MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

The yearly assembly of our departmental accomplishments is a satisfying job because I can pick my head up out of the day-to-day bustle and see how far we have come. It gives me pleasure to offer a snapshot of our progress during the 2016-17 academic year.

By the numbers, from approximately 280 undergraduate and graduate students, 36 B.S., 18 M.S. and 3 Ph.D. students graduated and are on their way to new opportunities. This year’s students were notable because 28 of them received nearly $80,000 in UTEP and departmental scholarships, and another 19 earned scholarships and research monies from a number of outside sources. Highlights were

• 4 SIPES Scholarships (Sanda Garcia, Rachelle Kernen, James Rutkofske, Alan Venneman)
• 6 GSA Graduate Student Research Grants (Claire Bailey, Evey Gannaway, Kate Grisi, Amanda Labrado, Piper Poe, James Rutkofske)
• Alaska Geological Society (Felix Ziwu)
• 2 AAPG Grant-in-Aid winners (Andre Llanos, Kate Grisi)
• 8 AAPG Southwest Section Scholarships (Andy Anderson, Claire Bailey, Rafael Delfin, Kate Grisi, Amanda Labrado, Piper Poe, Ryan Ronson, Alan Vennemann)
• 2 West Texas Geological Society Scholarship (Kate Grisi, Ryan Ronson)
• 1 Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Student Grant (Evey Gannaway)
• AIPG Scholarship (Victor Garcia)
• APO Award in Geology (Amanda Ostwald)
• Diana Natalicio Environmental Internship (Ivy Trevizo)

We thank the university, alumni, President Natalicio and other funding sources for this support. Almost 20% of our students received scholarships in recognition of their academic progress. 

We are blessed with active alumni who are working diligently to support current students. James Cearley’s Field Geology Experience Fund is going strong at approximately $250,000. Proceeds from this endowment heavily subsidize field camp and other field-related research of our students. A new fund, initiated by Gail Arnold and Ben Brunner, is also being created to help graduate students pay tuition while doing internships. Additionally, the Cearley Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships in Geological Sciences have also been established.

We appreciate the support of Larry Franceware and Corine Prieto in helping us connect current students with alumni, and Larry has catalyzed a proposal-writing effort to Geoscientists Without Borders (SEG) to study the details of the Mesilla Bolson and Hueco Bolson aquifers.

UTEP has also honored Allen Gilmer as a Distinguished Alumni for 2017! Congratulate Allen and help us celebrate him during Homecoming October 5 to 7.

UTEP’s student engagement and enhancement initiative, EDGE, is focused on extending students’ learning beyond the classroom. EDGE provides an opportunity for the Geological & Environmental Sciences to further increase promotion of our students in active research and internships. Many have participated in internships in major energy companies, government, other universities and environmental organizations. Especially notable are internships at the Southern California Earthquake Center (Aide Escanuela), USGS Drone Office (Kelsey Mason), UT-Austin Bureau of Economic Geology (Rachelle Kernen), NASA “Swamp Works” (Alex Garcia), NASA Space Center Orlando (Matt Costa & Pat Rea), Hess Corporation (Andrew Anderson), Southwest Energy (Rafael Delfin), NETL (Jose Cervantes), Shell (Guillermo Vargas), Nexen Energy (Alan Vennemann), Chesapeake Energy (Andre Llanos), the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (Kate Grisi, Piper Poe & Perry Houser), and with the USDA (Anna Ortiz), and a Fellowship with the Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Reseach Program (Anna Ortiz). By far, students return from these experiences with newly found motivation upon discovering they have earned a very competitive education at UTEP.

Our student groups have been attending and presenting at conferences including American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Geological Society of America, as well as our own annual Student Research Colloquium (an excellent event to visit and see what’s happening in the department). Twenty-five undergraduates from Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology attended the GSA South-Central section meeting in San Antonio in March 2017. Several students earned presentation awards at these meetings. By all accounts, they learned a lot and made a great impression at the meeting.

To mentor our growing student body, we have brought in 3 new faculty members, Dr. Jie Xu (biogeochemistry), Dr. Hugo Gutierrez-Jurado (Hydrology), and Dr. Jason Ricketts (physical geology). These new additions strengthen our core focus in understanding Earth materials and processes while expanding our capabilities in geobiology (the interaction of Life with Earth) and age-dating minerals and rocks. Our faculty has been busy, landing over $1 million in new research grants and five new publications, including the cover article for September 2017 GSA Today on “The New World of 3D Geologic Mapping.” Diane Doser was recognized as the 2017 UTEP Graduate Mentor of the year. Aaron Velasco has been leading an effort to expand collaboration and cooperation with geosciences in Mexico especially with the Mexican disaster response agency CENAPRED and Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo.

Graduate Coordinator Annette Veilleux has started an outreach program with local schools that is bringing elementary students into our building on a regular basis to expose them to geological science that is lacking in their curriculum. Combined with this, she worked with UTEP’s Department of Communications to offer a ½-day workshop on science communication to our graduate students to better help them communicate their science to the public. Thanks to Stacey Sowards and Tarla Peterson for their help and cooperation in making this a success.

Sadly, Professor Emeritus Robert Schmidt passed away this summer (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/elpasotimes/obituary.aspx?pid=186231083).

I am sure that those who knew him remember fondly his contributions to their lives.

The momentum that has brought us to this point is exhilarating. Join us as UTEP Geological Sciences to learn more about how we are using education and research to help society deal with today’s complex geological, environmental, and energy issues. We are happy to include you in any way we can.

James Kubicki

Chair, Geological & Environmental Sciences