ALEXANDRIA,VA — The AGI Member Society Council has unanimously approved petitions from the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP) to join the AGI Federation. This action, which took place on November 5, 2001, at the Council Meeting held in Boston in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, increases to 39 the number of member societies. “The new members,” said AGI Executive Director Marcus Milling, “further broaden and strengthen our geoscience Federation. The continuing growth of the Federation clearly demonstrates that while our member societies each have unique missions and goals, AGI provides a forum for discussion and collaboration on common interests and issues.”

    ARMA members share a strong interest in rock mechanics and rock engineering. “As a small organization focused on rock engineering,” said Peter Smeallie, Executive Director of ARMA, “we recognize the importance of interfacing with geologists and others in related fields. As a member of AGI, this interface is more readily accessible to our 300 ARMA members.” Serving professionals, companies, teachers, and students whose backgrounds include soil mechanics, civil engineering, engineering geology, geophysics, petroleum engineering, and mining engineering, ARMA promotes the development and use of rock mechanics and rock engineering. The organization advocates for firms and individuals who represent all aspects of rock mechanics and rock engineering; provides a communications forum and information resource for members, related organizations, and the public; disseminates information through meetings, publications, and the web; conducts educational workshops; and sponsors the annual U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium. For more information about ARMA, visit http://www.ARMArocks.org.

    SMMP serves the needs of mineral museum curators. President Anthony Kampf said,  “We see AGI membership as being of particular benefit in educating the larger geological community about the importance and usefulness of institutional mineralogical and geological collections and about the critical issues which they face.” The goals of the society are to foster recognition of mineral science collections as essential scientific, educational, and cultural resources; promote support for the growth, maintenance, and use of collections and exhibits; and advance museum practice through cooperation in the development, review, and dissemination of information. Additional information about SMMP is available on the web site, http://www.smmp.net/.

    The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 39 geoscientific and professional associations that represent 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 our profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in mankind's use of resources and interaction with the environment. More information about AGI can be found at www.agiweb.org. The Institute also provides a public-outreach web site, www.earthscienceworld.org.
 

Back to top