Ronald J Steel
Ron Steel is Professor and Davis Centennial Chair at UT Austin (Emeritus from Sept 1, 2020). He was also 6th-Centuary Professor (part-time) at Aberdeen University (2006-14) Honorary Professorial Fellow (2016-17) and Honorary Professor (2018-2020) at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK. He was Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences in the Jackson School at UT Austin, August 2011-2015, previously Chief Geologist for Norsk Hydro (1983-1990), Professor of Reservoir Geology at the University of Bergen (1990-1995), and Wold Professor of Energy at the University of Wyoming (1995-2003). He was awarded 6th Century Chair in Sedimentary Geology (part-time) at the University of Aberdeen, UK (2006), on the occasion of the UniversityÂ’s 600th anniversary. He has some 260 published papers, edited 11 books, received 8 best paper or poster awards, and graduated about 200 MS and PhD students from the universities of Bergen, Wyoming and UT Austin. He has held Distinguished and Endowed Lectureships for AAPG, Japan Society for Promotion of Science, and University of Texas at Austin. He was invited to deliver the William Smith Annual Lecture at the Geological Society of London in 2014 and was awarded the Twenhofel Medal for research excellence by SEPM in 2016, their highest award. His current research interests, based on sedimentology and stratigraphy, are on the relationships between tectonics and sedimentation, the construction of shelves by deltas, the growth of continental-shelf margins and the mechanisms by which sand and mud are delivered across shelf-edge regions down into deep-water areas.
Areas of Expertise
KEY RESEARCH THEMES 2000-2021 The main focus of my research over the last 25 years or so, has been to gain an understanding of the time scales, sediment delivery mechanisms, sediment budget partitioning and growth styles of shelves and shelf margins of deepwater basins. In addition, my interests in Sedimentation and Tectonics continue, with several students completing research on long Late Cretaceous transects from the Sevier fold-and –thrust belt out into the Foreland Basin for 100s of km. I am also strongly engaged in understanding relationships between sea-level change and tides, and in particular in developing models of tidal dunes and bars on deltas, estuaries and shelves. Recent research locations have been Washakie Basin (Wy), Cretaceous WIS (Wy, Co and Utah), paleo-Gulf of California, Orinoco Delta and Margin (Trinidad and Venezuela), Upper Paleozoic of Arabian Plate, Jurassic Margin development (Neuquen, Argentina), Oriente Basin (Ecuador), South China Sea basins, lacustrine Junggar Basin (NW China).
Research Locations
Best Paper in Basin Research for 2019 - EAGE (2020)
CamÂ’ Sproule Award for Best Paper (w/student Jinyu Zhang) - American Assoc. Petrol. Geologists (2017)
Twenhofel Medal for Excellence in Research - SEPM (2016)
Honorary Professorial Fellow - Lyell Center for Earth and Marine Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, UK. (2016)
Delivered the William Smith Lecture - Geological Society (London) (2014)
Van Tuyl Distinguished Lectureship - Colorado School of Mines (2014)
Distinguished Educator Award - American Assoc. Petrol. Geologists (2011)
Distinguished Educator Award, American Assoc. Petrol. Geologists, 2011 - AAPG (2011)
Distinguished Teaching Award, Jackson School, University of Texas, 2010 - UT Austin (2010)
SEPM Best Paper (Honorable Mention), Gerber et al. 2009 - SEPM (2009)
Walter Excellence Award, Jackson School, University of Texas at Austin 2009 - Jackson School. UT Austin (2009)
SEPM Best Paper (Honorable Mention) award 2007 and AAPG Best Paper (2nd Place), 2008 - AAPG & SEPM (2007 - 2008)
Awarded 6th Century Chair - University of Aberdeen, UK (2006)
Distinguished Lecturer - AAPG (2004 - 2005)
Distinguished Lecturer - Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (2002)
Excellence of Poster Award - SEPM (2001)
Outstanding Research Award - University of Wyoming (2000)
Best Lecturer, 2nd Place - SEPM, Rocky Mountain Section (1999)
Best Paper Award - Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, Denver (1999)
Dr Steel currently supervises or co-supervises 8 graduate students working within RioMAR (shelf and shelf-margin depositional systems and architecture) IA Program, BITE (Bars in Tidal Environments) IA Program, Campanian Dynamic Stratigraphy (& impact of Laramide tectonics) Project in US Western Interior, as well as newer projects on peri-Tethyan, Miocene Lake Basins (Romania and Black Sea), Deepwater Channel-to-Lobe Transitions (Argentina) and large paleo-Deltas (Orinoco, Colorado).
Postdocs
Anjali Fernandes, Denison University
Graduate Students
Fritz Palacios (Supervisor)
Rawan Alasad
(Supervisor)
I study the sedimentary record, surficial processes, tectonic relief and catchment evolution that occurs during rifting.
Sarp Karakaya
(Committee Member)
Thesis Project: Constraining and quantifying depositional controls on mixed carbonate & siliciclastic sequence stratigraphy of the Eastern Shelf of the Permian Basin and reservoir modeling using 3D seismic interpretation, well log interpretation, seismic inversion, core analysis, and machine learning applications
Tasks:
o Interpreted a 3D seismic volume and well logs in the Eastern Shelf of the Permian Basin
o Wrote a Python...
Yuquian (Philomena) Gan, Ph.D., 2022
(Supervisor)
Jackson School of Geosciences
Matthew Nix, M.S., 2022
(Committee Member)
Jackson School of Geosciences
Junwen Peng, Ph.D., 2021 (Committee Member)
Jake Gearon, M.S., 2021
(Supervisor)
Department of Geosciences
Logan West, Ph.D., 2020
(Co-supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Keri Belcher, M.S., 2019 (Co-supervisor)
Lily Jackson, Ph.D., 2019 (Committee Member)
Rene Winter, Ph.D., 2018
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Reynaldy Fifariz, Ph.D., 2018 (Committee Member)
Woong Mo Koo, Ph.D., 2018 (Co-supervisor)
Yaser Alzayer, Ph.D., 2018 (Committee Member)
German Merletti, Ph.D., 2017
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Rattanaporn Fong-Ngern, Ph.D., 2016 (Supervisor)
Valentina Rossi, Ph.D., 2016
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Kelsi Ustipak, M.S., 2015 (Committee Member)
Julio Leva Lopez, Ph.D., 2014
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Eugen Tudor, M.S., 2014
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Alvarez Tricia, Ph.D., 2014 (Committee Member)
Michael Cloos, M.S., 2014 (Co-supervisor)
Joshua Dixon, Ph.D., 2013
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Allison Ned, M.S., 2013
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Nataleigh Vann, M.S., 2013
(Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin
Carla Sanchez, Ph.D., 2011
(Supervisor)
Controls on Sedimentary Processes and 3D Stratigraphic Architecture of a Mid-Miocene to Recent, MIxed Carbonate-siliciclastic Continental Margin: Northwest Shelf of Australia
Georgia Huggins, M.A., 2007 (Supervisor)
Sarah Milewski, M.S., 2007 (Supervisor)
Rikke Bruhn, Ph.D., 2003
(Supervisor)
Københavns Universitet / University of Copenhagen
Anton Wroblewski, Ph.D., 2002
(Supervisor)
University of Wyoming
Manasij Santra (Supervisor)
Daniel Pinkston (Supervisor)
Chris Armstrong (Supervisor)
Ozge Karaman (Supervisor)
Bryn Clark (Supervisor)
Victor Pusca (Supervisor)
Maija Schellpeper (Supervisor)
Ariana Osman, M.S. (Supervisor)
Cristian Carvahal (Supervisor)
Andrew Petter, Ph.D. (Supervisor)
Stuart Blackwood (Supervisor)
Carlos Uroza (Supervisor)
Jennifer Aschoff, Ph.D. (Supervisor)
Carolina Gomez (Supervisor)
| Year | Semester | Course | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Fall | GEO 383 | Clastic Depositional Systems |
| 2018 | Fall | GEO 383 | Clastic Depositional Systems |
| 2018 | Spring | GEO 394 | Rsch In Geological Sciences |
| 2018 | Spring | GEO 383U | Dynamic Field Strtgrphy-Ut/Rou |
| 2017 | Fall | GEO 394 | Rsch In Geological Sciences |
| 2017 | Fall | GEO 383 | Clastic Depositional Systems |
| 2016 | Fall | GEO 394 | Rsch In Geological Sciences |
| 2016 | Fall | GEO 383 | Clastic Depositional Systems |
| 2016 | Spring | GEO 394 | Rsch In Depositional Systems |
| 2015 | Fall | GEO 394 | Rsch In Geological Sciences |
| 2015 | Spring | GEO 394 | Rsch In Depositional Systems |
| 2015 | Spring | GEO 330K | Energy Exploration |
| 2014 | Fall | GEO 394 | Rsch In Depositional Systems |
| 2014 | Fall | GEO 383 | Clastic Depositional Systems |
| 2014 | Summer | GEO f660A | Field Geo-Tx/Nm/Co/Wy/Mt/Id/Ut |
| 2014 | Summer | GEO f320L | Introductory Field Geology |
| 2014 | Spring | GEO 291 | Dynamic Field Stratig: Andes |
| 2014 | Spring | GEO 394 | Rsch In Depositional Systems |