texas a&m geosciences announces 2021 distinguished achievement awardsthree outstanding geoscientists will receive the awards during the distinguished achievement awards gala jan 14 2022nov 23 2021dan allen hughes jrjill urban-karrelora aranaeach individually renowned for their geosciences expertise service to the aggie family and legacy contributions to science three exemplary award recipients have been named by the texas a&m university college of geosciences the recipients will be celebrated and honored during the college of geosciences distinguished achievement awards gala which will be held jan 14 at the annenberg presidential conference center the geosciences awards program began in 1978 with the creation of the geosciences and earth resources medal for distinguished achievement (gerac) in 2004 it was unanimously decided by the gerac committee and supported by then texas a&m president robert gates to rename the highly regarded award the michel t halbouty medal in honor of the venerable originator of the award the awards program was expanded in 2017 to recognize highly distinguished individuals for extraordinary achievements and contributions to their professions the geosciences and to texas a&m dan allen hughes jr 80 dan allen hughes jr is being honored with the michel t halbouty geosciences medal with 41 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production dan allen hughes jr 80 is the president of the dan a hughes co as well as other oil and gas related companies hughes graduated from texas a&m in 1980 with a degree in management after completing further studies in geology he joined his familys oil and gas firm learning the business from his father texas a&m distinguished alumnus dan a hughes sr 51 hughes helped establish the berg-hughes center for petroleum and sedimentary systems at texas a&m with his father and his uncle dudley hughes in 2009 with the mission to integrate education and training in geology geophysics and engineering the center was designed to carry out collaborative research with industry and solve current problems efficiently he has served as the chairman of the centers industry advisory board for four years and today the berg-hughes center is highly regarded for its impactful research and applied educationdan a hughes sr dan allen hughes jr and dudley hughes the michel t halbouty geosciences medalin 1997 the college of geosciences awarded the michel t halbouty medal which was named gerac at that time to dan and dudley hughes nearly 25 years later dan allen hughes jr becomes the third hughes to receive the medal like his father and uncle before him in 2010 and 2011 respectively hughes was named a distinguished alumni of texas a&m in 2019 and in 2020 he was appointed to the texas a&m foundation board of trustees dan allen hughes jr is a distinguished texas a&m former student who has given exceptional and distinguished service to the geosciences and to the oil and gas industry said dr mukul r bhatia director of the berg-hughes center the hughes familys legacy in the geosciences is decades-long and continues to this day jill urban-karr 86 jill urban-karr 86 has been awarded the geosciences distinguished alumni award urban-karr graduated from texas a&m in 1986 with a degree in geography and then began her career in the development and implementation of gis and geospatial solutions in the public sector today she is the executive director of the consulting services/landfolio solutions team for the land administration solutions group of trimble incorporated she is a member of the world banks task force on public private partnerships in land administration she has led strategic discussions with the heads of state of sri lanka romania the gambia bulgaria namibia ghana antigua and barbuda belize turkey egypt saudi arabia and others regarding land rights as a catalyst for economic growth as a former student urban-karr has given her time and service to the college of geosciences in numerous roles most notably serving as the chair of the deans advisory council for seven years she has also worked with the college of agriculture and life sciences through helping researchers identify successful technology approaches for enhancing food security via land tenure in ghana and the college of education and human development through engagement in the aggie stem camps she also led the establishment of the multi-million dollar gift of the trimble technology laboratory at texas a&m university we celebrate the accomplishments legacy and sustained impact of one of the most visionary aggies mrs jill urban-karr who is one of the worlds recognized leaders in addressing the sustainability of developing nations said dr debbie thomas dean of the college of geosciences at the heart of jills accomplishments is elevating the standard of living and personal security for millions of people across the world especially those vulnerable to exploitation elora arana '16 elora arana 16 has been awarded the geosciences young alumni award arana is a development manager for ercot and spp markets for key capture energy a battery energy storage system (bess) renewable energy firm arana identifies manages and advances utility-scale energy storage projects from conceptualization and greenfield status to construction hand-off she earned a bachelors degree in environmental studies in 2016 minoring in economics and geography with a focus on energy markets and solar energy since graduation she has been a regular participant at the texas a&m sciences career fair as a recruiter and has also given of her time for numerous career panels geosciences students preparing for careers have received valuable advice and expertise from arana regarding renewable energy sustainability environmental compliance and environmental management systems elora has been a stalwart reliable and passionate promoter of our degree programs said dr christian brannstrom geosciences associate dean for academic affairs through her own career path she has shown the important role that environmental studies students can have in the field of environmental compliance and hse she translates her career path success into highly relevant and practical advice to our undergraduates for more details on the colleges awards program read about our awards and recognitions by leslie lee college of geosciences