Gerald A Cooley Award
HGS is pleased to present Claudia Ludwig its highest honor. As a recipient of this award, Claudia joins a select few HGS volunteers who have served the Society the way Jerry Cooley did, generously donating extensive time and effort to the Society's activities and volunteering for the routine, time-consuming, essential jobs that make the HGS run.
Initiated in 1998, this award can only be given to a member who has received both the HGS Honorary Life Membership and Distinguished Service awards. In the opinion of the HGS Board, there is no one more deserving of admiration and recognition for outstanding service to HGS and its sister societies than Claudia Ludwig. When notified of receiving the Gerald A. Cooley Award, Claudia responded by saying, “The Gerald A. Cooley Award is such an honor. Jerry is the one who invited me join HGS. He was my role model. I followed his footsteps to chair the OTC Arrangements Committee. And to follow him to this award is the ultimate honor. I hope Jerry would have been proud of me.”
Claudia Ludwig’s long record of service to the profession has been previously recognized. In 2004 she received the HGS Honorary Life Membership Award, the HGS Distinguished Service Award in 1994 and the HGS President’s Award in 1989. Since receiving Honorary Life Membership, Claudia has continued to devote time to the Society. She remains HGS’s senior councilor to the Engineering, Science & Technology Council of Houston (ECH) and has volunteered for various HGS activities such as the Geologic Road Rally last fall and the Coastal Subsidence Conference that was held in 2005.
Claudia has been a member of the HGS since 1974. During her 30 years of membership she has donated her time and energy to many committees. From 1977 to 1980, Claudia served on the Field Trip Committee, was chairman of the Advertising Committee from 1981 to 1984, and was a member of the Computer Applications Committee in the 1990s. In 1980, she performed a vital service that was not attached to a committee, that of supporting the ticket desk at all regular HGS meetings. Over time she developed a very efficient system, training other volunteers, treasurers and HGS staff in the role. She has maintained involvement in the Houston Museum of Natural Science/HGS Summer Internship selection process and in the HGS’s awards for the Houston Science Engineering Fair.
Other professional organizations have benefited from Claudia Ludwig’s generous spirit and considerable talents. Claudia has represented AAPG on the OTC/AAPG Program Subcommittee since 1991. As chairman of that subcommittee, she served on the OTC Program Committee in 1994–97. Since 1976 she has volunteered her time on one or more Offshore Technology Conference Conduct Committees, chairing the OTC Proceedings Distribution Committee for three years and serving on the Registration and Arrangement Committees numerous times. While representing AAPG, she has been chairman of the OTC Arrangements Committee several times, including co-chair this year, and she chaired the OTC Student Tours Committee in 2006. An AAPG member since 1974, she was on the Public Relations Committee for the 1979 AAPG Convention, and co-chairman of the Registration Committee for GCAGS in 1982. She also is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Earth & Space Science Department of Lamar University.
Claudia has been an HGS representative to the Engineering, Science & Technology Council of Houston (ECH) since 1981, acting as ECH Treasurer in 1990–91 and ECH President from 2000 to 2001. She conceived and co-authored the proposal for the ECH “Houston in the 21st Century” Seminar Series. She served as President of the Houston Science Engineering Fair in 2002 and 2004.
Claudia graduated from Lamar University in 1966 with a BS in geology and earned an MS from Texas A&M University in geological oceanography in 1971. She began her career while in graduate school, working as a research scientist. She has worked in Houston throughout her career, first as a Staff Geologist for Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline Company (1974–77), then as Exploration Geologist with Worldwide Energy Corporation (1977–1980) and with Phillips Petroleum Company (1980–82). Since 1982, she has worked as an independent geologist generating prospects and has worked on contract to geoscientists and engineers. She is currently also involved in environmental geological consulting. Claudia is a Licensed Professional Geoscientist in Texas (P.G. # 1971).
Claudia relaxes with diverse hobbies. An avid swimmer and SCUBA enthusiast since her university days, she is an underwater amateur photographer. When time and weather permit, Claudia enjoys stargazing as an amateur astronomer. She also enjoys raising orchids in her greenhouse and is a member and past Director of the Houston Orchid Society. As a member of HAL-PC, she is a SIG Leader and a member of the Special Event Team as well as helping in several other SIGs. She has been named HAL-PC Volunteer of the Month four times.
The Houston Geological Society is very fortunate to have members like Claudia Ludwig and is our distinct privilege to recognize her with the Gerald A. Cooley Award.
Honorary Life Membership Award
We honor Bill Osten this year by giving him Honorary Life Membership in our Society. Honorary Life Membership is reserved for very few members and is one of the highest honors the HGS can give to an active volunteer who has demonstrated a deep and sustained commitment to the Society and to the HGS mission.
Bill Osten is recognized in this tribute for his long-term shepherding of the HGS computer database and website, which started in 1995 under the old Computer Applications committee (he was chairman 1997–1999) and continues to the present, 13 years later, with Bill handling the volunteer position of Web Manager. No other person deserves as much credit for the HGS website evolution from its early days in the 1990s to the present. Under Bill’s guidance the HGS website has gained function and value including managing the membership database and adding online event registration, online dues payment and online voting over the last 5 years. The brightest hour for the website was this spring, when Bill approved the new HGS website design after meeting with designers and programmers at Schipul, our website host company. Our HGS office staff, particularly webmaster Lilly Hargrave, depend on Bill’s advice to troubleshoot the HGS website processes and online database used by the HGS-GSH office.
Bill Osten also is chairman of the June Guest Night committee (2006–2008). Each Guest Night has sold out in advance due to Bill’s efforts in advertising and coordinating the speaker, IMAX movie, door prizes, and buffet food and drinks. Memorable past Guest Nights include themes of dinosaurs, deep ocean exploration and space. Bill has also served as HGS Treasurer (2000–2001). He received the Distinguished Service Award in 2002.
Bill began his interest in geology as a freshman at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he developed a love of fossils and fieldwork. He received a BS degree in geology from UT in 1976 and an MS degree in geology from Southern Methodist University in 1978.