Petroleum engineering alumni collect awards

June 12, 2018

University Relations

Photo courtesy of BP Alaska.. Chidi Igbokwe, left, is congratulated on his 2018 College of Engineering and Mines Distinguished Service Award by Bob Huston.
Photo courtesy of BP Alaska.. Chidi Igbokwe, left, is congratulated on his 2018 College of Engineering and Mines Distinguished Service Award by Bob Huston.


Several alumni from the Department of Petroleum Engineering received awards during the 2017-2018 academic year.

Jordan Scott, who holds a 2018 bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering, was the third-place winner in the 2018 Society of Petroleum Engineers Student Paper Contest for western North America. Jordan competed with peers from Stanford University, University of Southern California and California State University, Long Beach.

Frank Paskvan, who holds a 1985 bachelor's in petroleum engineering, won the 2018 SPE Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award. Paskvan is the subsurface team leader and Prudhoe Bay integration manager at BP Alaska.

Chidiebere “Chidi” Igbokwe, who holds a 2006 master's in petroleum engineering, received the 2018 College of Engineering and Mines Distinguished Service Award. Igbokwe serves as the executive assistant to the president of BP Alaska.

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Eric Toskey, center, accepts his award at the 2018 Blue and Gold Gala in the Carlson Center with, from left, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Keith Champagne; Jennifer Imus, vice president at Wells Fargo Alaska; Chancellor Daniel M. White; and UAF Alumni Association President Peter Van Flein.
UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Eric Toskey, center, accepts his award at the 2018 Blue and Gold Gala in the Carlson Center with, from left, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Keith Champagne; Jennifer Imus, vice president at Wells Fargo Alaska; Chancellor Daniel M. White; and UAF Alumni Association President Peter Van Flein.


Eric Toskey, who holds a 1986 bachelor's in petroleum engineering and a 1990 master's in petroleum engineering, received the 2018 UAF Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UAF Alumni Association. Toskey is CEO of Letton Hall Group in Houston, Texas.

The U.S. Department of Energy has also announced $7 million in funding for research into unconventional oil and natural gas recovery, a project that will be led by UAF faculty. The project’s overall co-principal and principal investigator are Yin Zhang, an assistant professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering, and department Chair Abhijit Dandekar.

For more information, visit the Petroleum Engineering Department's website.