Charlie Birnie

Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering (BS): 1957

"I graduated from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a BS in Petroleum Engineering in May, 1957. I worked for Pan American in the summer of my Junior year and took a leave of absence to finish school.

I met my wife, Jo Alice, during my summer job and got married during Christmas break. Jo Alice and I are still married and have four children, eight grand children, and three great grand children.

Upon graduation I started in Hobbs, New Mexico working in field operations and drilling. I moved to Lubbock, Texas and worked in reservoir engineering and secondary recovery operations, and later transferred to the Tulsa Research center in Tulsa, Oklahoma and worked in heavy oil recovery in Athabasca tar sands, and thermal oil recovery. I returned to Lubbock, Texas and continued to work in reservoir engineering, then moved to Brownfield Texas, and worked in waterflooding field operations. I worked secondary recovery and reservoir modeling in Fort Worth, Texas. I returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma and worked in a group interfacing engineers with computer systems, then went back to the Tulsa Research center and worked in heavy oil thermal combustion and steam recovery. I ended my career working on the development of an Intenerated Reservoir modeling system. After 32.5 years with AMOCO, as a Special Research Associate, I retired at age 55."

Charlie recently donated funds to the Petroleum Engineering department for discretionary use. These funds allowed us to start upgrading our computer lab, which is also used as a classroom. Four new computers are replacing older ones, along with a more economical printer. These upgrades will help enhance the education of our students and would not have been possible without Charlie's contribution. We would like to thank Charlie for his generosity and continued commitment to New Mexico Tech.