Written by Sarah Zink
Thank you to the students of TU and to Mid-Continent SPE for hosting the first Student Day as part of the 2018 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference! This Student Day was an opportunity for our students to tour TU’s research facilities, compete in the the 2018 SPE Mid-Continent North American Regional Student Paper Contest, participate in the first ever Contr(oil)versy Debate, and hear from speakers – including the 2019 SPE International President, Saudi Aramco’s Sami Al-Neaim!
As part of the Contr(oil)versy Debate, students in teams of two were given a topic and a distinction of “pro” or “con.” Each team argued their stance on the topic in a format that included timed speeches and crossfire questioning. This event was a great way for our students to learn about a unique topic while also developing and exhibiting their skills of negotiation, teamwork, and articulation. This year’s topic was the consequences of drilling on Florida’s gulf 
coast. We hope to increase the level of participation in this event in the future and see it develop at the 2020 SPE IOR Student Day!
The 2018 SPE Mid-Continent North America Regional Student Paper Contest was held at the University of Tulsa on April 15, 2018. Many students from schools within the region submitted abstracts for selection in each division. Only 9 finalists were selected by the region to compete in the PhD division and 3 selected finalists in the undergraduate division. The finalists represented the following schools: University of Tulsa, University of Oklahoma, University of Kansas, Oklahoma State University, and Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Two students from our department were among the selected finalists in the PhD Division. Emmanuel Olusegun Omojuwa, a PhD candidate working under the supervision of Dr. Ramadan Ahmed placed second. Chinedum Peter Ezeakacha, a PhD candidate working under the supervision of Dr. Saeed Salehi placed first. He will be sponsored by SPE to compete with 13 other regional finalists at the international competition which will be held at the 2018 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, September 24 to 26 2018 in Dallas Texas.