2015 UT PGE Distinguished Alumni Honorees

Thanks to the support of our sponsors, more than 150 people filled the Driskill Hotel on Friday, Nov. 6 during the 2015 Distinguished Alumni (DA) Ceremony. The program honored four alumni for their significant contributions to energy production, the Texas economy and higher education. UT PGE graduate and DA Committee Chair Russell Parker (BS PE ’00), who is a 2010 DA honoree, served as the emcee for the evening. 

The DA Committee originally selected six honorees, but due to the unfortunate passing of Joe M. Parsley (BS PE ’51) one week prior to the ceremony on Oct. 30, 2015, both Joe and Scott D. Sheffield (BS PE ’75) will be honored during the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Ceremony. As a tribute to Parsley, the committee presented an “In Memorium” video during the program celebrating his life as a leading businessman and dedicated UT Austin graduate.

As some of the industry’s leading entrepreneurs, scientists and noteworthy executives, the 2015 honorees provide a broad range of experience and innovation to the field.

C. Ronald “Ronny” Platt

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1962

C. Ronald “Ronny” Platt is a highly respected member of the petroleum industry and one of the leading petroleum engineering experts in regulatory hearings and litigation. He has served as an expert witness in more than 150 lawsuits and 500 administrative hearings and was the governor’s appointee to the State of Texas Membership on the Energy Resources Committee of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission for 12 years.

A native of Austin, Texas, Platt received his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1962. After graduation, he worked for Chevron for more than 13 years in various petroleum engineering and management positions before opening a private consulting office in 1976. In 1980, he co-founded Platt, Sparks & Associates with fellow 2015 Petroleum Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Don Sparks. Their petroleum engineering consulting firm evaluates properties, performs reservoir studies and provides expert testimony for hearings and litigations in Midland and Austin. Platt served as chairman until the firm was acquired by FTI Consulting in October 2014.

Platt is a dedicated supporter of the Cockrell School of Engineering and the university. He has served on the advisory board for the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and was a founding advisory committee member for the department’s Distinguished Alumni Awards. In 2009, he received the Cockrell School’s Distinguished Graduate Award. Additionally, Platt is a supporter of the Cockrell School’s Friends of Alec Annual Giving Program and a member of UT Austin’s Littlefield Society and UT System’s Chancellor’s Council. Platt and Sparks generously fund the Platt, Sparks & Associates Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering, which is awarded to top students in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Platt currently resides in the Austin area with his wife, Kathie. They have four children and 10 grandchildren.

Margaretha “Peggy” C.M. Rijken

M.S., Mining and Petroleum Engineering, 1999
Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, 2005

Margaretha “Peggy” C.M. Rijken leads Chevron’s Productivity Enhancement Team, which focuses on research, development and consulting in the areas of formation damage, geomechanical modeling and hydraulic fracturing. Rijken received the Chevron Reservoir Management Excellence Award in 2010 and 2015 and co-holds a patent in non-aqueous stimulation.

A native of the Netherlands, Rijken graduated from Delft University of Technology in 1999 with a master’s degree in Mining and Petroleum Engineering. She went on to receive her Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 2005. During her time on the Forty Acres, Rijken was the recipient of the 2003 Texas Excellence Teaching Award for Graduate Instructors and served as Secretary of the Student Chapter of the American Society of Engineering Education. Rijken studied under professor and current petroleum and geosystems engineering Chair Jon Olson, focusing on rock fracture mechanics and fluid flow through fractured media.

Rijken completed multiple summer internships with Chevron while pursuing her Ph.D. and joined the company full-time after graduation. She began her career as a geomechanics specialist, solving problems related to hydraulic fracturing, fracture containment, injection decline, sanding, subsidence, fault reactivation and perforating. She has since worked on a variety of significant and complex projects across the globe.

Rijken is a well-respected member of the technical community. She served on the SPE Well Stimulation committee, the Well Completions committee and the Reservoir Engineering committee for the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. She was chair of the Well Stimulation committee in 2009 and will be the chair of the Reservoir Engineering committee in 2016. Additionally, she has served as a technical editor for the SPE Production & Facilities Review for the past 10 years and has been a member of the SPE Talent Taskforce for the past two years.

An active member of the Cockrell School of Engineering community, Rijken was an industry representative in the Equal Opportunity in Engineering Program’s Industry Super Bowl for five years. She coached groups of students in their communication, teamwork and leadership skills and led her student teams to win the competition twice. Rijken has served as a mentor for the Women in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering group and a guest leader at LeaderShape, a leadership retreat for engineering students. She has also volunteered with the Petroleum Graduate Students Association, Graduate Student Assembly, Society of Women Engineers and Women in Engineering Program.

Fred Kerwin Fox

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1949
M.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1950

Fred Kerwin Fox’s technological contributions to the field of petroleum engineering continue to influence industry operations today.

Orphaned at age 13, Fox attended Allen Academy in McAllen, Texas. At 17, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a flamethrower and machine gunner in the South Pacific. He received the Purple Heart after receiving multiple life-threatening wounds. In 1945, with the help of the G.I. Bill, Fox enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin to study petroleum engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1949 and his master’s degree in 1950. On V-J Day, he danced on Congress Avenue to celebrate the end of the war.

Fox went on to found Engineering Enterprises, Inc. to commercialize his now-patented spiral NO-WALL-STICK® drill collar, which is still used around the world. He also formed New Ulm Gas, Ltd., New Bremen, Ltd. and other companies to drill wells. He later developed a down-hole motor and turbine.

Fox dedicated much of his time to strengthening U.S. relations with Micronesia and the islands for which he and his fellow Marines fought. Writings and recordings of Fox’s work to make Micronesia the 51st state are preserved at the Peleliu exhibit in the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas.

A devoted Texan, Fox served as Houston’s director of civil defense under Mayor Fred Hofheinz and worked to protect and help Houston recover from Hurricane Carmen in 1974. In the 1980s, he returned to Austin to live near the university. Throughout his career, Fox obtained 38 patents, wrote for the magazines World Oil, Offshore and Oil & Gas Journal, authored technical papers for the Society of Petroleum Engineers and lectured at seminars and conferences. In 1990, the Cockrell School of Engineering named him a Distinguished Engineering Graduate, and he presented his son, William Casey Fox (B.S. ME 1982, M.S. BME 1984, Ph.D. BME 1990), with his doctoral diploma while on stage.

Fox passed away in June 2008 in Austin, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Lillian; his sons, Fred, Thomas and Casey; and Casey’s wife, Nancy and their children, Fred and Heather.

Don L. Sparks

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1962

Don L. Sparks currently serves as chairman of the board of Discovery Operating, Inc., a small, independent oil company based in Midland, Texas, that he co-founded in 1973.

Sparks was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, and received his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1962. After graduation, Sparks served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for four years and worked in various engineering and consulting capacities for Bailey, Sipes, Williamson and Runyan; Freeport Oil Company; and Shell Oil Company. In 1980, Sparks co-founded Platt, Sparks & Associates with fellow 2015 Petroleum Engineering Distinguished Alumnus, C. Ronald Platt. Their petroleum engineering consulting firm evaluates properties, performs reservoir studies and provides expert testimony for hearings and litigations in Midland and Austin.

Sparks is a registered professional engineer and a renowned member of the petroleum engineering community. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his accomplishments, including the Independent Petroleum Association of America Leadership Award and the Hearst Lifetime Achievement Energy Award. He previously served as president of the Permian Basin Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, director of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and regional vice president, governor and executive committee member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. He also served as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Unconventional Resources Technology Advisory Committee. He is an active member of the National Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Association of Drilling Engineers and Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and he is currently the vice chairman and chairman-elect of the Mountain States Legal Foundation.

A valued member of the Cockrell School of Engineering community, Sparks served on the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering External Advisory Committee and was named a Cockrell School Distinguished Engineering Graduate in 2006. He is a supporter of the Cockrell School’s Friends of Alec Annual Giving Program. Platt and Sparks also generously fund the Platt, Sparks & Associates Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering, which is awarded to top students in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Sparks currently resides in Midland, Texas, with his wife, Gwyndolyn. They have three sons, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.