Gustave "Gus" Archie

Biography

Gus Archie was a pioneer in the area of formation evaluation who discovered the fundamental quantitative relationships among porosity, electrical resistivity, and hydrocarbon saturation of rocks that laid the foundation for modern log interpretation. His paper, "The Electrical Resistivity Log as an Aid in Determining Some Reservoir Characteristics" (Transactions of AIME, 1942), was a milestone in petroleum technology literature. Archie is credited with coining the term, "petrophysics," and his fundamental formula is known throughout the industry as the "Archie Formula."

A long-time employee of Shell Development Company, Archie received SPE's first Lester C. Uren Award in 1964 for his work, and he later received the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal. SPE awards an annual scholarship to outstanding undergraduate students in his name.