Editor

Gretchen Gillis

Skip to: Why I accepted the invitation to be a candidate for AAPG Office

Executive Editor – Books, Schlumberger, Sugar Land, Texas

Born 1964, Suffern, N.Y.

Education

1989

M.A., Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

1986

B.A., Geology, Bryn Mawr College

Experience

1997–present

Schlumberger, Sugar Land and Houston, Texas

2005–present

Executive Editor – Books

1997–2005

Editor, Senior Editor and Advisory Editor, Schlumberger Oilfield Review; founding coordinator and manager/administrator, Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary

1996-97

Development Geologist, Oryx Energy Co., Dallas

1989-96

Exploration Geologist, Maxus Exploration Co., Dallas

1991-97

Freelance editor and writer

AAPG Activities

2005–present

Chairman, Public Outreach Committee

2005–present

Member, Publications Committee

2003–present

Associate Editor

2002-05

Chairman, Publications Committee

1999-02

Vice Chairman, Publications Committee

1995-96

HoD alternate

Other Professional Organizations

1996–present

Associate Editor, AIPG

1994-95

Secretary, Dallas Geological Society

Honors and Awards

2005

AAPG Certificate of Merit for service as Publications Committee chairman

2004

Business Marketing Association (Houston chapter) Lantern Award for the Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary

2001 and 2002

Business Marketing Association (Houston chapter) Awards of Excellence for the Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary

Publications

• Researched and wrote more than 20 articles on oilfield technology for the Schlumberger Oilfield Review and numerous articles for other Schlumberger publications.
• Wrote geology and geophysics definitions for the Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary.
• Articles on geoscience careers for Geotimes and The Professional Geologist, 2001 and 2006.
• Presentations on writing and editing for the Association of Earth Science Editors, 2000 and 2004.
• Technology content contributor to the Schlumberger corporate Web site.

Barry J. Katz

Skip to: Why I accepted the invitation to be a candidate for AAPG Office

Chevron Energy Technology Company, Houston, Texas

Born 1953, Morganfield, Ky.

Education

1974

B.S., geology, Brooklyn College

1979

Ph.D., marine geology and geophysics, University of Miami

Experience

2005-present

Chevron Corp., Energy Technology Department, team leader, Hydrocarbon charge and senior research consultant

2003-05

ChevronTexaco, Energy Technology Department, senior research consultant

2001-03

ChevronTexaco, Energy Research Technology Company, research consultant

1997-2001

Texaco Inc., Upstream Technology Department, research consultant

1993-97

Texaco Inc., E&P Technology Department, senior research associate

1990-93

Texaco Inc., E&P Technology Department, research associate

1987-90

Texaco Inc., E&P Technology Department, senior research geologist

1985-90

Texaco Inc., E&P Technology Department, supervisor geochemical applications

1984-86

Texaco Inc., Houston Research Center, research geologist

1979-84

Texaco Inc., Bellaire Research Laboratories, senior geologist

AAPG Activities (member 1975)

2005-present

Research committee

2005

Co-organizer Hedberg Conference “Origins of Petroleum”

2004-05

Future of Earth Scientists Committee

2004-present

Associate editor

2003-2006

Annual Conference and Exhibits Committee

1999-2005

Convention committee, Technical Program Subcommittee, co-vice chair 1999-2001, chairman 2002-05

1998

Co-organizer Hedberg Conference “Lacustrine Basin Exploration – Case Studies and Modern Analogues”

1997

Co-organizer Hedberg Conference “Petroleum Systems of the South Atlantic Margins”

1995-2006

Publications committee

1995

Co-organizer Hedberg Conference “Lacustrine Basin Exploration in China and Southeast Asia”

1993

Co-editor Studies in Geology 37 “Source Rocks in a Sequence Stratigraphic Framework”

1990

Editor Memoir 50 “Lacustrine Basin Exploration - Case Studies and Modern Analogs”

1987-98

Associate editor

1984-96

Marine Geology Committee

1982-2003

Research Committee, chairman 1994-2001

Affiliated and Associated Societies and Sections

Geological Society of America; Houston Geological Society; SEPM- Society for Sedimentary Geology; The Geological Society (London); The Society of Organic Petrology

Other Professional Organizations

American Geophysical Union; European Association of Organic Geochemistry; Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Chairman Environmental Protection and Safety Panel; International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry; Geochemical Society. member executive committee Organic Geochemistry Division (1998-2001); Paleontological Society; Texas Professional Geologist License #4169

Honors and Awards

Brooklyn College’s 1974 Robert Perlmutter Award for Environmental Geology; Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences’1979 F.G. Walton Smith Prize; 1989 Rocky Mountain Section Steve Champlin Memorial Award; Texaco Fellow 1998; 2000 Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Prize for Outstanding Special Publication; First Runner-Up Outstanding Presentation at the 2000 Annual Meeting of Nigerian Petroleum Exploration Association; Best Paper Presentation at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Nigerian Petroleum Exploration Association; AAPG Distinguished Service Award, 2004

Return to: Biographical Information

Why I accepted the invitation to be a candidate for AAPG Office

by Gretchen Gillis

AAPG members rely on the AAPG Bulletin and AAPG Special Publications to keep themselves technically informed and to reinforce the excellent reputation of AAPG among industry organizations. Because of these high expectations, I view the role of Editor as a tremendous challenge, but a challenge I am prepared to undertake. I am grateful for this nomination and pleased for the nomination of Barry Katz, who contributes so steadfastly to AAPG.

I joined AAPG more than 15 years ago when I began my career as an exploration geologist. I concurrently pursued freelance writing and editing opportunities involving geology. Eventually, I was fortunate to find a position with Schlumberger that drew on my writing and editing interests. Developing the Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary taught me about communicating with a multidisciplinary international audience via the Internet. As editor and writer for the quarterly magazine Oilfield Review, I learned how to describe advances in technology for a diverse readership. Both of these assignments convinced me that clear communication is not only possible but essential for broad technical understanding by increasingly busy readers. I apply this insight to my work as an associate editor of the AAPG Bulletin and as chair of the Public Outreach Committee because I believe first-rate communication is vital to the continued success and expansion of AAPG.

As chair, vice chair and member of the AAPG Publications committee since 1999, I have observed that recent Editors have reduced the time to publication for the AAPG Bulletin to a level that is probably impossible to decrease further. The next Editor will be challenged to maintain that standard, and a steady influx of manuscripts, despite dramatic increases in the activity level of our industry and the resultant demands on authors and reviewers. I will work with AAPG members to convince our colleagues to support the AAPG Bulletin by submitting manuscripts.

The Publications Committee and editors have worked ceaselessly to inform compilation editors of their duties and of best practices. The next Editor needs to follow through on implementing and adhering to these practices to increase the timeliness and value of AAPG Special Publications.

The “Core Values” outlined in the AAPG Strategic Plan emphasize maintaining the credibility of AAPG as a scientific organization. The next Editor should continue to collaborate with relevant committees to achieve the strategic goals of advancing our science, developing professionally, building our global presence, and serving AAPG members. In addition, the next Editor must sustain a strong network of associate editors to preserve ethical peer-review procedures.

If elected, I will contribute in at least one other aspect. At present, a rich oral history guides the incoming Editor. As a lifelong worrier about getting-hit-by-a-bus scenarios, I propose to document the crucial aspects of this important role for posterity.

I am truly grateful for the trust this nomination represents. I appreciate the support of my family and of Schlumberger as I accept the nomination, and I look forward to serving AAPG for many years, either as Editor – or supporting Barry Katz.

Return to: Biographical Information

Why I accepted the invitation to be a candidate for AAPG Office

by Barry J. Katz

When I received the e-mail asking if I would be willing to serve AAPG as the Elected Editor I did not respond immediately. After all, my job responsibilities within Chevron had changed and the AAPG Elected Editor’s job is a time consuming one. Following a number of conversations with my wife and with my management I agreed to have my name placed on the ballot, even though some of my associates questioned my sanity.

My reasons for accepting the nomination and explanation to my associates were simple – a feeling of RESPONSIBILITY, an INTEREST IN OUR SCIENCE and the ABILITY TO GET THE JOB DONE.

The demographics of the Association’s membership show that a large number of individuals will be retiring within the next several years and with them their knowledge could be lost. This knowledge is often more important than even the data included in the various corporate databases. Part of my feeling of responsibility to the science is to try to capture and preserve this knowledge. I strongly believe that this is one of the primary responsibilities of the Elected Editor.

Although having been a researcher throughout my career, I have been a member of a number of exploration and development teams working in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Africa, Asia and South America. This has provided me with a clear understanding of the technical concerns of the petroleum geologist. My interest in our science is broad, ranging from basin analysis to organic geochemistry and to depositional systems, even having done some petrography at one point in my career. I have examined rocks, oils and sedimentary basins from six continents and continue to ask questions. I have always wanted to know more and to see where the science is going. This interest in the direction of the geosciences has been one of the reasons I have served as an associate editor of the Bulletin for more than a dozen years.

Being willing is one thing; being able is another. I understand the review process, having published more than 50 reviewed papers in a variety of journals and books. I also have seen the other side of the process, having served as associate editor, as well as an editor, for a number of special publications, and a reviewer for a number of journals. But there is more to a job than just being a technical editor. The Elected Editor is part of AAPG’s management team, with specific responsibilities of oversight of all scientific publications. I believe that I have learned these skills through my corporate responsibilities, as well as my leadership roles, on a number of AAPG committees and scientific panels.

In sum, I accepted the candidacy because of my feeling of obligation to the future; because I believe that I have both the technical and management background necessary to do the job and because I know that I can continue the tradition of prior editors of producing technical literature of meaning and significance to the AAPG membership.