Top Gulf Coast Geology Medal Goes to UTIG’s John Snedden

December 12, 2023

John Snedden, a senior research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), has been awarded the Don R. Boyd Medal for Excellence in Gulf Coast geology, the highest honor awarded by the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.

The medal recognizes Snedden’s contributions to the study of the Gulf of Mexico and his role in characterizing it as an energy super basin — one of a small number of prolific geologic basins that supply the bulk of the world’s oil and gas.

“I am very humbled by this award from the association for my work in this wonderful Gulf of Mexico super basin,” Snedden said.

Snedden is director of the Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis program, a longstanding industry-funded research project at UTIG, whose geologic maps and research have helped identify reservoirs for exploration and provide important insights into the history of the basin’s geology and climate. Previous recipients of the Boyd Medal include William Fisher, former dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences, and Bureau of Economic Geology Director Scott Tinker. Both UTIG and the bureau are research units of the Jackson School.