Geology grad students to compete in international contest

Members of UNL's Imperial Barrel Award Competition team are (from left) Drew Seymour, Trevor Hurd, Steven Wooden, Kristen Mitchell, Andrew Hutsky and faculty adviser Chris Fielding.
Members of UNL's Imperial Barrel Award Competition team are (from left) Drew Seymour, Trevor Hurd, Steven Wooden, Kristen Mitchell, Andrew Hutsky and faculty adviser Chris Fielding.

A team of earth and atmospheric sciences graduate students is preparing for competition and a trophy, prize money and international accolades are on the line.

UNL’s team will head to Houston to compete April 8 in the Imperial Barrel Award Competition, an annual contest sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists that draws student teams from around the world. Students are given geologic data and have to determine and present their interpretations on whether they believe a particular tract of land has prospects for the discovery of oil or gas. The exercise offers hands-on experience for students who are exploring a career in the energy industry.

“To have an opportunity to participate in a contest of this caliber and to go up against some of the brightest students in this field speaks to the talent of our students and the quality of our program at UNL,” said Chris Fielding, faculty adviser and professor of earth and atmospheric sciences. Fielding is also president-elect of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, one of the leading organizations for scientists in the oil and gas industries.

UNL’s team won a regional competition in Tulsa, Okla., last month to advance to the international finals. In 2009, UNL took second place in the international contest after facing off with graduate students from 89 universities. They were narrowly defeated by a team from Lomonosov State University in Moscow, Russia, in a contest that judges announced was almost too close to call. The UNL team took home a trophy and $10,000.

- Jean Ortiz Jones, University Communications