Louis J. Durlofsky, Associate Professor, Petroleum Engineering Department, Stanford University, and Senior Staff Research Scientist, ChevronTexaco, receives this award for his research in reservoir simulation, specifically the development of numerical techniques for the modeling of flow in heterogeneous, geometrically complex reservoirs.  As an SPE member, Durlofsky has served as Review Chairperson of the Editorial Review Committee since 2000 and was the committee's Technical Editor during 1996-97.  He currently serves on the 2003 SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium Program Committee, chairing the event in 2001, and is a former member of the 1998 SPE Forum Series in North America Steering and 2000 SPE Asia Pacific Conference on Integrated Modeling for Asset Management Program committees.

Durlofsky joined Chevron's Reservoir Simulation Research Group in 1987 and became Associate Professor at Stanford University in 1998.  At Stanford, he codirects both the Horizontal Well and Reservoir Simulation Industrial Affiliates Programs and teaches graduate courses in advanced reservoir engineering and reservoir simulation.  His work at ChevronTexaco includes the development and application of upscaling techniques and the design and development of general reservoir modeling and simulation technologies.  The author of about 60 technical articles, Durlofsky holds a BS degree from Pennsylvania State University and MS and PhD degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in chemical engineering.