Letter from the Chairman
As often is the case, the past year has been one with many ups and downs.
The Department has continued to grow and our enrollment has remained
strong; however, we recognize that the continued low price of oil and
downsizing in the oil and gas industry is significantly impacting our
alums and will influence the employment successes of our graduates.
Despite that discouraging note, there are many bright spots to report.
Leading off the good news, the Department welcomed Denise Reed and Frank
Hall to the faculty. Denise joins us after spending 10
years at the LUMCON marine science center in Cocodrie and establishing a
well respected program in wetland research. The addition of Denise, along
with Shea Penland joining the faculty last year, has placed Department
researchers prominently at the front of the study of the local coastal
zone. Mother Nature even cooperated by providing a couple of devastating
tropical storms to give the coastal group additional opportunities for
recognition. Frank Hall joins us after starting his professional career
at the University of Delaware. Frank fills the newly created position in
geoscience education. His immediate task is to design a curriculum of
instruction for elementary education science teachers, with the goal of
improving the way in which science is taught. It is a daunting task, but
one he is tackling enthusiastically.
Nineteen ninety-eight was the year that the Department discovered Play
Doh. Labs with folding, slicing, and faulting layered Play Doh sequences
were introduced to physical geology and structure labs. The Play Doh lab
takes its place right up with the candy and cookie lab as innovative and
popular ways to present geology to the intro students. (The post-lab
cleanup of the cookie lab is still the favorite with certain faculty). At
a higher level, students are now able to visualize geologic structures
with state-of-the-art seismic interpretation software. GeoQuest and
Landmark software packages were donated to the Department.
The software is being run on two SUN workstations, purchased with
the help of donations from alums and friends, which are part of the
renovated student computer facilities. A $500,000 grant from the Keck
Foundation, received at the end of the year will be used to further
upgrade the facilities and create the Keck Center for Four-Dimensional
Analysis of Earth Phenomena.
Geology and geophysics are alive and well at UNO. We have a strong and
diversified program that can meet the needs of our undergraduate and
graduate students and the working professionals as we face the
uncertainties presented by the rapidly changing conditions in the
petroleum industry. As always, the help, advice, and friendly
conversation with alumni and friends are appreciated. Drop us a line, or
stop by if you are in the neighborhood, we love to hear what is going on.
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Meeting will be in
New Orleans 16-19 April 2000. Make your plans now for the first Alumni
convention party of the new millennium.
Chandeleur Lighthouse before and after Hurricane Georges hit the Chandeleur Islands.