Awards & Scholarships

Kenneth E. Arnold is founder and President of K Arnold Consulting. He has more than 40 years of industry experience, including 16 years at Shell. Arnold founded Paragon Engineering Services in 1980, which was purchased by AMEC in 2005. In September 2007, he retired from AMEC and formed K Arnold Consulting. He is recognized for innovative contributions to the design of and problem solving in offshore facilities as well as substantial involvement in SPE at both the section and international levels. Arnold is coauthor of two textbooks and more than 50 technical articles on project management and facilities design. He has twice been chosen as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and is the editor of the Facilities and Construction Engineering volume of the Petroleum Engineering Handbook. Arnold was SPE’s first Technical Director for Projects, Facilities and Construction. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2005, was named 2003 Houston Engineer of the Year by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, is a member of the Marine Board of the National Research Council, and is on the Board of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas.

Arnold is a recipient of SPE’s DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal, Public Service Award, and Production Engineering Award, and has received an American Petroleum Institute (API) citation for his work in promoting offshore safety. Arnold, who has taught facilities engineering at the University of Houston, is a registered professional engineer and serves on the advisory board of the engineering schools of Tulane University and Cornell University. He earned an MS degree in civil engineering from Tulane University in 1967 and a BS degree in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1964.