David Atwood:
CLASS OF 1974
Skyline High SchoolClass of 1974
Salt lake city, UT
David's Story
After HS, I went to the U and majored in Mechanical Engineering and Architecture. After two quarters of the Architecture stuff a professor named Tom Cass pissed me off and I dropped out of their program. I continued on with ME and graduated with a BSME in Summer 1978.
I thought I met my souil mate in summer 74. We basically planned to get married when I graduated. It lasted for just over 2 years. We had a sort of reunion in late 77, but it didn't click this time.
After graduating, I moved to San Diego and worked for SDGE, the electric and gas utility down there. Stayed of almost three years. In SD, companies pay you with "sun dollars" instead of cash. And the cost of living was getting so bad, that I decieded it was a nice place to visit but not to live. The one redeeming grace from there is that I met my soul mate, Debi, and we have been together for 38+ years now.
After getting married in Las Vegas, we moved up to SLC. I worked for a company called Ford, Bacon, and Davis. We designed and built energy projects all over the Intermountain West and in the Rockies. I worked on the biggest oilfield after Prudhoe Bay, the Anschutz Ranch, and a couple of other very cool pilot process plants. Work dried up and I felt it prudent to move on.
Next was a company named TerraTek (a U of U startup from 1970) . I worked in their Drilling Research Lab at first. Later I set up a "Completions Research Lab" with and for Schlumberger at TTK. I ran testing in this lab for every major oil company and a large chunk of the National Oil Co. as well. Lasted 11 years there.
Then went to Sarcos, another U of U startup, that did robotics. While there, we did the robotic dinosaurs at "Jurrasic Park The Ride" in Hollywood. The ver...Expand for more
y last dino before you go down the hill jumps at you. Imagine something weighing 47,000 pounds moving 25 feet and stopping in just less than a second!. We also did the robotic water fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. But after three years, I decided that entertainment was even more pressure than the oilfield, so I left.
I was offered a job at Schlumberger in Houston, TX area at least three times while working at TTK. Turned them down every time. I just could not see me leaving the mountains and all. They came calling again in summer 1997 (the guy above must have known I was planning to leave Sarcos), and I accepted a job. I have now been with SLB for almost 22 years, and will retire next February. With SLB, I got to build and operate a brand new oilwell Perforating Research Facility, and have helped to write the industry standards for perforation testing. I ran this lab for 15 years. I used to end tours with the following; "I have a great job here because I get to blow things up and break them, and I don't get into trouble."
In 2006 TerraTek was bought by SLB. I was transferred back to TTK in late 2012. I planned on that being my last stop and that I would retire in SLC area somewhere. But SLB had other ideas, and the group I managed was merged with two other similar groups from other companies SLB had bought, and we were al moved back to Houston area in middle of 2016.
So here I sit in Missouri City, TX and working in Rosharon, TX. Will likely stay here for foreseeable future, as our son lives here and my MIL moved here in 2005, and is getting to need a lot of help these days.. I really miss the mountains. I like to visit snow, but don't think I want to live in it again. But you never know!
Hello to all.!
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Photos
