UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sanjay Srinivasan, department head of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State, has been honored as a distinguished member by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). One of 22 recipients selected for 2021, he joins only 696 other members honored since the establishment of the award in 1983.
The Distinguished Member award recognizes SPE members who achieve distinction deemed worthy of special recognition, who made significant contributions to the society, or who have attained eminence in the petroleum industry or the academic community.
“It is an honor to recognize Sanjay for his commitment and dedication to the oil and gas industry with the SPE Distinguished Member award,” said Tom Blasingame, 2021 SPE president. “SPE distinguished members were nominated by their colleagues and selected by their peers for their achievement and contributions and it’s my pleasure to congratulate him on receiving this prestigious international award from SPE.”
Srinivasan is being recognized for his advances in geostatistics, reservoir characterization and reservoir engineering that have been applied for early appraisal of ultra-deepwater plays in the Gulf of Mexico, and for characterizing natural fracture networks in conventional as well as unconventional reservoirs. He has pioneered algorithms, methods and partnerships with geophysicists and geo-modelers to develop novel schemes for integrating seismic data in reservoir models.
Additionally, Srinivasan’s activities in SPE on conference committees, reviewing papers for journals, and as an SPE section officer have advanced the industry and the society, graduating more than 16 doctoral students over 20 years and advising an average of five doctoral students annually.
"It's truly an honor to be selected as a SPE distinguished member," said Srinivasan. "The history of SPE and its legacy among petroleum engineers is unmatched and I am humbled to join the ranks of such a select group of esteemed members."
Srinivasan received his bachelor of science in petroleum engineering from the Indian School of Mines, his masters degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California and his doctorate in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Srinivasan was a professor in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and has also served as faculty in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department at the University of Calgary.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 164,000 members worldwide. The society is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industries and provides services through its publications, events, training courses and online resources.