Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University

Headed to URTeC this week? We can't wait to see you!

We will be here all week, so stop by booth #435 to learn more about our current research, learn about our department graduate offerings or just to say hi!

Congratulations to staff member John Maldonado for receiving Texas A&M Engineering's Key Contributor Award! The Key Contributor Award honors an engineering staff employee with 10 or more years of continuous service as a staff member with Texas A&M Engineering. The recipient is honored for their significant support of the engineering program and their recognizable contributions.

Here's what his nominators had to say about him:

"John is incredibly diligent and loyal to the students, faculty and staff in petroleum engineering. He is not only highly skilled as a technician, planner and facilitator, but he also brings both creativity and care to every task he performs. He demonstrates and exceptional work ethic and the willingness to "do whatever it takes" to ensure the success of all projects in the department, whether or not under his area of responsibility. John is critical to our success and warrants maximum recognition. We are extremely fortunate to have his service at Texas A&M University.

"I feel extremely honored to receive this award," said John. "I am thankful to those who nominated me and for the support of the entire department."

Congratulations to our faculty members who were recognized at our Spring 2026 Awards Ceremony!

- Doug Van Gonten Award for Excellence in Teaching - Dr. Rita Esuru Okoroafor
- Doug Van Gonten Award for Excellence in Teaching - Dr. Ibere Alves
- Pioneer Natural Resources Faculty Award - Dr. Roman Shor

We are so grateful for your commitment to excellence, research and our students.

Are you attending the 2026 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference? If so, we would love to see you there!

Stop by booth #435, June 22-24 to hear about our graduate programs, learn more about our impactful research or just to say hi.

We can't wait to connect with you at !

Congratulations to all of our graduates who were recognized at our 2026 Senior Awards Ceremony!

To all of our 20226 graduates, we are so proud of you! We can't wait to see what you accomplish and the impact you make.

Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and other significant weather events can cause a bad day at the beach. While these developments might just mean a day inside for some, they can also cause coastal changes that are detrimental to naval operations.

With the help of a grant from the Office of Naval Research, professor and researcher Dr. Wencheng Jin is developing AXBeach, a computer model that can predict real-time changes to shorelines during storms.

Read the full story here: tx.ag/JinONRGrant

Attending the Offshore Technology Conference this week? Stop by our booth ( #2022) to hear about our graduate degree programs and the innovative research we are pioneering. 🌎

We'll be here until 2pm and would love to see you!

355 recently hosted a presentation seminar, and we are excited to recognize the top three poster presentations! Congratulations to the winning teams:

1st place: Declan Kennedy, Jonathan James and Chase Harvey
2nd place: Zachary Angerman, Andres Axtell and Mason Gubser
3rd place: Kesley Stewart, Emily Coronado and Abigail Dunaway

Congratulations to the winners and all of our PETE students who are working to finish out the semester strong! 👍

Congratulations to three faculty members who were recently recognized during the Spring 2026 Donors and Scholarship Banquet! 👍

ConocoPhillips Excellence in Teaching Award - Dr. Iskander Diyashev '98
Karen Olson '87 & Louis Turner Research Award - Dr. Rami Younis
David Dunlap '83 Excellence in Service Award - Dr. Kiseok Kim

We are excited to share that the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University has remained the No. 2 ranked graduate program for petroleum engineering in the nation, according to the 2026 U.S. News & World Report! 👍