KGS Section Head Dave Harris receives Galey Award from ES-AAPG
Kentucky Geological Survey scientist Dave Harris has been honored with the John T. Galey Memorial Award from the Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, which is holding its annual meeting in Pittsburgh this week. The Galey Award is the highest honor given by the Eastern Section and, according the section website, “is intended to recognize distinguished geoscientists whose outstanding accomplishments and contributions to our profession and its application have been directed toward the betterment of society.”
Harris, who has been at KGS since 1990 and leads its Energy and Minerals Section, was nominated for the award by Hannes Leetaru of the Illinois State Geological Survey and fellow KGS researchers John Hickman and Marty Parris. In their nominating citation, they wrote that Harris “embodies the qualities of a careful and diligent scientist; he has given considerable personal time to numerous professional earth science organizations, especially the AAPG at both national and regional levels … and has had an exemplary career that has benefited Kentucky and the region.” Harris has held several ES-AAPG elected offices, including president and vice president, and has chaired two Eastern Section annual meetings in the past decade.
He earned a master’s degree in geology in 1982 from State University of New York, Stony Brook, and worked for Mobil Oil Exploration and Producing and BP Exploration before joining KGS. He was selected head of the KGS Energy and Minerals Section in 2006 after the retirement of Jim Drahovzal, who received the Galey Award in 2012.
“I appreciate the support of KGS, the University of Kentucky, and my colleagues in the Energy and Minerals Section,” Harris said. “Without that support, I would not be receiving this award. I am fortunate to have worked for three KGS directors, Don Haney, Jim Cobb, and Bill Haneberg, who believe in the value of participation in professional organizations. KGS has been very supportive in providing time to pursue AAPG activities, including three successful Eastern Section annual meetings in Lexington.”
During his 28 years at KGS, Harris has been involved in research on the oil and natural gas potential of the Big Lime carbonates, Cambrian Rome Trough basin, and the Trenton–Black River Limestones, among other projects. As Energy and Minerals Section head, he and his team worked with industry and government partners to study the carbon dioxide storage potential of Kentucky's deep geologic formations, in particular the Knox Group. Harris and his colleagues continue to investigate the hydrocarbon potential of the Rogersville Shale, which could be a new unconventional reservoir in eastern Kentucky.
