston.
In addition to the professional aspects of his life, George has enjoyed the fulfillment of a close, immediate family and a broad, extended one. In 1958, he married Paula E. (Ross) Stegemeier, now deceased. In their close-knit family, they had two children: Mark, and Catherine, now deceased. George currently resides in Houston, and his immediate family includes daughter-in-law Cindy, son-in-law Andre M. Luyckx and six grandchildren: Chris, Greg, Eric, Stuart, Annelise and Will.
George H. Fancher, Jr. (BSPE ’61, MSPE ‘62)
President and CEO, Fancher Oil II, LLC
Before graduating from the University of Texas with a B.S. and M.S. in petroleum engineering in 1961 and 1962 respectively, George H. Fancher, Jr. had a vision and a plan for owning and operating his own oil company. His father, a professor of petroleum engineering at UT PGE, sparked his intellectual curiosity in engineering with brief introductions to the thrill of the wildcat. More significantly his father taught George at an early age the importance of a strong work ethic. George’s early exposure to the dream of big wildcats combined with his drive and entrepreneurial spirit laid the foundation for his successful career.
In 1962, George began his career with the California Company (CalCO), first as a drilling engineer in Casper, WY and later as a reservoir engineer in Denver, CO. In 1966, as a result of his thesis on Determination of Pressure Gradients in Multi-Phases Flow in Vertical Tubing Strings, Ball Brothers Research Corporation lured George away from CalCO to spend a few years travelling around the world working with reservoir pressure instrumentation. By 1968, George was back on track with his plan working as a petroleum engineer for a small independent producer. His dream of owning and operating his own oil company became a reality in 1969 when he formed Smith-Fancher. His success and ambition lead him to found Fancher Oil LLC in 1980, Fancher Resources, LLC in 1996 and his latest venture Fancher Oil II, LLC in 2013.
Throughout his career George has been committed to being active in the community and being an advocate for the industry by serving as a director of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS), and the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association (RMOGA). He has always been more than just a member serving for example several years on the IPAMS Executive Committee, Improved Oil Recovery Task Force Committee, the Liaison Committee of Cooperating Oil and Gas Association, and as Chairman of the Crude Oil Committee. He was also for a number of years a member of the Board of Directors of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) and a member of the Wyoming Independent Petroleum Association (WIPA).
George has continued to be involved with his beloved Longhorns. He is member of the UT Chancellor’s Council and the Littlefield Society of the University of Texas, where he established a Professorship and Teaching Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering. He also has served on the UT PGE External Advisory Committee and is currently on the Cockrell School of Engineering External Advisory Board.
George’s contributions to the industry have been acknowledged with numerous industry recognitions and awards. He was the recipient of the Denver Petroleum Club’s Man of the Year Award in 1994, the Desk and Derrick Club of Denver’s Oil Recognition Award in 1995, and IPAMS Wildcatter of the Year Award in 1996. In 1998, he was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin.
George attributes much of his success to his beautiful wife, Carolyn Fancher. He has four children and three grandchildren. For the tenacious oilman, an accomplished career spanning four decades is not quite enough, George has recently re-entered the business starting his latest venture, Fancher Oil II, LLC, with his youngest daughter, Kelly.
Gail Chenoweth (BSPE ‘82)
Oil and Gas Consultant
Gail Chenoweth, who was raised in Midland, Texas, is the third generation in her family involved in the oil industry. Her maternal grandfather worked in the West Texas oil fields and her father, O. L. Chenoweth, was a 1942 graduate of the University of Texas Petroleum Engineering Department. Before returning to pursue her B.S. in petroleum engineering, Gail received a bachelor of arts in studio art from UT Austin in 1976 and worked as a jewelry designer in Dallas for two years.
While at UT PGE, Gail served on the Engineering Student Council and was a member of Pi Epsilon Tau petroleum engineering honor society. Following graduation in 1982, Gail began a remarkable career at Marathon Oil Company and continued to work for the company for 28 years before retiring in 2010. Since that time, she has engaged in consulting activities utilizing her broad experience in enhanced and improved oil recovery techniques and economic analysis. One of her first assignments was in back in familiar territory, West Texas, where she worked as a reservoir engineer on the IRS certification of the giant Yates Field for immiscible CO₂ gas injection. In 1988, Gail moved to Houston to engage in international reservoir engineering activities in Australia, Egypt, Norway and Ireland. She was transferred to the United Kingdom to work on the Brae Fields and performed reservoir modeling studies quantifying potential for CO₂ injection and horizontal drilling projects in the Brae Oil Fields.
After being repatriated to Oklahoma where she supervised reservoir activities in Oklahoma, Michigan, and Illinois oil and gas fields, Gail returned to Houston as Supervisor and later Manager of the International Engineering group. While in Houston she worked in several areas including Director of the Enhanced Oil Recovery project for Marathon’s Wyoming assets, Asset Manager of the Barnett Shale and Rocky Mountain Oil Teams, Planning Manager for the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, and Worldwide Engineering Career Development Director. She has also had extensive experience in Acquisition and Disposition activities in all of these roles.
In 2004, Gail was honored as a Distinguished Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering and has served as the Chair of the External Advisory Committee for UT PGE. Gail was appointed by the governor of Wyoming to that state’s EORI Commission and has served as a technical advisor of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Gail and her father, O.L. established the Gail Chenoweth Endowed Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering at UT Austin to benefit other young women entering the industry.
Gail enjoys many activities outside the fascinating oil business including golf, woodworking, jewelry making, and sewing. She has been an active volunteer in her community serving as City Alderman, working for Habitat for Humanity, and supporting local animal rescue organizations.
Dr. Robert S. Schechter
Professor Emeritus, UT PGE
Robert S. (Bob) Schechter was raised in Rosenberg, Texas, where his parents operated a small clothing store. Inspired by his high school chemistry teacher Mr. Althouse, Schechter decided to become a chemical engineer, graduating from Texas A&M University in 1950 with a BSChE, before beginning his doctoral program at the University of Minnesota. With the onset of the Korean War, Schechter was called into the U.S. Army’s Chemical Corps. While stationed in Anniston, Alabama, he met and married his beloved Mary Ethel Schechter. Upon his discharge as First Lieutenant, they returned to Minnesota where he completed his doctoral program in 1956.
Hired at the recommendation of his Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Herb Isben, Schechter joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for his entire 41-year academic career. Initially hired to teach in Chemical Engineering, midway through his tenure he changed departments, joining what was then the Department of Petroleum Engineering. Schechter chaired both departments, Chemical Engineering from 1970-73 and Petroleum Engineering from 1975-78.
First and foremost, Robert Schechter was a teacher. He loved his students and the profession of teaching. Schechter taught over a hundred graduate and undergraduate classes, and guided 50 students to Masters of Science degrees and 40 to Doctors of Philosophy degrees. His skill and ability earned him many awards for teaching excellence, including the General Dynamics Award for Teaching Excellence in the College of Engineering in 1987 and the AIME Mineral Industry Education Award in 1998.
Schechter was a prolific scholar, focused broadly on the area of applied thermodynamics. He, his collaborators and his students have contributed to the understanding of microemulsion stability, geochemical modeling, and surfactant/mineral interactions, all with application to improved oil production methods. Schechter published 202 refereed articles, 27 book chapters and five books, while editing two others. He and his long-time friend, Dr. Bill Wade, developed the spinning drop tensiometer.
Schechter freely shared his research and ideas with his colleagues and has continued to assist them, even to this day, in developing proposals for research and grants. His creativity and contributions earned him election into the National Academy of Engineering in 1976, the Chevalier of the Order of the Palmes Academiques from the Prime Minister of France in 1980, the Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Engineering Research Award in 1984 (the first awarded), the Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award in 1991, the John Franklin Carll Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1994 and the designation in 2009 as one of the Journal of Petroleum Technology’s Legends of Production and Operation.
Schechter’s professional accomplishments fail to fully describe the man. He was a loving husband to Mary Ethel, who passed away in 2010; devoted father to three boys, Richard, Alan Lawrence (of blessed memory) and Geoffrey; beloved brother and uncle; and a respected colleague and friend. Schechter passed away on October 8, 2014, surrounded by the family he loved, and that adored him.
The UT PGE Alumni Reunion took place on Saturday, November 8 in front of the PGE building. More than 250 alumni, students, faculty and staff gathered to connect and mingle prior to the UT vs. West Virginia football game.
The event included a tour of the state-of-the-art drilling labs, which opened last fall. The lab three labs give graduate students a hands-on, interactive learning experience. The labs include: the Real-time Operations Center, the Drilling Automation Lab and the Zonal Isolation Lab. Guests also received a tour of the Ben H. Caudle Learning Excellence Center, which was unveiled in the fall of 2012. The renovated third floor of the PGE building provides students ample work space for group studying as well as technology components that enhance overall learning.
View photos from the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Program and Tailgate on the UT PGE Flickr page.
