James P. Brill, Ph.D. - The University of Tulsa
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James P. Brill, Ph.D.

Jeffrey J. McDougall Eminent Chair Professor in Petroleum Engineering

About

James P. Brill, Ph.D., returned to The University of Tulsa in December 2023 as the McDougall Eminent Chair Professor in Petroleum Engineering. He first joined the faculty in 1966 and retired in 2000. He holds a B.S. in engineering from the University of Minnesota (1962), and a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas (1966). He formed the fluid flow projects (TUFFP) in 1973, the paraffin deposition projects (TUPDP) in 1995, and served for five years as a consultant on the Decision Review Board for TUCoRE, established by Chevron in 2002. Multiphase flow data and prediction models developed by Brill and his students have played a significant role in offshore facilities design. He was a consultant to more than 35 international oil and gas companies and taught more than 70 short courses on multiphase flow in pipes in 15 different countries. He published nearly 300 technical papers and research reports, with many appearing in SPE, ASME and AIChE Journals and the International Journal of Multiphase Flow. He is co-author of the SPE Monograph “Multiphase Flow in Wells,” which was translated into Russian in 2006, and the 2017 SPE Textbook “Applied Multiphase Flow in Pipes and Flow Assurance.”

Awards & Honors

  • 1963 Member of Pi Epsilon Tau Honorary Petroleum Engineering Society
  • 1964 Member Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society
  • 1969-1970 Fellow, ACE Academic Administrators Internship Program
  • 1989-1994 SPE representative to ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission
  • 1994-2000 SPE representative to ABET Board of Directors
  • 1994 SPE Production Engineering Award
  • 1994 SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty
  • 1995 TU’s Mr. Homecoming
  • 1996-2000 Editor of ASME Journal of Energy Resources Technology
  • 1997 Member, United States National Academy of Engineering
  • 1997 TU’s Commencement speaker
  • 1997 SPE John Franklin Carll Award
  • 1997 SPE Distinguished Member
  • 1998-2000 Chair of ASME Petroleum Division’s Production Committee
  • 1998-2001 Chair of ETCE Petroleum Production Technology Symposium
  • 2000 ASME Fellow
  • 2007 Established Jim Brill’s TU Endowed Presidential Scholarship Challenge Fund for PE Students
  • 2008 SPE DeGolyer Medal
  • 2009 SPE and AIME Honorary Member
  • 2009 SPE Legend of Production and Operations
  • 2009 Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame
  • 2018 TU ENS College of Engineering Hall of Fame

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
    Dissertation: “The Analytical Description of Liquid Slug Flow in Small-Diameter Vertical Conduits”
  • B.S., Engineering, University of Minnesota

Research interests and areas of expertise

  • Multiphase flow in pipes
  • Oil and gas production engineering
  • Flow assurance