IADC’s Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee has recently selected two new Co-Chairs, Blaine Dow with SLB and Sarah Kern with Helmerich & Payne. Congratulations to Blaine and Sarah on their new positions! The new Co-Chairs will be replacing Assaad Mohanna, who had served as ART Chairman since 2020. The Committee extends a huge thank you to Assaad for his years of service!
Blaine Dow, ART Committee Co-Chair
SLB
Blaine is a Canadian engineer who joined the SLB directional drilling business line in 1993. After 7 years working on land, offshore and deepwater rigs, he migrated to drilling engineering and operations management. He has spent his entire career in drilling, the past 17 years in Houston headquarters focused on technology development and deployment in DD, MPD and advances in drilling automation. He advocates for our industry as a prolific author of technical papers and through volunteer positions with SPE and IADC committees.
Sarah Kern, ART Committee Co-Chair
Helmerich & Payne
Sarah Kern graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Marketing. She started her career at Helmerich & Payne upon graduation, now spanning over a decade, with roles in Engineering, Operations, Communications, Marketing Intelligence, and Industry Affairs, in Houston and Tulsa. She is currently a Senior Industry Affairs Specialist in Tulsa.
Industry advocacy is her passion; Sarah is involved in the IADC ART Committee and YP Committee. She is a member of the SPE Drilling Advisory Committee, while sitting on the paper selection committees for the IADC/SPE International Drilling Conference, the IADC ART Conference, and SPE ATCE. She is the first woman Drilling Program Specialty Coordinator and Drilling Subcommittee Chairperson at SPE ATCE.
