2012-2013 Dean’s Desk
May 2, 2013
Welcome to the Dean’s Desk, which celebrates accomplishments of members of the Jackson School community during the past academic year. The length of this year’s list alone gives a sense of how dynamic and well regarded our scientists and staff are.
With this many honors, there is always a risk of overlooking some. Please accept the editors’ apologies and send along any omitted material, which we will place on the Web site. You can send information to J.B. Bird in the Dean’s Office. Enjoy reading about these distinctions and keep them coming.
Awards & Honors (External)
| Name | Award | Organization |
| Robert Baumgardner | A.L. Cox Poster Award | Southwest Section, AAPG |
| Bayani Cardenas | Fred Holmsley Moore Distinguished Lecturer | University of Virginia |
| Bayani Cardenas | Kohout Early Career Award | Hydrogeology Division, GSA |
| Elizabeth Catlos | Notable Paper | Mineralogical Society of America |
| Robert Folk | Legend of Sedimentology Award | HGS |
| Robert Folk | Dedication of 2012 GCAGS Transactions | GCAGS |
| Sergey Fomel | Top 30 Presentation, SEG Annual International Meeting | SEG |
| Bill Galloway | Doris Malkin Curtis Medal | GCSSEPM |
| Bill Galloway | Best Published Paper, 2012 GCAGS Journal | GCAGS |
| Patricia Ganey-Curry | Best Published Paper, 2012 GCAGS Journal | GCAGS |
| Gürcan Gülen | USAEE Senior Fellow Award | U.S. Association for Energy Economics |
| Scott Hamlin | A.L. Cox Poster Award | Southwest Section, AAPG |
| Michael Hudec | A. I. Levorsen Memorial Award | AAPG |
| Michael Hudec | 1st Place Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentation Award | AAPG |
| Rich Ketcham | Exceptional Reviewer, GSA Bulletin | GSA |
| Christopher Jackson | Bigsby Medal | Geological Society of London |
| Martin Jackson | William Smith Medal | Geological Society of London |
| Robert Loucks | 2014 KWI Karst Award | Karst Waters Institute |
| Robert Loucks | Top Ten Poster at AAPG Convention | AAPG |
| Jerry Lucia | Top Ten Poster at AAPG Convention | AAPG |
| Earle McBride | Dedication of 2012 GCAGS Transactions | GCAGS |
| Robert Reed | Third Place Gordon I. Atwater Poster Award | GCAGS |
| Jack Sharp | 2012 President’s Award | International Association of Hydrogeologists |
| Jack Sharp | Distinguished Lecturer | Edwards Aquifer Authority |
| John Snedden | Best Published Paper, 2012 GCAGS Journal | GCAGS |
| John Snedden | Distinguished Service Award | SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) |
| James Sprinkle | 3rd Place, Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentation Award | GCAGS |
| Scott Tinker | Among 16 Best Geoscientists in the “Texas Top Producer” Survey | Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, Texas Monthly & the Best Companies Group |
| Scott Tinker | John T. Galey, Sr., Memorial Public Service Award (2013) | AIPG |
| Ramon Treviño | Distinguished Service Award | GCSSEPM |
| Dennis Trombatore | William B. Heroy Award for Distinguished Service | AGI |
| Tim Whiteaker | Best Published Paper, 2012 GCAGS Journal | GCAGS |
| Laura Zahm | Distinguished Service Award | AAPG |
Awards & Honors (UT & JSG)
| Name | Award | Unit |
| Jay Banner | Outstanding Teaching Award | UT Board of Regents |
| Don Blankenship | Outstanding Research | JSG |
| Don Blankenship | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Bayani Cardenas | Faculty Science Performance, Associate Professor | DGS |
| Ginny Catania | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Mark Cloos | G. Moses and Carolyn G. Knebel Distinguished Teaching Award, Undergraduate | DGS |
| Ian Dalziel | Career Researcher Award | UTIG |
| Peter Flemings | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Sergey Fomel | Outstanding Educator | JSG |
| Patty Ganey-Curry | Outstanding Support Staff Award | UTIG |
| Omar Ghattas | Walter Excellence Award | JSG |
| Sean Gulick | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Bob Hardage | Outstanding Service | JSG |
| Marc Hesse | G. Moses and Carolyn G. Knebel Distinguished Teaching Award, Graduate | DGS |
| Marc Hesse | 1st Place, Best Represented Research Group, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Jack Holt | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Brian Horton | Faculty Research Assignment | UT Austin |
| Brian Horton | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Charles Jackson | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Wonsuck Kim | Faculty Science Performance, Assistant Professor | DGS |
| John Lassiter | G. Moses and Carolyn G. Knebel Distinguished Teaching Award, Intro Course | DGS |
| Luc Lavier | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Lynda Miller | Picard Excellence Award | UTIG |
| David Mohrig | G. Moses and Carolyn G. Knebel Distinguished Teaching Award, Graduate | DGS |
| David Mohrig | Faculty Science Performance, Full Professor | DGS |
| Nicole Raney | Thelma Lynn Guion Library Staff Honors | DGS |
| Patty Romano | Staff Excellence | JSG |
| Kara Scott | Thelma Lynn Guion Library Staff Honors | DGS |
| Britney Schmidt | Outstanding Young Researcher Award | UTIG |
| John Snedden | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| John Snedden | Outstanding Researcher Award | UTIG |
| Danny Stockli | 2nd Place, Best Represented Research Group, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Harm van Avendonk | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
| Duncan Young | Director’s Circle of Excellence | UTIG |
Promotions
| Name | Position | Division/Organization |
| Ginny Catania | Associate Professor | DGS/JSG |
| Philip Guerrero | Graduate Program Administrator | JSG |
| Nicholas Hayman | Research Scientist (effective Sep. 2013) | UTIG |
| Richard Ketcham | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | JSG |
| Jung-fu “Afu” Lin | Associate Professor | DGS/JSG |
| Lucy Nicar | Administrative Assistant | JSG |
| John Snedden | Senior Research Scientist (effective Sep. 2013) | UTIG |
Leadership
| Name | Position | Division/Organization |
| Bayani Cardenas | Editor of Geophysical Research Letters | AGU & Wiley |
| Elizabeth Catlos | Chair, Annual Meeting (2013) | South-Central Section, GSA |
| Elizabeth Catlos | Chair of Management Board | South-Central Section, GSA |
| Elizabeth Catlos | Councilor | GSA |
| Elizabeth Catlos | Vice President | Austin Chapter, Fulbright Alumni Association |
| Elizabeth Catlos | System Standing Review Board for the NASA-Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer | NASA |
| Kathy Ellins | Chair, Education and Outreach Subcommittee (2013-15) | EarthScope |
| Kathy Ellins | Member, Steering Committee (2013-15) | EarthScope |
| Rong Fu | President-elect, Global Environmental Change Focus Group | AGU |
| Philip Guerrero | President | Texas Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (TxGAP) |
| Wonsuck Kim | Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface | AGU & Wiley |
| Carey King | Special Projects Chair, ASME Energy-Water Nexus Interdisciplinary Council | American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
| Sharon Mosher | President (2013) | AGI |
| Suzanne Pierce | Board Member (Dec. 2012-2016) | U.S. Chapter, Intern. Assoc. of Hydrogeology |
| Jack Sharp | Scientific Committee, IAH 42nd Congress, Rome, Italy | International Association of Hydrogeologists |
| Jack Sharp | NGWA Summit Committee (2014) | National Ground Water Association |
| Jack Sharp | Scientific Board, Characterization and Engineering of Karst Aquifers International Field Course | University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia |
| John Snedden | Joint Technical Program Committee, GSA National Meeting (2012) | GSA |
| John Snedden | Board Vice Chair (2012-14) | SEPM Foundation |
Student Awards
| Student | Award | Organization |
| Gabriel Aguilar | GSA South-Central Section Meeting Award | GSA SC Section |
| Dan Arnost | Outstanding Mention | GSA |
| Khushboo Arora | 1st Place, Gulf Coast Challenge Bowl | SEG |
| Lauren Becker | 2nd place team, Gulf Coast Section, Imperial Barrel Award | AAPG |
| Lauren Becker | 1st Place, Early M.S. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Paul Betka | 2nd Place, Ph.D. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Kevin Bone | Mineralogical Society of America Award | MSA |
| Benjamin Byerly | JSG Best Graduate Paper | JSG |
| Ryan Cahalan | Outstanding Student Poster Award, 2012 AGU Fall Meeting | AGU |
| Kuldeep Chaudhary | Collaborative Research Award | Norway |
| Sarah Coyle | 2nd place team, Gulf Coast Section, Imperial Barrel Award | AAPG |
| Julie Ditkof | 1st Place, Poster Competition | UT Austin Energy Forum |
| Julie Ditkof | 2nd place team, Gulf Coast Section, Imperial Barrel Award | AAPG |
| Dallas Dunlap | Technical Sessions Best Speaker, M.S., Spring | DGS |
| Dan Eakin | Outstanding Student Paper Award, 2012 AGU Fall Meeting | AGU |
| Rania Eldam | Outstanding Student Oral Presentation, 2012 AGU Fall Meeting | AGU |
| Menal Gupta | 2nd Place, Gulf Coast Challenge Bowl | SEG |
| Menal Gupta | Best Graduate & Ph.D. Resume | JSG |
| Aaron Hantsche | 1st Place, Undergraduate, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Allan Jones | Outstanding TA | DGS |
| Jake Jordan | 2nd Place, Early M.S. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Aaron Kantsche | Austin Geological Society Award | AGS |
| Jessica Kopp | 1st Place, Late M.S. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Nicole Kurka | Austin Geological Society Award | AGS |
| Maureen LeVoir | GSEC Student Service Award | GSEC |
| Maren Mathisen | 2nd place team, Gulf Coast Section, Imperial Barrel Award | AAPG |
| Maren Mathisen | Outstanding TA | DGS |
| Lindsay Olinde | Outstanding TA | DGS |
| Joshua Poncik | Top 10 Finalist, Student Employee of the Year | UT Austin Human Resource Services |
| Maxwell Pommer | 2nd Place, Grad Student, Folk/McBride Petrography Award | DGS |
| Timothy Prather | Estwing Hammer Award | DGS |
| Natalie Raia | Best Freshman/Sophomore Resume | JSG |
| Robert Reece | Technical Sessions Best Speaker, Ph.D., Fall | DGS |
| Eugenio Santillan | Technical Sessions Best Speaker, Ph.D., Spring | DGS |
| Dustin Schroeder | 1st Place, Ph.D. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Dustin Schroeder | Technical Sessions Best Speaker Ph.D., Spring | DGS |
| Spencer Seman | 1st Place, Grad Student, Folk/McBride Petrography Award | DGS |
| Jeffrey Senison | Outstanding TA | DGS |
| Tim Shin | Outstanding Mention | GSA |
| Rachel Simon | Technical Sessions Best Speaker, M.S., Fall | DGS |
| Rebekah Simon | 2nd place team, Gulf Coast Section, Imperial Barrel Award | AAPG |
| Benjamin Smith | 1st Place, Undergrad Student, Folk/McBride Petrography Award | DGS |
| Xiaolei Song | Best Student Poster | SEG |
| Jeffrey Sitgreaves | Best Undergraduate & Junior/Senior Resume | JSG |
| Colin Sturrock | 2nd Place, Undergrad Student, Folk/McBride Petrography Award | DGS |
| Nataleigh Vann | Best Master’s Resume | JSG |
| Marissa Vara | 2nd Place, Undergraduate, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Natasha Vitek | Outstanding Student Volunteer | JSG |
| Kerstan Wallace | 2nd Place, Late M.S. Student, JSG Research Symposium | JSG |
| Stephanie Wood | 3rd Place, Poster Competition | UT Energy Forum |
Student Grants & Fellowships
| Student | Award | Organization |
| Trisha Alvarez | SPIRIT Scholarship | ConocoPhillips |
| Veronica Anderson | Graduate Research Grant | GSA |
| Khushboo Arora | Ike Crumbly Minorities in Energy Named Grant | AAPG |
| Amanda Calle | Marta Sutton Weeks Named Grant | AAPG |
| Rania Eldam | Undergraduate Research Fellowship | UT Austin |
| Rania Eldam | Fellowship for Outreach Development | Young Women’s Alliance |
| Aaron Hantsche | Undergraduate Field Scholarship | Austin Geological Society |
| Nicole Hart | Arthur A. Meyerhoff Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Emily Hernandez Goldstein | Diversity in the Geosciences Minority Research Grant Award | GSA |
| Emily Hernandez Goldstein | Student Research Grant Award | GSA Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Volcanology Division |
| Jessica Hudock | Ed Picou Fellowship Grant | GCSSEMP |
| Han Kyul (Kyra) Kim | Undergraduate Research Fellowship | UT Austin |
| Jenna Kromann | Research Grant | GSA |
| Vishal Maharaj | Research Grant | SEPM |
| Damian Markez | Statoil Fellow | Statoil |
| Maren Mathisen | James E. and Elloie B. Wilson Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Renas Mohammed | Graduate Research Grant | GSA |
| Renas Mohammed | Ronald K. DeFord Field Scholarship | JSG |
| Nicholas Perez | Graduate Research Fellowship | NSF |
| Nicholas Perez | Bruton Fellowship | UT Austin |
| Nicholas Perez | Graduate Research Grant | GSA |
| Edgardo Pujols | Jay M. McMurray Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Sebastian Ramirez | Pre-Expedition award | Ocean Drilling Program |
| Jason Sandford | Fred M. Bullard Prestigious Graduate Fellowship | JSG |
| Jason Sandford | Ed Picou Fellowship Grant | GCSSEMP |
| Jason Sandford | Travel grant for AAPG Pittsburgh | AAPG Student Section |
| Migdalys Salazar | Ed Picou Fellowship Grant | GCSSEMP |
| Migdalys Salazar | Peter Warren Gester Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Migdalys Salazar | Jesse L. Brundrett Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship | UT Austin |
| Jeffrey Senison | Jones-Amsbury Research Grant | South Texas Geological Society |
| Dolores van der Kollk | Alexander Sisson Award | GSA |
| Lichun Wang | Frank E. Kottlowski Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Jonathan Warden | John and Colleen Silcox Named Grant | AAPG |
| Logan West | Kenneth H. Crandall Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Stephanie Wood | William Dow Hamm Memorial Grant | AAPG |
| Jie Xu | Ed Picou Fellowship Grant | GCSSEMP |
| Lei Yin | Earth and Space Fellowship | NASA |