William E. (Bill) Brigham

1929 - 2004

William E. (Bill) Brigham Professor of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University died February 15, 2004 at his home on the Stanford campus. He is survived by his wife of 49 years Carol, daughters Nancy Blattel, Laurie Jester, and Sarah Fletcher, as well as sons Bill Brigham, and David Brigham. Grandchildren Douglas and Lynn Weil, Katie and Sam Brigham, Elizabeth and Rebecca Jester, Joel and Amanda Fletcher, and Nathaniel and Nicole Brigham; and step grandchildren Arran, Colin and Ainsley Blattel.

Brigham was born April 1, 1929 in Murphysboro, Illinois and later received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. In 1951 he was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps and stationed on Treasure Island in San Francisco. It was during this time that he met Carol Cobb whom he married in 1954. After completing his service with the Marine Corps, he pursued graduate studies in Chemical Engineering from 1956 to 1962 at the University of Oklahoma while working simultaneously for Continental Oil Company in Ponca City, OK. Upon completion of his Ph.D. he continued to work for Conoco.

In 1971, he accepted an offer from Stanford University and joined the faculty in the Department of Petroleum Engineering. From 1979 to 1990 he served as Associate Chairman of the Department. In his more than 30 years at Stanford he taught countless hours of formal courses to undergraduates and graduate students as well as supervised the graduate research of numerous individuals. Brigham served as the principal advisor of 25 Ph.D., 3 Engineer, and 37 M.S. students. His students remember fondly the “ring of fire” (cigarette, coffee, and Brigham himself) that characterized the front of the classroom while he lectured.

In reflection about the graduate students with whom he had worked Brigham once stated that, “They make a mediocre professor look like a Nobel Prize winner.” His research into the physical mechanisms of recovery from oil reservoirs was highly regarded and cited by his colleagues worldwide. Among other awards he received the John Franklin Carll Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Homer H. Lowry Award in Fossil Energy from the U.S. Department of Energy. He was designated a pioneer in the area of thermally enhanced oil recovery and received both the Thermal Recovery Pioneer and the Improved Oil Recovery Pioneer Award SPE, and he was an Honorary Member of AIME and SPE. He was the author of over 250 papers and technical reports.

Bill was a fine scientist, but he was a very down to earth and generous man. His family came first. He and his wife loved to travel and enjoyed duplicate bridge.

In place of flowers, the family suggests donation to The William E. Brigham Fund at the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford University or to the American Cancer Society.

A Memorial Service will be held March 11, 2:00 pm at the Stanford Memorial Church. There will be an opportunity for people attending the service to say a few words to remember Bill.

We have created a web page for people to write a paragraph of their remembrances of Bill. These words of remembrance will be collected into a volume for his family, and will be available at the Memorial Service. Please click here to record your comments.

On February 9, 2004, the Department of Petroleum Engineering inaugurated the Brigham Laboratory on the concourse of Green Earth Science building, to honor Bill's many technical and academic contributions spanning more than 30 eyars as a professor at Stanford. Pictures may be seen here.