Ms. Randi S. Martinsen, President of American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), visited to the Department of Geology of University of Delhi on 15th January 2015. Her visit was met by excitement and overwhelming happiness from the students of the department. It presented a great opportunity for the students to understand AAPG from the very words of the person at the helm of it.

Prof. G.V.R. Prasad gave a warm welcome to Ms.Martinsen on behalf of the Department of Geology. Ms. Martinsen introduced AAPG to the students and scholars, encouraging them to become a member of the AAPG Students Chapter.

She talked about history, extent, membership, work and benefits of AAPG, highlighting every aspect of the association. The discussion was not restricted to AAPG. Ms. Martinsen also talked on “Shale Gas”, its exploration, limitation and its economical use. She gave the students a perspective of the Nano-scale porosity and migration of kerogens through it. To add in a flavor of India, Ms. Martinsen highlighted the potential sources of shale gas in India. Probably the most interesting segment for the students was brief Q&A sessions between her talk where students won t-shirts for giving correct answers.

On behalf of AAPG, Ms.Martinsen gifted AAPG memoirs, DVD’s and monthly publications to the Department of Geology. Dr. P.P. Chakroborty expressed gratitude to Ms. Martinsen on behalf of students and faculty alike for taking out time from her busy schedule. As a token of thanks she was presented by a shawl and a memento from the department. The AAPG Student Chapter of University of Delhi eagerly waits to have her back amongst us again in the near future.