For over a century, the Bureau of Economic Geology has had a major impact on the people and economy of Texas and the United States. Its research has underpinned many of the technologies that have driven innovation in the mineral and energy industries, and aided in the understanding of the environment around us and the rocks below. A multitude of Bureau resources are made available to the general public and inform decision-makers, educators, economists, earth science professionals and industry representatives in a wide range of disciplines and interests arising from the geosciences.
The Bureau operates at the intersection of energy research, environmental research and energy economics, each influencing and acting upon the other. Its work has shaped the exploitation of vital earth resources for decades, informed decisions on the capture and storage of CO2, advised discussions about safe drinking water for the future, and heavily influenced oil, natural gas and electricity markets, among a host of other effects. Graduate student researchers’ lives are changed through their interactions with some of the most renowned and distinguished geologists, geophysicists, energy economists, engineers and chemists in the world.
The Bureau’s product is its widely read research publications, each of which expanding the scope of knowledge about earth systems, geological processes, and the rocks that underlie us all. Investments in the Bureau are typically returned to funders many times over in the form of beneficial research findings, service to society, and, in the case of the State of Texas, enhanced revenue. As it functions as the State Geological Survey of Texas, part of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s mission is to inform and educate, and its researchers reach millions of people annually with presentations, films, books, papers and one-on-one discussions with individuals about geological, economic and environmental issues that matter.
