Kenneth L. Zonge

2002 Medal of Merit Recipient

Ken Zonge is president of Zonge Engineering and Research Organization Inc., of Tucson, Arizona, which he founded in 1972. His Ph.D. thesis was on broad-band induced polarization (IP), which is also called complex resistivity (CR). This electrical method, for which he holds the patent, was originally developed and successfully used for disseminated copper exploration. Six years later the company, developed instrumentation for the controlled source audio-frequency magnetotellurics (CSAMT) system, which was oriented toward massive sulfide detection. These two techniques were combined in a single receiver for commercial use and the company began to manufacture and market geophysical instrumentation on a worldwide basis.

Zonge Engineering has since expanded into all electrical geophysical methods and today provides services and instrumentation for exploration programs for minerals, hydrocarbons, geothermal resources, engineering and environmental concerns, and unexploded ordinance (UXO). The company has its main manufacturing and operating office in Tucson, Arizona. It also has operating offices in Sparks, Nevada; Fairbanks, Alaska; Adelaide, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Antofagasta, Chile.

In 1995, Ken received the Society of Exploration Geophysicists "Enterprise Award" for "having demonstrated courage, ingenuity, and achievement while risking his own resources and future in developing a product which is recognized as a distinct and worthy contribution to the industry".  He received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alaska in 1962 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Geosciences from the University of Arizona in 1972. Ken is now an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona.

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