Assistant Dean, National Academy of Engineering Member In the Spotlight
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) recognized two UH Cullen College of Engineering faculty members with major international awards.
Phaneendra Kondapi, interim assistant dean and founding director for engineering programs at UH at Katy and a professor with UH’s subsea engineering program, will receive the SPE’s Projects, Facilities and Construction Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievements and/or contributions that advance the field of petroleum engineering in the technical area of projects, facilities and construction.
“I sincerely thank SPE and many of my colleagues at the University of Houston and at my previous organizations, who gave me plenty of opportunities to be involved with various professional development activities and mentor the younger generation over the years,” Kondapi said. “This is a great journey so far and I feel that this recognition motivates, encourages and increases the responsibility to continue to serve even better.”
This is the most recent in the growing collection of SPE awards garnered by Kondapi. In 2017, he received two awards – The SPE Regional Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty and the SPE’s Regional Projects, Facilities and Construction Award. In 2013, he won the SPE International Innovative Teaching Excellence Award.
Kondapi is an active member of SPE. He was a founding member and chairman of the SPE Flow Assurance technical section in 2015. That same year, he also chaired the SPE “Flow Assurance: Future State of the Art” global forum. He continues to serve on various SPE committees and has organized and chaired over 45 technical sessions at various conferences.
In addition to his work in academia at UH and Texas A&M University, Kondapi has more than 20 years of engineering experience gained at FMC Technologies, KBR and other organizations.
He has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Tennessee Technologocal University and master's and bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering from the Andhra University College of Engineering in India.
The SPE also announced its highest honor – the SPE/AIME Honorary Membership – for Ganesh Thakur, distinguished professor of petroleum engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. To read that story, visit the Cullen College website.
Both Kondapi and Thakur will receive their awards at the SPE Annual Technical Conference andExhibition scheduled for Sept.30-Oct.2, 2019 in Calgary, Canada.
SPE is a not-for-profit association for professionals working within the petroleum industry. It serves more than 168,000 members in 144 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses and online resources at www.spe.org