Shaker Heights, OH— Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Jeffrey M. Yarus, Ph.D. is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Life Member for his contributions to the fields of Education and Geospatial Temporal Mentoring.
Dr. Yarus sought higher education at the College of Worcester where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1973. He then attended the University of South Carolina receiving a Master’s degree in 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1978.
Dr. Yarus is a full research professor at Case Western Reserve University and has heavily contributed to the body of knowledge in his specialty since 2019 when he retired from the industry working for major petroleum exploration, production and service companies. He has more than 50 patents for processes and devices related to geological modeling and his current research and teaching interests revolve around geospatio-temporal modeling of near-surface, surface, and subsurface phenomena, data science, and informatics systems.
The doctor has held numerous leadership positions during his career, including a consultancy position at Yarus and Associates; the position of Vice President of Consulting for Roxa;, and Manager of Reservoir Modeling for Geomath, Inc. From 2001 to 2006, he was the Managing Partner in Quantitative Geosciences, LLP, before the company was acquired by Halliburton Oilfield Services and then served at Halliburton/Landmark for 13 years, initially as a Senior Manager of Earth and Reservoir Management and later as a Technology Fellow, reporting to the executive staff. Here, he conceived and managed the development of a leading spatial modeling software suite, an achievement he considers a career highlight.
With more than 46 years in quantitative statistical analysis of geoscience data and computational earth modeling, Dr. Yarus has worked with many universities teaching and mentoring students, including the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, and the University of Houston. He notes that after he retired, he dedicated his time to academia, research, and advising students. He is a renowned expert in subsurface reservoir characterization and special statistics with numerous publications and international lectures on applied geostatistics. The scientist is also credited with authoring the first book on principles, methods, and case studies in geostatistics for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists titled “Stochastic Modeling and Geostatistics.” He followed this with two additional edited volumes on graphic information systems and geostatistical applications in 2000 and 2006. Citing his extraordinary experience and knowledge of the subject, Dr. Yarus was invited to contribute to the first chapter on “Geologically Based Geostatistics” to the Society of Petroleum Engineering’s prestigious “Petroleum Engineering Handbook.”
During his illustrious career, Dr. Yarus has worked for major petroleum companies and service companies including Amoco, Marathon, Beicip-Franlab, and ROXAR where he gained experience in production, exploration, consulting, and software development. The doctor is also the founder of his own consulting company Quantitative Geosciences (QGSI), which provides services across multiple disciplines, including petroleum, environmental, water resources, and climatology. QGSI was acquired by Haliburton in 2006 where Dr. Yarus managed a team of geoscientists, engineers, and software developers to successfully build the “DecisionSpace Earth Modeling” software. He was named Senior Technology Fellow at Halliburton reporting to the executive staff in 2013.
The doctor has lectured at the graduate level and advised graduated students on their theses’ and is affiliated with numerous universities, including University of Texas; Bureau of Economic Geology; Texas A&M; Stanford University; University of Utah; Tulsa University; University of Alberta; Norwegian Computing Center; University of Neuchâtel; Imperial College; and the Paris School of Mines (Mines ParisTech). When considering his extraordinary career, Dr. Yarus cites being a Technology Fellow at Halliburton Oilfield Services to be a significant highlight as well as being an and innovator and chief scientist for the commercial earth modeling software DecisionSpace@EarthModeling. He believes that his greatest career accomplishment is becoming a medical director.
The doctor’s extensive accomplishments have been recognized throughout the years with numerous accolades, including the 2016 Georgy Matheron Lecture Award that is given to a scientist with proven research ability in the field of spatial statistics or mathematical morphology. It is presented annually if an eligible and worthy nominee is found, such as Dr. Yarus.
Aside from his professional pursuits, the doctor enjoys vacationing in Thailand, spending time with his family, and national parks. He is dedicated to pursuing his philosophy of kindness, drive, persistence, honesty, and philanthropy. Looking to the future, the doctor plans to continue his research and mentor students while slowly transitioning into a full retirement.
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