Claudia Gerardo is a new Administrative Associate in charge of purchasing and second floor support. Claudia has an M.A. degree in foods and nutrition through the Department of Human Ecology at Central Michigan University and loves chocolate. 11/26/03

The Bureau welcomes Jay P. Kipper as its new Associate Director for Administration. Jay comes to the Bureau after 20 years at Aspen Technology in Houston, Texas. As a vice-president at Aspen, Jay was responsible for technical sales and new business development. He has managed business units with annual revenues of more than $80 million and conducted business in North and South America, Europe, throughout Asia, Africa, and Australia.Over the next six months, Doug Ratcliff, the Bureau’s previous Associate Director for Administration, will transition into his new full-time role as Associate Director of the Geology Foundation. 11/20/03

John Els is the Bureau’s new Senior Systems Analyst, responsible for integrating myriad Bureau databases and electronic accounting systems. John is a South African native with a professional background in electronic engineering. Visit his Website at http://www.elsweb.net/. 11/26/03

"Land Use Controls on Groundwater Recharge" was presented Friday, November 21, by Bureau researchers Robert C. Reedy and Dr. Bridget R. Scanlon, as part of the Bureau's Technical Seminar series. [Abstract] 11/18/03

The Bureau's Technical Seminar Series continued on Friday, November 14, with a presentation by Dr. Sanjay Srinivasan, Assistant Professor of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin. The title of his talk was "Reservoir Modeling: The Challenge of Data Integration." [Abstract] 11/13/03

The Applied Geodynamics Laboratory (AGL) Industrial Associates held its 16^th annual review meeting November 13 and 14, 2003, at the Commons Conference Center. More than 75 delegates from the AGL's 14 member companies attended the two-day meeting that featured 22 technical presentations of results from physical modeling, mathematical modeling, and geologic studies from basins all around the world. 11/14/03

Senior Research Scientist Bob Loucks was an invited speaker for the Shell Oil Colloquium series at the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and Geophysics on November 13, 2003. Bob presented two talks: “Origin of Growth-Faulted Subbasins in South Texas and Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis of Associated Sediment Fill” and “Overview of Breccia- and Fracture-Forming Processes in Ordovician Carbonates.” 11/17/03

Steve Laubach, Randy Marrett, Jon Olson, and Sergey Fomel of the Fracture Research and Application Consortium (FRAC) conducted an AAPG Fractured Reservoir Characterization and Modeling school in Austin, Texas, November 10–14. Click here for more details. 10/30/03

Cathodoluminescence image combining RGB filter images of the Oligocene Frio sandstone from 4761 m depth.

Cathodoluminescence (CL) images generated by the Fracture Research and Application Consortium have recently received recognition from the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). The cover of the November 2003 Journal of Sedimentary Research features an image from the article "Quantification of brittle deformation in burial compaction, Frio and Mount Simon formation sandstones" by Astrid Makowitz and Kitty L. Milliken that appears in that issue. Another CL image of a Frio sandstone sample photographed by Astrid Makowitz won the November 2003 Student Photo Contest sponsored by SEPM. It is displayed on the front page of the SEPM Website. 11/06/03

Excitement abounded at the Bureau on November 6 and 7 when 140 fourth-grade students from Gattis Elementary, Round Rock Independent School District, visited the Bureau. Researchers John Andrews, Tiffany Hepner, Eugene Kim, Randy Remington, Scott Rodgers, and Becky Smyth entertained and educated the students with hands-on activities that included the Texas Rock Cycle, Adventures in Virtual Reality, Is Dirt Just Dirt?, and Hurricanes. Director Scott Tinker talked to the students about what geologists do. Susie Doenges, Tatiana Fomel, Amanda Masterson, and Sigrid Clift were tour guides for the event. [More pictures] 11/10/03

The Austin Geological Society held its monthly meeting on Monday, November 3, 2003. The speaker was Michael R. Thornhill, who presented "Ozarka, the Rule of Capture and Hydrogeology: Untold Story of the Supreme Court Case." [Details] 10/30/03

The 2003 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting & Exposition was held in Seattle, Washington on November 2–5, 2003. Click here for a list of presentations by Bureau researchers. 10/30/03