Distinguished Alumni Honorees

Laurie W. “Larry” Folmar, B.S. in petroleum engineering (1947), served as director and senior vice president for producing operations in the Eastern Hemisphere at Texaco.

John H. Campbell III most recently served as chief executive officer of Percussion Petroleum, LLC in Houston. Campbell grew up in The Woodlands, Texas and graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 2004.

On January 21, 1957, James “Jim” Barnum was born in Atlanta. Barnum lived in the small town of Smyrna, Ga., until he was 10-years-old and then relocated to Seabrook, Texas, near Houston. He graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1975 and was accepted into The University of Texas at Austin petroleum engineering program in the fall of 1975.

Gary L. Thomas is president of EOG Resources Inc., one of the largest independent crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States with proved reserves in the United States, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China.

Autry C. Stephens is the president and CEO of Endeavor Energy Resources LP. He received both his BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering in 1961 and 1962, respectively.

A third generation Longhorn graduate, Jillian Jopling earned her BS in petroleum engineering in 2004. She originally enrolled in The University of Texas at Austin as a chemistry major, but found her passion in engineering and changed majors. 

Being the son of parents who migrated to the United States and exemplify the American dream through their sacrifice, hard work and perseverance sets the tone for Habachy’s life. His parents migrated to the United States leaving an established and comfortable life in Egypt pursuing a more promising future for their children.

Richard Folger is managing general partner of Colbridge Partners, Ltd., a private investment partnership. In April 2015, he retired as chief executive officer and president of Warren Equipment Company, a position he held since 1999.

Thomas D. Barrow attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega, earning his BS in petroleum engineering in 1945 and an MA in geology in 1948. In 1953, he received his PhD in geology from Stanford University.

Peyton Yates, Jr. was born and reared in Artesia, New Mexico. He graduated from Artesia High School in 1959 and attended The University of Texas at Austin, receiving a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1965 and a master’s of science in petroleum engineering in 1966.