Alumnus Don Cardinal (B.S. 1958, M.S. 1959) recently won the Robert J. Weimer Lifetime Contributions Award from the AAPG Rocky Mountain section. This award recognizes “contributions to the practice of the geosciences and/or petroleum geology in the region of the Rocky Mountains,” according to AAPG’s website.
The nomination from the WGA board described Don’s work in petroleum geology fundamentals and exploration.
His 1984 catalog of water resistivities in Wyoming and part of South Dakota is still in use today. He took the lead in developing a stratigraphic model for the important Minnelusa and Leo formations, which was published in the WGA Guidebook and the AAPG Bulletin.
Don’s prospect origination has resulted in discovery or participation in more than a dozen oil fields in Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado and Montana. He was one of the lead geologists in the latest revision of the Wyoming stratigraphic chart, a 14-year project including a 1,300 page data set on Wyoming formations.
Congratulations to Don for the well-deserved recognition!