Dr. Ali Ghalambor, prior to his retirement, was American Petroleum Institute Endowed Professor and Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Currently, he is an associate at Innovative Petrotech Solutions, Inc. (IPS) responsible for drilling and completion training and consulting activities. He received Bachelor and Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering from University of Louisiana in 1975 and Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1980.

Dr. Ghalambor has more than 35 years of industrial and academic experience. He has held engineering and supervisory positions at Tenneco Oil Company, Amerada Hess Corporation, and Occidental Research Corporation. Furthermore, he has served as a consultant to more than 50 petroleum production and service companies, as well as governmental agencies, professional organizations and the United Nations. During these assignments he was involved in drilling, completion, and production phases in which numerous well control issues, unscheduled events, and well integrity issues had to be handled in the field.

Dr. Ghalambor has authored or co-authored ten books and manuals and more than one hundred sixty technical articles published in various journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Ghalambor has delivered numerous invited technical presentations and courses in drilling, well completion, well planning and well integrity worldwide. He received the International Production and Operations Award, Distinguished achievement award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty, Production & Operations Award, and the Distinguished Member Award by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He has also received the Regional Service Award, Regional Drilling and Completion Award, Regional Production & Operations Award, and Regional Health, Safety,Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility from SPE and service, and technical awards from the American Petroleum Institute.

Dr. Ghalambor is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Petroleum Institute, American Association of Drilling Engineers, Society of Petrophysicists & Well Log analysts, Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, and Louisiana Engineering Society. He has been the Director of the Central and Southeastern North America Region on the SPE Board of Directors, Chair