Bureau researcher Dr. James W. Jennings, Jr., currently living in The Netherlands and working as a Visiting Professor at Shell International, received one of several Outstanding Technical Editor Award at the 2002 SPE Annual Conference in October 2002. The award "recognizes technical editors who have made an exceptional effort to ensure the technical excellence of the Society's permanent literature." 01/30/03

GCAGS 2002 has come and gone! Onsite registration began on Tuesday, October 29, and activities continued through Saturday, November 2. More than 1,400 people attended, and with more than 60 exhibitors there was plenty to keep everyone busy. 10/30/02

Several Bureau/UT researchers received awards during Opening Ceremonies. Dr. William Fisher was presented the Don R. Boyd Medal for Excellence in Gulf Coast Geology; Bob Loucks received the Second Place Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentation Award for his presentation titled "Modern Analogs for Paleocave-Sediment Fills and Their Importance in Identifying Paleocave Reservoirs;" Bruno Vendeville, together with Asif Muzaffar and J. Richard Kyle, received the Third Place Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentation Award for his presentation titled "Relation between Sedimentation and Diapirism at the Davis Hill Salt Dome, Liberty Co., Texas;" and William E. Galloway received the Gulf Coast Section SEPM Honorary Membership Award. 11/08/02

Estimating Rates of Groundwater Recharge
A short course for hydrologists and advanced hydrology students

A short course titled "Estimating Rates of Groundwater Recharge" was presented by Rick Healy of the USGS in Denver, and Bridget Scanlon of the University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver on Saturday, October 26, 2002. This course, designed for hydrologists and advanced hydrology students, included techniques based on surface water, unsaturated zone and saturated zone data and discussed physical, tracer, and numerical modeling methods. For more information, contact Bridget Scanlon or Rick Healy. For meeting information, click here. 07/01/02

The Advisory Committee to the Bureau of Economic Geology met October 24, 2002, at the Bureau. Attending the meeting, above, from left, were Jay Raney, Doug Ratcliff, Peter Flawn, Decker Dawson, Scott Tinker, Russell Slayback (Committee Chair), Eric Potter, Jim Gibbs, Bill Gipson, Bill Fisher, and Charles Groat.

A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of a gift to outgoing chairman Peter T. Flawn, who remains on the committee as a member. Bureau Director Scott W. Tinker thanked Flawn for serving as chair of the committee and gave him a bolo created from a tektite from the Virgil E. Barnes collection, along with a custom-made card signed by Bureau staff.

Left, Flawn holds the card that features a photo of him during his field days in West Texas from his memoir recently published by the Bureau, Texas Geologist and the Bureau of Economic Geology, 1949–1970. [More] 10/29/02

The Bureau's weekly seminar was held on Friday, October 18, 2002 at 8:30 a.m. The presentation, titled "Climate Change — Issues and Answers for Texas" was made by Sue Hovorka, Paul Knox, Mark Holtz, Khaled Fouad, Jeff Paine, and Joseph Yeh, and was held in the Bureau's main conference room. [Abstract] 10/15/02

Bureau Research Associate Sylvia Jennette was one of three panelists for "The Mix—Using all Available Media to Deliver Your Message" for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC)'s annual convention, October 17, 2002, at the Omni Austin Hotel. Sylvia's topic was communication via websites, including managing web content and simple organization of information. 10/21/02

Dean Mary Ann Rankin reads the Governor's proclamation declaring October 13–19, 2002, as ESW in Texas.

Several hundred middle school students visited the Commons on Tuesday, October 15, to participate in the 3^rd annual Austin Earth Science Week (ESW) Career Fair. Almost 60 earth science professionals from around the community volunteered their services as exhibitors and presenters to introduce students to earth science careers that included geology, meteorology, science education, geophysics, paleontology, engineering, hydrology, and archeology. Dr. Mary Ann Rankin, Dean of the UT College of Natural Sciences, gave the opening ceremony presentation and read Governor Perry's Texas ESW proclamation. [Additional Photographs] 10/21/02

Online continuing-education modules were the focus of a meeting at Bureau on Friday, October 11. Attending were staff from the American Geological Institute (AGI), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Bureau. 10/11/02

Dr. Roberto Gutiérrez was the speaker at the Bureau's Friday seminar at 8:30 a.m. on October 11, 2002. The title of his presentation was "Applications of LIDAR in Geodesy, Geology, and Environmental Science." [Abstract] 10/09/02

Senior Research Scientist Dr. Bob Hardage recently received Input/Output's "Multi-Component Technology Pioneer" award, which recognizes individuals who have, over time, made significant contributions to the seismic industry. Bob was recognized for his contributions in the area of multi-component seismology. The award was presented during the SEG reception on October 8, 2002. 10/10/02

The Austin Geological Society invited members and visitors to its monthly meeting on Monday, October 7, 2002, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) campus, Board Room, 1st Floor of the Hancock Building. The evening's presentation, "Tectonics of the West As Seen From the Shuttle," was made by Dr. William (Bill) Muehlberger, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin. [more information] 10/07/02

Dr. Charlie Kerans (second from left) discusses upcoming field trip with (left to right) Denise Cox (Marathon), Kirsten Bannister (ExxonMobil), Steve Ogilvie (Statoil), Tsuyoshi Matsuura (Shell), Jeff Chen (Marathon), and Jo Garland (Statoil).

Thursday and Friday, October 3–4, 2002, the Reservoir Characterization Research Laboratory (RCRL) held its 2002 Annual Meeting, presenting the year's research results to its consortium members. The title of the 2002 meeting was "3-D Modeling of Carbonate Heterogeneity Styles." Two days of presentations were followed by a two-day field trip; the first day to Pipe Creek, near Boerne, Texas, followed by a visit to Victorio Canyon near Van Horn, Texas. 10/03/02

Dr. Paul Stoffa, Director and Senior Research Scientist at the UT Institute for Geophysics, was the Bureau's weekly seminar speaker on Wednesday, October 2. The title of his presentation was "Research Projects at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics." [Abstract] 10/02/02

October 1–4, 2002, Research Scientist Dr. Susan Hovorka traveled to Kyoto, Japan, to participate in the Sixth International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies. The conference, attended by 500 participants from 41 countries, was held at the Kyoto International Conference Hall where the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was negotiated in 1997. Sue presented a paper titled "Frio Brine Sequestration Pilot Project in the Texas Gulf Coast, USA." The pilot project involves an intensely monitored field experiment to document the potential for injection carbon dioxide derived from the consumption of fossil fuel. [Manuscript] 10/10/02

The Bureau is happy to announce that long-time Research Assistant Luciano Correa has chosen to become a full-time employee of the Bureau. Luciano holds a Master of Science degree in Finance from the University Chile and a Master of Arts in Energy and Mineral Resources from the UT College of Engineering. He will soon receive his Master of Science degree in Operation Research and Industrial Engineering from the UT College of Engineering. Luciano is currently working on integrating a database for BEG cores and well logs. 09/25/02

Stephanie Persley is a new, part-time employee of the Bureau's Geophysical Core Facility. Stephanie graduated from L. B. J. High School Science Academy and has been pursuing a bachelor's degree in Literature at Austin Community College. Stephanie is a writer and a poet, and has been nominated poet of the year 3 years in a row by poetry.com. 09/25/02