Geology Students Land Regional Award

Photo Submitted

IBA Team (left to right) Adam Martin, Will Cains, Greg Buratowski, Paul Minor, and team leader Brett Wittman.

A team of geology students from the University of Arkansas secured second place at the Imperial Barrel Award (IBA) mid-continent section competition on March 10, hosted by Chesapeake Energy Corporation in Oklahoma City.

Representing the University of Arkansas were Brett Wittman, Adam Martin, Will Cains, Greg Buratowski and Paul Minor. Coaches were Xiangyang “Cheyenne” Xie, assistant professor of geoscience in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and UA geology alumnus Steve Milligan. This was first year for the University of Arkansas to compete.

“It was important to the team and the department that we show the judges, competitors and industry representatives that Arkansas is a serious contender in preparing students for jobs in industry and research,” said Xie. "Our students are among the very best in the country."

First place University of Oklahoma will advance to the national competition in Long Beach, Calif. Tying for third place were Oklahoma State University and University of Missouri.

The competition was sponsored by Anadarko, Chesapeake, Devon, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Schlumberger and Shell Oil. Judging the contest were representatives from Devon, Orion Exploration and Chesapeake.

The national Imperial Barrel Award is a program of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and held annually as a prospective basin evaluation competition for geoscience graduate students from universities around the world. University teams compete to win scholarship funds for their geoscience department and the international recognition that comes from winning in the competition. The program is rigorous and contributes to AAPG's mission of promoting petroleum geoscience training and advancing the careers of geoscience students.

Geosciences is a department within the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in geology, geography and natural sciences.