For his pioneering and innovative ideas for using seismic reflections to identify sequences of subsurface rock layers, greatly enhancing exploration for oil-containing rock. He also recognized that similar changes in the rock record appear worldwide and can be attributed to global changes in sea level, thus contributing to greater understanding of the earth's geological history.
Peter Vail's innovative concepts of sequence stratigraphy have had far reaching implications for both science and commerce, revolutionizing the field of stratigraphy and greatly enhancing methods for oil exploration.
Dr. Vail received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1952 and his Ph.D. from Northwestern in 1956. Following a 30-year career with Exxon Production Research Company and its predecessors, he began a second career, as W. Maurice Ewing Professor of Oceanography at Rice University, where he taught from 1986 to 2001. Dr. Vail now uses his vast wealth of experience as president of his own business, Peter R. Vail Oil and Gas and Consulting and Investing Company.
Among his many honors are the Legendary Geoscientist Award from the American Geological Institute, the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America, and the Sidney Powers Memorial Medal and the Distinguished Educator Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of London, the Geological Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science; an honorary member of the Gulf Coast Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the Houston Geophysical Society; and a member of Sigma Xi, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Geological Institute.
Information as of April 2005