ATCE 2017: San Antonio

ATCE 2017 in San Antonio, Texas has just ended and the University of Oklahoma was there in full force. Here are some of the highlights from the conference, and a student perspective. See more pictures on our Facebook.

  • Our PetroBowl team took 3rd place overall in the international competition. OU was the highest placed team from the United States.
  • OU SPE took almost 50 students for a chance to meet, network and learn from industry leaders.
  • 3 MPGE Staff Members and 6 Faculty Members attended the conference.
  • OU SPE was recognized as an Outstanding Student Chapter.

Paper Contests, both students placed first at regionals and then went to ATCE to compete:

  • PhD student paper contest, Wei Tian, Advisor Dr. Xingru Wu, titled “Improved Method of Moments to Determine Mobile Phase Saturations With Single Well Chemical Tracer Test”.
  • MS student paper contest, Tito Henao, Won First Place, Advisor Dr. Carl Sondergeld, titled “Effect of Calcite and Clay Filled Veins on Compressive Strength of Shales”. Second place was a student from LSU, third place went to a student from Stanford.

 

Below, you can read about Nate Johnson’s experience at ATCE.

Sunday morning, October 8th, 2017. Fresh off an improbable, disappointing loss to Iowa State on the gridiron, the OU student chapter of SPE was set to travel to ATCE in San Antonio. 42 dreary eyed petroleum engineering students gathered at Lloyd Noble Center to begin an enriching 3-day conference. Many students slept on the ride south, but the PetroBowl team was hard at work practicing. Having come in 3rd place at the regional student summit competition, the PetroBowl team was wishing to have better luck than their football counterparts experienced the previous day and was looking to take home first prize at the ATCE tournament. The members threw question after question at each other, trying to prepare themselves for what lay ahead. Finally, after an arduous journey, the SPE chapter arrived in San Antonio on Sunday afternoon. The first afternoon was spent getting acquainted with the city, while the officers attended a regional officers meeting with the professional and student chapters of the midcontinent region of SPE.

ATCE began in full swing on Monday. Throughout the day, students could attend technical paper presentations, walk the exhibition floor, or visit with professional engineers. Students took full advantage of all these opportunities throughout the day, alternating between the options as they saw fit for their individual needs. Amongst all of these events, the PetroBowl team battled it out among many schools. Students gathered to cheer on the team as they powered their way to the semi-finals as the final US team in the tournament. After handily taking care of the competition throughout the day, the OU team fell in the semifinals to the eventual 1st place team –(UNAM)-. After locking in a 3rd place finish in the international PetroBowl competition, the team and students gathered at a nearby OU alumni reception dinner. Sooners from around the world came here to celebrate what the school has accomplished, and the PetroBowl team’s strong showing in the tournament.

Tuesday brought much of the same at the conference. Students attended their choice of technical talks and wandered the exhibition floor looking for free things, information, and jobs. After having their fill at the conference, all of the student chapters gathered in a banquet hall for the student chapter awards ceremony. At this dinner banquet, the president of SPE international, Mr. Darcy, gave a compelling speech about opportunity and the future of our industry. Following the speech, the top 10% of student chapters in the entire world were awarded “Outstanding Student Chapter.” This is the highest honor that an SPE student chapter can receive, and last year’s OU SPE president, Chris Shea, came to ATCE to accept it on our behalf. As they announced the University of Oklahoma, the large representation of Sooners at the banquet erupted with a loud “BOOMER” and replied with an enthusiastic “SOONER.”

The conference came to a conclusion on Wednesday afternoon, and companies and student chapters alike began trickling out of San Antonio. The exhibition floor closed earlier than the previous days, and the technical talks ran fewer hours into the afternoon than the other days. Once again, the Sooners from Norman, Oklahoma were set to embark on an early, 6 am trip. As the students boarded the bus to return to the prairie, they thought back on all of the notes they had taken, networks they had expanded, and good times they had experienced. The bus entered the interstate, and the students fell back asleep one by one. “The Sooners would, indeed, remember this ATCE”.

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