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Houston Program of Broad Interest

DEG Topics Cover a Lot of Territory
By STEVEN P. TISCHER DEG President
DEG Web Site
DIVSION COLUMNS ARCHIVES

In other DEG news:

An opportunity for you to volunteer and assist the AAPG and DEG is to become a Visiting Geologist.

Being a Visiting Geologist means you get to present a topic to geoscience students at colleges and universities; for example, you can explain to a student the career opportunities you have had throughout your career and explain the necessity of networking through membership in a professional society like AAPG.

More institutions are offering environmental geoscience curriculum, so there is a definite need for environmental professionals to explain the various opportunities available to students so they have an idea about the future employment possibilities.

I hope I have piqued your interest and you decide to become a Visiting Geologist! If so, please contact Mike Mlynek at (800) 364-2274 today.

The DEG needs committee chairs and committee members to organize and recommend new and/or revised services for DEG members.

For example, the DEG Continuing Education Committee needs a chair and members to recommend courses that will assist DEG members with professional development and ways to obtain continuing education units (CEU) to meet requirements to continue to qualify as certified, licensed or professional geologists as specified under federal, international and/or state laws.

Each of the other DEG committees needs members to coordinate with committee chairs to recommend services to the Executive Committee for the betterment of all DEG members.

Please log on to the DEG Web page at http://deg.aapg.org/committees.cfm and determine how you want to participate to make the Division of Environmental Geosciences a better organization for all its members!

– STEVEN TISCHER

I hope you will be able to attend the AAPG Annual Convention in Houston, scheduled for April 9-12 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which will feature a number of DEG-sponsored sessions and activities, plus DEG-flavored topics that will be of interest to all.

The technical program’s Theme 7, for example, is titled “Delivering Resources and Environmental Quality for a Sustainable Future,” and it includes four separate sessions that will provide educational opportunity for every geoscientist and environmental professional that attends.

The four sessions within Theme 7 are a collaboration between DEG, DPA and EMD. They are:

  • Use of Renewable Energy in Oil/Gas Production and Environmental Restoration.
  • CO2 Sequestration – Coals/Shales/Produced and Unproduced Reservoirs as Sequestration Targets.
  • Professional Practice of Environmental, Engineering and Exploration Geology.
  • Advances and Applications in Geospatial Information Technology: Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS and GPR.

As you can see by the outstanding titles, everyone attending will have a multitude of excellent topics from which to choose.

In addition to Theme 7, a Wednesday morning (April 12) forum titled “Winning the Oil Endgame,” featuring several key industry leaders, will be immediately followed by the DEG luncheon with the same title. It should be of interest to all.

The DEG luncheon will feature author Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute to present a synopsis of his publication, “Winning the Oil Endgame.” His book can be purchased at your favorite bookstore, or can be downloaded at www.oilendgame.com.

One of the DEG short courses during the Houston meeting is titled “So You Want to Pass the Professional Geologists Licensing Examination?” This course will assist a geologist, geophysicist and/or soil scientist with identifying materials to study and become familiar with to be able to pass the Professional Geoscientists’ Exam.

Once you pass the exam, the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists awards the successful candidate as a licensed “professional geoscientist.” The following states or protectorate have requirements for geoscientists to be able to be licensed to practice: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Puerto Rico.

The next National Association of State Boards of Geology exam for geologists in Texas will be offered on Oct. 6, and the registration deadline for the October exam is Aug. 22. Visit http://www.asbog.org/, and/or http://www.tbpg.state.tx.us/ to get more information about the ASBOG exam. Exam information for the other ASBOG member states may be found on the ASBOG Web site.

Another DEG pre-meeting short course (offered April 6-7) is titled “Field Safety Leadership Seminar.” This course will be a one-and-a-half day field course that will teach the attendees to plan and prepare a health and safety plan for a field trip.

Participants will receive the Field Safety Leadership Manual that has been successfully taught at ExxonMobil for several years.

This course is limited to 24 people and interested individuals should register by contacting Stephen R. Oliveri at stephen.r.oliveri@exxonmobil.com.

I hope you will consider attending both of these important short courses in Houston.

I trust that when you attend the annual convention you’ll listen to as many of the excellent sessions that you can fit into your schedule.