We are pleased to announce that Sunghyun Ko, a PhD student, has earned 2nd Place in the Master’s Category of the 2025 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Paper Contest — held in conjunction with the Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE).

Sunghyun’s award-winning paper is titled “Aqueous Solution of 3-Pentanone for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Texas Shale Reservoirs.”  The research investigates the use of 3-pentanone in aqueous solution as a fluid to enhance oil recovery (EOR) in unconventional shale reservoirs — specifically targeting the Texas shale play.

This work builds on his earlier local and regional contest successes: 2nd in the Master’s division at the UT PGE local contest; and 1st place at the SPE regional contest (Gulf Coast/Southwestern region) in his division.

Congratulations Sunghyun on this outstanding achievement!