Lauren Ashley Martz, daughter of Steve and Savannah Martz of Salisbury, received her Master of Science in Geology from the University of Louisiana on May 11, 2018, having successfully defended her thesis on “Refined Stratigraphic Positioning Analysis Using Geocentric Sectoring of Logging-While-Drilling Azimuthal Log Data for Enhanced Reservoir Navigation and Petrophysical Characterization.” She graduated in three semesters and was the recipient of a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, in addition to the prestigious Achievement of Academic Excellence Award, given to superior students recognized by the President of the University with a cumulative 4.0 GPA. The School of Geoscience faculty chose Lauren Martz to be one of five members on the UL American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ Imperial Barrel Award (IBA) Team, where 846 geoscience graduate students from 168 universities around the world participate in a global prospective basin evaluation competition. The rigorous program puts teams through an 8-week academic challenge to analyze a geologic and geophysical dataset, determine the viability of a hydrocarbon reservoir, and ultimately present their results to a panel of industry experts. After taking 1st Place in the Gulf Coast Section IBA Competition in March 2018, the UL IBA Team advanced to the international finals held on May 19, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah winning 1st Place and becoming the 2018 IBA World Champions.

Having earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from North Carolina State University, Lauren continued her education with the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in two field camps focused on geological engineering and petroleum geology, respectively. She completed a summer geology internship in Williston, N.D. before being selected for the Geological Society of America GeoCorps Program, working as a geology/paleontology intern in Santa Fe, N.M. assisting paleontologists with fossil surveys and mapping fossil localities in Arizona and Oklahoma.

Lauren has accepted a geoscientist position in Texas with an oil and gas exploration and production company operating in North America, the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, and Egypt.