Charles E. Chapin, New Mexico State Geologist from 1991 to 1999

Chuck Chapin, who was the New Mexico State Geologist and directed the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources from 1991–1999, passed away peacefully at his home in Albuquerque on March 14, 2024. He was 91. Chuck, who grew up in Washington State and trained at Colorado School of Mines, began his career at New Mexico Tech in 1965. He joined the Bureau of Geology from the NMT Geoscience Department in 1970. He was a visionary, creative, and insightful geoscientist who shaped our thinking about Laramide tectonics, Cenozoic volcanism, and the Rio Grande rift in New Mexico. Chuck was a strong mentor and, during his career, provided valuable instruction and encouragement to many graduate students and staff members at the Bureau of Geology. He was a kind person with a good sense of humor who was unafraid to speak his mind. He is missed.

2024 Pick and Gavel Awards to Senators Daines and Tester of Montana

AASG presents the Pick and Gavel Award to distinguished friends of geology who have made significant contributions to advancing the role that geoscience plays in public policy. The 2024 recipients are Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester of Montana.

A fifth-generation Montanan, Steve Daines has 28 years of private-sector business experience. He is working on issues of critical importance to growing good-paying Montana jobs, developing the state’s energy resources, managing and protecting our public lands and supporting the needs of Montana’s veterans and tribes. He serves on the Senate Committees on Finance, Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, and Indian Affairs. Steve has been married to his wife, Cindy, for 37 years. They have four children and six grandchildren. They are involved in their church and community volunteer organizations and enjoy backpacking, hunting, skiing, and fishing.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester is a third-generation Montana farmer, a proud grandfather, and a former schoolteacher. He is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. He also serves on the Banking Committee, the Commerce Committee, and the Committee on Indian Affairs. Jon and his wife Sharla still farm the same land near the town of Big Sandy, Montana that was homesteaded by Jon’s grandparents in 1912.

Thank-you for your superb service, Senators!

https://www.daines.senate.gov/

https://www.tester.senate.gov/

Edward Rooks, State Geologist of Georgia

Edward Rooks has been named State Geologist of Georgia. He has thirty years of experience as a contractor, consultant, manufacturer, and regulator. Since 2006, he has been a Program Manager in the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, specializing in agricultural permitting and compliance, including ground and/or surface water withdrawal permits for the state. Before that, he was an Environmental Manager with Alcoa, and a project geologist beginning in 1990. He obtained his BS in geology from Emory in 1988, and a Master of Earth and Environmental Resources Management from University of South Carolina in 1994. Welcome, Edward!