About This Item

Share This Item

The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

Houston Geological Society Bulletin

Abstract


The Houston Geological Society Bulletin
Vol. 59 (2017), No. 6. (February), Pages 21-23

Abstracts: Scholarship Night

Paul Britt,1 Amy Atwater,2 Eileah Sims3

AAPG's Support for Students: Future Impacts Start Today

By Paul Britt

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is a great supporter of geoscience students around the world, largely through funding provided by the AAPG Foundation. That support comprises programs and students at all educational levels — from high schools (through the Foundation's Teacher-of-the-Year initiative), to undergraduate college programs, to graduate geoscience students. The support is institutional and administrative — AAPG Student Chapters can be found around the world, and those same students are provided with incredible educational and networking opportunities through student expos, the Visiting Geoscientist Program, and the celebrated Distinguished Lecture program. The support also is financial — in fact, four of the Foundation's seven funding priorities deal directly with geoscience students and educational programs. Of course, AAPG's connection with students starts with an obvious first step: Membership in the Association, which is free of charge through AAPG's Corporate Sponsorship Program, sponsored exclusively by Chevron. And that's just the start.

Imperial Barrel Award Program

AAPG's Imperial Barrel Award Program (IBA) is an annual prospective basin evaluation competition for geoscience graduate students from universities around the world. University teams compete to win scholarship funds for their geoscience department and the international recognition that comes from competing or winning in the competition. The program is rigorous and contributes to AAPG's mission of promoting petroleum geoscience training and advancing the careers of geoscience students.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is a great supporter of geoscience students around the world, largely through funding provided by the AAPG Foundation.

In this global competition, university teams analyze a dataset (geology, geophysics, land, production infrastructure, and other relevant materials) in the eight weeks prior to their local competition. Each team delivers their results in a 25-minute presentation to a panel of industry experts. Students have the chance to use state-of-the-art technology on a real dataset, receive feedback from an industry panel, impress potential employers in the audience, and win cash awards for their school. The judges will select the winning team on the basis of the technical quality, clarity and originality of presentation.

The IBA is a hands-on opportunity for students to experience the creative process and the high-tech science that is the foundation of the Energy Industry today.

Biographical Sketch

Paul Britt is an independent geologist in Houston, having worked as a consultant and an expert in Petra and Kingdom workstations for about 89 different clients over the years. He worked for Elf Aquitaine, Union Texas Petroleum, Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline and Exlog before becoming an independent in 1992. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a BS in Geology, and moved to Houston in 1978.

Paul is a licensed Professional Geoscientist in Texas and Louisiana, and is a Certified Petroleum Geologist (AAPG and SIPES) and current President of the AAPG. He is a HGS Lifetime Honorary Member and has served on the Board of Directors. He is an Honorary Member of the GCAGS. He is a member of the SPWLA. He has served as a SIPES officer on the local and national Boards, and is a Past President of the SIPES Foundation. He is a Past-President of the AAPG Division of Professional Affairs and has also served in the AAPG House of Delegates.

From Only the Eocene to Getting the Whole Scene: My Time as a Paleontology Intern at Big Bend National Park

By Amy Atwater

Primates, rhinos, and giant snakes are animals that you are most likely to find in a tropical jungle, somewhere near the equator. Fifty million years ago, during the Eocene Epoch, that was not the case. During the late Paleocene and early Eocene, the Earth experienced one of the warmest periods of the Cenozoic, and rainforests covered North America, all the way up to the Arctic. The fossils of the plants and animals that lived in these forests are found throughout the West, and I studied the Eocene mammals of Big Bend National Park (and surrounding West Texas) as a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin.

I have been fortunate to conduct multiple field seasons in the park, but prior to my internship, I was only exposed to the Hannold Hill and Canoe Formations. My interest in the entire park's geologic history and my career aspirations with the National Park Service made me a great fit for the position as paleontology intern for Big Bend. Working and exploring the park this past summer has truly been the highlight of my time in Texas. I was elated to find dinosaur bones, shark teeth and Deinosuchus osteoderms eroding out of the Aguja Formation while hiking the Chimneys Trail. I found belemnites filled with calcite crystals while exploring in the limestone Boquillas Formation. I hiked to the giant, gorgeous ammonite fossil along the Hot Springs Trail on the morning of my twenty-fifth birthday. Beyond paleontology, I was dazzled by the cooling peaks of the Chisos which I enjoyed from Emory Peak and the South Rim, and the laccoliths eroding in the most beautiful shapes, culminating in the Balanced Rock at the Grapevine Hills Trail.

To say I loved my time as the paleontology intern at Big Bend is an understatement; it was life changing. Writing material for the Fossil Discovery Exhibit website and park newspaper allowed me to share my interpretive and scientific skills, and share science with a broad, diverse audience. I have traveled to many national parks, but I continue to be impressed with the treasures of Big Bend, and the motivation of the park and friends to share its incredible paleontological resources with all visitors. I am so proud to be a part of the Fossil Discovery Exhibit at Big Bend National Park. I hope to inspire other young scientists to find their passion by finding their park, and I would love to one day put on an NPS badge and become the official Paleontologist of Big Bend. I am so thankful for the Houston Geological Society and Big Bend Conservancy for sponsoring and organizing this opportunity.

Biographical Sketch

Amy Atwater is a third-year graduate student studying mammal paleontology at the University of Texas at Austin. Amy grew up in Oregon where she visited many national parks including the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and Crater Lake National Park. She received her BS in Geology from the University of Oregon Honors College in 2013. In 2010 and 2011, Amy worked as an interpretive park ranger at Arches National Park in southeast Utah. In 2013, Amy worked as a GeoCorps Paleontology/GIS intern at Denali National Park and after the internship, she was hired as a seasonal physical science technician. Amy hopes to work as a paleontologist for the National Park Service, as she loves hiking and exploring parks just as much as she loves science. Amy is passionate about sharing paleontology with wide, diverse audiences and increasing the involvement of underrepresented groups in STEM fields.

My Summer Job: Paleontology Intern at Big Bend National Park

By Eileah Sims

Big Bend National Park has one of the longest and most complete sequences of geologic time in the National Park Service and is the only park with strata exposing the K-Pg boundary. A new fossil exhibit, called the Fossil Discovery Exhibit, was constructed to showcase this amazing fossil resource. Another fellow and I were called upon to help park officials create promotional materials for the new exhibit. We wrote articles for the exhibit's website, as well as some for the park newspaper, The Paisano. In addition to writing these articles, we explored the park. We went on many trails including Lost Mine and Grapevine Hills. Park Geologist Don Corrick took us to several fossil localities where I found a Deinosuchus (large alligatoroid) tooth and various crocodile scutes as well as hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur) bones. This fellowship was a learning experience for me and I am grateful for the opportunity to explore this amazing park.

Biographical Sketch

Eileah Sims graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station in May of 2016 with a Bachelor's degree in geology. She recently completed a fellowship at Big Bend National Park this past summer during which she helped park officials create promotional materials for their new Fossil Discovery Exhibit. She is currently looking for graduate schools to pursue a Masters or PhD in paleontology. She hopes to become a museum curator, a research professor, or a paleontological artist.

Acknowledgments and Associated Footnotes

1 Paul Britt: AAPG President

2 Amy Atwater: University of Texas at Austin Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory

3 Eileah Sims: Big Bend Paleontology Fellowship Awardee;

Copyright © 2017 by HGS (Houston Geological Society)

Pay-Per-View Purchase Options

The article is available through a document delivery service. Explain these Purchase Options.

Watermarked PDF Document: $14
Open PDF Document: $24