UT PGE 2026 Distinguished Alumni Honorees

Each year, UT PGE recognizes alumni whose professional achievement, leadership and service have advanced the energy industry while strengthening the legacy of UT PGE. Meet the 2026 honorees and join us for our Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner and Ceremony on October 16th, 2026.

James Brill

Ph.D. Petroleum Engineering, 1966

James P. Brill, Ph.D., first joined The University of Tulsa as faculty in 1966 and retired in 2000. In December 2023, he returned as the McDougall Eminent Chair Professor in Petroleum Engineering. He holds a B.S. in engineering from the University of Minnesota (1962) and a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas (1966).

He formed the fluid flow projects (TUFFP) in 1973, the paraffin deposition projects (TUPDP) in 1995 and served for five years as a consultant on the Decision Review Board for TUCoRE, established by Chevron in 2002. Multiphase flow data and prediction models developed by Brill and his students have played a significant role in offshore facilities design.

He was a consultant to more than 35 international oil and gas companies and taught more than 70 short courses on multiphase flow in pipes in 15 different countries. He published nearly 300 technical papers and research reports, with many appearing in SPE, ASME and AIChE Journals and the International Journal of Multiphase Flow. He is co-author of the SPE Monograph “Multiphase Flow in Wells,” which was translated into Russian in 2006, and the 2017 SPE Textbook “Applied Multiphase Flow in Pipes and Flow Assurance.”

Mojdeh Delshad

M.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1981 | Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, 1986

Mojdeh Delshad is a research professor in the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. 

Delshad has over 30 years of experience in multiscale modeling of chemical and gas enhanced oil recovery EOR projects. She was a member of the Center for Subsurface Modeling led by Professor Wheeler at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (2009-2016) as well as the assistant director and coPI for the Department of Energy-funded Center of Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (2009-2014).  She served as the vice president (2013-2014) and the president/CEO (2015-2019) of Ultimate EOR Services LLC.

Delshad has led high quality research in collaboration with the industry and practical application to enhance the understanding and modeling of multiphase flow with and emphasis on traditional and hybrid EOR methods. She was the head of the research group for developing the UTCHEM reservoir simulator software, the most accepted simulator for chemical EOR processes used by many oil companies and universities worldwide. Her research is reflected in 150 journal publications and 170 reviewed conference papers. 

She became the SPE Distinguished Member in 2014 and received the SPE IOR Pioneer Award in 2024 and the 2026 SPE/AIME Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal for Technical Leadership. She was recently named a 2026 Distinguished Alumni in our department, recognizing her impact and excellence after receiving her M.S. and Ph.D. from the department in 1981 and 1986, respectively. 

Since 2020, she expanded her interests to explore the depleted oil/gas reservoirs for energy storage of hydrogen, heat, and hydro. She is currently a member of the GeoH2 research consortium at the Bureau of Economic Geology.

Don Roesle

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1971, M.S., Petroleum Engineering 1973

Born in 1948, Don spent my entire childhood and teenage years in Austin. After graduating from Austin High School, I entered The University of Texas in 1966 as a petroleum engineering student. During his time at UT, he was active in student organizations, participated in intramural sports with the petroleum engineering team, and became a member of Pi Epsilon Tau and Tau Beta Pi. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1971 and a Master of Science degree in 1972.

After graduation, Roesle moved to Houston and began a 50-year career in the energy industry. I joined Tenneco Oil Company as a reservoir engineer in its South Texas district and spent three and a half years working in reservoir, drilling and production engineering assignments along the Texas Gulf Coast and in Louisiana. In 1975, He joined Ryder Scott Petroleum Consultants as a reservoir engineer in the company’s Houston headquarters.

Over the next 44 years, he worked on reserve evaluation projects in most of the major producing basins throughout the United States and numerous international regions. These opportunities allowed me to travel extensively and collaborate with independent and major oil companies, national oil companies, foreign governments and U.S. regulatory agencies. Throughout my career at Ryder Scott, he steadily advanced through the organization, ultimately becoming Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in 2004. In that role, he transitioned from active engineering to corporate leadership, overseeing operations in Houston, Denver and Calgary. He retired in 2019.

Roesle has also remained closely connected to The University of Texas, serving on the Petroleum Engineering Department Advisory Board in the mid-1990s and later joining the Cockrell School of Engineering Advisory Board, where he continues as an active senior member.

While he is proud of my accomplishments in the energy industry, he is most proud of my family. He is the father of two sons and two daughters, three of whom are UT graduates. He has been blessed with a wonderful daughter-in-law, two outstanding sons-in-law and seven amazing grandchildren. His family is, without question, his greatest accomplishment and a source of gratitude every day.

Manny Rosales

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 2008

Manuel E. Rosales is a transformational leader in the energy industry whose career reflects technical excellence, innovation, and service. As Unconventional Continuous Improvement Manager at ExxonMobil, he leads efforts that strengthen data foundations, accelerate digital transformation, and deliver actionable business insights through AI enablement across one of the world’s largest energy organizations. His work drives operational excellence and helps shape the future of data-driven decision making in the unconventional energy sector.

A proud graduate of the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Rosales remains deeply committed to his alma matter. As ExxonMobil’s University Engagement Manager for UT Austin, he has strengthened partnerships between ExxonMobil and the university while mentoring students, recruiting top engineering talent, and fostering the next generation of Longhorn engineers. Throughout his career, he has interviewed hundreds of students and helped recruit more than 50 Hildebrand graduates into internship and full-time roles at ExxonMobil. He has also served on the department’s External Advisory Committee, helping shape educational priorities and prepare students for successful careers in energy. His university experience profoundly shaped his professional journey. While at UT Austin, he was a member of the renowned Longhorn Band, student organizations like Pi Epsilon Tau and Society of Petroleum Engineers, and served on the student advisory council to the University President.

Over nearly two decades with ExxonMobil, Rosales has built expertise spanning wellwork, stimulation, operations, artificial lift, reservoir engineering, business development, and digital technologies before transitioning into strategic leadership. He is recognized for bridging engineering, data science, analytics, and automation to solve complex business challenges and deliver lasting operational improvements.

His influence extends beyond ExxonMobil through service on the ComboCurve Customer Advisory Board, Spotfire Customer Advisory Program, and Databricks Product Advisory Board, where he collaborates with technology leaders to shape product strategy and emerging capabilities for industry. He also serves as a mentor, speaker, and volunteer with organizations including the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Offshore Technology Conference.

Outside of his professional accomplishments, Rosales values family, mentorship and service. He and his wife, Amanda, met while students at UT Austin, where they began a lifelong partnership rooted in the Longhorn community. Together they are raising their daughter, Sofia, who shares their love for UT and hopes to one day attend the university as an engineering student while dancing with the nationally recognized Texas Pom Squad. The Rosales family remains deeply connected to the university and its tradition of excellence.

Francis Sommer

M.S., Petroleum Engineering, 1986

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Francis Sommer has established himself as a global leader in the oil and gas industry, recognized for his technical expertise, strategic vision, and ability to drive growth through operational excellence and transformational leadership. He earned a B.S. in Physics from State University of NY in 1982 and an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1986. Throughout his career, Francis has focused on advancing technical studies and applying technology to increase oil and gas reserves and move new projects toward sanction. He has supported transactions across many of the world’s major hydrocarbon basins, including North America, South America, Europe, Russia, and Southeast Asia.

Francis began his professional career in Alaska as a reservoir engineer with BP. After several assignments there, he moved to Bogotá, Colombia, where he helped assess and optimize several of the country’s newly discovered assets. Returning to Alaska, Francis continued to grow in roles and responsibilities, ultimately becoming asset manager of Prudhoe Bay, North America’s largest oil field. He later moved to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he was responsible for growing production and reserves across a portfolio of North Sea assets. He subsequently took on executive roles in Moscow, Russia, becoming Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology at TNK-BP. During his tenure, the company grew proved reserves more than fivefold. He championed the application of technologies to improve operational performance and extend economic field life, and he supported university exchange programs aimed at improving industry knowledge and understanding. Throughout his time in Russia, he was an ardent supporter of HSE and employee development.

Following the sale of TNK-BP to Rosneft, Francis left Russia and became a Partner with L1 Energy, a newly created private energy company based in London, U.K.. Over nine years, the company completed several major transactions and, together with partner Wintershall, established an oil and gas company producing more than 600,000 boepd. The company’s primary oil and gas assets were sold to Harbour Energy, a U.K.-listed company, in 2024, with L1Energy retaining a significant shareholding. Francis remains a Partner at L1 Energy and played an integral role in helping the partnership take a material position in Breakwater, an EIG investment vehicle that holds a large stake in Repsol Upstream with interests in oil and gas assets across more than 8 countries, including stakes in the U.S.-based Marcellus and Eagle Ford shales and the newly producing Pikka project in Alaska.

Concurrent with his L1 role, since 2023, Francis has served as a member of the board of managers for Cibolo-PPC 1, an Austin-based oil and gas company that acquired leases in New Mexico and engineered a very successful drilling program before selling to a major non-conventional oil and gas operator.

Beyond his current roles in L1 Energy and Cibolo-PPC 1, Francis serves as a non-executive director for Central European Petroleum, a Calgary-based oil and gas exploration company that has made a large and important discovery in offshore Poland.  He is also a non-executive director for Noble Oil E&P, which operates producing assets in East Texas.

Francis’s career reflects a dedication to engineering excellence and business leadership. He is a 30-year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and an avid supporter of continuing education. Francis has been married for more than 30 years to Dianna Sommer, a fellow University of Texas engineering graduate.  He is a loving father of 3 children and 3 grandchildren. When not working, he enjoys listening to music, traveling, exploring the outdoors, and cheering for the Longhorns—unless it’s winter, when he can often be found on the ski slopes.

Jack Trueblood

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, 2019

Jack Trueblood was born & raised in Denver, Colorado with the spirit of the energy industry instilled in him from a young age. As the third generation to enter the oil & gas industry, Jack fondly remembers some of his earliest childhood memories visiting the oil patch in the Oklahoma panhandle. His grandfather, Harry Trueblood, BSPE ‘48, and father, John Trueblood, left an indelible mark on Jack and a profound appreciation for the industry that makes modern life possible.

Jack started his career at Shell as a Petroleum Engineer supporting Argentina’s Vaca Muerta asset. There he had the opportunity to work multiple roles, from Production Operations to Reservoir Development, including an assignment living in Argentina. Combining his fluency in Spanish and technical acumen, Jack accelerated Argentina’s adoption of the most valuable learnings from the American shale revolution.

Jack returned to Houston to support Shell’s Deepwater Exploration team. From offshore Namibia to the Gulf of America, he provided economic analyses of exploration prospects as well as technical support during drilling and logging operations. Currently, Jack supports BPX Energy’s Permian Basin asset as a Senior Reservoir Engineer, leading development strategy, appraisal opportunities, and daily production operations.

Jack is a committed young leader in the energy industry. In college he worked for Switch Energy Alliance (SEA), a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an energy-educated future that is objective, non-partisan, and sensible. At SEA he worked to develop the energy case competition, which provides the opportunity for students to address one of the most difficult energy challenges impacting over 3 billion people: energy poverty. Starting with 90 participants at the University of Texas, the competition has since grown to over 4,000 students across more than 75 countries.

Jack also serves as an Advisory Council member for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center. At the KBH Center he has helped shape conferences as well as educational opportunities for students surrounding the latest themes in energy technology, policy, and geopolitics. Lastly, Jack serves on the External Advisory Committee for the PGE department where he enjoys the fulfillment of giving back to the University and ensuring UT PGE remains the leader in engineering education and research.

Jack is a proud lifetime member of the Texas Exes Rocky Mountain chapter and currently resides in his hometown of Denver, Colorado.