GeoSpectrum

The American Geological Institute (AGI) welcomes three new officers: Peter A. Scholle, President-Elect, Thomas W. Dignes, Treasurer, and Laurie E. Scheuing, Member-at-Large.

Dr. Peter Scholle, Director and State Geologist of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, will join the AGI Executive Committee as President-Elect. He has also held leadership positions at the Society for Sedimentary Geology, and the Association of American State Geologists.

Dr. Thomas Dignes of Chevron Corporation will be serving as AGI Treasurer. He has been active in several AGI Member Societies including, SEPM, GSA, and AAPG. Previously, he served as section president of SEPM.

Ms. Laurie Scheuing of Quantitative Environmental Analysis will be joining the AGI Executive Committee as Member-at-Large. Scheuing has served AGI as part of the Government Affairs Advisory Committee and as a Member Society Representative. She is also currently President of the Association for Women Geoscientists.

The new members of the AGI Executive Committee will be installed during the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on October 30, 2007.

The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

The American Geological Institute has launched the “Pulse of Earth Science,” an innovative website on the status of earth science education as part of Earth Science Week 2007.

AGI has collected up-to-the-minute data on teacher certification requirements, earth science courses required by middle and high school students, enrolment levels, and state science standards. The catalog of this data is the centerpiece of the “Pulse of Earth Science” website.

An Advocacy Guide is also available as part of the “Pulse of Earth Science” website. This guide offers detailed recommendations to promote earth science education within your state and local school systems.

To view the status of earth science education in your state visit http://www.agiweb.org/education/statusreports/2007.

The information presented on the “Pulse of Earth Science” website is based on available data collected from numerous sources, including state education agencies and federal education reports. You are invited to help update information by emailing info@earthsciweek.org.

The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

The American Geological Institute (AGI) announces that geologist and author Simon Winchester will be receiving the 2007 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Understanding of the Geosciences. This award, given annually, honors an individual for contributions which lead to greater public appreciation and understanding of the role of the geosciences in society.

Winchester studied geology at Oxford and then worked as a geologist in the Ruwenzori Mountains and on oil rigs in the North Sea. He then went on to a successful career writing as a Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. He has also written for Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times and National Geographic. Winchester has authored several books on geologically important subjects and people including; The Map that Changed the World, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, and A Crack in the Edge of the World.

In addition to the AGI Public Understanding of the Geosciences award, Winchester has received Britain’s Journalist of the Year distinction, and was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen in 2006.

Winchester will be presented with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Understanding of the Geosciences at the Friends of AGI Awards Reception held during the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on October 30, 2007.

The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

The American Geological Institute (AGI) is announcing pre-orders of the Faces of Earth DVD set through both AGI’s online store and through Discovery Communications stores.

Faces of Earth, the award nominated hi-definition four part series which aired on The Science Channel beginning in July 2007, is now available as a two disk DVD set for $24.95 plus shipping and handling. This series takes viewers on a trip through the history and the interconnected systems of our ever-changing planet by the experts who know it the best, geoscientists.

Viewers follow scientists using high-tech and high adventure to see the world like we have never before, and to understand how humans are both a force of nature, and a product of our world. From the formation of the planet to the emergence of life, and the dynamic internal and external processes that have shaped our world and culture, Faces of Earth brings Earth to life.

The DVD set is available for pre-order from AGI Publications (http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/pubdetail.html?item=670110), or through Discovery’s online store (http://shopping.discovery.com). DVD sets will also be available at the AGI booth at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Denver Colorado October 28-31, 2007. Pre-orders are expected to ship around October 17, 2007.

To learn more about the Faces of Earth series visit http://www.facesofearth.tv/.

The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.