New Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology to Expand Geophysics at TCU
Alex Nikulin joins TCU this year as the Hunter Enis Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology in the Louise Dilworth Davis College of Science & Engineering. The Enis Endowed Chair was established in 2014 by Shirley and Hunter Enis, Patti and Larry Brogdon, alumni and friends. Nikulin is a geophysicist with roots in the energy industry.
“I’m thrilled to join TCU and the Davis College community,” Nikulin said. “The Hunter Enis Endowed Chair provides an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen and expand geophysics at TCU, building on the university’s strengths in the geosciences while advancing new directions in research and education. The support provided by this position will allow our department to pursue ambitious interdisciplinary research and create meaningful opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience addressing real-world challenges.”
Throughout his career, Nikulin has led interdisciplinary collaborations with academic, industry and government partners. His research combines geophysics with emerging sensing, remote sensing and autonomous technologies to better characterize the subsurface and address practical challenges. His work has included the development of drone-based geophysical systems for energy resources management and environmental remediation applications, as well as technologies supporting landmine clearance and humanitarian land release.
Nikulin earned his Ph.D. in geosciences from Rutgers University in 2011. Before joining TCU, he was an associate professor and chair of the Department of Earth Sciences at Binghamton University, where he co-founded and directed the Geophysics and Remote Sensing Research Laboratory. His research focused on passive source seismic systems in frontier energy exploration, environmental and humanitarian geophysics. Throughout his career, he has emphasized collaborative, hands-on research experiences that engage undergraduate and graduate students in applying geophysical science to real-world problems.