Each distinctly renowned for their geosciences expertise, service to the Aggie family and legacy contributions to science, four exemplary award recipients have been named by the Texas A&M University College of Geosciences.

The recipients will all be recognized on Oct. 5 at the College of Geosciences Distinguished Achievement Awards Ceremony, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Gates Ballroom, in the Memorial Student Center.

Dr. Carlos Dengo ’78

Dr. Carlos Dengo ’78, former director of the Berg-Hughes Center for Petroleum and Sedimentary Systems at Texas A&M, has been awarded the Michel T. Halbouty Geosciences Medal.

After earning his bachelor’s in geology from Syracuse University, Dengo received a master’s in geology from Texas A&M in 1978, followed by a doctorate in geology in 1982. He went on to excel in a decades-long career at ExxonMobil, starting out at Exxon Production Research Company. Prior to his retirement in 2012, Dengo served as the director and geoscience vice president of ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Company, and prior to that as director and vice president of ExxonMobil Research Qatar. Dengo now serves as principal at TierraNos Consulting, LLC. He has served on numerous boards and counsels in his field, and has served on the American Geophysical Union Board of Directors since 2015.

While serving as director of the Berg-Hughes Center at Texas A&M from 2014-2017, Dengo provided essential vision and leadership.

“His vision was to establish Texas A&M’s Department of Geology and Geophysics as a pre-eminent academic center to educate future generations of students with the technical and leadership skills to succeed in academia and/or the oil industry,” said Dr. Anthony Knap, director of the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group at Texas A&M. “He has been and still is a phenomenal representative of the College throughout his career.”

William R. “Bill” Thomas ’75

William R. “Bill” Thomas ’75, chief executive officer of EOG Resources, has been recognized with the Geosciences Distinguished Alumni Award.

“Bill Thomas’ leadership honors the Aggie Core Values, and provides our current Aggies with a peerless role model,” said Dr. Debbie Thomas, interim dean of the College of Geosciences. “Bill constantly innovates strategies to outpace industry peers and set the standard of excellence across industries.” 

Over 37 years at EOG Resources, he has worked his way up through the EOG leadership ranks, she said.

“Bill continues to promote an organizational culture of cultivating leadership within the team,” Interim Dean Thomas said. “Thus the leaders at EOG emerge with an organizational pride and a personally vested interest in the success of the entire team – excellence that fosters loyalty, and loyalty that perpetuates excellence. I have had the privilege to get to know Bill and I am continually inspired by his accomplishments and his career path, but even more so by his humility.”   

Dr. Ruth Mullins Perry ’04

Dr. Ruth Mullins Perry ’04, marine scientist and regulatory policy specialist at Shell Exploration and Production Company, has been awarded the Geosciences Young Alumni Award.

Prior to joining Shell in 2014, Perry received a bachelor’s in biology in 2004, a master’s in oceanography in 2008, and a doctorate in oceanography in 2013, all from Texas A&M.

“Dr. Perry is an exceptional scientist and has demonstrated an exceedingly broad expertise and disciplinary experience,” said Dr. Steve DiMarco, Texas A&M oceanography professor, who served as her doctoral and post-doctoral advisor. “For the past five years, Dr. Perry has been developing private-public partnerships for Shell to help improve industry and community knowledge of the offshore marine environment.”

She has served on several boards and committees, and has made presentations to the U.S. Congress to advocate for sustained ocean monitoring for societal benefits and to help advance the understanding of human impacts on the marine environment. Perry also conceptualized and is leading the Ocean Observing partnership of the Stones Observatory in the Gulf of Mexico, which is a unique public-private collaboration. “The Stones observational platform will provide interdisciplinary observations in 3,000 meters for decades to come and stands as a model for future private-public partnerships,” DiMarco said.

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel has been recognized with the Geosciences Innovator Award.

“The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives,” said Dr. Shari Yvon-Lewis, Texas A&M Oceanography department head. “This broadcast reaches over 80 million households.”

Covering a variety of geosciences-related topics, such as hurricanes, climate change, volcanoes and earthquakes, the channel uses advanced technology and visualization tools to translate complicated and sometimes life-saving scientific information to the general public. Their contributions to geoscience and STEM education are vast.

Several members of The Weather Channel team have received special permission to travel during hurricane season and will be present at the awards ceremony on Oct. 5 at Texas A&M.

For more details on the college’s awards, read about our awards and recognitions.

By Leslie Lee ’09