Standing Committee Information
These are the standing committees of the Houston
Geological Society. The chairmen of each committee is
listed in the Bulletin each month September-June. If you are
interested in serving on a committee, please call or email the
committee chairman.
Academic Liaison Committee
The purpose of the Academic Liaison Committee will be to work with teachers,
schools, and other groups to promote interest in, and appreciation of the
geosciences.
The Academic Liaison Committee made more than 100 presentations to junior
and senior high school students. The committee provided speakers with slides,
rocks, minerals, fossils, maps, and cross sections. In addition, this committee
judges science fairs sponsored by the schools and other organizations.
We are always looking for more speakers to fill an ever increasing demand.
Article:
"Geologist in the Classroom" by
Bill Dupre ,
Academic Liaison Committee Chair 1998-1999,
published in the October, 1998 HGS Bulletin
The Advertising Committee solicits, coordinates and
manages the business card and commercial advertisements
in the monthly HGS Bulletin and the annual Membership
Directory. This committee makes annual budget estimates
and reports on prior year income. The Committee
endeavors to obtain income in order to offset Bulletin
publishing costs.
The purpose of the Arrangements Committee is to contract
facilities for dinner and luncheon meetings, secure
necessary audio-visual equipment for speakers, and
coordinate advance reservations and actual meeting
attendance with catering managers.
The Awards Committee recommends candidates and
chooses recipients for all awards established by the
Executive Board. These HGS awards are Honorary Life
Membership, Distinguished Service and President's Awards,
Earth Science Teacher Award, Outstanding Student Awards,
Best Paper Award, and Student Poster Awards. The Awards
Committee is also responsible for nominating qualified
candidates to the Executive Board for various GCAGS and
MPG awards. The Awards Committee chairman is a
member of the HGS Foundation which grants scholarships
to undergraduate students. The Committee is also
responsible for supplying appropriate mementos of
appreciation to speakers at Society meetings. In addition,
the Awards Committee provides judges for non-HGS events
such as the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston and
the Science Olympiad.
The Ballot Committee is responsible for getting the ballots
printed, collated, and mailed to the entire membership by
April 20 and returned by May 10. This committee counts the
ballots and reports the results to the HGS president as soon
as possible.
The HGS Bulletin Committee publishes the society’s
monthly newsletter, the primary form of communication for
members. The Bulletin is published 10 times per year,
September-June, and contains meeting notices, speaker
abstracts and biographies, education and field trip announce-ments,
calendar of monthly events, society news and technical
articles. Special projects during the last year included publishing
a special 75th Anniversary Issue in August 1988 and more
corrdination with the HGS Web site.
Bulletin Staff 2001-2002
| | |
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Wendy Hale-Erlich, Editor, Consultant | 281-232-5092 | bulletin_editor.org |
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Steve Levine, Editor-Elect, Conoco | 281-293-1862 | bulletin_editor.org |
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Annette Mather, Advertising | 713-785-6402 | geomather@aol.com |
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Sneha K. Dholakia, BP Amoco | 281-366-3739 | dholaksk@bp.com |
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Elsa Kapitan-White, Schlumberger | 281-355-1645 | e_white@msn.com |
|
Charles Revilla, Retired | 281-556-9661 | geologizer@aol.com |
|
Pam Morelas, Vastar | 281-584-3357 | proths@vastar.com |
Article:
"Computer Applications Committee Profile" by
by Elsa Kapitan-White, David Crane, Bill Osten, and Inda Immega,
published in the October, 1997 HGS Bulletin
Mission
The Computer Applications Committee encourages and promotes
the use of geoscientific computer resources and methodologies
by HGS members. We provide an avenue of communication
regarding the availability and applicability of computer
hardware, software, data, and service. We maintain the HGS
web page on the Internet (www.hgs.org), as well as provide support
for the membership database and the Membership
Directory. In addition, this committee is responsible for providing
new computer services to the HGS as appropriate
- HGS Web Page
We maintain the HGS Web page. Our current goals include making the webpage interactive, the posting of more
information on the Web page that previously was only found in the Bulletin, initiating topical discussion forums to
increase communication between HGS members, maintaining
a searchable on-line member database, and other projects.
- Bulletin
We will oversee the scanning and indexing of the Bulletin and make this
accessible online.
-
Computer related seminars
We evaluate, suggest and coordinate computer related-seminars to
increase the computer knowledge of HGS members.
The Continuing Education Committee evaluates the
education needs of the membership and organizes
programs to meet those needs. Emphasis is placed on
presenting low cost, high quality state of the art programs
on timely topics. This committee manages the organization
and presentation of the courses including course
announcements in the Bulletin. Normally the committee
presents 6 to 8 short courses per year. Most of these are
1/2 to 1 day long.
Articles:
"Continuing Education Survey Results Are In! " by Kara C. Bennett,
published in the January, 2003 HGS Bulletin
"The (Growing) Professional Geologist" by Victor Schmidt,
published in the February, 2000 HGS Bulletin
"Robert Pledger and the Continuing Education Committee" by Charles E. Revilla,
posted here November 3, 1999.
"A Long History of Educating Members of the Petroleum Profession" by Elsa Kapitan-White, Schlumberger Oil Field Services,
published in the April, 1998 HGS Bulletin
The purpose of the Directory Committee is to prepare and
distribute the Society Membership Directory. This
Committee coordinates with the HGS Executive Board, GSH
and committee chairmen as necessary to publish the joint
society directory.
The Emerging Technologies Committee was initiated in the
1994-95 term. The purpose of the committee is to disseminate
to the geoscience community, new, and perhaps overlooked,
ideas and techniques which have potential to favorably impact
petroleum exploration and exploitation. Beginning in 1996, this
group holds regular dinner meetings at the Westchase Hilton
Hotel (9999 Westheimer just inside Beltway 8 on the west side
of town). These meetings include workstation demonstrations,
posters, and social hours before the talks and are generally held
on the second or third Thursday of Sept., Nov., Jan., Mar., and
May. Topics are multidisciplinary and include geology, geo-physics,
petrophysics, engineering, and business trends.
Summer Technofest is a regular event, scheduled this year for
August 6, 1988 from 2pm to 8pm. The current (1999-2000) committee
includes: Shawn Porche - Chairman (Expro), Rosemary Mullin
(Zydeco Energy), Frank Rabbio (Landmark), Dan Morris
(Coherence Technology), Jim Doyle (BP), Jim Brenneke
(Subsurface Consultants), and Tiffany Praetxel (GMA).
Articles:
"Committee Profile" by Victor Schmidt,
posted here in 1997.
"Report on 1997 Summer Technofest" by Victor Schmidt,
posted here in 1997.
Entertainment Committee
There is not one chairman for an "Entertainment Committee". Instead,
this is a group of individual committees, each responsible for
different social events for the members. The group
is quite large and their basic function is to organize and publicize each
event including:
Shrimp Peel ,
BBQ,
Tennis Tournament ,
Golf Tournament ,
Skeet Shoot ,
and the
Bass tournament . More than 2000 people attended these
events each year.
The Environmental & Engineering Geology Committee
provides educational opportunities for HGS and public by
promoting better understanding of the environmental
industry. This committee arranges field trips, speakers at
monthly dinner meetings, short courses and seminars. The
committee also publishes technical papers on
environmental subjects in the HGS Bulletin, as well as field
guidebooks.
The Exhibits Committee publicizes the HGS and
represents the Society at conventions and other appropriate
meetings. The committee is responsible for transporting
and manning the HGS exhibits booth at the AAPG, GCAGS and
local conventions.
The Field Trip Committee provides opportunities to see and learn more about
field examples of geologic processes of interest to geologists in the
Houston area. The committee organizes society field trips, maintains the
virtual field trip section of the society's web page, and provides
information on field trips by other related groups. Sites for field trips
are selected to recognize new discoveries or new interpretations of
previously visited localities, and to provide classic field examples of
geologic processes for new members. Our meetings are generally held at the
HGS office at 5:30 in the evening on the fourth Thursday of each month. If
you would like to join the HGS Field Trip Committee please contact the HGS
office or the current Field Trip Committee
chairman .
Article:
"1998-1999 Field Trip News" by Bill Baehr,
posted here in 1998.
The Finance Committee writes the annual budget. The
budget is developed from estimates of revenue and
expenses for the various HGS committees and the
Executive Board. By request of the Executive Board, the
Finance Committee also undertakes research and makes
recommendations concerning the disposition of HGS funds.
The Fund Development Committee is responsible for
developing potential donor sources for the society and
raising funds for general society purposes. These sources
and funds are invaluable to the financial ability of the society
to offer new and innovative programming to the
membership, as well as maintain existing levels of services
to the membership. Individual committees other than this
committee are expected to raise funds from sponsors where
appropriate.
The Education on Government Affairs Committee is
responsible for monitoring all activities at every level of
government that may affect the profession of geology, and
to promptly inform the membership through articles and
other communications published in the HGS Bulletin, as well
verbally with timely public statements at meetings of the
society. The education of the membership on government
issues affecting our profession is of great importance, and
the primary viewpoints on issues should be communicated
by this committee.
Legislative Update Articles
HGA Activities
Did you know that the HGA sponsors a social organization for your wife or spouse?
The Houston Geological Auxiliary has been operating since 1950. We
have five meetings a year. There are 5 meetings a year.
A luncheon in September, a Christmas Party, a Game Day in February, a Spring luncheon in March
and a luncheon/business meeting in May.
There is a dues break for retired HGS members who are 65 or older and have
been a member of the Society for 10 consecutive years. The dues are $10.00.
You must ask for the lower dues in writing.
We encourage the spouse of an
active HGS member to join us for these activities. Dues are $20.00 a year
and membership forms may be
obtained here
And if your wife enjoys smaller groups, we have
Geowives which is open to members of HGA. Their dues are $7.50. The more
relaxed smaller group makes it easier to get acquainted with everyone. In the fiscal 1999-2000
year, their
itinerary read: September-everyone talked about their own hobbies or collectibles;
October (evening) Aspects of Trinidad, Oil and Tourism; November- fashion show;
December- evening Christmas Couples Party; January- a visit to the Forbidden Gardens;
February- All About Argentina; March-tour to Spindletop; April- All About the Middle
East and in May the Annual Meeting and installation of officers. Recently many of the
retired husbands have attended many of these functions.
Houston Geological Auxiliary Organization
HGA & GeoWives Articles
The Historical Committee preserves and records the
Society's activities. Each year, HGS committee chairmen
report their activities in writing to this committee which
organizes the reports and forwards them to interested
persons.
The International Explorationists Group provides a professional and social milieu for
members to get acquainted with and to exchange information with others involved in
international exploration. Those in exploration-related professions other than geology are
invited to attend. The group meets monthly to hear technical talks on hydrocarbon
exploration of various areas in the world. Members (presently over 400) are encouraged
to join the HGS.
Reference Links:
-
Internet Geology publishes a Newsletter devoted to the petroleum geology
of the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union.
Articles:
"International Explorationists Committee News" by Al Danforth,
International Explorationists Committee Chair,
posted here November 3, 1999.
"HGS International Grows" by Martin Cassidy,
International Explorationists Committee Chair,
posted here June 9, 1999.
The Library Committee acts as liaison between HGS and
the Houston Public Library (HPL). Our goal is to help HPL
become a comprehensive geologic library including logs,
maps, journals, atlases and referenced books. The
Chairman recommends geologic materials that become
available to HPL by donation as well as those that are for
purchase. We undertake particular projects needed by the
HPL that involve HGS or Houston Geological Auxiliary
(HGA) volunteer members. On occasion we donate funds
for equipment or publications necessary to upgrade the
Business, Science and Technology Department of HPL. We
also attempt to help HGS members locate wanted geologic
information.
News: October, 2001
Published in the October, 2001 HGS Bulletin , by Bill Champion, HGS Library Committee colbill088@aol.com
The Houston Public Library’s Earth Science Collection is only as good as Houston could make it. That is due to hard work by the staff and by previous HGS Library Committees.The Library Committee was created to provide liaison with Houston Public Library (HPL). The principal purpose for the committee is to provide guidance and support for the “geological stacks”, which started as publications bequeathed to HPL by several old-time big-name geologists. At about the same time HGS donated a fund to “Establish a Petroleum Collection” in HPL. As that purpose is now fully accomplished, that fund has been combined with other funds for the general use of HPL.
The Committee for many years was run by Eve Moody. Under her guidance the Earth Science Collection, originally the geologic stacks, was moved to open shelves for greater access by the geologic community. Over the years HGS contributed maps, books, and equipment to the library. HPL has developed a great collection of Geology and Petroleum Technology in the Business, Science and Technology Department. They have many E-logs and driller’s logs, some available to the public there only.
Some other historically valuable material of interest to geologists is in the “Texas Room” in the Julia Ideson Building (the “old library”).
12/97 Announcement
The Library Committee is excited to announce that our long awaited Electric
Log collection is ready and waiting for you to use!!! Thanks to Library
Committee member W. L. Champion and Houston Public Libriarian Kelley Fair and
his wonderful helpers, 17,000 Texas logs are sorted, indexed, shelved, and
waiting for your use. Ask at the Science Desk on the second floor of the
Public Library at the main branch of the downtown library at 500 McKinney.
They will be happy to help you find the well log you want that is listed in
the new library index that is now available. To give you a better idea of the
distribution of these logs, we have some histograms and a listing by county available
here .
The Membership Committee is responsible for
encouraging qualified geoscientists to join the HGS,
checking and verifying applications, and conveying new
member applications (with recommendations) to the
Secretary prior to the monthly Board meeting. In addition,
the Committee initiates the mailing of the dues.
Article:
"5000 Members by Year 2000-HGS Membership Drive " by Paul Babcock,
Chairman, Membership Committee,
posted here September, 1999.
AAPG Mentor Program
The goal of the Mentor Program is to allow AAPG members to share their geology and business
expertise with university students interested in becoming geoscientists. The program also
provides mentors to geoscientists just beginning their careers. Being a mentor can range
from being as simple as having a few conversations with a student about the general state
of the industry to as complex as providing expert knowledge about a specific geologic
issue. It all depends on the mentor's background and how much time he or she wants to
spend on the program. The program is very loosely structured to best fit the needs of the
individual mentor and protégé.
Articles:
"Passing on the knowledge: be a mentor" by Bob Shoup,
Vice Chairman, AAPG Mentor Committee,
posted here January 14, 2000.
"AAPG-HGS Mentor Program: Update"
published in the December, 2000 Bulletin .
The Museum of Natural Science Liaison Committee is responsible for
involving and enriching our membership with the Houston Museum of
Natural Science through the programs of the Museum and our Society. HGS
has always had a strong relationship with the Museum, formerly with a
Special Advisor, and now with this committee that initiates ways to
involve our membership in volunteer efforts at the Museum and provide
geoscientific advise to the Museum where appropriate. Traditionally, we
try to have a function each year at the Museum, in order to better
involve our general membership.
Article:
Museum of Natural Science Notes:
"If You Build It, They Will Come!" by Don Clutterbuck,
posted in the September, 2000 HGS Bulletin .
Certified Volunteer Geologist Events
of the Museum of Natural Science Liaison Committee
by Inda Immega
.
The North American Explorationists Group provides and
opportunity for people interested in the exploration and
development of resources in the domestic U.S., exclusive of
the Gulf of Mexico to exchange information and get
acquainted with others involved with N.A. Exploration. The
committee organizes technical programs concerning
petroleum exploration and production of known fields
existing across North America. Regular dinner meetings are
held at 5:30 p.m., on the third Tuesday of the month, at the
Post Oak Doubletree Hotel. We welcome suggestions as to
topics of interest or comments as to how the committee
might better serve the needs of the client community.
Article:
"Call for Volunteers / Topics" by Stephanie Matthews,
published in the October, 2000 HGS Bulletin .
The purpose of the Office Management Committee is to
give guidance and support to the HGS-GSH Office
Manager, to administer the salary and benefits of the Office
Manager and other HGS-GSH employees and to oversee
the operations of the business office.
Committee Profiles
The Houston Geological Society's "Jobs Hotline" website provides employment opportunities and information to interested
members of the Houston Geological Society, Geophysical Society of Houston, and the geoscience community at large.
It is one of the most active sources for these geoscience opportunities, based on the fact that our "Current Jobs Listing" page
had 479 position listed, and just over 132,000 website "hits" during 2002 (an average of nearly 40 positions and over 11,000
"hits" per month). During the period from September 1996, when we started posting ads on the website, through December 2002,
we have listed a total of 1844 positions, which include permanent, contract and consulting positions in the energy, environmental
and academia fields.
For those not familiar with our website, our Current Jobs Listing page can be viewed at:
http://www.hgs.org/jobs/current_listing/current_listings.htm .
For helpful links to other job search resources, our Geojobs Links page can be found at:
http://www.hgs.org/jobs/geojob_links/geojob_links.htm .
The "Jobs & Energy Statistics" page,
which utilizes graphs to highlight trends for employment and activity in the energy industry, using sources of data such as the
HGS Job Listings, US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the DOE-Energy Information Administration, can be found at:
http://www.hgs.org/jobs/statistics_page/statistics_page.htm .
W. Michael Cline
Personnel Placement Committee Chairman
April, 2003
Read the feature article posted in the April and May 2003 Bulletins "Geoscience Jobs 2002: Who, What, and Where?" ,
click here.
The Poster Session Committee coordinates poster
sessions that precede HGS technical meetings. The
Committee selects topics, invite presenters, and coordinate
logistics with hotel personnel. A close working relationship
with the Technical Program Committee ensures a good
match between the speakers and the poster sessions.
Suggestions of topics or specific posters, as well as, any
suggestions for improving the poster sessions are most
welcome.
A new thrust has been introduced this year into this
committee's activities. The committee will actively seek
materials from the membership for publication. The primary
goal is to solicit and publish existing materials which is of
interest to the HGS membership. These publications will be
timely, prompt and not necessarily large volumes. This
committee differs from the Research Committee by finding
existing materials whereas the Research Committee seeks
to develop new materials to publish. The committee also
will be attempting to utilize desktop publishing techniques in
conjunction with the Society's computer resources to hold
the cost of these publications as low as possible.
Accomplishing these goals requires the help of numerous
members with a wide variety of skills.
The Publication Sales committee maintains the Society's
publication inventory and promotes the sale of publication
through advertising, and displays at meetings and
conventions. Publications Sales also works with both the
Publications and Research Committees to find the lowest
cost printers for new publications. The committee
significantly reduced prices on several old publications and
is working on printing one new book and revised editions of
two HGS popular publications.
The Public Relations Committee publicizes the Society to
the general public, academia and industry. Our duties
include: mailing press releases of meetings, coordinating
publicity for joint society meetings, answering requests
from the general public, assisting other committees with
public relations when requested, establishing relations with
various members of the media, notifying media of election of
officers, (especially to update the MPG Bulletin), and to
think up new publicity ideas. This year the Committee
arranged extensive coverage in the Houston Chronicle and
is acting as liaison between the media and local experts.
The Remembrances Committee expresses in a timely manner
the concern and sympathy of members of the Society to the
families of deceased members. On a regular basis, usually
monthly, written notification is sent to the HGS President, the
Secretary, the Treasurer, the Editors of and the HGS Bulletin and
the HGS Web Page, the HGS Auxiliary, the HGS/GSH office,
and the AAPG Membership Director. The Treasurer of the
Society is further informed as to the name and address of the
charitable organization to which the deceased member’s family
prefers the Society’s customary monetary donation to be made in
the member’s honor.
Research Committee
The principal thrust of this committee currently is the
preparation of the "Building Stones of Houston."
Periodically articles on individual buildings have been
published in the Bulletin; the ultimate objective is to publish
a building stones guide. Support from the HGS
membership is needed to research the origins of the
building materials and to photograph the buildings.
The Texas State Registration and Licensing Committee is
responsible for review, monitoring, and reporting the
professional efforts pertaining to the state registration of
geologists to the membership. Both during the creation and
passage of a state registration law, as well as henceforth
after its establishment, this committee will communicate all
issues regarding state registrations and/or licensing in a
timely manner.
On December 5, 2000, the HGS Executive Board issued the following statement:
"The Houston Geological Society endorses the AAPG Policy Statement, Professional Geologist Licensure and Standing in Texas dated October 30, 2000
and Senate Bill 129, with no material changes (to the bill)."
An on-line Forum was created to allow members to comment on the proposed Texas State Registration bill
to be re-introduced in the current State session. If you want to read others comment and/or input
your own comments, click here .
The Scouts Committee operates two HGS
sponsored Explorer Scout Posts; the Northwest Post 2004,
and the Southwest Post 2005. Approximately 40 students
between the ages of 15 and 18 are active in the Explorer
Scouting program through the HGS. The focus of the
program is career interest, and students interested in the
geologic and oceanographic sciences attend lectures and
field trips to various work locations to gain insights into
possible careers. In addition, the scouts participate in
camping trips to locations of geologic and/or environmental
interest. As part of the Sam Houston Area Council of the
BSA (Boy Scouts of America), the posts enjoy many of the
regular activities held by the scouting organization.
Additionally, the Explorer Scout Post Leaders and Advisors
(HGS members) serve as references for the scouting
organization in geologic matters.
Update: Published in the June, 2002 Bulletin
On December 27-30, 2001, eight members of Explorer Post 2004 took a camping trip (Superactivity) to Guadalupe Mountains National Park (West Texas), and Carlsbad Caverns National Park (Eastern New Mexico). The Scouts learned about paleo reef systems and limestone deposition, saw a fault scarp at El Capitan Reef, hiked to the Wallace E. Pratt cabin (first geologist hired by Humble Oil and Refining Company), toured Carlsbad Caverns, and found out how Carlsbad Caverns are different from other cave systems in Texas and New Mexico.
The HGS Explorer Post is open to youth ages 14 to 21, both male and female. Meetings are on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month.
If you wish to join as an Explorer, or adult Advisor, please contact George Krapfel
(713-989-7433) or Dan Helton (713-215-7636).
Technical Program Committee
The Technical Program Committee is responsible for
providing technical presentations which attract a large
portion of the HGS members. The Committee secures
speakers, coordinates poster sessions with the speakers'
topic, and makes necessary arrangements for presentation
at society meetings. This includes engaging meeting
places, ticket sales, verifying/accounting the meal and drink
invoices, conveying fees to the treasurer, and arranging
hotel and transportation accommodations for out-of-town
speakers (and promptly paying their expenses). This year
we offered poster sessions with several of the evening
meetings. A continuing difficulty has been to keep the
prices of the meetings from increasing.
This committee works with the Chairmen of the Technical Program committees
(Emerging Technology, North American Exploratioinsts, International)to
solicit vendors to come to the meetings and display technology and services
related to the presented topic. A major portion of the fee received from
the vendor is donated to the
North Harris College Geoscience Technology Training Center .
HGS has been lucky in having volunteers step forward to help when needed. In the past, though, we haven’t
always put the right volunteer to work in the right job, or even called on all the people who have volunteered,
and some work has been left undone. In January, 2000, the Board of Directors recognized this as a problem area, and
decided to appoint a volunteer coordinator to better manage this effort. Sharie Sartain volunteered to do the job.
She will be posting specific needs in the Bulletin and on line, and she will be our first point of contact for all
volunteers
