Dr. Iraj Ershaghi is the Omar B. Milligan Professor and Director of the Petroleum Engineering Program at USC. He is also serving as the USC Executive Director of the Center for Smart Oilfield Technologies at USC. He has a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from University of Tehran and an MS and a PhD in petroleum engineering from USC. Prior to joining the faculty at USC in 1972, he worked for AGIP-SIRIP, Signal Oil and Gas Company and California State Lands Commission. His areas of research and publications are reservoir characterization, well testing and improved recovery processes.

As a registered engineer, Dr. Ershaghi has also served as a consultant on projects with Texaco, Aera, Unocal, Tenneco, Venoco, McFarland Energy, National Bureau of Standards, Pall Well Technology, Tidelands Oil Production Company, Santa Fe Energy, Southern California Gas Company, Pacific Offshore Operators, Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also served as a consultant to Petrovietnam and Indonesia PERTAMINA and State of California. During 1996-2006, he served as Director of the U. S. Department of Energy West Coast Petroleum Technology Transfer Council mentoring small independent producers in California.

Dr. Ershaghi has been the recipient of SPE's Distinguished Faculty Award, Distinguished Member Award, Western North America Distinguished Service Award, Technology Transfer Award for Development of the Smart Oilfield Technology Curriculum and Western Regional North America Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award. As a fellow of Institute for Advancement of Engineering, he received the Outstanding Educator Award of American Association for Advancement of Engineering and the Outstanding Educator Award of Orange County Council of Engineers and Scientists. He served as SPE's Distinguished Lecturer during 2006-2007.