Scholarships
Gary Babcock Memorial Scholarship
The Gary Babcock Memorial Scholarship is for graduate students only and has no restrictions or requirements. Two scholarships are awarded. The RMAG Foundation welcomes applications in any field of geoscience. The scholarship was created in 2007 in memory of Gary Babcock who is remembered not only for his successful, 40-year career in petroleum exploration and development, but for his kind spirit, caring nature, and his positive influence on others in the geologic community.
The 2024 Gary Babcock Memorial Scholarship was awarded to:
Victor Fakeye, Ph.D. Candidate, Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines
Victor is working on an innovative DOE-funded project titled “Integrated Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing and Real-Time Monitoring for Carbon Negative In-Situ Mining and Carbon Mineralization”, under the supervision of Dr. Ge Jin. His research stands at the forefront of CCUS technology, demonstrating exceptional promise in addressing climate change and energy transition by using CO2-charged solutions for the dual purpose of extracting critical minerals and sequestering CO2 through in-situ mining. His work is particularly innovative, incorporating the use of the Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing (E-HF) technique to enhance solution circulation in the subsurface—a technique reminiscent of Enhanced Geothermal Systems but distinct in its electrification method for stimulation. The rock stimulation will use a combination of electric and thermal shocks to create a highly interconnected fracture network, thereby increasing rock permeability in greater magnitudes. Victor will conduct real-time monitoring of hydraulic fracturing operations in a field experiment using cutting-edge distributed fiber-optic sensing methods, which measure changes in strain, temperature, and seismic velocity, and help optimize well configuration, guides stimulation processes, and quantifies stimulation volume.
Victor has a M.S. in Geology from Oklahoma State University and a Bachelor of Technology in Applied Geology from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria.
Recent winners of the Gary Babcock Memorial Scholarship:
2023
David Nworie, Ph.D. candidate, Geology, Colorado School of Mines
David’s dissertation topic is “Carbonate sediment-gravity flow experiments: how do particle characteristics affect flow structure, deposit texture, and reservoir quality in deep-marine settings?” David’s work is under the direction of Dr. Zane Jobe. David will collect naturally occurring sediments from Florida Bay and perform grain size analysis and dynamic image analysis using facilities at the University of Utah Particle Size and Surface Charge Lab. He will then use the experimental facilities at the Density Currents Research Center at the Universidade Federale do Rio Grande Sul, Brazil to produce realistic sediment gravity flow deposits. He intends to quantify flow rheology and the resultant deposit geometry, texture, and grain size distributions. These parameters will help predict reservoir presence and quality in mixed sediment gravity flow deposits.
David has a M.S. in Petroleum Science and Engineering from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil and a B.S. in Geology and Exploration Geophysics from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria.
2022
Christophe Simbo, PhD candidate, Colorado State University
“Sedimentological and geochemical factors influencing the viability of aquifer storage and recovery in the Edwards aquifer, New Braunfels, Texas”
Jacob Slawson, PhD candidate, Colorado School of Mines
“Using Paleogene stratigraphy to predict future hydrologic change”