News

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.

For the second year in a row, The University of Texas at Austin’s Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) has topped the World University Rankings by Subject compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Four Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering faculty members received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) in February as part of a $20 million effort to accelerate the natural subsurface generation of low-cost, low-emissions hydrogen. This is the first time that the U.S. government has competitively selected teams to research this kind of technology.

Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE) Research Professor Mojdeh Delshad has received the 2024 Pioneer Award. It is presented annually by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) to individuals who have made significant advancements in improved oil recovery (IOR) technology. Dr. Delshad will accept the award at the annual SPEIOR conference in April.