Interviewer: Jason Theriot

Affiliation: University of Houston

Elmo Hubble grew up in the oilfields of Illinois, and graduated from Oklahoma University in 1958 with a degree in petroleum engineering. Hubble worked for the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C., for part of the 1960s, but found the U.S. Geological Survey far more amenable to his background and interests. After a stretch in New Mexico, Hubble transferred to New Orleans in 1964. There he helped to establish the Lafayette office of the USGS Conservation Division—later merged into the Minerals Management Service—and was elevated as MMS District Manager for Lafayette, covering offshore operations.