GSH Scholarships

Carlton-Farren Scholarship Endowment

In 1981 the GSH received a substantial bequest from the estate of Dave P. Carlton, a former President of the Society, in the form of cash and Exxon stock. Using a part of the Carlton bequest, GSH established a $3,000 per year SEG scholarship known as the Carlton Scholarship. Then beginning in 1995, the GSH took advantage of the SEG Foundation’s matching funds program and established the fully-funded Carlton-Farren Award given annually for $5,000.

Hugh Hardy Scholarship Endowment

In 2000, the GSH again took advantage of the SEG Foundation’s matching funds program and established the fully-funded Hugh Hardy Award given annually. The endowed scholarship was named in honor of “General” Hugh W Hardy, a retired major general in the US Marine Corps Reserves and geophysicist at Humble (now ExxonMobil), GeoQuest Exploration Inc. and Interpretation Consultants Inc. Hugh served as President of the GSH in 1992-1993. He was made a Lifetime Member in 1995 and was bestowed an Honorary Membership (posthumously) in 2003.


The SEG scholarship program is also supported by GSH with a $1,000 per year scholarship, which is specifically designated for a student who is a resident of the Houston area, and by a $2,000 per year scholarship in memory of W. Harry Mayne, a GSH member who contributed so much to our profession before passing away in 1990. GSH also donated $50,000 each to the Robert Sheriff and the Smith awards. These funded scholarships have been very successful in helping the SEG build a significant portfolio of student grants. Active support of the industry and the SEG has resulted in the Geophysical Society of Houston becoming the largest of the SEG Section Trustee Associates.

GSH funded scholarships are administered by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and can be applied for on the SEG scholarship website: seg.org/scholarships.

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Any residents of the Houston area applying for SEG scholarships will also be considered for the GSH scholarships (no separate application is required.) High school seniors planning to attend college next year, undergraduate students and graduate college students are all eligible. Scholarships are awarded based on merit to students with above average grades who intend to pursue a career in applied geophysics.

The information below is from the SEG about the application process:

Anyone pursuing an academic program directed toward a career in applied geophysics is eligible for consideration for a SEG scholarship. The SEG scholarship committee recognizes that some universities do not have majors in geophysics. Students from such schools must show adequate commitment to a career in applied geophysics through coursework that includes geophysics, geology, physics, applied mathematics, and/or computer science, as well as in their statements about career plans.
To successfully complete the application, you will need to do the following:

  1. Complete all required fields of the application form, in English;
  2. Write a series of short essays;
  3. Submit a transcript of your academic work;
  4. Receive recommendations from two professors who have agreed to support your application (or two high school teachers in the case of high school senior applicants)

Carlton-Farren Scholarship Recipients

2021-2025
  • 2025 - Maeghan Wynng-Tsun Gourlay, Texas Tech University
    Joseph David McNease, University of Houston
  • 2024 - Maeghan Wynng-Tsun Gourlay, Texas Tech University
  • 2023 - Madison Avery VanHandel, University of Houston
  • 2022 - Kevin Bain, PhD, University of Houston
    Ashley Lauren Whorton, Freshman, Texas A&M University at College Station
  • 2021 - Kevin Bain, University of Houston
2011-2020
  • 2020 - Julia Astromovich, University of Texas El Paso
  • 2019 - Bhavya Nilesh Merchant, University of Houston
  • 2018 - Bhavya Nilesh Merchant, University of Houston
  • 2017 - Somaria Sammy, University of Houston
  • 2016 - Nathan Seago, Texas A&M University
  • 2015 - Nathan Seago, Texas A&M University
  • 2014 - Dustin Blymyer, Rice University
  • 2013 - Malleswara Yenugu, University of Houston
  • 2012 - Celso Alvizuri, University of Alaska - Fairbanks
  • 2011 - Steven Boswill, Rice University
1999-2010
  • 2010 - Charles Puryear, University of Houston
  • 2009 - Charles Puryear, University of Houston
  • 2008 - Rui Zhang, University of Houston
  • 2007 - John Ceron, University of South Carolina
  • 2005 - Neda Bundalo, University of Houston
  • 2004 - Shou Hou, University of Texas at Austin
    R. Brent Riley, Texas A&M University
    Jeffrey Svatek, Texas A&M University
  • 2003 - R. Brent Riley, Texas A&M University
  • 2002 - Karen M. Mobley, Texas A&M University
  • 2001 - Nigel Hicks, University of Texas at El Paso
  • 2000 - Jennifer McGuire, Texas A&M University
  • 1999 - Constantinos Tzimeas, Texas A&M University

Hugh Hardy Scholarship Recipients

2021-2025
  • 2025 - Toluwaleke Ajayi, Baylor University
    Johanna Villagomez, University of Houston
  • 2024 - Nicholas Van Fleet, University of Utah
    Caleb Wayne Leatherwood, University of Texas at Dallas
  • 2023 - Julio Andres Garcia, University of Houston
  • Nicholas Van Fleet, University of Utah
  • 2022 - Aracely Garcia, Senior, University of Texas at El Paso
    Hudson Finley Davis, Freshman, The University of Texas at Austin
  • 2021 - Kevin Bain, University of Houston
2011-2020
  • 2020 - Jordan Caylor, University of Texas at El Paso
  • 2019 - Alexander D'Marco Garcia, University of Texas at El Paso
  • 2018 - Alexander D'Marco Garcia, University of Texas at El Paso
  • 2017 - Emily Geyman, Princeton University
  • 2016 - Adam Mattson, Texas A&M University
  • 2015 - Shannon Castro, Texas A&M University
  • 2014 - Ijeamaka Okechukwu, Lamar University
  • 2013 - Wanda Krupa, University of Houston
  • 2012 - Meredith Calogero, Texas A&M University
  • 2011 - Charles Puryear, University of Houston
2001-2010
  • 2010 - Ernesto V. Oropeza, University of Texas at Dallas
  • 2009 - Ernesto V. Oropeza, University of Texas at Dallas
  • 2008 - Zachary Hynes, MIT
  • 2007 - Rafael Sanguinetti, University of Houston
  • 2006 - Gabriel Perez, University of Houston
  • 2005 - Sandra Saldana-Farkas, University of Nevada – Las Vegas
  • 2004 - Sandra Saldana-Farkas, University of Nevada – Las Vegas
  • 2003 - Sandra Saldana-Farkas, University of Nevada – Las Vegas
  • 2002 - Jessica M. Arnoldi, Texas A&M University
  • 2001 - Jessica M. Arnoldi, Texas A&M University