The Bureau of Economic Geology is happy to announce that we have purchased a new hybrid vehicle for our fleet. The brand-new Toyota Highlander Hybrid gives the Bureau bragging rights for being the first unit at UT to purchase a hybrid. The University is responsible for many initiatives in its quest to preserve our environment, and the Bureau is proud to take the lead in what we hope will be a new phase in this quest. 09/20/06

Congratulations to the Bureau scientists who are recipients of the President’s Certificate for Excellence from the AAPG Energy Minerals Division! Winners include Bob A. Hardage and Diana Sava for their paper “Seismic Estimation of Gas Hydrate Concentrations in Limitations,”and Julia

F. W. Gale, Robert M. Reed and Robert H. Lander for their poster “Synkinematic Carbonate Fracture Sealing Cements in Opening-Mode Fractures: Characteristics and Models.” They received the awards for presentations at the AAPG Annual Convention in Houston. Announcements were made in the current edition of The Explorer as a sidebar in the Geophysical Corner section. BEG graphics artists Jamie Coggin and John Ames assisted with design and drafting of the posters. 09/12/06

This week's BEG technical seminar series features Dr. Christopher Kendall, Professor of Geological Sciences and Marine Science at the University of South Carolina and  Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jackson School of Geosciences. Titled “UAE Algal mats and lime muds: links to Middle East carbonate source rock potential," this talk will be Friday, September 22, at 8:30 a.m. in the Bureau's Main Conference Room. [abstract] 09/12/06

The first technical seminar of the semester will be held this Friday, September 7, at 8:30 a.m. in the Bureau's Main Conference Room. Sue Hovorka, J. P. Nicot, and Srivatsan Lakshminarasimhan will share the dais as they present “Is There Really Enough Space to 'Put it Back'? Capacity Estimation for Geologic Storage of CO2.”[abstract] 09/05/06