New faces, new topics, continuation of a new program and new energy.
That’s the word about this year’s AAPG Distinguished Lecture program, the Association’s flagship initiative for spreading the latest in science, technology and professional information.
This year’s DL program, funded in part by the AAPG Foundation, will offer 14 lecturers – nine domestic and five international. It is the largest slate of speakers in the program’s history.
And in addition to those tours, AAPG this year offers an expanded Distinguished Instructor slate, featuring two instructors – one domestic and one international.
It’s all part of a concentrated effort to make information and expertise available to as many geoscience groups as possible, around the world.
AAPG’s DL program was developed to expose students, young geologists, college faculty members and members of geological societies to current information, research and thinking.
Last season’s domestic speakers appeared at 60 universities and societies, reaching about 3,200 people. The international speakers made 44 stops in the Middle East, eastern/central Asia and Asia/Pacific, reaching about 1,850 people.
This year’s program offers speakers from both industry and academia, with topics that range from timely subjects like geologic-based evidence of climate change, to Canadian oil sands, to fractured reservoir characterization.
Among the new topics this year: Hippos in London and “craquelure in masterpieces of the Louvre.” Really.
Something familiar about this year’s lineup is the continuation of the intersociety lecturer effort – a cooperative program that presents an opportunity for cross-discipline lectures.