Larry C. Knauer
Larry C. Knauer, a candidate for AAPG treasurer, is
a senior geologist with Texaco in Bakersfield, Calif.
A native of Long Beach, Calif., Knauer earned his bachelor's degree in geology from
Whittier College and a master's from the University of California at Los
Angeles.
Knauer began his career as a petroleum geologist with Gulf Oil, which in 1985 became
a part of Chevron. In 1987, Knauer became a lecturer/curator at the California
Well Sample Repository at California State University at Bakersfield,
as well as a consultant for oil environmental issues in Kern County. In
1989 he took a senior geologist position with Bechtel Petroleum Operations
before moving on to join Texaco in 1997.
Knauer has been a member of AAPG since 1982 and he is a registered geologist in California.
Active in the AAPG Pacific Section, Knauer has held a number of leadership positions
there, including president in 1996-97. In 1999 he received the Section's
Honorary Lifetime Member award. Knauer also has served as president of
the San Joaquin Geological Society. Knauer was an AAPG House of Delegates
alternate in 2001.
Additional professional affiliations include the Society of Petroleum Well Log Analysts.
Why I Accepted the Invitation To Be a Candidate For AAPG Office
By LARRY C. KNAUER
AAPG is a unique
organization that thrives through a combination of good business sense,
a true vision of its purpose as a vehicle for education and assistance
to its members and the public, and its member's volunteerism.
I believe in
volunteerism. I think giving something back to the profession you have
selected is important. It is no less important than giving something of
yourself to improve the community in which you live.
I have participated
in the Pacific Section AAPG a great deal over the years. I see the direct
benefit of what even a small number of volunteers are able to accomplish
for our members. I see the camaraderie and flow of information grow as
the network of geologists expands to include more of us. One of the main
things we need to do is encourage fellow geologists to get actively involved.
It is a slow process, usually involving one person at a time. We need
to make a greater effort to bring more of what AAPG has to offer to the
local societies and sections.
Joining with
other professional societies for annual meetings has proven to be beneficial.
The last two annual section meetings in the Pacific Section were done
with the SPE in 2000 and the GSA in 2001. We are teaming up with the SPE
again in 2002 in Anchorage. While the culture of these groups is somewhat
different, that difference has provided the main benefit of working together
on these joint meetings. That benefit is the many new ideas to which each
of the organizations has been exposed. Not just technical ideas, but differences
in the philosophy of how to run a meeting for the maximum benefit of the
membership.
I accepted the
invitation to stand for the office of treasurer of AAPG because I saw
it as an opportunity to get to know geologists from other sections in
AAPG. I want to find out how they conduct themselves in their geologic
communities. I want to know what programs they support and how they get
people involved in doing the work.
Most of all,
I want to find a way to connect the local societies, the regional sections
and the national AAPG office into a more organized system of data exchange
and mutual support. Rick Fritz has the right idea in going digital as
much as possible, and expanding the AAPG Web site. But digital isn't everything.
People are still needed to facilitate the connection between Tulsa and
the outlying areas. I have a few ideas to discuss with the members and
the staff of AAPG over the next year or two. I hope during that time to
bring some new ideas back to the Pacific Section for the benefit of its
members.
Dwight "Clint" Moore
Dwight "Clint"
Moore, a candidate for AAPG treasurer, is a project geologist in business
analysis for Anadarko Petroleum in Houston.
A native of
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Moore earned two bachelor's degrees, in geology
and business administration from Southern Methodist University.
Moore began
his career as a petroleum geologist with Diamond Shamrock in 1978 in its
Gulf of Mexico US Exploration and Development group in Houston. He became
senior staff geologist, and in 1986 became senior business analyst in
Dallas.
In 1987 he joined
Anadarko, becoming geological supervisor in 1995. In 1997 he became the
offshore new ventures supervisor over the eastern Canada offshore group,
and then exploration supervisor in 1998. In 1999, he returned to the offshore
Gulf of Mexico group as project geologist.
Moore joined
AAPG in 1978, and is a Certified Petroleum Geologist. He is a charter
member of the Division of Environmental Geologists and a member of the
Energy Minerals Division.
AAPG activities
include presently serving on the AAPG Advisory Council (1999-2002), as
a delegate in the AAPG House of Delegates (1989-2004), vice-chair of DPA's
Governmental Affairs Committee and as a member of the Committee on Committees
(1994-2002). He was chairman of the AAPG-DPA Governmental Affairs Committee
from 1996-2000, chairman of the HOD's Constitution & Bylaws Committee
from 1999-2000, and was a member of that committee from 1997-2001. He's
a past member of the Education Committee (1995-99), was AAPG's Representative
on AGI's Governmental Affairs Program Committee (1997-2000), and served
on several additional Advisory Council and House of Delegates ad hoc committees.
He received
the HOD's "Distinguished Member of the House" Award in 2001, the DPA's
Distinguished Service Award in 2001 and AAPG Certificates of Merit in
1997 and 1999. He is a past president of the Houston Geological Society,
and was a technical session chairman at AAPG annual meetings in 1995,
1997 and 1999. He also has been on the GCAGS Board of Directors (1994-95).
He's authored
several AAPG-SEPM papers on sub-salt exploration and salt tectonics.
He is a member
of the Houston Geological Society, the New Orleans Geological Society,
the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Geophysical Society of
Houston.
Why I Accepted the Invitation To Be a Candidate For AAPG Office
By DWIGHT "CLINT" MOORE
I decided to become a candidate for AAPG office because I firmly believe that AAPG
needs to do much more in improving and advancing the relationship with
its members. Specifically, AAPG and its leaders should embrace this higher
mission of evolving programs and services so the Association becomes our
"Career Partner for Life." This would launch us into a new era of greater
responsiveness to the needs of our present members, and likely attract
potential new ones. Some organizations once offered this relationship
to their employees, but today that interdependent policy is seldom found.
Members deserve
no less from our professional Association, and our future leaders should
focus more on the issues and solutions that will add greatest value to
AAPG's member services. In my view, AAPG should evolve toward this vision
and embrace it, or risk long-term atrophy or even decline. We should try
to offer career counseling services, employment assistance, a skills registry,
Web site resumé posting and any other service that will allow AAPG to
literally become every member's "Career Partner for Life." If you ever
lose your job, AAPG should "be there for you" with programs and services
that can make a meaningful difference in finding that next career opportunity.
Our Constitution is well stated where it says our purpose is to "advance(s)
the professional well being of its members." If effectively implemented,
most geologists would want to be an AAPG member just for these programs
and services alone. This approach might also help retain some of the 2,000
non-renewing members that we drop each year.
Many members
have spoken to me of their concerns with the way AAPG sometimes interacts
with its membership. We can improve upon our: 1) continuing education
program pricing and formats, 2) convention pricing and services, 3) memoir
and publications pricing and formats, and 4) the insurance program's pricing
and coverages. Just as important, we need to review the publishing criteria
for our AAPG BULLETIN, with the objective of making it more useful to
the professional needs of the average member.
After many years
in various leadership roles within AAPG, I have come to understand the
importance of the treasurer position, and its critical role on the Executive
Committee. The treasurer has key fiscal responsibility, and can have a
definitive role in the direction of the Association. I seek the treasurer
position because it is responsible for "all disbursements of funds" of
AAPG's $10+ million budget, where important new programs and services
need to be funded. My career experience and second collegiate degree in
business-finance with an economics minor, additionally qualify me to analyze
the AAPG financial reports and propose more cost-effective ways to achieve
our mission.
My commitment
is to build a more effective AAPG. We need a strong, well-served AAPG
membership with leadership that optimizes AAPG's value and potential to
each member. I offer you my energy, dedication and firm commitment to
do just that. I seek only to best serve my fellow members, and the goals
and aspirations we all share for this great Association.
Paul Weimer
Paul Weimer, a candidate for AAPG treasurer, is the University of Colorado
Bruce D. Benson Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology, director of the Energy
and Minerals Applied Research Center, associate chair for graduate studies,
and a consulting geologist.
A native of Colorado, Weimer
earned his bachelor's degree in geology at Pomona College, his master's
at the University of Colorado and a doctorate at the University of Texas
at Austin.
Weimer began his career as
an exploration geologist at Sohio Petroleum in San Francisco from 1980-84,
and British Petroleum (merged with Sohio) from 1984-88. He joined Mobil
in 1988 as exploration and research geologist before assuming his present
position at CU in 1990.
He joined AAPG in 1978 and
is a Certified Petroleum Geologist.
AAPG activities include serving
on the Distinguished Lecture Committee from 1991-94, 1996 and 1998 to
present and is presently chairman. He was a Distinguished Lecturer in
1998-99. He also has served on the Membership, Research, Geophysical Integration,
Technical Program and Convention Coordination (two terms) committees.
He also served as AAPG Student Chapter sponsor in 1998. He served as an
associate editor for the BULLETIN from 1997-2000.
The author of over 100 technical
papers, Weimer has conducted and convened AAPG symposia, annual meeting
sessions and short courses. He was awarded the J.C. "Cam" Sproule Best
Paper Award in 1992 and has co-edited eight books, including AAPG Studies
42, Applications of 3-D Seismic Data to Exploration and Production; and
AAPG Memoir 58, Siliciclastic Sequence Stratigraphy -- Recent Developments
and Applications.
He is currently finishing
writing a book for AAPG on petroleum geology of deep-water deposits.
Other professional affiliations
include the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, Houston Geological
Society, New Orleans Geological Society, Geological Society of America,
the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, SEPM and the European Association
of Exploration Geophysicists.
Why I Accepted the Invitation To Be a Candidate For AAPG Office
By PAUL WEIMER
Candidates always say how
fortunate and honored they are to be asked to run for AAPG office. I understand
that emotion; they are quite right!
- Like all professional societies,
AAPG faces many challenges in these rapidly changing times. I see the
main challenges as:
- Making sure that AAPG remains
valuable to members, offering the services members need at the lowest
possible price.
- Making sure that AAPG's
programs mirror the interdisciplinary approaches that are the future
of the petroleum industry.
- Addressing AAPG's membership
decline, which decreases AAPG's revenue and endangers our future as
a vital professional society.
None of these challenges have
simple solutions. Collectively, the Executive Committee must continue
to address these challenges in creative and innovative ways.
I have been honored to serve
AAPG in several technical aspects that are relevant to these challenges.
First, I worked on the technical program committees for several conventions
and conferences during the past 16 years. Second, I have edited two AAPG
books and served as an associate editor for the BULLETIN. Third, I have
served on several strategy-related committees, including an ad hoc committee
in early 1999 to investigate the areas of overlap between different professional
societies. Finally, I am chairing the Distinguished Lecture Committee
from 2000 to 2003 -- one of AAPG's flagship programs for disseminating
state-of-the-art science.
As part of this effort, I
helped initiate two new interdisciplinary distinguished lecture programs
with SEG (1999) and with SPE and SEG (2002).
Throughout these AAPG activities,
my goal as an applied academic and consulting geoscientist is to keep
pace with technical advances. As a professor, I also need to prepare students
for their careers in industry.
If elected as treasurer, I
will use all these experiences to address the challenges we face. Specifically,
I'll work with members and officers to investigate:
- Using technology to disseminate
technical information rapidly. For example, we are placing many of the
figures from AAPG Distinguished Lectures on the Web. This will allow
all members to access the lectures' scientific insights -- even members
who cannot attend the lecture.
- Educating AAPG members about
interdisciplinary approaches to our profession. To do this, we should
continue working with other societies to expand our joint programs,
such as Distinguished Lecture tours. Other areas such as continuing
education, publications, scientific conferences and conventions are
also ripe for cooperative efforts.
- Rebuilding our membership
through recruitment of young geoscientists. This requires coordinated
efforts through many committees. We should focus our membership efforts
not only on AAPG student chapters, but also on young geoscientists who
are already working in companies.
- Increasing the International
membership is also essential to AAPG's future success. AAPG has increasingly
become an international society during the past decade; engaging more
potential international members by providing the services (technical
and business) that they need will encourage their participation.
In conclusion, I am honored
to be asked to run for AAPG treasurer, and will work hard to represent
members' interests. Thank you for the privilege.