Page 12 - Shale Shakers Drilling Fluid Systems
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Acknowledgments
This handbook has been written by a group of ments. Walter was a natural teacher and possessed
dedicated engineers, scientists, and drilling opera- the ability to explain very complex engineering
tions personnel to explain many of the complex technology clearly and concisely.
functions of drilled solids management. These
people toiled without pay and dedicated many Gordon Lawson joined our IADC Mud Equip-
hours of their own time to this endeavor. ment Committee shortly after it was formed and
Our committee has been fortunate to have sev- remained a faithful contributor until his death sev-
eral members who made significant contributions eral years ago. His expertise was to take technol-
and are no longer active in the solids control in- ogy from textbooks and apply that technology and
dustry. In recognizing these individuals we, in concepts at drilling rigs. His career started with a
our small way, seek to preserve their names for major solids control service company and he then
future generations: became a contract drilling supervisor. With an un-
derstanding of the fundamental principals of drill-
George Stonewall Ormsby is famous for con- ing, he brought practical experience to the com-
tributions to understanding all aspects of drilled mittee and to the editing process.
solids control and management. His name is well
known to early students of this technology be- Grant Bingham made an indelible impact on
cause he became an evangelical prophet for this drilling and solids control. After serving in the
technology long before others actually recognized United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific
and understood the importance of good solids during World War II, Grant returned to Princeton
control. He was a major contributor and techni- to receive his master's degree in engineering.
cally competent editor of the IADC Mud Equipment Grant began working for Shell as roughneck and
Manual. George has retired and is enjoying life. eventually wrote several extensive papers on drill-
We miss his wisdom, controversies, guidance, out- ing theory while working for Shell Development.
spoken comments, and understanding. We would Grant's career eventually led him to solids control.
like to name George as one of the technical gi- While working for Milchem, an offshoot of the
ants of this technology. Milwhite Company, his research converted the
Mobil rotary mud separator (RMS) from a research
Walter Liljestrand, although retired and well tool, with an infinite number of variable changes,
past his 80th birthday, actively assisted in this into a field-usable centrifuge. Under Grant's lead-
book. As our text developed, he contributed sound ership, a hydraulic test shaker was constructed
engineering logic in very simple terms. Before re- that permitted testing of different types of motion
tiring, Walter invented and developed the atmo- and deck angles. As a result of these tests, one
spheric degasser. He, also, was a member of the of the oil field's first linear motion shakers was de-
IADC Mud Equipment Manual Committee, author veloped. Grant's interest in solids control was ex-
of the Centrifugal Pump Handbook, and co-author hibited through years of service in organizations
of the Degasser Handbook. His impact on this com- such as the IADC Mud Equipment Committee un-
mittee, however, reached far beyond these achieve- til his final retirement.
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