Liner Chosen as Inaugural Storm Chair in Petroleum Geology

Photo Submitted

Chris Liner

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The department of geosciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences has established the Maurice F. Storm Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology thanks to a gift from alumnus Maurice Storm. The first scholar to hold the Storm Chair will be professor Christopher Liner, a 1978 graduate of the department.

"It is an extraordinary honor to serve as the inaugural Storm Professor of Petroleum Geology,” said Liner. “The university has a long and distinguished history in the geological sciences and is poised for growth due to outstanding support by alumni such as Maurice F. Storm. In addition, the university administration has approved and promoted a new geosciences Ph.D. program. All of this significant effort mirrors the past and future importance of energy, fossil fuels and environmental stewardship in the state of Arkansas. I welcome the challenge of further developing petroleum geoscience at the University of Arkansas."

Liner has worked for Conoco, Golden Geophysical Corp and Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia. He has also served as an industry consultant for various companies in countries around the world, including Iraq, Oman, Tunisia and Indonesia. 

“We’re so pleased to have Dr. Liner back at the U of A where he belongs,” said Ralph Davis, professor of geosciences and chair of the department. “His extensive career in industry, teaching and academic research will be an asset to the department and to Fulbright College.”

From 1990 to 2004, Liner taught at the University of Tulsa where he earned the position of associate professor in 1995. After his stint with Saudi Aramco, Liner returned to the classroom, serving as a professor of geophysics at the University of Houston since 2008. While at Tulsa and Houston, Liner taught and developed more than a dozen courses ranging from freshman-level survey classes to advanced graduate topics. Nine students have completed doctoral degrees under his tutelage.    

Liner has authored scores of journal articles and two books, with a third in progress. He has presented his research at dozens of conferences around the world. Since 1992, Liner has been the author of the Seismos column in the geophysics journal, The Leading Edge. He also maintains the Seismos blog, examining the history and culture of geophysics.

Liner is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Seismological Society of America and the European Academy of Sciences. He has served as 1999-2001 Editor of the journal Geophysics and is currently on a 30-stop world tour delivering the 2012 Society of Exploration Geophysicists Distinguished Instructor Short Course.

Liner earned a master of science in geophysics from the University of Tulsa (1980). He holds a doctorate in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines (1989).