News

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved Dr. Ekwere J. Peters as a professor emeritus. In the 85-year history of UT PGE only five other professors have received the prestigious title: Folkert Brons, Sylvain Pirson, Harry H. Power, Ben H. Caudle and Robert (Bob) Schechter.

UT PGE Professor Mukul Sharma has received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build and test a tool that could become a game-changer for hydraulic fracturing. The downhole tool could one day be used in fracture diagnostics to improve oil and gas recovery, reduce costs and help minimize the environmental footprint.

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.

UT PGE master’s student Joseph Tansey placed first in the M.S. division at the 2014 International Student Paper Contest at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), the premier annual oil and gas conference, in Amsterdam this past October.

Alongside improving oil and gas recovery, UT PGE is playing a significant role in advancing the important field of carbon storage research through a multi-million dollar government grant.

The UT PGE legacy of alumni entrepreneurship in the 21st century is changing the world.  The latest wave of prominent entrepreneurs making a difference believe experience before independence matters and principles always prevail over risk.

Professor Emeritus Robert S. Schechter passed away October 8, 2014, in Austin, Texas at the age of 85.

The latest idea from Dr. David DiCarlo’s lab is the application of nanoparticles during enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to pull a greater percentage of hydrocarbons out of the ground.

Assistant Professor Masa Prodanovic adds to her already impressive resume an award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Prodanovic is receiving the SPE Faculty Innovative Teaching Award for petroleum engineering faculty at the 2014 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Amsterdam.

The award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated excellence in innovative teaching techniques.

Prodanovic’s interactive approach to teaching her students programming, geomechanics, and image analysis easily fulfills the award’s requirements of encouraging and equipping others in academia to use similar techniques.

“Dr. Prodanovic focuses on student engagement, providing hands-on demonstrations in her classes,” said UT PGE Chair Tad Patzek. “She displays care and compassion for her students, soliciting feedback for how to make her teaching more effective.”

Her merit in teaching continues outside of the classroom with her involvement in numerous outreach projects including: “Girl Talk,” the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Women in Engineering Program, and UT Austin's student organization Society of Women Engineers. Prodanovic’s knowledge and enthusiasm engages students of all ages in concepts related to petroleum engineering.

As one of only five recipients in the world to receive the $10,000 award this year, upon acceptance, Prodanovic will be required to share her best practices at various SPE events.

The talented presidents in charge of UT PGE’s most popular student organizations, SPE and AADE, share their goals for the upcoming year and what the organizations mean to them.