UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Zuleima Karpyn, Donohue Family Professor of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, and associate dean for graduate education and research in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, was recently named a distinguished member by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) at the society’s annual technical conference held in New Orleans.
This honor, limited to 1% of SPE professional membership, recognizes members who have attained eminence in the petroleum industry or the academic world, or who have made unusually significant contributions to SPE. Karpyn is one of seven recipients selected for 2024.
“SPE is an exceptional professional platform to connect with peers, mentors and leaders,” Karpyn said. “I am honored and grateful for the opportunity SPE has given me to contribute to our field.”
Karpyn was recognized for “being a prolific scholar of reservoir engineering and digital rock physics, an outstanding teacher and mentor, and an accomplished administrator.”
“It is an honor to recognize Dr. Karpyn for her commitment and dedication to the oil and gas industry with the SPE Distinguished Member Award,” said 2024 SPE President Terry Palisch. “SPE international award winners were nominated by their colleagues and selected by their peers for their achievement and contributions and it’s my pleasure to congratulate her on receiving this prestigious international award from SPE.”
Karpyn’s research specializes in multiphase flow and transport in porous media, and digital rock physics. Her areas of application include reservoir characterization and engineering, carbon sequestration, subsurface energy storage and environmental remediation.
Karpyn held the Energi Simulation Chair in Fluid Behavior and Rock Interactions from 2014 to 2020 and, in 2021, was appointed the inaugural Donohue Family Professor. She has served as associate editor of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, assistant editor-in-chief of the Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, associate editor of Transport in Porous Media, and deputy editor of GeoEnergy. In 2024, she was awarded SPE’s Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award for her “outstanding achievement and contributions to the advancement of petroleum engineering in reservoir technology.”
Karpyn was selected the 2018-19 Administrative Fellow in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and she was a 2018-19 Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program Fellow. In 2019, she was appointed coordinator of STEM Faculty Development Initiatives in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. She serves as the scientific director of the Center for Quantitative Imaging.
Karpyn holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Central de Venezuela, and a master's degree and doctorate in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State.
SPE is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 107,000 members worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses and online resources at www.spe.org.