Nomination Deadlines

International Awards
15 February

Regional Awards
1 March

Questions?

awards@spe.org
✉| Email

Cedric K. Ferguson Award

The Cedric K. Ferguson Medal recognizes professional achievement in petroleum engineering. The Medal is presented for the paper written by a Society member age 35 and under at the time the paper was peer approved that is judged best by the award committee.

About Cedric Keith Ferguson

Cedric Keith Ferguson died in 1953 at the age of 31. Although recognition of greatness had not yet been received, Ferguson had gained both technical and professional success at the time of his death. His accomplishments in the brief period following completion of his formal education at Stanford University and the University of California were an indication of a brilliant future.

He was project leader of drilling and well completions for California Research Corporation at the time of his death. His activities in civic and professional groups included secretary of the Pacific Petroleum Chapter of the Petroleum Branch of AIME, and chairperson of the Junior Group of the chapter. He was a member of Toastmasters Club and was president of the Young Republican Club of Orange County, CA.

View past recipients.

Selection of Candidate Papers

Before 1 February of each year, the committee shall receive from SPE headquarters access to all papers written by SPE members during the preceding year who were age 35 and under at the time their papers were peer approved by an SPE publications committee. Primary author(s), aged 35 and under, must contribute a total combined minimum of 70% to the published, peer-reviewed work being considered.

Eligibility Requirements

Nominations are not accepted for this program.

Author Eligibility

  • For a paper to be considered, at least one author must be age 35 or under on the date on which the revised manuscript is approved and must be a member in good standing of SPE both at the time the revised manuscript is approved and at the time the Medal is presented.
  • Primary author(s), aged 35 and under, must contribute a total combined minimum of 70% to the published, peer-reviewed work being considered.
  • If the Medal is awarded for a paper written by more than one author, a Medal will be presented to each SPE member author age 35 and under at the time of the paper's approval member who is an SPE member in good standing both at the time the revised manuscript is approved and at the time the Medal is presented.
  • Co-authors over age 35 who are SPE members in good standing both at the time the revised manuscript is approved and at the time the Medal is presented receive the Cedric K. Ferguson Certificate stating that he/she is a co-author of the paper for which the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal is being awarded.
  • Candidate authors must be living persons. If an author dies after 1 January in the year of presentation, and if duly selected for the award, the presentation shall be made posthumously in accordance with special procedures to be prescribed by the SPE Board of Directors. Posthumous award presentations are otherwise prohibited.
  • The recipient of the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal is eligible for other SPE awards; but shall not be eligible to receive the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal in subsequent years for a different paper.
  • No officer or member of the International Board of Directors of the Society shall be eligible to receive the Medal during and for a period of 24 months after the expiration of his or her term of service on the Board.
  • No member of the award selection committee shall be eligible to receive the Medal while serving as a member of the award committee and for a period of 24 months after the expiration of his or her term of service on the committee.
  • No member can receive the medal more than once. Members may receive the certificate more than once.
  • No recipient of SPE Honorary Membership shall be eligible to receive the Medal.

Rossiter Raymond Award

The Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award was established in 1945 and recognizes the best paper published in AIME's fields in a given period where the lead author is a member under 35 years of age. This award honors one of the Institute's founders who served as President and Secretary and was an Honorary Member. A notable miner among the founders was AIME’s 2nd President and then “Executive Director” for the next 27 years, Rossiter Raymond. He is noted as being a sailor, soldier, engineer, lawyer, orator, editor, novelist, story-teller, poet, biblical critic, theologian, teacher, and chess-player! His role in AIME’s founding was so important that a 2000 pound relief in honor of Raymond’s contributions to the Institute was moved from the NY offices to SME in Colorado in 2003 and is still proudly displayed in their foyer.

The Rossiter Raymond award is an AIME sponsored award that is awarded every four years and is presented to the author(s) of the best single or dual-authored, peer-reviewed or peer-approved paper. In the fourth year, SPE committee members will review the papers of the recipients of the Cedric K. Ferguson award from the past four years (if qualifications are met). Each committee member will submit scores for each paper to determine the recipient of the Rossiter Raymond Award.

View past recipients.

Eligibility

  • The lead author must be under the age of 35 at the time of publication and must be in good standing of one of the AIME Member Societies.
  • Must be a single or dual authored paper.

The Award

The lead author under 35 years of age receives a check written in the amount of two-thousand five-hundred ($2,500.00) dollars and a framed certificate bearing name, year, and paper title. If both authors are under 35, the cash award will be split equally and a framed certificate will be prepared for each. If the co-author is 35 or older when the paper was submitted, they receive a framed certificate bearing name, year, and paper title.

Find additional information regarding this award.