The AAPG Foundation has a host of goals and geoscience projects on its agenda for the coming year, eyeing support of projects that are as different as they are ambitious – but in all cases, there’s a common thread.
The Foundation wants 2025 to be the year of impact.
Cue the spotlight, because the AAPG Foundation hopes to raise its profile this year as it increases its presence.
“The Foundation exists to ensure the future of geosciences, and that means doing what we can today to bring excellence to our profession and industry,” said Foundation Chair Jim McGhay. “The future can’t be assumed – the work starts now.”
McGhay noted the Foundation has been able to accomplish much in the past few decades for geosciences, “thanks to the people who continue to support us with their gifts and volunteering,” but often without fanfare.
“This year we have new challenges, but we also have renewed energy and commitment to our goals,” he said.
Those goals? “To have a greater and significant impact on the science, education and outreach regarding the geosciences,” he added, “and especially the energy geosciences.”
That means getting input from members as well as those outside the usual AAPG orbit, McGhay said. That means being creative in approaches and aggressive in telling the story.
“We’re working toward having greater industry and professional recognition,” he said, “and creating a greater impact on the energy geosciences, next-generation education and societal outreach.”
And for that, he added, “we need everyone’s input.”
The AAPG Foundation supports many of AAPG’s popular programs and activities – just a few would include:
- Distinguished Lecture Program
- Grants-in-Aid
- The new Foundation Field Camp Scholarship Program
- K-12 initiatives
- The Imperial Barrel Award and the Sustainable Development in Energy Competition
- The Deana and Paul Strunk Military Veterans Scholarship Program
- Geoscience teachers’ recognition (Teacher of the Year, Inspirational Geoscience Educator Award)
But the Foundation also supports and promotes proposals that come from beyond AAPG operations. For example, the Foundation Trustees recently approved support for:
- Continued support for the Geoscientists Without Borders program, which offers geoscience expertise and leadership for cultural and humanitarian efforts around the world
- K-12 teachers to participate in a Buffalo Bayou Field Trip in the Houston area, proposed by the DEG-Education Committee
- Improvements and digital updates at the Dinosaur Ridge Paleontology Data Preservation Project near Denver
- The GEO-Rex project, which exposes high school students to a geoscience summer camp at the Boone Pickens School of Geology at Oklahoma State University
- Development of the West Texas Geological Society’s 100-Year Anniversary Core Workshop, including the potential for a Permian Basin core repository
“These projects are just some of the ways that we’re trying to make a difference in the world of geosciences,” McGhay said. “And we want to do more, so please, let us know what you’re thinking.”
Research Symposium and Expo
An immediate Foundation impact will be made at the newly named OU Geosciences Student Research Symposium and Expo, which Trustees recently approved with generous financial support.
The newly branded event will be held March 14 at the National Weather Center at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
The event, which is open to all students, will feature:
- Short courses, taught by OU faculty and industry experts
- A poster contest, with cash prizes available for the best research presentations
- Networking with potential employers
AAPG also will have a booth at the Expo, promoting AAPG student programs and ways the Foundation can help geoscience students.
“This will be a great opportunity to let the next generation of geoscientists know that AAPG and the Foundation are there to help, both financially and by providing access to professional geoscience excellence,” McGhay said.
“It’s also a great way for us to hear and learn from these talented students,” he added. “I’m sure they have a lot of good ideas and perspectives to share.”
Registration and additional information are online at ou.edu/mcee/geosciences/explore/student-research-symposium-and-expo.