Before joining Rice, he was Chief Geologist and Exploration Advisor to Shell Us and Pecten. Dr. Bally is a past President of the Geological Society of America and is the holder of many major awards including the Sydney Powers Award of the AAPG, the Penrose medal of the Geological Society of America and the William Smith medal of the Geological Society of London to name but a few of his awards. In particular, he is internationally recognised for his early work on cross section balancing in the Canadian Rockies.