Annual Report 2012: FY July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012
Gulf Coast Section
Annual Convention
The 61st Annual GCAGS Convention scheduled for October 16-19, 2011 in Veracruz, Mexico was cancelled due to increasing drug-related violence in the area surrounding the convention center. The 2011 Transactions will be published, and part of the 2011 technical program will be presented as a symposium of talks from Veracruz on the final day of the 2012 Convention in Austin. The decision to cancel the 2011 Convention was difficult and regrettable, but necessary to protect the safety of our participants and the reputation of the GCAGS. The 2011 convention planning team worked exceptionally hard and we are certain the event would have been technically rewarding.
Preparations and planning are on track for the 2012 Convention that will be held in Austin, Texas, October 21-24. The theme of the 62nd Annual Convention is Solving for E3 (Energy, Environment and Economy). The technical program will consist of about 130 poster and oral presentations planned for Monday and Tuesday, plus an additional 30 presentations for the “Talks from Veracruz” special session on Wednesday. In addition, there will be seven short courses and four field trips spread out over the week.
The convention looks like it will be a huge financial success. Sponsorships are extremely strong and early registration is going very well.
We are also pleased to announce the new GCAGS Memoir Series: Gulf Coast Geology. Beginning with the 2012 Annual Convention in Austin, Texas, GCAGS will publish a yearly collection of formally peer-reviewed articles. The memoir series will focus on all geoscientific aspects of the greater Gulf of Mexico region. A hardbound memoir will be produced each year in concert with the traditional GCAGS Transactions volume, and both will be distributed at the yearly convention. Tucker Hentz is serving as editor of the memoir for three years and editorial board representing several of the member societies is overseeing the review process. Each memoir will consist of 10 to 20 articles selected by the editorial board from among the most timely and significant abstracts submitted for the Transactions each year. The volume will also contain invited papers. Like Transactions contributors, authors of memoir articles will make either an oral or poster presentation at the annual convention.
The 2012 Memoir includes 13 full-length, formally peer reviewed articles on topics that include the burial and thermal history of the Haynesville Shale, current and future water demand by Texas oil and gas producers, modeling of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic structural evolution of East Texas Basin, a new outcrop study of the Eagle Ford Shale in Lozier Canyon, Texas, and the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary on the Brazos River, Texas, among others.
Student and Faculty Support
The GCAGS Student Grant Committee received a total of 12 research proposals from 11 schools for the 2012 Program. This is down from the average number of proposals (16) that we have been receiving in recent years. Various levels of funding were approved for 12 proposals totaling $14,700.
The GCAGS Faculty Grant Committee received a total of seven research proposals from five Gulf Coast schools for the 2012 grant program, the two top-rated of which will receive $10,000 and $5,000 awards, respectively.
The GCAGS held the section’s 2012 Imperial Barrel Award competition on Friday, March 30th at the Schlumberger SIS facility in Houston. Ten teams took part in the competition. The University of Louisiana, Lafayette placed first, University of Texas at Austin was second, and the University of Houston was third. The University of Louisiana, Lafayette went on to represent the Gulf Coast Section in the global competition at the AAPG Convention in Houston, where they also took first place! The GCAGS is extremely proud of the students from ULL (Daniel Dudley, Chris Hatamian, Sarah Beth Maxwell, Joey and Mike Lahey) and their faculty advisor, Brian Lock.
AAPG Student Chapter Support: The GCAGS will continue to provide $1,000 in support for student travel to the Student Chapter Leadership Summit each summer.
Governance
The GCAGS Continuity Committee is conducting a review of its Constitution and Bylaws in an attempt to make them more in line with actual practice.
Financial Status
Despite the losses associated with the 2011 convention, the GCAGS is in fine financial condition. Successful past annual conventions, secondary income from publication sales and investments, and a likely strongly positive revenue convention in Austin this year provide a bit of a cushion. The GCAGS anticipates a continuation of the support for existing programs to students, faculties, schools and affiliated societies.