On Friday, April 28th, the seminar speaker was Joseph
Essandoh-Yeddu, Chief Planning Analyst, Ghana Energy
Commission. He spoke on "Capacity
Building in the Ghana Energy Sector: the Contribution of CEE/BEG". As always,
the seminar was held in the Main Conference Room. [Abstract]04/26/06
Claudia Gerardo, an Administrative Associate
at the Bureau who handles purchasing, has been chosen to receive
one of the University's 2006 Staff
Excellence Awards. One of only thirty recipients of
the award this year throughout the campus, Claudia will be
honored at the Staff Recognition Program and President's Reception
on May 2. She joined the Bureau in November 2003 and quickly
learned that geologists can have some unusual purchasing needs
for field equipment and modeling supplies. It's a routine
day for Claudia to order parts for drilling rigs, or pig gelatin,
which stabilizes sand used in models of salt domes, in addition
to regular office supplies. Claudia says she enjoys being
a sleuth, assuring Bureau staff that "if it's out there,"
she'll find it, and at a good price. Claudia also represents
the Bureau's district on the UT Staff Council and serves on
The University of Texas Police Department Oversight Committee.
Noting Claudia's unique contributions to the Bureau, Director
Scott Tinker said, "It takes a sense of humor,
a determined nature, and lots of patience to handle purchasing
requests for the Bureau. Claudia measures up on all counts
and does an excellent job of getting good value for every
Bureau dollar spent. Claudia is a great member of the Bureau
family, and we are all very proud of this honor." 04/21/06
The Bureau's own John Hooker
addressed Friday's seminar attendees on "SEM-CL
and Fracture Scaling, or Too Many Microfractures!"
[Abstract]
The talk was held in the Bureau's Main Conference Room on
April 21 at 8:30 a.m. 04/19/06
Last
week, coastal geologist James Gibeaut participated
in a workshop funded by the National
Science Foundation (NSF). A dozen scientists, including
ecologists and geologists, met in Biloxi, Mississippi, which
took the direct hit from Hurricane Katrina last year, to start
work on a strategic plan to better manage the nation's barrier
islands in light of future sea-level rise and extreme storms.
Discussions on designing a 5-year study to be funded by NSF
ensued, and field trips were held to inspect the effects of
Hurricane Katrina. 04/19/06
Katrina washover deposit covering
marsh on Horn Island, a sandy barrier island offshore
Mississippi. Click on photo to
enlarge.
Jeffrey G. Paine, Research Scientist at
the Bureau, has been elected to serve as President-Elect (2006–07),
President (2007–08), and Past President (2008–09)
of the Environmental and Engineering
Geophysical Society (EEGS). EEGS is an international
professional society devoted to near-surface geophysics that
is best known as the sponsor of the annual Symposium
on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental
Problems (SAGEEP). Jeff began his term as President-Elect
at the 2006 SAGEEP held April 2–6 in Seattle, Washington,
where he gave a talk on "Streambed
Induction Logs: An Airborne Approach to Identifying Salinity
Sources and Quantifying Salinity Loads." 04/17/06
It's easy to find a parking place at the Bureau this week.
A large contingent of Bureau scientists has converged on the
George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for the 2006
Annual Convention of the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists. The convention, spanning April
9–12, drew more than 8,000 attendees on its final day.
Bureau staff chaired sessions,
gave talks, presented posters, led workshops, and enjoyed
the opportunity to visit with colleagues and take part in
technical discussions. Click
here to view technical program. 04/12/06
Project Director Steve Ruppel and other
researchers of the Bureau's Permian
Basin Geological Synthesis Project (PBGSP) welcomed 28
geologists and geophysicists, representing 11 companies, to
the Bureau for the first annual project meeting on February
27–28. In addition to Steve, Bureau staff involved in
the two-day meeting were Bob Loucks, Cari
Breton, Julia Gale, Edgar
Guevara, Jeff Kane, Charlie
Kerans, Seay Nance, Ted
Playton, and Wayne Wright. Attendees
were welcomed by Bureau Director Scott Tinker
and Associate Director for Energy Eric Potter.
The meeting consisted of a day-and-a-half of oral presentations
on the geology of the Permian and Fort Worth Basins followed
by a core workshop. The PBGSP is funded by industry sponsors,
the Department of Energy, and the Bureau's Project
STARR (Bob Loucks, Project Director).
04/07/06
