Hall of state geologic maps at GSA Annual Meeting

Twenty two state geological surveys contributed to a special poster display showing the evolution of geologic maps in their states at the just concluded annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.

The map display was the central attraction down the main hall of the convention center.

Happy Geologic Map Day

As Earth Science Week draws to a close, we would like to wish you all a happy Geologic Map Day. For the second year in a row AASG, USGS, AGI, NPS, and Esri joined together in this worthy endeavor.  One of the activities coming out of Geologic Map Day is the "Best Student Geologic Map Competition" that will be held soon at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.  [Right, geologic map of the Holy Cross quadrangle, Colorado]

As GSA celebrates its 125 birthday, the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, working with GSA Foundation, AASG, AGI, AIPG, and the Journal of Maps has launched this competition to encourage students to produce high quality geologic maps.  This also will become an annual event and one that we hope will really blossom in the future.  Those of you who will be at GSA--please join us in congratulating the winners on Tuesday evening, October 29 from 5-6:30 pm in the Poster Session area of the Exhibit Hall.

[provided by Peter

Lyttle, USGS]

Nick Tew, Jr. Assumes American Geosciences Institute Presidency for 2013-2014

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to welcome the 2013-2014 President, Dr. Berry H. (Nick) Tew, Jr. He will be inducted at the Friends of AGI Reception held during the Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on October 28, 2013. Tew, who holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in geology, has substantial administrative, research, and service experience and has been a leader in an array of geoscientific endeavors at all levels of government and with numerous geoscience societies and other organizations. AGI looks forward to his leadership in the upcoming year.

Dr. Tew has served as Alabama's State Geologist and Oil and Gas Supervisor since 2002. In these capacities, he is the Director of the Geological Survey of Alabama and the State Oil & Gas Board of Alabama. He joined the GSA/OGB staff in 1984 and during his career has conducted extensive research on the geology and natural resources of Alabama and surrounding areas. His work has led to over 150 publications, including guidebooks, journal articles, technical reports, and abstracts, as well as scores of technical presentations. In addition to his position in state government, Tew holds an appointment as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama and serves on the University of Alabama Museum's Board of Regents and the UA Department of Geological Sciences Advisory Board.

Nick has volunteered his time to the geoscience and natural resource communities in various leadership and other roles. He served as President of the Association of American State Geologists (2008-2009), Chairman of the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature (2009), Chairman of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee (2004-2007), and Vice-Chairman (Chief Operating Officer) of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (2010-2011). He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a Natural Resource Trustee for the State of Alabama, a Fellow in the Geological Society of America, and member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Tew was the 2013 recipient of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission's highest honor, the E.W. Marland Award. He has served on the AGI Executive Committee since 2010 in the roles of Secretary and President-Elect.

AGI is honored to have such a fine leader and scientist at the helm for the upcoming year, and we congratulate Nick on this honor.

[reprinted from the AGI news release]

Scott Tinker presented AGI award for Outstanding Contributions to the Understanding of Geoscience

Very few people have impacted the public understanding of geoscience as much as Dr. Scott Tinker. His documentary Switch, co-produced with Harry Lynch as part of the Switch Energy Project, has screened at over 350 universities, and reached an estimated 3 million people globally. In 2013, it will be distributed in thousands of Earth Science Week kits to students worldwide. For this, and many other esteemed accomplishments, Tinker has been presented the American Geosciences Institute award for Outstanding Contributions to the Understanding of Geoscience.

Tinker is actively engaged in building bridges between academia, industry, and government. He weaves energy, the environment, and the economy into his talks, in which he envisions a very challenging, but positive, global future. In 2000, after 17 years in the oil and gas industry, Tinker joined the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences. He has given more than 500 invited and keynote lectures and visited nearly 50 countries. Dr. Tinker is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) and the State Geologist of Texas, and a past President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Association of American State Geologists.

The award is presented to a person, organization, or institution in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the public understanding of geology. The contribution may be in geology as a science or in geology as it relates to economic or environmental aspects of modern civilization. The award may be given to a geologist or non-geologist, or to an organization or an institution that is geologic or non-geologic in character. 

[reprinted from the AGI news release]