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Why does SPE have an awards program?
Peer recognition is an important aspect of every professional organization. SPE members make many outstanding and significant technical, professional, and service contributions to the petroleum industry. The SPE Awards Program recognizes these contributions to the worldwide oil and gas industry and to the petroleum engineering profession and exceptional service to the society and to the greater community.
How does the SPE awards program work?
The SPE awards program is nominator-driven. You cannot submit your own nomination.
What are the SPE international awards?
There are 21 international awards in 3 categories:
What are the SPE Regional awards?
There are 12 Regional awards in 2 categories:
Regional Technical Awards:
Regional Professional and Service Awards:
What are the differences between SPE International and SPE Regional awards?
There are different SPE staff contacts, requirements, procedures, nomination forms, and deadlines for each of these SPE award programs:
SPE Regional Awards:
SPE International Awards:
How are award committee members selected?
SPE international award committees consist of six or more geographically diverse SPE members serving 3-year terms. The SPE President-elect annually appoints two committee members to each award committee. These appointments are subject to the approval of the SPE Board of Directors. Committee members have an interest in the discipline of the award, and are distributed geographically as widely as possible.
What are the length-of-membership honors?
SPE recognizes members who maintain their membership for 25 years or more. No nominations are necessary. The three length of membership distinctions are:
What do award recipients receive?
International award recipients are presented with a certificate, plaque, or medal commemorating their achievement. They receive complimentary registration for the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) and tickets to the event at which the award will be presented in front of their professional peers – either the Annual Awards Banquet or President’s Luncheon.
When will I find out the names of the award recipients?
International award recipients will be announced after the SPE Board of Directors approves them at the June Board meeting. The list of international and Regional award recipients will be posted on SPE.org and published in the Journal of Petroleum Technology.
What about sanctions?
SPE members ordinarily resident in a country embargoed or sanctioned by the United States government and European Union are not eligible to participate in the SPE Awards Program. Click here for more information.
What do international award recipients receive?
International and Regional award recipients are presented with a certificate, plaque, or medal commemorating their achievement. International winners also receive complimentary registration for the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition and 2 complimentary tickets to the event at which the SPE President will present the award before their professional peers and guests – either the Annual Awards Banquet or President’s Luncheon.
Who can I contact with questions about the SPE Awards Program?
Send questions about SPE International Awards to:
Send questions about SPE Regional Awards to:
When can I nominate someone for an SPE award?
The annual SPE call for nominations begins in November, after ATCE. You can submit nominations through the deadline of 15 February. SPE will not extend the international deadline. Regional Directors may extend the deadline for their region.
How do I nominate someone for an International award?
You will need your SPE login to access the international nomination form. Your login is the email address on your SPE member record, and your SPE password. You can use the login help link, or contact service@spe.org for assistance with your SPE login and password.
1. Review the International award criteria.
2. Select the appropriate International award
3. Log into http://www.spe.org/awards/nominate/ to complete an international nomination form
4. Include all requested information on the form. Do not reference attachments.
5. Solicit up to 3 letters of support for the nomination from colleagues.
6. Colleagues can send letters of recommendation to awards@spe.org
7. Submit the nomination by the February 15 deadline
How do I nominate someone for a Regional award?
You will need your SPE login to access the regional nomination form. Your login is the email address on your SPE member record, and your SPE password. You can use the login help link, or contact service@spe.org for assistance with your SPE login and password.
1. Review the Regional award criteria.
2. Select the appropriate Regional award
3. Log into http://www.spe.org/awards/nominate/ to complete a regional nomination form
4. Include all requested information on the form. Do not reference attachments.
5. Submit the nomination by the regional deadline.
Can students be nominated for SPE awards?
No. The SPE Awards Program is for professional members. Candidates for awards requiring membership must be professional SPE members.
The exception is the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal. It is the only SPE award that can be presented to a student member of SPE.
Students can check with their chapter to learn about local awards available to student members of SPE.
Do I have to win a Regional award before being considered for an International award?
No. It is not necessary for a candidate to have received a Regional award to be considered for an SPE International award.
Do Regional award winners qualify for international awards?
Yes, many Regional Awards winners become candidates for the corresponding International awards in the following year.
Do Regional award winners moving into international consideration need to submit a new international award nomination form?
Regional winners are automatically placed into consideration for the corresponding international in the year following their regional win. Up to 3 letters of recommendation and updates to any international nomination are accepted during the call for nominations, from November through February. You can send updates and letters to awards@spe.org. International Award committees expect levels of documentation in Regional nominations to equal that of direct international nominations. International award committees may choose not to review nominations that lack sufficient documentation.
Can I nominate someone for a Regional award and the corresponding international award at the same time?
Yes. However, it is recommended that you carefully review the award requirements and the scope of the candidate’s significant achievement, and then nominate the candidate for the more appropriate award.
What is the deadline for international award nominations?
SPE staff must receive all international award nominations and letters of recommendation by 15 February. There are no extensions.
What is the deadline for Regional award nominations?
The deadline to submit SPE Regional award nominations is typically 15 February. The Regional Director may adjust the deadline.
Can I review my award nomination?
No, nominees cannot have access to the nomination packet. SPE International Award nomination materials are confidential. SPE staff can only provide a candidate’s name, the award, and the nominator’s name. SPE staff cannot release additional information about the nomination packet, and cannot provide the list of endorsements.
The nominator can only have access to the nomination form and support letter they provided. They cannot have access to the other nomination forms or support letters in the packet.
Where do I send award nominations?
You can make award nominations during the call for nominations by logging in to http://www.spe.org/awards/nominate/
You will need an SPE login to access the nomination form. Your login is the email address on your SPE member record, and your SPE password. You can use the login help link, or contact service@spe.org for assistance with your SPE login and password.
Letters of recommendation (for international awards only) can be sent to awards@spe.org
Can I nominate a colleague for the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal?
No, it is not necessary to nominate candidates for the Ferguson Medal. All peer reviewed papers published in SPE technical journals with authors or coauthors who are SPE members under the age of 36 at the time of peer approval are automatically considered candidates for the Ferguson medal.
Does someone have to win a Regional award before being considered for an international award?
No. It is not necessary for a candidate to have received a Regional award to be considered for an SPE international award.
What do award committees look for in an SPE international award nomination?
Award committees expect you to provide a full and complete statement of your reasons for proposing your candidate for the award and details of your candidate's professional and industrial achievements supporting the award requirements in sufficient detail to enable to the committee to pass judgment on the candidate's worthiness to receive the award. You should provide:
Concise, well-written nominations backed up by brief yet complete documentation that support the award requirements accompanied by personal letters from professional colleagues who endorse the nomination will help award committees. Incomplete nomination forms, insufficient documentation, excessive repetition, lack of specific examples that support the award requirements, and lists of every published document may cause the award committee to reject a nomination.
Do award nominees have to be members of SPE?
All but 5 international awards require the candidate to be an SPE professional member in good standing. The 5 exceptions that do not require SPE membership are:
In the case of the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal, the candidate author must be an SPE member in good standing at both the time of peer approval and when the award is presented. The Ferguson Medal is the only SPE award that can be presented to a student member of SPE.
Are there any age limits on SPE award nominations?
There are no other age requirements for SPE international awards.
Can someone serve on a committee and still be an award nominee?
How long does someone remain a candidate for an international award?
Once nominated, an international candidate remains on the active consideration list for 3 years unless they receive the award or they no longer meet the award criteria. For example, a candidate for the Young Member Outstanding Service Award may turn 36 during the 3-year cycle. In that case, you can nominate the candidate for the SPE Distinguished Service Award.
The 3-year active consideration cycle begins the year SPE receives the first international nomination for a candidate. Each year, you can update a nomination currently on the active consideration list by sending an email describing interim accomplishments to awards@spe.org. When the 3 year active consideration cycle expires, all material associated with the nomination expires, including updates and any interim nomination forms.
After a nomination expires at the end of the 3-year cycle, you can renominate the candidate if they still meet the award criteria.
How many times can someone receive an award?
An individual may receive each international award only once, with one exception. The Cedric K. Ferguson Certificate, which is presented to coauthors of papers selected for the Ferguson Medal who are professional members in good standing over the age of 35, can be received more than once.
