From the Editor- September 2019
Fellow Houston Geological Society Members:
First of all, thank you for reading this letter. I understand it is an investment of you time, so I will try to make it as succinct as possible.
In this first issue of the Houston Geological Society (HGS) Bulletin for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, please allow me to tell you a little about myself. I am a mid-career geologist who has worked in the energy industry for 14 years. I obtained my bachelor’s in geology and master’s in ore deposit geology, respectively, 20+ years ago. I obtained my doctorate degree in geochemistry in 2005. Since then, I have been working for Chevron Corporation in Houston, Texas.
Reflecting on my path of becoming a geology major in college and later becoming a petroleum geologist in industry, I feel it was a bit fortuitous. The good news is that I have fully enjoyed my journey, and I know that many people have helped me to stay on the track. There were professors who intrigued me with questions that I wanted to answer. There were colleagues who presented me with real-life challenges that I wanted to resolve. There were mentors who guided me through down times so that I did not give up.
As the energy industry continue to recover from a downturn, we have seen low enrollments in geology departments in some universities around the country. We have also seen some of our fellow geologists trying very hard to stay active within the geologic community. Meanwhile, we know that there are still many unresolved problems that await earth scientists to tackle. Society still needs energy and other natural resources for the foreseeable future. Therefore, we need to maintain and grow the talent of geologists both in academia and in industry. My question is – can each of us do something to help with that? Volunteering at a local school to introduce geology to school children? Mentoring a young geologist who just started his or her career? Helping a fellow geologist to establish his or her own business? Or just sharing the stories about our journeys as geologists and what kept us on our path.
I invite you to write to me, as the Editor of the HGS Bulletin, to share your stories, knowledge and insights. The exciting moments in your career, the most striking beauty that you have observed in the field, or simply the questions that you would like a fellow geologist to help with, or suggestions about what HGS can do more for our members, all are welcome. Let’s try to help each other out as a community. I look forward to hearing from you!
Yours sincerely,
Fang Lin