Biology

WKU Geography & Geology students won second place in the 2018 Eastern Regional in the Imperial Barrel Award. From left: Dr. Royhan Gani (advisor), Jamin Lopez, Adam Mattson (team captain), Rhiannon Scott, Chelsey Kipper and Hali Steinman.

A team of WKU Geography & Geology students won second place in the 2018 Eastern Regional in the prestigious Imperial Barrel Award (IBA) program.

The event, organized by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, is an annual global competition to advance the science of geology by analyzing various types of subsurface data to evaluate petroleum resources. More than 100 universities from around the world participate each year in the IBA program.

Other competitors in the regional event April 6-7 in Pittsburgh included Binghamton University, Kent State University, Pennsylvania State University, Southern Illinois University, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, University of Georgia, University of South Carolina and Western Michigan University.

The WKU team members are Chelsey Kipper, a graduate student from Clarkson; Jamin Lopez, a senior from Bowling Green; Adam Mattson (team captain), a graduate student from Gresham, Oregon; Rhiannon Scott, a senior from Evansville, Indiana; and Hali Steinman, a graduate student from Gainesville, Georgia. The faculty adviser is Dr. Royhan Gani, Associate Professor of Geology in the Department of Geography and Geology. The team is mentored by Toby Roesler of Stone Energy and Tim Ford of Deep Gulf Energy.

Contact: Royhan Gani, royhan.gani@wku.edu