Dr. Billy J. Mitchell American Driller Scholarship Fund (Est. 2011)

CSM-enrolled undergraduate or graduate student scholarship award nominee: a) must be a U.S.A. citizen; b) must have expressed a strong interest in pursuing a career in oil/gas drilling; and c) except in exceptional cases, shall have successfully completed the introductory drilling engineering course.

The most senior drilling engineering faculty member of the Petroleum Engineering Department shall select award recipients for this merit-based scholarship, according to the guidelines and policies of CSM Office of Financial Aid.

Dr. Billy J. Mitchell (Feb 2, 1935 - Aug 14, 2011)

Billy Mitchell functioned as roughneck, derrick man, toolpusher, rig supervisor, drilling superintendent, drilling manager, and/or drilling engineer on holes in the U.S.A., Canada, South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; on tender, floater, and land rigs. He was an expert witness in oil well drilling, a computer software analyst, and an author of multiple detailed drilling manuals and handbooks for major corporations and industry. He was a mentor, a consultant, a renowned lecturer, a business owner, and a friend to many. Dr. Mitchell joined the Colorado School of Mines faculty in 1966 as the professor of oil well drilling within the P.E. Department. He became an Associate Professor in 1970 and received full Professorship in 1976. At his retirement in 1996 after three decades of service to CSM, he was awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus. Dr. Mitchell died August 14th, 2011, at the age of 76.

Billy Mitchell also played Oklahoma Sooners football for Bud Wilkinson and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers; served in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Army Reserve; was an undefeated heavy weight boxer during his military stint; was an airplane pilot; was a nationally ranked fast-pitch softball player; was an avid skier of black diamond runs; was a competitive A-class handball player; was a national competitor in sanctioned Trap and Skeet tournaments; was an avid big-game, upland and waterfowl hunter and fly fisherman.

Dr. Mitchell had profound effects on literally 100s of CSM P.E. students.

Student Submissions

Student 28

I was saddened to hear of Dr. Mitchell’s passing and hope that you take some comfort in knowing that he touched many lives in a positive way. When I received the email with the news, I forwarded the note on to a number of my CSM friends. Every one of them replied what a “great guy” he was and he would be missed. My memories of Dr. Mitchell (“BJ”) go back to my sophomore year at Colorado School of Mines either late in 1987 or at the start of 1988. At the time, I had just started in petroleum engineering classes and was financially strapped. He offered me a job to work for him during the day to help with office work. This job with flexible hours was invaluable for me in making ends meet at school. More importantly, this job led to a relationship beyond that of just an employer and drilling professor but as a mentor, coach, and friend over my remaining two years at CSM. I played sports while at CSM and one of them was softball. I have fond memories of playing catcher for BJ in the hall of Alderson Halls as he was firing balls at me. I remember his “rise” being one of the toughest pitches I have ever had to catch let alone hit. His softball pitching was very impressive and the fact he wanted to do it in the halls showed his confidence in my catching ability. I don’t believe that Dr. Van Kirk would have agreed that playing catch with fast pitch softballs in the school was a “good, safe practice”, but nevertheless it was a great memory. He taught me a lot about drilling but he also taught me about leadership. I remember when we were writing one of his drilling books he taught me one of the most vital lessons I in leadership. He pointed out that he was imminently more qualified than many of his peers to teach well control as he had actually dealt with well control problems. He talked about one of the wells he worked on that had a blowout. That experience, though not a success, had given him an opportunity to teach others from first hand experience. I know that none of us strive for something to go wrong but we do need to embrace those opportunities as way to learn going forward. He often joked about this point by saying that being “infamous” was more important than being “famous” in attracting new consulting work. The point was a valuable lesson to me that I remember it to this day. Dr. Mitchell was one of the professors that I see as instrumental in my success at Colorado School of Mines and now in my professional career. I never practiced as a drilling engineer, but I worked as reservoir and production engineer for approximately 12 years before I moved into commercial and management roles. I have lived now in four countries and in three different states in my 21-years in the industry to date. I have been blessed to have a rewarding career in oil and gas that has led to a quality of life for me and my family that I am grateful. I now have two lovely children and an engineer for a husband. The other night, my 10-year old daughter came home telling me that she made her softball team tryouts in Brisbane as a fast pitch pitcher for the local softball team. His reinforcement of my desire to be a “catcher” has led to my daughter becoming a “pitcher”. I told her about Dr. Mitchell and we laughed about some of my stories. One of the benefits of being a teacher is that unique ability to shape lives and create a legacy through those you shared your perspectives with. He was someone I admired. I laughed with him and learned from him. He will be missed. He was instrumental as a professor, coach, and friend to me.

Student 27

1) The Man: Bill was proud of the fact that he was the son of an Oklahoma share-cropper and broke out in the industry when “the rigs were made of wood and the men were made of steel!” Very few students made it through without hearing this trademark “roar” of Bill's. I think this, as much as anything else, is why he had so many of industry's high level managers scared to death of him; he knew just about everything from the ground up about what they were and weren't doing. 2) The Competitor: I really wasn't that good at playing racquetball or handball; but, I played hard because I loved the game. It didn't take long after Bill found that I played to challenge me to a game – see if I could beat “the old guy”. All I'll say about the match is that I still have the divot in my butt where the bruise used to be from the handball bullet Bill fired. He cured people of “hogging the court” real quick!! But it was a great game! 3) The Teacher: 3a) In the “early” years at Mines, a number of us were standing in the entry to Dr. Bass' office. Dr. Bass was talking with Charles and Bill about his concerns regarding some of the students coming in with these new “hand held calculators” having an advantage over other students who might not have been able to afford one yet. It was just before the Fall classes and a few of us grad students were standing around, all thinking the same thing: “This should be interesting!” After a short pause, Bill casually said, “It won‟t help in my class.” Dr. Bass looked a little puzzled at first; but, after all the grad students had looked at each other for a second, we all busted out laughing. We all knew what he meant and that it was true. In evidence we have his typical exam question: “I'm 40' short of landing my casing string. The toolpusher found an extra joint of pipe on the truck out back with a green band – etc., etc. - Can I use it to land the string?” The answer, as usual, wasn't the answer; it was whether or not the student could demonstrate how to go about solving the problem. 3b) In the middle years – finishing my Masters: I think my favorite memory of Bill was hearing him say once in his office, in his inimitable belly laugh, to a group of us gathered there, "Yeah, all my students think I'm a horse's ass!" I loved that somewhat self deprecating quality of his; he was one of the most respected people I knew. Upon hearing the above, the students who knew him would often feel compelled to add, “Yeah, but boy did he make you think!” I can't think of a greater tribute to offer a teacher. 4) The Friend: 4a) The beginning: Perhaps the beginning of the transition from Teacher to friend for Bill and me was the day before my thesis defense. I hardly remembered how nervous I was until my wife related her view of me that day. She said I was visibly nervous and preoccupied when I left home for school to go over some final notes on the thesis with Bill. But when I returned late that afternoon, I was completely calm. When she asked what happened, I told her, “Oh, when I walked in the office and talked with Bill a minute, he said 'let's go fishing'; so off we went. We didn't catch anything but it sure was beautiful up there!" Bill was a lot more observant and kind than many people realized. He respected hard work, innovation and discovery; that was the essence of graduate work. This realization was what prompted the acknowledgement to Bill in my thesis, “Perhaps we never realize the full impact that our efforts and interests have on others. The author hopes that this paper will provide gratification to Dr. Mitchell for his efforts in teaching.” And, just so everyone realizes this was not any sort of self serving gesture, it was added after the thesis defense was complete when we were “going final” and had no influence on events. Simply stated, ***the man earned it!*** 4b) Later years: In December of 1993, Bill was in Las Vegas consulting to one of our drilling contractors at Yucca Mountain. My wife had never met him at this point; so, I took the opportunity to invite him out to dinner. Her remembrances of Bill were that he was kind, considerate and “the perfect gentleman”. At supper that evening, she was playing with her food. She had confirmed earlier that week that she had experienced her second miscarriage. Bill, noting something was wrong, stopped the waiter and said, “Would you please bring the lady a shrimp cocktail.” Ever the teacher, Bill leaned over to counsel me, “Women like shrimp cocktails!” Well, it worked; his thoughtfulness cheered her up and we had a very delightful visit that evening. Conclusion: As with many of you, there are a myriad more memories less clear in the cobwebs of time; however, I would like to invite you to lift a toast to Bill.

Student 26

Soon after initially meeting Dr. Mitchell I thought his stories were perhaps a stretch of his imagination...and then I played racquetball with him and caught his pitch and quickly I discovered he could walk-the-walk! I worked for him as a student and we became great friends. No single professor at Mines did more to further my engineering and general knowledge than BJ. He was a hard worker and fierce competitor at everything professional and hobby. He was unbelievably generous with his time and knowledge if you put forth a sincere effort. An attribute, which positively distinguished his lectures from many others', was the telling of his actual experiences relating to the topic at hand; i.e. he had the scars to effectively intertwine the classroom and the real world to the student's benefit. I loved that his lectures weren't just equations and theory but often spoke to life. While there were so many notable training messages related to drilling and beyond from which to choose, my favorite would have to be this one: "If you're not smart enough to earn it, you're probably not smart enough to keep it." Another good one was, "It doesn't do much good to be a great writer, if you have nothing about which to write."  The demise of Bill Mitchell is a horrible loss of a great, one-of-a-kind, and unforgettable resource and friend. He will be dearly missed by me.

Student 25

I did not know Bill well, but he was my Drilling professor and a colorful character. He wanted to hold our tests at 4 am, because he figured that was more like the “real” world. “All decisions on the rig happen in the wee hours of the morning,” he said. Apparently he tried this stunt in previous years and was shut down by the administration. He liked to spice things up in class. He had fantastic stories and I remember always looking forward to his class. We all knew he was tough, but he was fair. I am quite sure that he was the reason that many students chose drilling as their specialty. He had a knack for making up the rules as the semester went along. One of our mid-terms was writing a drilling program on our programmable calculators. He started giving extra credit for the most innovative programs with the most bells and whistles, literally. If you could make the program beep or whistle, you got extra credit. Guys like Bill Mitchell are true treasures and a rare breed. That Drilling class was more than twenty years ago. The fact that he left such an impression on me speaks volumes about the kind of guy he was.

Student 24

I remember taking a test from Dr. Mitchell. He took all the points off on one question even though I had shown all the correct work but wrote down the wrong answer. When I asked him for some partial credit, he said, "If you want partial credit, you have to grade all the tests." I said,"ok". He didn't expect me to agree. Then he said, "And I won't pay you for grading". I said, "ok". So I started grading tests for him. Grading tests taught me so much by the repetition of seeing the problems again and again. By the way, he started paying me on the second batch of tests so I earned money, too. Another story having to do with tests. On the very first day of the first class we had with Dr. Mitchell, he told us we had to use number 2 pencils, we had to use e-2 paper, and we had to staple the tests vertically at top left. He told us that if we didn't do these things, he would deduct 5 points each. The first test came and 2 guys each got minus 15 points. I don't know if they graduated in petroleum or not. Probably not.

Student 23

Dr. Mitchell was my professor between 1974 and 1978 while I was preparing my master’s degree at CSM. He was also my thesis adviser. He was a great hearted person. I learned so much from him. Let me share with you this anecdote: I had just landed at CSM from Algeria with very poor English, absolutely no prior petroleum engineering (PE) exposure, but a strong mathematical background. To get me into the basics of PE, I was put directly into a third year drilling course with Dr. Mitchell (PE-311). At the end of the semester, I failed the course. Three years later, before graduating, Dr. Mitchell asked me: what are we going to do with the “F” mark you had in PE-311? I didn’t say anything. He added “What was your grade in the directional drilling course (PE-428)”? I said: “A”. He scribbled a note and said: Take this to the registrar’s office; they’ll change that “F” into “A”.

Student 22

The stories I could tell about those students who "had bullets with his name carved on the projectile". BJ had quite an interesting behavioral methodology to his madness. The students just did not get what made him tick. I was one of the few who earned an A in his classes because I understood his game (not because I was smarter, but because BJ knew that he must "challenge the unconventional" to make others better). Another story: He was quite good at fast pitch so he kept trash talking many of us in class. There we were on the diamond, he sailed a fastball across the plate and I hit the ball to my favorite spot just over second base (got a double of him). That seemed to "cement" (no drilling/casing pun intended) our relationship. When he was created, the mold was broken. There will not be another like him.

Student 21

Bill Mitchell engineered life, teaching, personal communications, and sense of humor in such a way that he made me learn a lot from him and about myself, even during our occasional conversations at his office or in the hallways of Alderson Hall at CSM. Based on my observations so far, everybody, who have been lucky to get to know him or utilized his knowledge and experience, have always respected and recognized B.J.'s qualities and service to the petroleum industry.

Student 20

Here are some of the life lessons that I learned from B.J.: If you do what you are told to do when you are told to do it, you are only average. You want to do more and do it faster than expected. Secretaries know what is going on in an organization. Be nice to them and bring them flowers. In a corporate environment, it is important to express your thoughts and ideas. Don't just be a fly on the wall. I feel very fortunate that B.J. was one of my professors at Mines.

Student 19

It is a sad day to lose Bill. Although my dad was the first to introduce me to long journeys to drilling rigs, coffee, mud of all sorts, and logging trucks, Bill took us all on a journey of iron from the crown to the bit. He too made us get up early for 7am, 6am, or even 5am tests depending on what fit his pistol. We learned much from him about drilling, about ourselves and about life. We are all fortunate he shared his huge bag of experience with us.

Student 18

I am sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. When in school he had such a presence that he was almost immortal. Hard to imagine he is gone. His passing certainly triggered many memories of Bill’s antics during the semester. Who can forget taking a makeup exam on a Sunday at 2:00 a.m. and making the same horrid score of 3 out of 30?

Student 17

Bill Mitchell was a good mentor and often stood up for the underdog. He always found time to listen and offer a suggestion. In a nutshell - he had honor. I will miss him and his unmistakable aura. We spent hours in the fields in northeast Colorado chasing pheasants.

Student 16

Bill Mitchell had quite an influence on me at Mines. Even years later he was a supportive and valuable resource and friend. I'm still kicking myself for not accepting his numerous invitations to go the gun club and “blow shit up” with the 375mag.

Student 15

He led our field camp and of course we had a softball team touring through Rangely and Wyoming. Then he took us down here to Houston. What a trip. Great guy and great professor.

Student 14

He was a great teacher, fun, and a heck of a pitcher. I can remember the popping sound in the hallway when he used to practice his throws outside his classroom.

Student 13

Bill Mitchell was one-of-a-kind and I recall him as being very straight forward. I do not have pictures, unfortunately, but I do have a lot of good memories.

Student 12

He was an amazing individual and an inspiration to all generations of engineering. I am honored to have known him even for the brief time that I did.

Student 11

Dr. Mitchell had a profound effect on me. He was a very interesting man, as well as a brilliant professor. I’m glad to have known him.

Student 10

I realize how much the Professors at Mines gave to me. The death of Dr. Mitchell is a time to reflect and pay homage.

Student 9

I have many happy memories of Bill from courses, PVT lab, and PE summer camp in 1971.

Student 8

Bill was one of those teachers you either loved or hated; but he did influence our lives.

Student 7

I learned a great deal from Bill Mitchell. He will always be a part of my resume.

Student 6

I heard the news that we lost Billy Mitchell; what a shame and what a loss.

Student 5

An industry icon that will be sorely missed by many, myself included.

Student 4

Bill Mitchell was more of a legend than a teacher when I was there.

Student 3

He was quite a character and made a lasting impression on me.

Student 2

He was a great teacher, professor, mentor, and friend.

Student 1

This is very much the ending of an era.

Dr. Billy J. Mitchell PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Mitchell wrote at least four books, six manuals, and sixty-three papers and/or theses (director) all of which dealt with oil well drilling. 

BOOKS

WELL DRILLING HANDBOOK, Mitchell Engineering, Golden, Colorado, 1977, 244 pages.

ADVANCED OILWELL DRILLING ENGINEERING HANDBOOK & COMPUTER PROGRAMS, Mitchell Engineering, Golden, Colorado, 1990, 417 pages, and revised in 1993 to 616 pages. It was distributed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Dallas, Texas. Twenty-eight oil well drilling programs accompanied the book.

OIL WELL FISHING, Mitchell Engineering, Golden, Colorado, 1991, 153 pages.

HORIZONTAL AND DIRECTIONAL DRILLING, Mitchell Engineering, Golden, Colorado, 1991 and revised in 1995, 202 pages.

MANUALS

TUBULAR DESIGN, Mobil Oil Corporation, 1982, 356 pages.

OPTIMIZED DRILLING, Mobil Oil Corporation, 1982, 282 pages.

TUBULAR RUNNING AND HANDLING PRACTICES, Mobil Oil Corporation, 1983, and revised in 1991, 371 pages.

AIR DRILLING MANUAL, CONOCO, 1973, revised in 1990 and 1994.

MARINE RISER OPERATION MANUAL, CONOCO, 1974.

DIRECTIONAL DRILLING MANUAL, Petrobras, BRAZIL, 1987.

PAPERS, THESES, AND REPORTS

1. Mitchell, B.J. and Campbell, J.M.: EFFECT OF TOOTH GEOMETRY ON TOOTH WEAR RATE OF ROTARY ROCK BITS, paper presented at API Mid-Continent Dist. Spring Meeting, March, 1959.

2. Mitchell, B.J.: VISCOSITY OF FOAM, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1970.

3. Mitchell, B.J.: REPORT ON DRILLING PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS - COOK INLET, ALASKA, UNION OIL, 1967.

4. Baylav, T. and Mitchell, B.J.: SOME ASPECTS OF POLYMER ADDITIVES IN VISCOUS WATERFLOODING, Master Thesis T-1155, Colorado School of Mines, 1967.

5. Neunzert, G.M. and Mitchell, B.J.: FLUID CHARACTERISTICS AND PRESSURE DROP IN A HIGH PRESSURE DROP IN A HIGH PRESSURE FOAM SYSTEM, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1970.

6. Krug, J.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: AIR AND WATER REQUIREMENTS FOR FOAM DRILLING OPERATIONS, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1971.

7. Mitchell, B.J.: TEST --- FOAM AS A DRILLING FLUID, The Oil and Gas Journal, Sept. 6, 1971, p. 96-100.

8. Sinex, B.J. and Mitchell, B.J.: A DRILLING SIMULATOR, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1971.

9. Proehl, T.S. and Mitchell, B.J.: DRILLING AND COMPLETION PRACTICES IGNACIO-BLANCO DAKOTA FIELD, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1973.

10. Krug, J.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: FOAM PRESSURE LOSS IN VERTICAL TUBING, The Oil and Gas Journal, October 6, 1975, p. 74-78.

11. Krug, J.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: CHARTS --- VOLUME AND PRESSURE --- FOAM DRILLING, The Oil and Gas Journal, February 7, 1972, p. 61-64.

12. Abbott, W.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: AN ANALYSIS OF SLIP VELOCITIES OF SPHERICAL PARTICLES IN FOAM DRILLING FLUIDS, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1974.

13. Aldrich, C.S. and Mitchell, B.J.: STRENGTH, PERMEABILITY, AND POROSITY OF A CELLULAR OIL WELL CEMENT, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1974.

14. Blauer, R.E., Mitchell, B.J. and Kohlhaas, C.A.: DETERMINATION OF LAMINAR, TURBULENT, AND TRANSITIONAL FOAM FLOW FRICTION LOSSES IN PIPE, SPE 4885 presented at SPE-AIME 44th Annual Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, April 4-5, 1974.

15. Blauer, R.E., Kohlhaas, C.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: FORMATION FRACTURING WITH FOAM, SPE-AIME 49th Annual Fall Meeting, Houston, Texas, October 6-9, 1974.

16. Aldrich, C.S. and Mitchell, B.J.: STRENGTH, PERMEABILITY, AND POROSITY OF AN OIL WELL FOAM CEMENT, No. 75-pet-10, ASME, Sept. 21, 1975, Tulsa,Oklahoma.

17. Al-Attar, Hazim H. and Mitchell, B.J.: THE EVALUATION OF OIL FOAM FOR USE AS A DISPLACING MEDIUM FOR OIL RECOVERY IN POROUS MEDIA, Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1976.

18. Al-Mashat, Ali Mohsen, and Mitchell, B.J.: RHEOLOGY OF FOAM CEMENT, Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1976.

19. Dahl, M.P. and Mitchell, B.J.: ASPECTS OF MOORING IN DEEP WATER, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1976.

20. Mitchell, B.J. and Aldrich, C.S.: A NEW OIL WELL CELLULAR CEMENT, The Mines Magazine, Nov. 1976.

21. Slattery, J.P. and Mitchell, B.J.: COMPRESSIVE AND TENSILE STRENGTHS AND SETTING TIMES OF FOAM CEMENT WITH COMMON ADDITIVES, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1976.

22. Blauer, R.E. and Mitchell, B.J.: LAMINAR, TRANSITIONAL, AND TURBULENT FOAM FLOW BEHAVIOR, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1977.

23. Rogosic, D. and Mitchell, B.J.: PREDICTION OF PORE PRESSURE AND FRACTURE GRADIENT FOR "FRONTIER" FORMATION IN NORTH-WEST PART OF GREEN RIVER FORMATION, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1977.

24. Pakbaz, E. and Mitchell, B.J.: LONG-TERM STRENGTH AND PERMEABILITY OF FOAM CEMENT AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1978.

25. Harvey, H.E. and Mitchell, B.J.: RECOMMENDED CEMENTING PROGRAMS FOR GAS WELLS IN THE RED DESERT BASIN, WYOMING, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1980.

26. Mitchell, B.J.: BUCKLING, LOADS, AND STRENGTHS OF CASING FOR BLOCK 59 WELL #3, TENNECO, GETTY, GULF, and others, May 19, 1981.

27. Araujo de, P.F. and Mitchell, B.J.: FRACTURE GRADIENT PREDICTION IN THE RECONCAVO BASIN, BRAZIL, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1982.

28. Saleh, S.T. and Mitchell, B.J.: BOREHOLE STABILITY IN THE WILLISTON BASIN: THE FOUR EYES FIELD CASE STUDY, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1982.

29. Santos, Otto L. and Mitchell, B.J.: A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF A GAS KICK WHEN DRILLING IN DEEP WATER, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1982.

30. Yousif, M.H. and Mitchell, B.J.: TRIAXIAL CASING DESIGN, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1982.

31. Andrade de, J.L. and Mitchell, B.J.: WELLHEAD LOADS AND SURFACE CASING FAILURE, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1983.

32. Mitchell, B.J.: STRESS ANALYSIS FOR 4.5" TUBING FRACTURING STRING FOR WELL: EE-3, HOT DRY ROCK PROJECT, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES, April 25, 1983.

33. Mitchell, B.J.: STRESS ANALYSIS FOR 9.625" CASING FOR WELL: EE-3, HOT DRY ROCK PROJECT, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES, May 5, 1983.

34. Kutan, H. and Mitchell, B.J.: A STUDY ON HELICAL BUCKLING OF DRILL STRINGS IN INCLINED HOLES, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1984.

35. Omar, A.H. and Mitchell, B.J.: THREE DIMENSIONAL FORCE DEFLECTION ANALYSIS OF A VARIABLE CROSS SECTION DRILL STRING, Special Problem (PE 509), 1984.

36. Long, R.C. and Mitchell, B.J.: THE SECTIONAL METHOD - A NEW APPROACH TO SURVEY CALCULATION AND ANALYSIS FOR DIRECTIONAL DRILLING, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1986.

37. Mitchell, B.J.: CASING SETTING DEPTHS: KOPANDAR M-13, BEAUFORT SEA, CANADA, report for CANMAR, CANADA, 1978.

38. Mitchell, B.J.: MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE DRILL BIT WEIGHT FROM DRILL COLLARS IN INCLINED (DIRECTIONAL) BOREHOLES, SPE-AIME paper #6058, 51st Annual Fall Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, October 3-6, 1976.

39. Omar, M. and Mitchell, B.J.: CENTRALIZER SPACING WITH PLANE CASING BENDING, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1983.

40. Abdalbake, H.N. and Mitchell, B.J.: GAS FLOW AFTER CEMENTING -- A PHYSICAL MODEL, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1988.

41. Shipley, S.E. and Mitchell, B.J.: THE EFFECT OF CEMENT COLUMN INCLINATION ON GAS MIGRATION, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1989.

42. Fleckenstein, W.W. and Mitchell, B.J.: REMOVAL OF A KICK WITH THE PARTITION METHOD, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1988.

43. Akgun, F. and Mitchell, B.J.: FINITE ELEMENTS ANALYSIS OF PIPE DEFORMATION IN OIL WELLS, Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1989.

44. Saad, Saleh and Mitchell, Bill:WELLBORE-DRILLSTRING MECHANICAL INTERACTION, SPE paper No. 18,792, presented at the California Regional Meeting, April 5-7, 1989.

45. Long, R.C. and Mitchell, B.J.: A NEW APPROACH TO DIRECTIONAL SURVEY INTERPRETATION AND COURSE CORRECTION BY THE SECTIONAL METHOD, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jan. 14-17, 1990, New Orleans.

46. Akgun, F. and Mitchell, B.J.: OIL WELL TUBULAR DEFORMATION IN SEVERE DOG-LEG, 8TH Petroleum Conference of Turkey, Turkish Associaton of Petroleum Geologists UCTEA Chamber of Petroleum Engineers, Hilton, Ankara, Paper No. 54, April 17, 1990.

47. Gilbert,W.A. and Mitchell, B.J.: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH GAS MIGRATES THROUGH CEMENT, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, August, 1990.

48..Shipley, S. and Mitchell, B.J.:THE EFFECT OF HOLE INCLINATION ON GAS MIGRATION, 4th Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, Sept. 23-26, 1990, Paper No. SPE 20432.

49. Fleckenstein, W. and Mitchell, B.J.: REMOVAL OF A KICK WITH THE PARTITION METHOD, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Paper No. 21969, March 11-14, 1991.

50. Abdalbake, H.N. and Mitchell, B.J.: THE EFFECT OF THE ANULAR COLUMN RUGOSITY AND ROUGHNESS ON GAS MIGRATION AFTER CEMENTING, Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1991.

51. Ferda, A. and Mitchell, B.J.: OILFIELD TUBULAR BENDING STRESSES IN HORIZONTAL WELLS, 9th Petroleum Cngress of Turkey, Hilton Hotel, Ankara, February 17-21, 1992.

52. Smarianto, J and Mitchell, B.J.: STABILITY OF DIRECTIONAL WELL SURVEY CALCULATION METHODS, vols 1 and 2, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, February, 1992.

53. Ferda, A.; Huttlemaier, P.; Mitchell, B.J.: OVALITY AND STRESSES OF API TUBULARS IN HORIZONTAL WELLS WITH FEM,67th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of SPE, Washington, DC, October, 4-7, 1992.

54. Eustes, A.W.; Stoner, M.S.; Mitchell, B.J.: SELECTION OF SLIM HOLE CORE RODS BY VIBRATORY ANALYSIS, ASME, Energy-sources Technology Conference & Exhibition, Houston, TX, Jan. 3 to Feb. 3, 1993.

55. F. Akgun and Mitchell, B.J.: "OILFIELD TUBULAR BENDING STRESSES IN HORIZONTAL WELLS", 9th Petroleum Congress of Turkey, Hilton Hotel, Ankara, February 17-21, 1992.

56. Wade Bard, Wade and Mitchell, B. J.:, CALCULATING PRESSURE DROPS ACROSS POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MOTORS IN AIR DRILLING SYSTEMS, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, April 1993.

57. F. Akgun and Mitchell, B. J.: “THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF CURVATURE, TENSION, AND PRESSURE ON THE OVALITY AND COLLAPSE OF OILFIELD TUBULARS,” 64th Annual Western Regional Meeting of SPE, March 23-25, 1994, Long Beach, California, Paper No. 27881.

58. Prasodjo, S. I., Mitchell, B.J.; OPTIMUM DIRECTIONAL SURVEY SPACING, Master Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, May 1994.

59. Ferda, A.; Huttlemaier, P.; Mitchell, B.J.: API TUBULAR OVALITY AND STRESSES IN HORIZONTAL WELLS WITH A FINITE ELEMENT METHOD, SPE DRILLING & COMPLETION, June, 1994.

60. Eustes, A.W.; Stoner, M.S.; Mitchell, B.J.: SELECTION OF SLIM HOLE CORE RODS BY VIBRATORY ANALYSIS, Journal of Energy Resources Technology, ASME, December 1994, Vol. 116, p. 251.

61. A.W. Eustes, B.J. Mitchell, Roy Long: CORE BIT FREQUENCY SIGNATURES, Energy & Environmental Expo 95, The Energy-sources Technology Conference & Exhibition, January 29-February 1, 1995, Houston, Texas, Adam’s Mark Hotel.

62. F. Akgun, G. Gurakin, B. J. Mitchell, A. Eustes, S. Rahman: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF DRILL PIPE STABILITY CONDITIONS IN SLIM HOLES, 1996 SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 28-31 October, 1996, SPE paper number 36405.

63. Sampaio, J.H.B. and Mitchell, B.J.: A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR MECHANICAL BUCKLING OF DRILLSTRINGS WITHIN CURVED BOREHOLES, Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines, 1996.

Please consider "giving back" to Colorado School of Mines and their current select Petroleum Engineering Department drilling students with a donation to the Dr. Billy J. Mitchell American Driller Scholarship Fund. Simply submit a check payable to CSM Foundation, Inc. at P.O. Box 4005, Golden, CO 80402-4005, and include "Billy J. Mitchell Endowed Scholarship Fund" in the memo field or on an accompanying note. Please feel free to contact CSM Foundation at 303-273-3275 or csmfoundation@mines.edu with any questions.

"BJM fund" is perpetual and shall pay-out scholarships annually when possible. Roughly 4.5% of fiscal-year-ending BJM fund value is disbursed for merit-based scholarships. BJM fund is pooled with other like accounts and collectively is invested and managed by CSM Foundation, Inc. designees. BJM fund value increases on average with time through investment and contributions.