Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010

So many ridiculous things in the world today.


Click image above for full article.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Come One, Come All BGS Alums

The next alumni advisory board meeting is to be held Friday, October 22 in conjunction with Homecoming. To be a member of the board and attend the meeting, all you have to do is Show Up!

Here's a brief meeting agenda:

12:00 noon to 1 pm - Catered lunch with Interim Chair (Dr. Stacy Atchley), Graduate Program Director (Atchley?), and Office Manager (?), 4th floor E-wing clock tower.

1 to 2:30 pm - Business Meeting (D409 conference room)
Will include talk by Eric Abercrombie about undergraduate scholarship funding, by one of the PhD students, Aislyn Trendell, addressing current research, plus maybe more.

2:30 to 3 pm - Refreshments in conjunction with Geo 5050 seminar (4th floor E-wing clock tower)

3 to 4:30 pm - Geo 5050 seminar presentation by Dr. Jim Gardner, University of Texas, Austin (lecture room E231)
No clue on seminar presentation topic but I'm sure that it WILL be interesting!

4:30 to 7pm - Free time
Whoop!

7 to 9 pm - Homecoming open house (4th floor elevator lobby and clock tower)

More details if/when they come in . . .

The Lampasas Cutplain and Beyond

Here are a few photos from a super BGS-led fieldtrip held 10/09/10.

- Weather
Afternoon could have been a little cooler (must speak with the weather satellite guy) but otherwise, just fine.

- Company Present
Wish the alumni and a few more professors had shown up but the ones who did made up for the absentees.

- Info Presentation
Impressive. The slideshow contains photos of the first two stops only.
Stop 1 - Lampasas Cut Plain: previous research and future directions, presented by Gary Stinchcomb, past Head Clod
Stop 2 - Red Bluff: stratigraphy and paleo-fluvial-environment of the Red Bluff section along Owl Creek, Ft. Hood, presented by Holly Meier
Stop 3 - Waco Mammoth Site, thought to be the largest single-herd, non-human related mammoth death site in the World - if you haven't been there, you should go.
Stop 4 - Floodplain Geomorphology and Soils at Williams Creek - a Story of Late Holocene Fluvial Dynamics, presented by Aislyn Trendell, Hallie Mintz, Jason Mintz, Gary Stinchcomb and Tyler Landers (kind of a multidisciplinary group thing at the end)

If you have more photos to add to the slideshow, please let me know, Mr. Bain.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Global Warming, Indeed!

Well, today I should be going down to Baylor for an alumni meeting but, the way it looks right now (see below), the only places I will be going are places to which I can travel on my own two feet. Maybe some/most of it will melt away by this afternoon; it's a little drippy outside even now.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Updated Weekend Itinerary from Dr. Driese

Dear GEO Advisory Board, Geofaculty, Staff and Colleagues:

As you have already heard from Head Clod Gary Stinchcomb, students from the BGS did a dry run of the Field Trip and determined that 2 of the 4 planned stops will not be accessible due to excessive rain (and more rain, sleet and snow are forecast this week), and so the BGS field trip is postponed, with a possible rescheduling in the fall of this year. In spite of this setback we are proceeding with other planned activities, including the BGS Student Symposium from 2:00-4:00 PM Friday, February 12th and the Spaghetti Supper from 6:00-8:00 PM on Saturday, February 13th at the Faculty Center. PLEASE TRY TO SUPPORT THE BGS BY ATTENDING THESE EVENTS!

Thanks,

Steve Driese
Geology Advisory Board Meeting Agenda – Friday, February 12, 2010
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM (Reservations required: Atchley cell: 254-644-9741)

NOTE NEW LOCATION: Gratziano’s Restaurant, 217 Mary Street, Waco, TX (254-752-8789) WE HAVE A BACK ROOM RESERVED THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE UP TO 20 PEOPLE (no alcohol please on Baylor University tab!; attendees should all contribute to defray cost of this meal)

AGENDA:

Board Introductions and Presiding Officer: Robert Springer, Board Chair

1) Dr. Stacy Atchley, Associate Chair: Brief update on Department happenings. (Mention Faculty searches, new faculty and staff hires, new labs constructed and under construction, completion of Carlile Sculpture garden).

2) Golf Tournament: Keep going or redirect efforts elsewhere?

3) Geology Resource Endowment Fund: Possible recommended Board fund-raising actions?

4) Baylor Alumni Event at AAPG Meeting in New Orleans: Need for additional $800 to $1000 for sponsorship of food and cash bar

5) GEO Advisory Board Mentoring program: Status: BGS has several Board mentors visiting this spring?

6) Filling 2 Advisory Board Officer Positions: Vice-Chair, Secretary?

7) Eric Abercrombie: Status of Geology Department’s Endowments networking contacts to have postive impact on Baylor Geology programs. (mention role of BU development office in helping Department achieve its goals, your desire to meet with alumni such as ExxonMobil, other companies, seeking 4-6 contacts from each Board member)

Confirmed attending dinner: Dr. Stacy Atchley, Eric Abercrombie, Tom Moore, Jim Bain, Robert Springer, Ed Jakubowski, Josh Talbert, Dr. David Cleveland, Art Beall, Art and Sure Lynn Bishop (11 total)

Baylor Geological Society
2010 Alumni Weekend
Revised Master Itinerary (02-08-2010)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY, February 12, 2010

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Baylor Geological Society Research Symposium
BSB- Room D.110

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Advisory Board Dinner with Geology Department Associate Chair Dr. Stacy Atchley (reservations required)
Gratziano’s Restaurant, 217 Mary Street - Waco, TX

SATURDAY, February 13, 2010

7:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Field trip to central Texas, TX. (CANCELLED DUE TO POOR WEATHER)

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM – Spaghetti Supper and Awards Banquet - University Faculty Center

Monday, February 8, 2010

Field Trip Postponed . . . What a Drag

Yesterday afternoon, I received this note in my inbox from Baylor. Pretty self-explanatory.

"Speaking on behalf of the BGS, we have decided to postpone the upcoming Saturday field trip. The rescheduled field trip date has not been determined.

The current weather and forecast conditions for Temple and Waco TX are not conducive to driving on dirt two-tracks (we got the van stuck on our field trip dry-run) and the current state of Williams Creek (currently 6-8 ft above channel bottom) will not permit viewing of the soil-sediment trenches. Given these conditions, two of our stops (Owl Creek and Williams Creek) would be difficult to access. If we were to visit these sites in their current state, the field trip WOULD NOT reflect the considerable amount of effort and hard work that has gone into the field trip guide.... If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!

On the bright side, the BGS research symposium and spaghetti supper will run as scheduled! Also, we plan to post the field trip guide in PDF format on our website and we would be happy to discuss the research with all of you.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you are still planning to visit the Waco area early Saturday, I encourage you to visit the Waco Mammoth site and check out the Mayborn Museum. Otherwise, I will keep you posted on potential field trip dates for the future.

-Head CLOD

Gary Stinchcomb
Baylor University
Department of Geology"

But, on the other hand, go Saints!