According to Godwin Chukwu, head of UAF's petroleum engineering department, partnerships with industry make good sense for Alaskans and for students studying to become petroleum engineers. Graduate and undergraduate courses are offered by UAF in Anchorage at the UAA campus and at BP facilities throughout the state to serve working engineers and technicians. Working with industry, we are able to provide hands-on training opportunities for students while at the same time meeting the research and training needs of Alaska's oil producers. Chukwu said the recent corporate donation from BP is the third donation received from the company in the past three years. The money will be used to fund research projects identified by the School of Mineral Engineering's Petroleum Advisory Board, which was created in 1994.
Board members represent industry, state agencies and the university.
UAF's Petroleum Development Laboratory was established in 1984 and is a research branch of the School of Mineral Engineering. Faculty and students are involved in practical research to develop and improve technology to maximize the recovery of Alaska's petroleum and natural gas resources, including the production of heavy oil through thermal recovery and miscible oil displacement. UAF Petroleum Engineering Dept.