Born: June 16, 1932
Birthplace: Lufkin, Texas
Education: Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M, and Rice University
http://www.samgibbs.net/
Fast Fact: Sam Gibbs has shared his scientific knowledge with the world by writing more than twenty-four technical papers. He also wrote an engineering textbook on sucker rod pumping.
Like so many other young men, Sam Gibbs had his early career interrupted when he was drafted into the armed forces. But when he returned from his tour-of-duty in Alaska, he returned to Shell Oil Company—and his work in drilling research.
Already a degree-holder in mechanical engineering, Gibbs used his G.I. Bill benefits to earn a master’s degree in mathematics and, later, a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.
Early on, Gibbs saw the need to improve oil well pumping technology. Basically, the rocking motion of the pumpjack raised and lowered a pump plunger containing ball valves. These valves would open on the downstroke to capture a small amount of oil, then close on the upstroke to help lift the oil to the surface. The plunger sat at the bottom of a long
string of thin sucker rods.
Gibbs developed—and Shell patented—a mathematical model for pump efficiency that factored in both the elasticity of the rod string and the variables of friction within the well casing. Called the “wave equation,” this model would form the core of Gibbs’ career.
When he left Shell in 1969 to start the Nabla Corporation, Shell granted Gibbs and his partner a license to use his wave equation to offer well pump diagnostic services to the oil industry. Sam Gibbs continued to develop innovative tools and services, and ultimately sold Nabla to Lufkin Industries in 1997.
