Gene Voiland Receives WSU Alumni Award

PULLMAN, Wash. — Eugene J. Voiland, a 1969 Washington State University graduate who
has spent nearly three decades in the oil business, received the WSU Alumni Achievement
Award today (April 23). The award recognizes Voiland for leadership in his profession, personal
service and loyalty to the Department of Chemical Engineering and WSU, and his investment in
future generations of Cougar engineers.
Voiland is president and CEO of AERA Energy, a joint venture of CalResources, a Shell Oil
affiliate, and Mobil Explorations, which explores off-shore oil production. Previously, as CEO of
CalResources, he headed the largest oil producer in California and now leads an even greater
effort to provide new sources of energy for the West Coast.
The Bakersfield, Calif., resident has served on the College of Engineering and Architecture
Advisory Board since 1991, and also is a member of WSU’s Chemical Engineering Advisory
Board. Through his company he provides internship opportunities for engineering students.
Voiland and his wife, Linda, have established an endowed fund to support the Chemical
Engineering Department. From 1996-98 he co-chaired the college’s fund-raising campaign, was
named a Distinguished Chemical Engineering Alumnus in 1991, and is a trustee of the WSU
Foundation.
Voiland came to WSU from Richland. As an undergraduate he was a member of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Sigma Tau engineering honor societies. He was
editor of Technometer, a quarterly engineering publication produced by engineering students.
His community service in Bakersfield includes the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce,
the R.M. Pyles Boys Camp and two local college foundations, among others.
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