George Chillingar OBM (1929-2023) and Tom Tamarkin in Los Angeles, Aug. 8, 2020.
Engineer and Scientist Petroleum Engineering and Geology
Dr. George V. Chilingar, Ph.D, Academician,
USC International Ambassador,
Emeritus Professor, Petroleum Engineering,
Sonny Astani Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Viterbi School of Engineering,
University of Southern California,
Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Founder & Past President of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences USA Branch,
Honorary Professor of Gubkin University, Russia
Honorary Consul of Honduras in Los Angeles, CA, since 1983.
Certified Petroleum Geologist, American Association of Petroleum Geologists and State of California.
Honors he received since 2008:
1. Victor Ambartsumian Gold Medal of Honor from Armenia (Academy of Sciences), 2009.
2. Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
California, 2009.
3. Albert Einstein Gold Medal of Honor from the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences,
Moscow, Russia, 2009.
4. Award from Saudi Aramco Oil Company, Saudi Arabia 2009
5. Malaviya Medal of Honor from Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India.
6. Promoted safe storage of aviation fuels and jet fuels in deep-seated salt domes.
Dr. George V. Chilingar(ian) is Professor Emeritus of Petroleum, Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, California. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1949 and 1950, respectively. And while he was working on his Ph.D. in Geology at USC, he spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, where he made a scientific breakthrough in jet fuel and was given the position of Chief of the Petroleum and Chemicals Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. By 1956 he was awarded a Ph.D. in Geology with the minor in Petroleum Engineering. After his term serving in the USA Air Force, he returned to USC as a member of the School of Engineering faculty. For over 60 years, Professor George V. Chilingar taught various courses in Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Geology, and Environmental Engineering at USC. In 2008, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Viterbi School of Engineering at USC.
As one of the most well-known petroleum geologists in the world and the founder of two prestigious journals in the oil and gas industry, he served as an advisor to many governmental organizations, dignitaries, and lawmakers. For example, he served as Senior Adviser of Petroleum Engineering to the United Nations from 1967 to 1969 and then again from 1978 to 1987. One of his greatest contributions to the petroleum industry is the method of identification of the oil-rich rocks by analyzing the ratio of calcium to magnesium contents in carbonate rocks (dolomitization). Using this method, he discovered a large oilfield in Iran, which was named after him.
He is the first American Petroleum Geologist ever elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN) and Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He began popularizing Soviet Petroleum Geology and Engineering literature in the Western World during the 1950’s and 1960’s. During the last 15 years Professor Chilingar has been serving as President of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, U.S. Branch, which united over 100 famous US scientists and engineers in their joint work.
He is Professor Honoris Causa from the largest Petroleum University in the world, Gubkin Russian State University, Moscow, Russia. Doctor Honoris Causa and Honorary Professor of Dubna International University, Moscow, Russia.
The results of his investigation are presented in over 500 research articles and 73 books in the fields of Petroleum and Environmental Engineering and Petroleum Geology. With many of his books being translated into Russian, Chinese and Farsi. He has numerous patents, especially in the field of his inventions: EEOR and Acoustic Vibrational Enhanced Oil Recovery. Professor Chilingar is recipient of over 100 medals, awards and diplomas from various governments, universities and organizations, including Lomonosov’s medal of Russian Academy of Sciences Order of Homayun Gold Medal from the Shah of Iran, and White Elephant Medal from King of Thailand.
In his research of the past 15 years, Professor Chilingar (together with O. Sorokhtin and L. Khilyuk) have been investigating the greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmosphere and the impact of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission on global climate evolution. He showed that the effect of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission is negligible in comparison with the global forces of nature. He proved that an increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere results in cooling rather than warming.