As most industry insiders know, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) reserves its highest distinction, honorary membership, for its most accomplished members. When longtime engineer Christine Ehlig-Economides accepted the award in 2018, she took the stage and ceremoniously pulled a speech from the bodice of her sequined St. John Collection dress. Her speech delivered a powerful message. “Women are selected in orchestra auditions when the candidates who play are concealed behind a screen,” Ehlig-Economides told the crowd, which later gave her a standing ovation. “C. Ehlig got better math and science homework and exam scores than Christine Ehlig. With a BA degree with honors in math and science from Rice University, Christine got no employment offers.”

Thinking that she would become a math or science teacher—the only viable option-- Ehlig-Economides pursued a Master of Arts degree in teaching from the University of Kansas. However, she learned she could not work as a teacher because math and science teachers also had to coach male athletes. 

Fortunately, Dr. John Halepaska at the Kansas Geological Survey decided to give Ehlig-Economides a chance, although it did take some persuading. After they published a paper together, Dr. Halepaska encouraged her to consider pursuing a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering. By then, a fortuitous change in federal civil rights laws changed everything. The Title IX legislation, which passed under President Richard Nixon, stated that a person could not be discriminated against regarding, or excluded from, employment based on gender. After the law took effect, many young women felt empowered to pursue an engineering education.

Ehlig-Economides completed a Master’s Degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas as the only woman in the graduate program and then earned a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Stanford University as the first U.S. woman to earn this degree.

Get the nomination form for 2020. Deadline for submissions is Friday, August 30, 2019.