Pub. Id: A134 (1990)

First Page: I

Last Page: VI

Book Title: M 51: Interior Cratonic Basins

Article/Chapter: Front Matter and Foreword

Subject Group: Basin or Areal Analysis or Evaluation

Spec. Pub. Type: Memoir

Pub. Year: 1990

Editor(s): Morris W. Leighton, Dennis R. Kolata, Donald F. Oltz, J. James Eidel

About the Editors:

Morris W. Leighton is Chief of the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS). Dr. Leighton joined the ISGS in 1983 after working with Exxon and its Esso affiliates as a research and exploration geologist and manager for 32 years. In his early years with Exxon, he undertook research on carbonate rocks and reef-bearing strata and conducted regional basin studies in a number of Exxon affiliate areas, including the Alberta basin, Williston basin, Sicily, and Libya. In 1961, he established Esso's first of a series of Study Groups overseas and led their early exploration efforts in the North Sea. He then worked for Esso Exploration Inc. in New York City as advisor for its frontier exploration program. In the late 1960s, he joined Esso Australia Ltd. in Sydney, becoming Exploration Ma ager of that company's ventures and its development program in the Gippsland basin. He returned to the United States in 1973 to manage a division of Exxon's Houston based research lab (EPRCo). In 1974, he became Chief Geologist of Esso InterAmerica, the Exxon regional affiliate responsible for exploration in Latin America. He was directly involved in active ventures in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, and Suriname and with basin studies in a number of other countries in the region. After joining the ISGS, Dr. Leighton was asked by AAPG representatives to serve as senior editor of this volume. Dr. Leighton received his B.S. (1947) from the University of Illinois and his M.S. (1948) and Ph.D. (1951) from the University of Chicago.

Dennis R. Kolata is Senior Geologist and Head of the Basin and Crustal Analysis Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey. Dr. Kolata began his career as a petroleum geologist with Texaco. In 1974, he joined the ISGS where he coordinates, supervises, and conducts geological and geophysical research on the structural and stratigraphic framework of the Illinois basin. His research interests include the depositional and structural history of the U.S. Mid-Continent, the stratigraphic and tectonomagmatic significance of Ordovician K-bentonite Beds, and echinoderm paleobiology. Dr. Kolata received his B.S. (1968) and M.S. (1970) degrees from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in geology (1973) from the University of Illinois.

Donald F. Oltz is Senior Geologist and Head of the Oil and Gas Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey. Before joining the ISGS in 1985, Dr. Oltz taught at Alma College, Alma, Michigan, from 1967 to 1972 and worked for Texaco both domestically and internationally from 1972 to 1985. He is currently on both the Research and Membership committees for the AAPG, is treasurer of the Eastern Section AAPG, and serves on the Energy Resources Committee for the Interstate Oil Compact Commission and the Technical Advisory Committee for the National Institute of Petroleum and Energy Research (NIPER). His research efforts are in reservoir classification and characterization related to improved oil recovery, organic maturation and migration modelling, play analysis and synthesis, and compute applications. Dr. Oltz received his B.S. (1962) from Alma College and his Ph.D. (1968) from the University of Minnesota.

J. James Eidel is currently the Principal Geologist and Head of the Branch of Mineral Resources and Engineering of the Illinois State Geological Survey and Adjunct Professor of Geology at the University of Illinois. He previously held the positions of North American Exploration Manager for The Hanna Mining Company and Exploration Manager of Australian Hanna, Ltd. He directed and led exploration teams for most fuel and nonfuel minerals in North America, Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and Indonesia. Mr. Eidel received his B.S. in geological engineering from the University of Arizona in 1959 and his M.A. in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1963.

Foreword: