President

Nehaal Kathuria is a senior in Petroleum Engineering at Louisiana State University with plans to graduate in May of 2019. He is excited to spend his senior year to serve LSU SPE as President. He previously served as Treasurer of AADE from 2016-17, Director of Freshman Involvement of SPE in 2016 and also the Field Trips Director for the North American Student Symposium (NASS) in February of 2018. Nehaal has never missed an SPE event and was awarded the Outstanding Member Award as he was the top student in SPE with the most membership points for the 2017-18 school year. He has been an active member with SPE since 2015 and was honored with scholarships from the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Association of Drilling Engineers. Nehaal was born in Maryland and grew up in Georgia; his family is from India and he loves to show his pride for both countries. Outside of SPE, he loves to play soccer and also DJ for many international cultural events around campus. Nehaal interned for C&J Energy as a Wireline Operator during the summer of 2018 and plans to bring SPE to new heights for his tenure as President.

Vice President

Hope Asala is a 3rd year Ph.D. student at LSU, currently specializing in advanced fluid dynamics, well-bore integrity and reservoir geo-mechanics. Prior to his naturalization, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and went on to get his master’s in petroleum engineering from the University of Houston, Texas.

He began his career as a field engineer with Baker Hughes (4 years) before obtaining his professional engineering licensure at the end of his 1st academic year at LSU. Cumulatively, he has gained internship experience as a chemical and petroleum engineer with Smith & Burgess, Afren Resources, Chevron ETC and ExxonMobil URC.

His current hobbies are watching and playing soccer, in addition to constructive mentorship.

He continued active membership in LSU’s SPE chapter in 2016/2017 session, while serving on LSU’s Petrobowl team. During the 2017/2018 session, he served as the graduate student representative and helped coordinate LSU’s Petrobowl team to the SPE ATCE Finals. He currently looks to continue on this path by serving as the Vice President at LSU’s SPE chapter, during the 2018/2019 academic year.

Secretary

Juan Bukowitz is a senior in Petroleum Engineering at Louisiana State University graduating May 2019. This is his 2 nd time being an officer for SPE, previously serving as the Sophomore Representative during his Sophomore year. Juan is from Maracaibo, Venezuela and moved to Houston when he was 10 years old. Juan loves spending time with his family & friends. He is interning with Halliburton the summer of 2018. Juan is a huge sports fan. His hobbies include playing Soccer, Video Games, and watching superhero movies. After college Juan plans to create a foundation to help the impoverished people of Venezuela. He is excited to be working with the new officer team to make this upcoming 2018-2019 school year an unforgettable one for everyone in SPE!

Treasurer

Gabe Goncalves is a senior from Atlanta, GA majoring in Petroleum Engineering with a minor in Business Administration planning to graduate in May 2019. Gabe’s family is originally from Minas Gerais, Brazil which allowed him the unique opportunity to be fluent both English and Portuguese.  During his time in SPE at LSU, Gabe has been very active in the Chevron Mentorship program, assuming the director role in 2017 after being part of the program in 2015 and 2016. Gabe has always been passionate and committed to the organizations he joins, and hopes that stepping up into an officer role will allow him to enact meaningful change that will allow SPE and its members to prosper in the life as well as the oil and gas.

Events Officer

Daril Nantchouang is a senior, majoring in Petroleum Engineering while minoring in French, with plans to graduate in May 2019. Daril is originally from Cameroon but resides in Boston, MA. With an increasing interest in the STEM field, along with an interest in the oil and gas industry, he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a successful Petroleum Engineer at LSU. On his free time he loves being outdoors, being active, traveling, and giving back to the community. Daril has been very involved with LSU SPE and plans to use his experience to help coordinate our SPE events and improve our chapter involvement this year.

Membership Officer

Connor Descant is a Senior at LSU with a graduation date of May 2019. He is majoring in Petroleum Engineering with a minor in Spanish. Born and raised in Louisiana he had dreamed of being a Tiger since his first LSU game at Tiger Stadium. Connor is currently serving as Membership Director of the LSU SPE chapter. He will be working with his fellow officers to increase the membership of the chapter by recruiting and advertising the benefits of SPE to students of different backgrounds and skill-sets, in petroleum engineers and all the other engineering majors. If he could give advice to anyone beginning their first year at LSU, it would be to not waste any time networking, communicating and building worthwhile friendships through organizations and clubs that you see on LSU’s campus. Connor is eager to work with the chapter’s members, new and old, to showcase the potential SPE has, and how it can improve its member’s professional lives as well as their personal.

Undergraduate Representative Officer

Griffin Selby is a fifth-year senior at LSU, and will graduate in May of 2019 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering and a minor in Business Administration. Griffin has been a member of SPE and the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) since 2014, and served as the secretary of AADE from 2015-2016 before being elected as SPE’s Undergraduate Representative Officer in 2018. Beginning his career in the industry as a student worker at LSU’s own PERTT lab, Griffin has since interned as a well-intervention engineer in Texas and Oklahoma, worked for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources in the orphaned well P&A program, and will be interning for Covey Park Energy in his last summer as an undergrad. Griffin is from Hoover, Alabama and is a passionate LSU fan and outdoorsman. He looks forward to serving and giving back to LSU, SPE, and the Department of Petroleum Engineering.