News

The Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering honored six alumni with its Distinguished Alumni Award at a ceremony and dinner Friday, Nov. 8. The award is given annually to UT PGE alumni who are leaders in the oil and gas industry — educators, executives, innovators and entrepreneurs with unmatched industry expertise.

Hewei Tang joins the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems (UT PGE) faculty as an assistant professor this semester, bringing her extensive background in engineering clean energy to the program.

The Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) has announced the recipients of its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Two Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) staff members have won 2024 Cockrell School of Engineering Staff Excellence Awards. Academic Advising Coordinator Jaimie Haider and Lab Manager Daryl Nygaard were among the six Texas Engineering staff members recognized for exemplary performance and outstanding contributions at the award ceremony in May.

The Hildebrand Department’s graduate program in petroleum engineering is No. 1 in the country, according to the 2024–2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings released this week. UT PGE has held this top ranking continuously since 2003.

Two Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) graduate students have placed in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) regional paper contest held in Houston in April. Agustin Garbino (MSPE 2024) won the master’s division, and Tesleem Lawal (MSPE 2020, PhD PE 2024) placed third in the PhD division.

Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) professors have won both of the prestigious teaching awards given annually by the Cockrell School of Engineering. Dr. Michael Pyrcz is the recipient of the 2023–2024 Lockheed Martin Award for Excellence in Engineering Teaching, and Dr. Yingda Lu is the recipient of the 2023–2024 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Engineering Teaching by an Assistant Professor.

Two Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering graduate students — Ibrahim Gomaa (PhD PE 2025) and Cynthia Oeiyono (PhD PE 2026) — have won 2024 Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowships.

For the second year in a row, The University of Texas at Austin’s PetroBowl Team has won the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) North American Regional Competition.

Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) Assistant Professor Wen Song was named a Scialog Fellow in Sustainable Minerals, Metals and Materials (SM3) this spring.