Governor Abbott Appoints Eight To TexNet Technical Advisory Committee
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Dan Hill, Chris Hillman, Dana Jurick, Hal Macartney, Kris Nygaard, Brian Stump, and Robie Vaughn, and Aaron Velasco to the TexNet Technical Advisory Committee for terms at the pleasure of the Governor. Vaughn has been designated as presiding officer of the committee. The committee advises the Bureau of Economic Geology on the use of the funding, including the TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program and collaborative research relationships with other universities in Texas, and on the preparation of a status report to the Governor and Legislature. Additionally, Scott Tinker, the Director of the Economic Bureau of Geology, will serve as an ex officio member of the committee.
Dan Hill of College Station is a professor and Noble Chair of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is a distinguished member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts. Hill received a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin.
Chris Hillman of Irving is city manager for the City of Irving. He is a member of the International City Management Association, Texas City Management Association, and the North Texas City Management Association. Hillman received a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University.
Dana Jurick of Houston is manager of Seismic Analysis for the Geoscience and Reservoir Engineering Organization at ConcoPhillips Company. He is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers. He was honorably discharged from the United States Army Reserve. Jurick received a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University and a Master of Science from The University of Texas at El Paso.
Hal Macartney of Irving is geoscience manager of Sustainable Development for Pioneer Natural Resources. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, American Geophysical Union, Seismological Society of America, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Macartney received a Bachelor of Arts in geology from Dartmouth College.
Kris Nygaard of Houston is senior stimulation consultant for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Mechanical Engineers, Seismological Society of America, and the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society. Nygaard received a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Arizona.
Brian Stump of McKinney is a professor and the Albritton Chair of Geological Sciences at Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Seismological Society of America, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the American Geophysical Union. Additionally, he is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He is the chair of Data Services Standing Committee for the Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology and the Seismic Review Panel for the Air Force Technical Application Center. Stump received a Bachelor of Arts from Linfield College and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Robie Vaughn of Dallas is the owner of Vaughn Capital Partners, LLC and Vaughn Petroleum, Ltd. He is a member of The University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee and the McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy Board of Visitors and a life member of The University of Texas at Austin Development Board and the Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council. He also serves on the Culver Educational Foundation Board of Trustees and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science Board of Directors. Vaughn received a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
Aaron Velasco of El Paso is the State Seismologist for the Railroad Commission of Texas and a professor at The University of Texas at El Paso. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, Seismological Society of America, and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. Velasco received a Bachelor of Science in geophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Doctor of Philosophy in seismology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Scott Tinker of Austin is the State Geologist of Texas, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, Edwin Allday Endowed Chair of Subsurface Geology, and professor at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. He is a past president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Association of American State Geologists, Austin Geological Society, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, and the American Geosciences Institute, representing over 250,000 geoscientists worldwide. He is a certified Professional Geoscientist in Texas, holds appointments on the National Petroleum Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and is a member of numerous other professional societies and boards. Additionally, he is an AAPG Halbouty Leadership Medalist, AGI Campbell Medalist, and GCAGS Boyd Medalist, the highest honors bestowed by each of those societies. He is a fellow of the Geologic Society of America and has been broadly awarded for his successful efforts to engage the public in science for his global energy film Switch and NPR radio series Earth Date. Tinker received a Bachelor of Science from Trinity University, Master of Science from the University of Michigan and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Colorado.