Professor Hans Juvkam-Wold
December 1, 1936 – March 5, 2017

Hans Juvkam-Wold was born December 1, 1936 in Trondheim, Norway, the second child of Per and Ingeborg Juvkam-Wold. Hans had fond memories of his childhood in Norway, including playing with close friends and wonderful family, living on the family farm perched on a mountainside, and skiing to school “uphill both ways.”

In 1950, the family moved to Venezuela and later to Barbados. After high school, Hans returned to Venezuela to work in the oil industry and eventually for Gulf Oil. This turned into a life-changing opportunity when Gulf offered Hans a scholarship to attend college in the U.S. After one semester at the University of Oklahoma, he transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he completed his bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering in just six years, and then resumed work for Gulf. In 1965, Hans married Constance Allen, known as Connie, with whom he had two children, Greta and Per. Sadly, Connie passed away from cancer in 1980.

Hans later met and married Ann Jochens, an environmental lawyer for Gulf. The couple enjoyed more than 35 years of marriage, during which they shared a commitment to family, a love of travel, and an intellectual curiosity for many topics including history, science, and especially climate change.

In 1985, Hans joined the faculty of Texas A&M’s Petroleum Engineering Department as the recipient of the John Edgar Holt endowed chair. For 24 years, he enjoyed both his teaching and innovative research, in which he often collaborated with one or more of his 71 graduate students, including 12 students who obtained their doctoral degrees.

During his years at Texas A&M, Hans also received many professional awards, including the prestigious TAMU Association of Former Students’ Distinguished Teaching Award, the Society of Petroleum Engineers awards for distinguished achievement (2003) and outstanding leadership as Chairman of the Books Committee (2000-2002), and the Texas A&M Petroleum Engineering Department’s award for faithful and devoted service in building the Aggie Drilling Research Program.

In 2009, Hans retired with the honor of Professor Emeritus after obtaining 7 U.S. patents and producing more than 70 conference and journal publications. After he retired, Hans continued his intellectual pursuits, enjoyed his grandchildren, and traveled the world with his friends and family.

On March 5, 2017, with members of his family at his side, Hans passed away from complications due to metastasized melanoma. He is survived by his wife Ann Jochens, daughter Greta and her husband David Cleary, granddaughters Ann and Laura Cleary, all of College Station, TX; son Per and his wife Lauren Yates and grandson Nikolai Juvkam-Wold of Plano, TX; sisters Gunhild Leach and Signe Watson of Barbados; brother Ola Juvkam-Wold and his wife Lorna McBain of Calgary, Canada; mother-in-law Harriet Jochens; brother-in-law Robert Jochens and his wife Carol; sisters-in-law Margaret Macomber, Lara Allen, and Nona Thompson; nephews John Leach and his wife Liz, Richard Watson and his wife Vanessa, Robert Macomber Jr. and his wife Phyl, Joseph Macomber, Paul Macomber and his wife Sasha, David Thompson, Mark Thompson and his wife Kathryn, Eric Jochens, and Mark Jochens and his wife Laura; nieces Sonja Leach, Karen Allen and her husband Paul, Laura Macomber, Sarah Nyarko and her husband Kwame, Jane Macomber, and Debra Pina; and much loved cousins, extended family, and cherished friends throughout the world, including Norway, Barbados, Japan, Korea, Venezuela, and the U.S.

Hans is remembered for his generosity, kindness, sense of humor, keen intellect, unusual amount of common sense, and loyal dedication to his family, friends, and students. In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest donations to the palliative care program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) or to the American Cancer Society. A private celebration of Hans’s life will be held in College Station, Texas, in May 2017.