LAGCOE '15: UL and LAGCOE partner with local high schools to educate the next generation
LAFAYETTE -- The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) and the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE) have a long-standing relationship, which dates back to 1955 when the first expo was held on the University’s campus. With strong ties to the oil and gas industry, UL Lafayette is working to help improve the industry and to prepare graduates for work in an ever-evolving field.
Educating the next generation
LAGCOE, the UL Lafayette College of Engineering, Gear Up, and Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise have partnered with local high schools to introduce young students to the oil and gas industry at the biannual exposition. Established in 2013, the Future Energy Professionals group matches 100 students, each selected based on their applications and strong interest in STEM areas, with UL Lafayette geology students, Engineering Ambassador students and the Young Professionals of LAGCOE. Of the 100 students, two are awarded scholarships of $10,000 each to pursue a degree in STEM fields.
Also continued from 2013 LAGCOE is a student paper competition, organized in part by Dr. Mark Zappi, UL Lafayette College of Engineering dean. Students from universities across the South are invited to present their oil and gas technology research.
Geology students named best in the world — again
A team of five geology graduate students claimed their second Imperial Barrel Award title at the international American Association of Petroleum Geologists competition in 2013, making UL Lafayette the only university in the world to win twice. Since 2008, the annual competition has challenged participants to determine the best locations for oil drilling. The team competed against 122 schools from six U.S. regions and six international regions.
The team received given datasets related to geology, geophysics, land, production infrastructure and other factors eight weeks before the competition. The students delivered a 25-minute presentation to industry experts, and gave recommendations of where to drill and which sites shouldn’t receive further attention.
UL Lafayette won the international competition in 2012, and has won at the U.S. Gulf Coast regional level four times. Learn more at geosciences.louisiana.edu.
Engineering programs are growing
The UL Lafayette College of Engineering has seen enrollment nearly double since 2006. After receiving a $2.83 million donation from former president of Frank’s Casing Crew & Rental Tools, Inc., Donald Mosing, the College of Engineering established the Frank and Jessie Mosing Endowed Engineering Student Career Development Program. The program matches students with internship and career opportunities, and places them in leadership programs. Zappi credits the program with helping to recruit and to retain talented engineering students.
Mosing’s donation was also used to establish a $1 million endowed chair in mechanical engineering, and to create the Frank’s computer-aided design laboratory.
The college’s petroleum engineering program is now the third largest in the nation, with almost 800 students. It is affiliated with Texas A&M, and is only 120 students away from being number one. Even as enrollment grows, the petroleum engineering program has maintained a 100% job placement rate for its graduates.
The Evangeline Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineering donated $100,000 to the University’s petroleum engineering program to purchase additional laboratory equipment. The lab, which is used for hands-on analysis of drilling fluids, needs additional equipment to accommodate the program’s increasing enrollment, which has more than quadrupled since 2007 and is expected to reach 900 this fall. The UL Lafayette College of Engineering offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Learn more at engineering.louisiana.edu.
Professor’s research could affect oil and gas exploration
Dr. Carl Richter, Geologist and School of Geosciences professor, was part of a team that extracted samples off the coast of Spain and Portugal. Their findings could influence the future of oil and gas exploration.
The sediment collected near the Strait of Gibraltar is unique because of the area’s strong ocean currents, called Mediterranean outflow water, which create deep-sea channels and mountains of mud underwater.
“The thickness, extent and properties of these sands make them an ideal target in places where they are buried deeply enough to allow for the trapping of oil and gas,” said Richter.
In their report, the research team noted that these sands “represent a completely new and important exploration target for potential oil and gas reservoirs.”
Agreement with Mexican state will bring more STEM students
UL Lafayette officials signed agreements with 15 Mexican institutions that will help Mexico train engineers for its oil industry through joint graduate programs.
The Mexican state of Tabasco has a shortage of engineers with advanced degrees, and these agreements will let Mexican students complete two years of undergraduate courses in Tabasco, and then complete three years of schooling in the U.S. through the doctoral level.
