Chip Groat became the
13th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey
in November 1998. He came to this position from the University of
Texas at El Paso where he served first as Director of the Center for Environmental
Resource Management, then as Associate Vice President for Research and
Sponsored Projects. He was also Professor of Geological Sciences and Director
of the Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D. Program at UTEP. Previous
experience includes serving as Executive Director of the Center for Coastal,
Energy, and Environmental Resources at Louisiana State University, Executive
Director of the American Geological Institute, State Geologist and Director
of the Louisiana Geological Survey, and Associate Director and Acting Director
of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin.
He has represented Louisiana and Texas on the OCS Policy Board and has
been a member of the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the National
Research Council. He holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Texas
at Austin.