The third annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Hall of Fame Gala Dinner sponsored by the Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute of ASCE brought a record-breaking class of inductees and the largest number of international guests yet to the Houston Petroleum Club for an evening celebration May 6.
Thirteen of 18 winners were present to receive their wave-shaped plaques
from ASCE President-Elect Wayne Klotz, D.WRE, F.ASCE. In his remarks to the
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| Emcee James Dailey, P.h.D, P.E., M.ASCE, introduces the 2008 Hall of Fame honorees during the Gala. |
winners, Klotz noted that they have provided vision, innovation and value to the profession. He applauded this year’s winners who traveled from the Netherlands and Monaco to receive their awards. Mark Randolph, a professor at the University of Western Australia, traveled to Houston to accept the award for Peter Wroth, deceased. That award will be sent to England where it will reside at the Peter Wroth Library at Oxford University.
James Dailey, who has served as the event emcee since its inception in 2006, said his favorite memory of the event will be having attendees and winners thank him for a job well-done. The evening is important, Dailey says, because it is a fundamental truth, however, that OTC would not exist without the Technical Program.
“In turn, the Technical Program would not exist without the technical papers,” he said. “It takes a lot of time and trouble to write a good OTC paper, far beyond any pecuniary reward that might accrue. The Hall of Fame Gala is one of the few, if any, events I know where the system goes to the effort to recognize in a formal, first-class way, the contributions of those authors in a setting amongst family and friends. One gets the sense that they see it as a once-in-a-lifetime honor.”
Dailey said story-telling has been an important part of the evening
“All of us belong to multiple, overlapping families: our home family, our work family, and yes, even our ASCE family,” he said.” “Sociologists tell us that stories are the cultural vehicle through which families transmit their values, their customs, and their traditions. Those stories make us feel good about ourselves and comfortable with our place in life. They humanize us.”
This year, Dailey said, one of his favorite moments was when Alan Young, a 2007 winner accepting this year’s prize on behalf of Bram McClelland, unfurled a larger-than-life picture of his new granddaughter. "One has to understand that Alan is the father of four boys, and his biological clock is ticking," Dailey said. "I think she may be the first grandchild."
“The champeen story thus far was told at last year’s event by Don Murff, who is bald and relishes the associated jokes,” Dailey said. “Don was away from the office for an extended period, and he took the opportunity to grow a full beard. When he returned, he poked his head through the office door of his boss. The man looked up, startled, and blurted: ‘Oh-my-gosh, I thought your head was on upside down!’ ”
COPRI extends gratitude to Jim Dailey for his services as event emcee and to Dan Smith who has chaired the event planning committee for the past two years. They have provided invaluable support to the COPRI staff, honorees and offshore technology community. The Institute also would like to thank the organizations that helped make this year’s gala a success. The 2008 silver sponsors are BP, Chevron, Geoscience Earth and Marine Services, J. Ray McDermott and Technip. Bronze sponsors include ExxonMobil Development Corporation, Houston Offshore Engineering, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and Shell Exploration and Production. For information about 2009 sponsorship opportunities, contact COPRI Coordinator Jennifer Moulton at
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| Gala Chair Dan Smith welcomes the winners at the May 6 event.Smith, P.E., M.ASCE, also oversees the committee which contributes to the OTC technical program. |
Additionally, each year, COPRI selects one current paper as the paper of the year. This year’s winning paper, number 19607, API RP 2SK: Stationkeeping – An Emerging Practice was written by David J. Petruska, Craig Castille, Craig A. Colby, John Stiff, Barbara A. Stone, David J. Wisch. The best paper competition allows the Institute to recognize the individuals who go the distance to make the conference technical sessions valuable to attendees. Winners receive a plaque and are honored at a meeting of the COPRI OTC conference planning committee.
This paper presents the key changes and additional expectations for design and operation of moored Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) for the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season. The paper highlights the improvements that MODU owners have made to the fleet along with options that can mitigate the risk of a MODU failing and doing damage to infrastructure during a hurricane. Based on the extensive evaluation and study, this paper presents new requirements, adjusted return periods, and introduction of formal risk assessment processes with direct links to inspection results of mooring components. All of the upgrades presented resulted from evaluation and study of the mooring failures occurring during the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico from 2002 with Hurricane Lili and ending with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
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President-Elect Klotz (second from right) gathers for a picture with the 2008 Hall of Fame inductees (from Left): George Remery, Paul Aagard, Chuck Petrauskas, Aff. M.ASCE, Robert Kirby, P.E., F.ASCE, Nick Zettlemoyer, P.E., M.ASCE, Paul Wirsching, Ph.D, P.E., M.ASCE, Joseph Yura, M.ASCE, Earl Doyle, P.E., F.ASCE, Ian Edwards, Vince Cardone, George Ferguson, F.ASCE, E.G."Skip" Ward, and Jo Pinkster. |
