IT’S TIME TO EXPLORE IN OUR HOUSTON AREA
By Penny Patterson
March has arrived in Houston, Texas, with mostly warm, pleasant temperatures prevailing and a few Arctic cold blasts reminding us of winter’s lingering presence. This is the perfect time to plan activities to get outside and explore the many scientific wonders that Houston and our south Texas coast area have to offer.
Springtime Geoscience Activities
Numerous outdoor activities are occurring this spring that are particularly interesting to our young scientists. HGS’s Educational Outreach Committee has several events lined up for this month. On March 1, 2025, the 21st Annual Nature Fest will be held at Jesse Jones Nature Center. At this event, HGS will host two booths that introduce concepts of river deposits, which can be observed at the park, and also present concepts on flooding events that impact our area. On March 5, 2025, the HISD school system is hosting a Geoscience Challenge entitled “Current and Future Water Usage in our Community: A Tale of Two Sources – Surface versus Groundwater”. This challenge is for high school students working virtually in teams of 3 to 4 members. HGS volunteers will assist with this event, providing information and insights on the challenges Houston and many cities face in our need for potable water. On March 10 - 14, 2025, EOG Resources will organize the “Success Skill Center” Event at Discovery Green Park, Houston Texas. HGS will have tents at this event, which will help with learning about careers in energy and present training on leadership and communication skills. For details of these events, please get in touch with Educational Outreach Committee Chair Phil Caggiano.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is a must-visit museum for rainy-day activities. There are several awe-inspiring exhibits, including the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, which is my favorite; the Moran Paleontology Hall, which is truly impressive; and the newly renovated Weiss Energy Hall, which is a “must-see” exhibit for all Houston geoscientists. HGS Co-Chairs for HMNS, Inda Immega, and Janet Combes, can help you with additional information.
Interested in venturing outside the city? There are numerous options available to explore our geological wonders. On March 2, 2025, AAPG is hosting a “Galveston Field Trip” led by Erik Scott. The field trip will examine Texas coastal processes along the Brazos River and Galveston Island. Another fun and informative adventure is seeing Texas’ dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Part in Glen Rose, Texas. Additional dinosaur tracks can be observed at the Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country in Canyon Lake and Government Canyon State Natural Area.
Upcoming Technical Events
On March 10, 2025 Dr. Kevin Bohacs, Chief Scientist, at KMBohacs GEOconsulting LLC, will present his work with the Mars Scientific Laboratory (MSL) at HGS’s Dinner Meeting in the Norris Conference Center. The title of Dr. Bohacs’ talk is “The path to Gale and Jezero craters—the role of terrestrial fieldwork in selecting landing sites on Mars and interpreting the resulting observations.” Dr. Bohacs has been working with MSL for several years, and his and his colleagues' research is exciting and extraterrestrial!
On March 11-13, 2025, the Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Conference hosted by AAPG, SPE, and SEG will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas. The conference is now in its fourth year and continues to highlight innovative technologies and research advancements in CCUS projects.
On April 6 – 8, 2025, the GeoGulf2025 Conference will be held in Nacogdoches, Texas. This year’s conference will cover a wide range of topics, including Regional Gulf Coast Geological Studies and Facies Analyses, Critical Mineral Explorations, CCUS, Water Resources and Environmental Geology, and Unconventional Plays.
Please visit the HGS website for more information on these and additional upcoming events.
HGS February Events
February was a stellar month for HGS for recognizing and supporting our geoscience students on their academic excellence. On February 10, 2025, HGS hosted Scholarship Night, which Fang Lin and Allison Barbato co-chaired. The highlight of Scholarship Night was the presentation of Calvert Fund scholarship awards to 17 graduate students and the presentation of HGS Undergraduate Fund awards to five undergraduate students. HGS received a record $56,185 in scholarship contributions in support of both these scholarship funds. HGS sincerely thanks everyone for their contributions. In addition, HGS extends sincere thanks to the event co-chairs, as well as Jeff Lund, Chair of the Calvert Fund Committee, and Joe Lynch, Chair of the HGS Undergraduate Fund.
On February 15, 2025, the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) was held at the EpiCenter, Rosenberg, Texas. Dorene West, HGS Chair for SEFH, deftly organized ten HGS volunteers to judge earth and environmental science projects completed by elementary and high school students. The HGS judges awarded first, second, and honorable mention certificates to students in these two grade levels from the many thorough and well-thought-out science projects. In addition, three students were awarded summer internships at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. HGS sincerely thanks Dorene West for making this such a successful event for HGS and our Houston area students.
HGS Board Nominations
The HGS Nominations Committee has assembled an outstanding slate of candidates for the 2025 – 2026 HGS fiscal year. The candidates are currently working diligently on their brief biographies and statements of interest in serving on HGS’s board, both documents of which will be published in the April issue of the HGS Bulletin. Voting will begin on April 10, 2025 and extend through midnight May 10, 2025. I encourage everyone to meet our candidates at upcoming HGS events.
I close my letter with a quote from Henry David Thoreau: “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” I encourage everyone to take “a walk in the woods” this spring to explore and grow “taller” in your understanding of our geoscience wonders in Houston and the south Texas area.
I look forward to seeing you out exploring this spring!
Penny E. Patterson