The University of Texas at Dallas
close menu

Robert McLain MS’10

Home: Grand Prairie, Texas

UT Dallas Degree: MS – Geospatial Information Sciences, 2010
Profession: Geoscience Analyst, Pioneer Natural Resources

My Work

I help engineers, geologists and management find oil and gas, then plan an economic strategy to safely produce the oil and gas. I use various data base systems, geospatial information systems and a fundamental understanding of the processes involved in petroleum exploration and production to help the company.

Honors/accolades, additional degrees received, and/or previous work/positions held

Prior to enrolling at UT Dallas, I received an associate’s degree in mathematics, associate’s degree in GIS and Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. My current academic pursuit includes taking mechanical engineering classes.

I have operated my own S-Corporation (1994-present), worked in civil/transportation engineering support for more than 10 years, taught as adjunct faculty at UT Arlington for two and a half years and have worked on a LiDAR project for BNSF Railway for a year. During my faculty time at UT Arlington, I was awarded the Campus Kahuna Award from Student Congress for my contributions to the university community. I was also selected as a candidate for the Provost’s Teaching Award at UT Arlington.

The Value of My Degree

The degree at UT Dallas in GIS helped bring together the spatial aspect of data and the importance of location analytics in decision-making processes.

Advice for EPPS Students

While it is easy to focus entirely on the material in the classes (i.e. homework problems), be curious and ask questions. Try to figure out ways your education could be applied to find a solution to other areas.