Stephen Holditch, with Industry Board Member Karen Olson and Petroleum Engineering Department Head Dan Hill, celebrates receiving award.
Stephen A. Holditch, professor emeritus in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recognized for his lifetime contributions to hydraulic fracturing technologies with the 2014 Legends of Hydraulic Fracturing Award during the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference on February 4. Holditch’s career has spanned more than 39 years and he has received numerous awards in recognition of his technical achievements and leadership.
Holditch was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1995, the highest professional honor for an engineer. Of the millions of practicing engineers in the United States, there are fewer than 2,000 members of the NAE. In 2002, he was president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), a global organization with more than 70,000 members. He spent six years on the SPE board of directors, as vice president of finance for three years and in the presidential rotation for three more. Holditch traveled the globe for six years for SPE, giving speeches and representing oil and gas technology. Holditch has received the top three technical awards given by SPE — the Anthony F. Lucas Technical Leadership Gold Medal, the John Franklin Carll Distinguished Professional Award, and the Lester C. Uren Technical Excellence Award. He was elected an SPE Honorary Member in 2006, the highest honor that SPE presents to an individual and is limited to 0.1 percent of the SPE membership. This status is awarded to individuals who have given outstanding service to SPE or who have demonstrated distinguished scientific or engineering achievements in the fields within the technical scope of SPE.