Judging Experience at the SPE 2025 GCNA & SWNA Regional Student Paper Contest
I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) 2025 Gulf Coast North America (GCNA) and Southwestern North America (SWNA) Regional Student Paper Contest, held on April 12, 2025, at the Engineering Building of the University of Texas Permian Basin (Midland Campus).
The contest featured three divisions: Undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. I was honored to serve as a judge for the Master’s Division. The event started at 7:30 a.m., and I completed the check-in procedures at the venue. Ms. Erin O’Sullivan, representing SPE, was onsite to coordinate the Master’s Division. Other judges included Mr. David Nnamdi, Mr. Prosper Nekekpemi, and Mr. Chiedozie Nwachuku. The session was moderated by Ms. Daisy Portillo, who ensured a smooth flow of the presentations.
Seven students competed in the Master’s Division, representing Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston. Each student presented significant research topics. Mr. Bassel Eissa from Texas Tech University presented his work on a detailed risk matrix designed to evaluate the integrity of legacy wells in West Texas. Ms. Kulpitcha Sudyodprasert from the University of Texas at Austin delivered a presentation on automated production activity and abnormality detection for well integrity monitoring in high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) oil production wells, offering insights into the application of machine learning techniques to real-time operational data.
The award ceremony was held in the conference room, where all presenters, judges, and faculty members gathered.
Mr. Majd Awarkeh from Texas A&M University discussed the concept of a barite precipitant geo-barrier generated within rock formations to prevent CO₂ leakage, a promising technique for engineered carbon storage sites. Mr. Vincent Nwala from the University of Houston spoke on the criteria for implementing hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, analyzing the energy source dependencies and usage implications. Mr. Sunghyon Ko from the University of Texas at Austin shared an experimental study on enhanced oil recovery from organic-rich siliceous shale utilizing aqueous ketone solutions, focusing on wettability alteration for improved oil recovery. Ms. Lalitha Paturi from the University of Houston presented her research on measuring and analyzing viscosity in high-stability oils and lubricants over a wide temperature range. Finally, Mr. Oluwasanmi Talabi from Texas A&M University presented a workflow using machine learning techniques to predict CO₂ plume growth during geological carbon storage, an essential aspect for ensuring long-term storage security.
Following the presentations, the judges, including me, evaluated each participant based on their understanding of the subject matter, originality, research approach, literature review, presentation quality, and the significance of their findings. Our compiled scores were submitted to Ms. Erin O’Sullivan for final tabulation.
Based on the results, Mr. Sunghyon Ko from the University of Texas at Austin was awarded first prize in the Master’s Division. Mr. Majd Awarkeh from Texas A&M University received second prize, and Mr. Oluwasanmi Talabi, also from Texas A&M University, secured third prize. First-place winners from each division will advance to represent the region at the international competition during the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE).
The award ceremony was held in the conference room, where all presenters, judges, and faculty members gathered. Dr. Ahmed Kamel and Ms. Erin O’Sullivan presented certificates to recognize the outstanding efforts of both the students and judges. The event concluded successfully at 2:00 p.m. on April 12, 2025.
Participating as a judge in this contest was a truly rewarding experience. I was highly impressed by the caliber of research, innovation, and professionalism demonstrated by the students, and I am honored to have contributed to this important academic event.
Headline photo courtesy of Daisy Portillo.
Purushothkumar Santhana Mahalingam is a petroleum engineer with nine years of experience in hydraulic fracturing, acid fracturing, and well stimulation across the Permian and Delaware basins. He currently works as Region Engineer I at Cudd Energy Services, where he develops stimulation designs and technical proposals, leads bid response development, and acts as completion engineering focal point during job preparation and execution. He began his career as a Field Engineer I focused on hydraulic fracturing and later worked as Field Engineer II / Procurement Engineer, managing district inventory of proppants, acids, and stimulation chemicals, along with vendor negotiations and technical proposal writing.
A member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers since 2011, Mahalingam served as Completions and Operations Co-Lead for the SPE Permian Basin Section (2025–2026) and serves as a member of the SPE ATCE 2026 Completions Subcommittee. He served as Session Co-Chair and technical reviewer for URTeC 2025, was an Honorary Speaker at the SPE North American Student Symposium in 2025, and has judged the North America PetroBowl, SPE regional student paper contests, and the Giovanni Paccaloni Young Professional Service Award.
He earned a Master's in Natural Gas Engineering from Texas A&M University–Kingsville and a Bachelor's degree in Petrochemical Technology from Anna University, Tiruchirappalli, and completed a postgraduate program in Data Science and Business Analytics at the University of Texas at Austin. He is proficient in industry software including FRACPRO, Meyers, Aspen HYSYS, and PROMAX.
