Distinguished Member

The SPE Distinguished Member classification is an endeavor to honor those members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers who achieve distinction deemed worthy of special recognition by the Society. It is a means of acknowledging members who have attained eminence in the petroleum industry or the academic world, or who have made unusually significant contributions to an SPE section or the Society.

Automatic Elections

The SPE President is a prestigious role that requires exceptional leadership and expertise. As a recognition of their service and contribution to the profession, the SPE President will automatically receive the designation of Distinguished Member, unless they have previously been awarded this honor.

Recipients of the following awards will automatically receive the designation of Distinguished Member (if he/she has not previously received the designation):

• Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal for Technical Leadership
• Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal
• DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal
• Distinguished Service Award
• Honorary Member Award
• John Franklin Carll Award for Distinguished Professionals
• Lester C. Uren Award for Technical Excellence
• Public Service Award
• Robert Earll McConnell Award
• Steven A. Holditch Visionary Leadership Award

Eligibility Requirements

The conditions of eligibility are as follows:

• Any professional member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in good standing shall be eligible to receive the award.
   
• Deceased members may not be nominated for SPE Awards. If a previously nominated candidate 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 candidate must have won recognition for outstanding or notable contributions to some phase of professional activity encompassed by SPE; and:
  • Achieved distinction as an eminent authority in some aspect of petroleum engineering, such as exploration, production, engineering applications, science, teaching, or management through:
    • the publication of articles and/or books of merit on work supervised or performed by the nominee.
    • the granting of patents to the nominee on scientific and technical developments in various fields of professional activity encompassed by SPE;  
    • the direction of important research or engineering work; or  
    • responsibility for nationally known developments or improvements in his/her field; or 
  • Exhibited notable and outstanding service to an SPE section or the Society.
     
• A living member shall be automatically elected as an SPE Distinguished Member if he/she is a Past President of SPE or AIME, an SPE-AIME Honorary Member, or a recipient of the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, John Franklin Carll Award, Lester C. Uren Award, Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal, Robert Earll McConnell Award, DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal, Public Service Award, Stephen A. Holditch Visionary Leadership Award, or Distinguished Service Award. Recipients of additional SPE awards are not eligible for automatic Distinguished Member classification; however, this does not preclude the awarding of Distinguished Member classification upon recommendation of the SPE Distinguished and Honorary Member Award Committee, subject to approval by the SPE Board of Directors. 
   
• No officer or member of the International Board of Directors of the Society shall be eligible to receive any award while serving on the Board. In addition, he or she will not be eligible to receive any award during the calendar year in which his or her term ends, and for a period of two full calendar years following 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 award while serving as a member of the award committee in which they are judging, and for a period of two full calendar years following the expiration of his or her term of service on the committee.

• The award may only be presented to individuals for truly outstanding achievement.

• Self-nominated candidates are not eligible.

• No member shall be elected as an SPE Distinguished Member more than once.

• No other restrictions shall be placed on a candidate's eligibility.

   Submit a Nomination