Scholarships

THE SM ENERGY SCHOLAR AWARD for petroleum geoscience research

SM Energy has created a $10,000 award to be given to a junior, senior, or a graduate student conducting research at accredited universities in the United States in petroleum geology or geophysics. As with the other Foundation scholarships, applications will be due by February 15, 2026. The RMAG Foundation Trustees and an SM Energy representative will evaluate the applications and select the recipient by early March.  Applicant information will be shared with SM Energy regarding potential recruitment and employment opportunities.  In addition, all applicants will be considered for other RMAG Foundation scholarships.

The 2026 SM Energy Scholar Award was awarded to:

Victoria Simoneau, Ph.D. Candidate, Geology, Colorado School of Mines

Victoria’s dissertation investigates how inherited basement shear zones control fault architecture, fracture development, and hydrocarbon migration in the North Park Basin, with a focus on the Spring Creek Fault system. Victoria proposes that reactivation of basement shear domains during multiple tectonic events governs sedimentary deformation, permeability pathways, and hydrocarbon accumulation. By linking basement structure to pressure behavior and production patterns, the study aims to explain spatial variability in reservoir performance and reduce exploration uncertainty in structurally complex Rocky Mountain basins.

Victoria integrates field-based structural analysis, geochronology, 3D seismic interpretation, and well data to test this framework. Fieldwork constrains the timing and kinematics of shear zone reactivation, while seismic and subsurface data are used to map fault segmentation, fracture networks, and fluid pathways. By correlating these structural domains with well performance and pressure data, Victoria will develop a predictive model for hydrocarbon migration and compartmentalization. This work provides a transferable workflow for understanding and predicting reservoir behavior in basement-involved basins.

Victoria’s work is under the direction of Dr. Stephen Sonnenberg.