^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AWG E-MAIL NEWS 2002-15 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS: 1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 5-8-02 2) WASHINGTON WIRE - May 15, 2002 3) NSF PRESS RELEASE - MAY 8, 2002 Tanya Atwater Receives NSF Director's Award 4) AAAS ANNOUNCES THE SECOND ROUND OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2002- 2003 WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE COLLABORATION (WISC) PROGRAM 5) ONE OF OUR HONORARY MEMBERS HAS PASSED ON 6) POSITION OPENINGS Regional Geologist, USGS Western Region Assistant Professor, Boise State University Tenure Track Faculty Position - Environmental Geology, New Mexico Highlands University 7) CONTACT INFORMATION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of E-mail News ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 5-8-02 *** Senate Passes Energy Bill, Conference Is Next Stop *** IN A NUTSHELL: On April 25th, the Senate voted 88-11 on its version of comprehensive energy legislation (H.R. 4), paving the way for a House-Senate conference to work out a final bill. The large number of supporting votes reflected a desire by both the Senate leadership and the White House to complete action. The administration and congressional Republicans hope to use the conference to restore key provisions found in the House version of H.R. 4, passed last August. The Senate named its conferees on May 1st, and House conferees are expected to be named soon. The conference is likely to last well into the summer and perhaps beyond. This update provides a snapshot of the treatment of various geoscience- related issues in the Senate- and House-passed bills. Unlike the House version of H.R. 4, the Senate version does not include a provision opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Instead, the bill calls for opening a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope of Alaska to the state's southern coast. The Senate bill contains $15 billion worth of tax incentives for energy efficiency and increased domestic energy production, heavily weighted toward renewable energy sources. The House version includes $33 billion in tax breaks with a greater emphasis on incentives to increase production from more traditional energy sources. ********************** Efforts to overhaul the nation's energy policy took a major step forward on April 25th with Senate passage of its version of a comprehensive energy bill. The current round of energy policymaking began early in the Bush administration with the release of Vice President Dick Cheney's task force report. Although most of the more than 100 recommendations in the president's National Energy Policy (http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/) could be carried out by executive orders and federal agency actions, the most far-reaching recommendations required congressional action. Last August, the Republican- controlled House passed the Securing America's Future Energy Act of 2001 (H.R. 4) by a 240-189 vote. The bill was introduced by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but in its final form was an amalgamation of four separate bills that passed through as many committees. The House-passed H.R. 4 reflects many of the recommendations of the Cheney report. Republican efforts to push the president's policies through the Senate had been derailed three months earlier when Democrats took control of that chamber. Although a number of different bills were put forward last year, Senate debate over energy legislation did not progress much past committee hearings. In late December, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) unveiled their plan (S. 1766), but action did not begin in earnest until this February. In order to expedite debate and avoid a contentious fight in committee, Daschle took the unusual step of moving S. 1766 directly to the Senate floor by inserting it as an amendment to S. 517, a small bill that was already pending on the floor. Thus S. 517, which started life as a $30 million authorization of a national laboratory partnership program, becomes the vehicle for the massive, 997- page energy bill. Several hundred amendments were proposed before debate even began. Beginning in the middle of February, with only a brief hiatus to consider the campaign finance reform legislation, the Senate spent nearly two months debating S. 517 and its many amendments. The final step was to insert the heavily amended and revised S. 517 as a substitute into the House energy bill, H.R. 4, which has been renamed the Energy Policy Act of 2002. The final vote tally was 88-11, but that landslide does not reflect broad consensus so much as it does a widely shared desire to move to a House-Senate conference. In particular, the support of Senate Republicans reflected their hope to use conference to restore many of the provisions that appear in the House version but not the Senate version. Despite the shared bill number, there are more differences than similarities between the House and Senate energy bills. In many ways, the two bills represent two separate approaches to energy policy. The House version relies heavily on tax-based incentives and other programs focused on boosting domestic production of both traditional and alternative energy sources. Although the Senate bill also contains some production incentives, it is more heavily weighted toward programs aimed at reducing the consumption side of the energy equation. Below is a general overview of the two bills with direct comparison for a few of the key issues of interest to the geosciences. The complete text of both versions is available online from the Library of Congress at http://thomas.loc.gov (type in "h.r.4" in Search box). Additional information from AGI on energy policy in available at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis.html#energy. *** Arctic National Wildlife Refuge *** More ink has been spilled over the issue of opening the coastal plain of ANWR to oil exploration than on any other aspect of this legislation... In an effort to soften opposition to this key pillar of the president's energy strategy, the Cheney report proposed using lease bonuses to fund alternative energy research. The initial version of the House bill included that proposal in its provision to open 1.5 million acres (the so- called 1002 Area) to exploration. During floor debate, Rep. John Sununu (R-NH) introduced two amendments related to ANWR. The first amendment required that royalties derived from resources in the refuge go to either the Renewable Energy Technology Investment Fund or the Royalties Conservation Fund; it passed in a 241-186 vote. The second set a limit of 2,000 (noncontiguous) acres for the surface area covered by exploration and production operations in ANWR; it passed in a near party-line vote of 228- 201 on the last day of debate. Opening ANWR for exploration was not part of S. 1766, the Senate Democratic leadership's bill, but Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) -- the lead proponent for opening ANWR -- proposed an amendment (S. Amdt. 3132) that followed the House-passed provision, including the 2,000 acre limit. Although the actual floor debate on that amendment was short, the issue loomed over much of the energy policy debate with filibuster threats emanating from both sides. In a procedure used to test the senatorial waters on an issue where filibusters are threatened, the amendment was put to a cloture vote on April 18th, which is a decision to limit debate and move forward with a vote on the measure itself. Murkowski's proposal lost in a 46-54 vote, meaning that the amendment failed to obtain even a simple majority, let alone the supermajority of 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Murkowski pulled the amendment, but the topic will remain high on the list of issues for the House-Senate Conference Committee (see below). In place of ANWR, the Senate bill would lay the groundwork for a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope south through Alaska, expediting pipeline approval and offering an 80% loan guarantee. The House bill also mandates the so-called "southern route," but that is all. The Senate bill also would provide additional funding for pipeline research and safety. *** CAFE Standards *** Months before the House passed it version of the energy bill, the National Research Council (NRC) released a report reviewing the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. Although the NAS report did not make a specific recommendation on what the CAFE standard should be, it did suggest that the nation could see notable fuel savings within the next decade through available technology. The House bill would require a modest improvement in CAFE standards and would preserve the current two-tier system for passenger cars and light trucks. H.R. 4 would also require the Department of Transportation to contract another NAS study to look at the feasibility of improving CAFE standards significantly by model year 2010. The Senate version, despite many amendments and heated debate, does not contain specific language on improving the CAFE standard. Instead, the Senate would require the Department of Transportation to study the issue and propose new standards by 2004. *** Domestic Energy Production Incentives *** The tax incentives in the House bill total more than twice the Senate proposal, but both versions would provide credits for domestic oil and gas producers, particularly for energy produced from marginal wells. Both bills provide tax credits of $3 per barrel for crude oil production and $0.50 per 1,000 cubic feet for natural gas production from marginal wells during periods of low prices. Also included in both bills is a provision that would allow geological and geophysical expenditures to be taken as tax deductions. These tax breaks total $3.2 billion in the Senate bill and only $1.1 billion in the House bill. The House bill extends tax credits on existing coalbed methane wells while the Senate bill also includes future wells and requests that the National Academy of Sciences study the effects of coalbed methane development on water resources. The Senate bill would provide a total of $15 billion over ten years and reduces the tax credits for conventional fuel production in favor of alternative energy production. According to a Congressional Research Service report on energy tax policy, the Senate bill "is evenly balanced with about half of the tax cuts accruing to fossil fuel and production and nuclear power, and the other half accruing to energy efficiency and alternative (and renewable) fuels." The House version contains a sizable section on offshore oil and gas production, including a review of lease sales and resources in the Gulf of Mexico and deep-water royalty relief. Both bills would require review of federal leasing review, and royalty programs -- often cited as a barrier to domestic energy production -- with the House version containing more detailed provisions. The House bill would allow oil refiners to expense capital costs and credits for making low-sulfur diesel fuel. The House bill calls for expanding royalty-in-kind programs, while the Senate bill would use royalty-in-kind to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Both House and Senate bills include a number of tax incentives for energy produced using clean coal technology, a prime project for the Bush administration. The credits total $1.9 billion in the Senate bill and $3.3 billion in the House bill. In addition to these credits, the House bill contains authorization language for the Department of Energy to establish a clean coal power initiative - - authorized at $200 million annually until 2011. Among renewable and alternative energy resources, geothermal energy production would receive royalty reduction and relief in the House bill. The Senate bill authorizes research to reduce drilling costs and enhance exploration for geothermal resources. The House bill includes a number of provisions relating to enhanced energy production on federal lands, a topic not covered in the Senate bill. The House version directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy, to assess energy production potential on federal lands; directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to "identify means by which unnecessary impediments to the expeditious exploration and production of oil and natural gas on [federal] lands can be removed"; directs federal land management agencies to justify their regulations that differ from state laws; and allows the Secretary of the Interior to develop roadless areas. *** Research and Development *** House language sets out priority areas for research for renewable and alternative energy sources. In the opening section of the research provision, the bill states that "federal funding should focus on those programs, projects, and activities that are long-term, high-risk, noncommercial, and well-managed, and that provide the potential for scientific and technological advances." The fossil energy section highlights primarily downstream technologies, including extraction technology for methane hydrates. Filling in an aspect missing from the House bill, the Senate version contains a title to enhance energy science and technology programs, outlining specific goals for each renewable/alternative energy and fossil fuel resource. The Senate bill would authorize close to $2.1 billion over four years for fossil energy research. Also included in the Senate version is support for fundamental energy science research, which would be authorized at close to $17.5 billion for four years. The House bill also supports widespread research funding for energy use and production. It also contains a subsection on a program to develop hydrogen as an alternative energy source. The National Energy Technology Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey are to work on technology for ultra-deepwater and unconventional drilling techniques that would also include environmental mitigation aspects *** Environmental Policy *** Reflecting the considerable environmental implications of energy use, the House bill incorporated a number of environmental provisions. For years, the Clean Air Act and energy have been connected by the reformulated gasoline requirements, which then leads into the Clean Water Act as MTBE, one of the most widely used fuel additives, has been found to contaminate water supplies around the nation. Regional regulations on reformulated gasoline (RFG) have ballooned into a series of "boutique" fuels. One provision in the House bill would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to report on how these boutique fuels affect a comprehensive energy policy. On the issue of MTBE, the House bill would require studies on the dangers of the additive. The Senate version would ban the fuel additive MTBE in favor of ethanol. Similar to the House bill, the Senate version merges environmental and energy policy. Four titles of the bill deal specifically with integrating energy with climate change policy, a topic largely absent from the House bill. One section focuses on general climate change policy, another on a greenhouse gas database, another on climate-focused energy research and development programs, and another on climate change and technology. There is also a section specifically calling for a NOAA program of research into abrupt climate change, focusing on paleoclimate studies. The greenhouse gas database would be an inventory, reductions registry, and information system housed at the Environmental Protection Agency to provide information that the public and private sectors can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill calls for the establishment of a White House Office of Climate Policy specifically tasked with developing a strategy to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the provisions are similar to ones proposed in S. 1716, a climate change bill introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in November 2001. *** House/Senate Conference *** Now comes the hard part, taking two bills with different provisions and crafting a compromise that can satisfy a majority of House members, a filibuster-proof supermajority of 60 senators, and the president. Republican conferees are expected to work closely with the White House to ensure that the compromise is acceptable to President Bush, lest the final bill face a veto threat. The Senate announced its members of the House-Senate Conference Committee on May 1st, selecting senior members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, both of which had jurisdiction over various aspects of the legislation. Conferees include Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Jeff Bingaman (D- NM), John Breaux (D-LA), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Larry Craig (R- ID), Pete Domenici (R- NM), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ernest Hollings (D-SC), Jim Jeffords (I- VT), John Kerry (D-MA), Trent Lott (R-MS), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Don Nickles (R-OK), Harry Reid (D- NV), John Rockefeller (D- WV), and Craig Thomas (R-WY). This lineup of eight Democrats, eight Republicans, and one Independent (Jeffords) will favor the Senate majority on most matters but not on ANWR -- Sen. John Breaux supports drilling as do all the Republicans. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is expected to announce House members in the coming month, but no specific date has been set. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will serve as chairman of the conference committee. If negotiations drag on through the summer into fall, compromise will become increasingly difficult as the mid-term elections gear up. It remains to be seen whether the Energy Policy Act of 2002 will become law or just the starting point for a future Congress. ____________ Update prepared by Margaret A. Baker and David Applegate, AGI Government Affairs Program Sources: E&E News, National Library for the Environment, Library of Congress, and Washington Post. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 2) WASHINGTON WIRE - MAY 15, 2002 The latest edition of the Washington Wire has been posted at . The topics for this wire are: International Perspective * Bahrain Women Candidates Fail in Landmark Poll * Indonesia's Matriarchal Minangkabau Offer an Alternative Social System Government *Congressional Efforts to Increase Funding for Science Education Program *National Science Foundation Will Seek to Increase Size and Duration of Grants *Science Committee Poised to Pass NSF "Doubling Bill" Health *Minority Women are Less Obsessed with Size and Less Likely to Develop Bulimia *Risk Tripled for Breast Cancer Twins *FDA Clears New Breast Cancer Radiation Device *Breast-Feeding, Intelligence Linked Education and the Workplace *Bush Administrations Support of Single Sex Schools Draws Criticism *New Rules for Foreign Students *Citadel Graduates First Black Female Cadets *Agriculture Department Draws Criticism for Decision to Stop Hiring Foreign Scientists Announcements *Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Internship Program *Collaborative Research Experience for Women (CREW) call for proposals *President Bush Announces National Medalists in Science and Technology *New Web Resource for Female Engineers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3) NSF PRESS RELEASE - MAY 8, 2002 Tanya Atwater Receives NSF Director's Award NSF Director's Awards Recognize Connection Between Research and Teaching Six faculty members receive $300,000 each to expand their work Six university faculty members who have found significant ways to connect research with teaching will receive this year's National Science Foundation (NSF) Director's Awards for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS) for imaginative teaching applications in such areas as multimedia visualization, online resources for the study of fractal geometry, and spectroscopy and photochemistry to teach chemistry. Recognized for their outstanding contributions to research and for using their knowledge to contribute to the enhanced education of undergraduates, the scholars will receive the award at a ceremony June 19 at the National Academy of Science in Washington, D.C. Each will receive $300,000 over four years to continue and expand their work beyond their institutions. This year's recipients are: Tanya Atwater, Professor of Tectonics in the Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara Robert L. Devaney, Professor of Mathematics, Boston University Christopher D. Impey, University Distinguished Professor at the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona Richard McCray, George Gamow Distinguished Professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder H. Vincent Poor, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University Nicholas J. Turro, William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Columbia University The DTS awards were established last year by NSF Director Rita Colwell. The awards are part of NSF's efforts to promote an interest among academics for both disciplinary scholarship and for the education of undergraduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education -- including students not majoring in those fields. "These faculty members have all used imagination to create projects that provide new insights for their students," said Judith Ramaley, NSF's assistant director for education and human resources." "The contributions of these six remarkable individuals set a standard and provide models when we look for examples of outstanding teaching," she added. "Not only do these faculty members help their students learn new skills and ideas, but they also demonstrate the integration of research and education through their practice and inspire their students to conduct scholarship at the highest level." -NSF- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4) AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE (AAAS) ANNOUNCES THE SECOND ROUND OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2002-2003 WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE COLLABORATION (WISC) PROGRAM. Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), this program aims to increase the participation of women in international scientific research through travel awards to locations around the world. The awards are to foster new research partnerships between U.S. scientists and colleagues in other countries. Applicants must be female, have a female co-principal investigator, or propose a partnership with a female researcher in another country. Potential applicants should review the program guidelines (see URL below) or consult a AAAS administrator for details. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent research experience. Graduate students (Ph.D. candidates) are also eligible, if they will be conducting research in an established Ph.D. program in the U.S. For further information on fields eligible for funding, please visit the NSF website at http://www.nsf.gov or contact one of the AAAS administrators listed below. The next application deadline is July 15, 2002. For further application information and region-specific guidelines, please visit http://www.aaas.org/international/wiscnew.shtml or contact the appropriate AAAS administrator: Central and Eastern Europe, Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union: Karen Grill, kgrill@aaas.org, (202) 326-7027 East Asia and Pacific: Suteera Nagavajara, snagavaj@aaas.org, (202) 326-6496 Africa, Middle East, Near East, and South Asia: Alan Bornbusch, abornbus@aaas.org, (202) 326-6651 Americas and Caribbean: Marina Ratchford, mratchfo@aaas.org, (202) 326-6490 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 5) ONE OF OUR HONORARY MEMBERS HAS PASSED ON Monday, May 20, 2002 Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, who unlocked the mysteries of evolution for millions of readers with essays on the panda's extra thumb and helped bring natural history museums to popular audiences, died Monday at his home in New York after a long battle with cancer. Gould, a Harvard professor best known for modifying Charles Darwin's theories, died at 10:35 a.m., a spokeswoman at his Harvard office said. He was 60. "Most of us just appreciated that in Steve we had someone who put this very positive public face on paleontology, who was able to reach an audience that most of us would never reach and not nearly so effectively," said Andrew Knoll, a colleague of Gould's at Harvard University for 20 years. "He really was paleontology's public intellectual." Gould became one of America's most recognizable scientists, not only for his voluminous and accessible writings, but for his participation in public debates with creation scientists and even his disagreements with other evolutionary theorists. Gould championed the teaching evolutionary science in school curricula, arguing that it not be challenged by creation science, whose advocates made Gould an enemy. But he also engaged in vigorous disputes with his fellow evolutionary theorists, particularly for his theory of "punctuated equilibria." Gould argued that evolution occurred in relatively rapid spurts of species differentiation rather than via gradual, continuous transformations. He believed short-term contingencies could play as important a role as irresistible evolutionary pressure. Some of Gould's best-known works are "Ever Since Darwin," "The Panda's Thumb," which won an American Book Award in 1981, and "The Mismeasure of Man," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for 1982. A Harvard professor since age 26, he wrote chatty, educational essays using unusual details such as the flamingo's smile or the panda's extra thumb to introduce readers to more general themes in an exciting way. In "The Panda's Thumb," discussing a type of mite, he wrote: "Fifteen eggs, including but a single male, develop within the mother's body. The male emerges within his mother's shell, copulates with all his sisters and dies before birth. "It may not sound like much of a life, but the male Acarophenax does as much for its evolutionary continuity as Abraham did in fathering children into his 10th decade." Technically his field was fossils but Gould taught geology, biology, zoology and the history of science, and wrote about everything from chocolate bars to baseball to Bahamian land snails -- on which he was probably the world's foremost expert. "Science is not a heartless pursuit of objective information," Gould wrote in his 1977 book "Ever Since Darwin." "It is a creative human activity, its geniuses acting more as artists than as information processors." In July 1981, when he was 40, Gould learned he had abdominal mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer that is usually associated with exposure to asbestos. Gould researched the disease and wrote in an article in Discover magazine in June 1985: "The literature couldn't have been more brutally clear. Mesothelioma is incurable, with a median mortality of only eight months after discovery." He went on to say that "most people, without training in statistics, would read such a statement as, 'I will probably be dead in eight months.'" But he added, "all evolutionary biologists know that variation itself is nature's only irreducible essence. ... I had to place myself amidst the variation." During his illness, Gould has continued to write and teach while undergoing experimental treatment for the disease. Born on Sept. 10, 1941, in New York, Gould remembers his first sight, at age 5, of a 20-foot high reconstructed dinosaur in New York's American Museum of Natural History. "As we stood in front of the beast," he recalled, "a man sneezed; I gulped and prepared to utter my Shema Yisrael. But the great animal stood immobile in all its bony grandeur and as we left, I announced that I would be a paleontologist when I grew up." He received his bachelor's degree from Antioch College in 1963 and a doctorate from Columbia University. For his doctoral dissertation, Gould investigated the fossil land snails of Bermuda. Gould also did work toward his doctorate at the American Museum of Natural History. Survivors include his second wife, Rhonda Roland Shearer, with whom he had no children. He had two sons with his previous wife. CBS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6) POSITION OPENINGS Regional Geologist, Western Region, ES-1301 Menlo Park, CA or Tucson, AZ Senior Executive Service (SES) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is seeking candidates for the full-time position of Regional Geologist, Western Region. Applicants should possess significant managerial experience. This is a career civil service position, in the SES, with a salary range that begins at $134,515 for Menlo Park, California and $122,763 for Tucson, Arizona per annum. The incumbent serves as a member of the Western Region Executive Leadership Team (WRELT) and is responsible for the planning, development, management, and implementation of regional-level integrated and interdisciplinary natural science and information programs. In addition, the Regional Geologist provides scientific leadership, management, and direction to the Regional Office and Geologic Program Teams located throughout the Western Region and works in consultation with the Associate Director for Geology on discipline scientific and bureau program planning activities. The Regional Geologist operates under the line supervision of the Regional Director. The Geologic Hazards, Resources, and Processes Programs of the USGS provide objective, relevant, and reliable earth-science information on geologic hazards, energy and mineral resources, geologic framework, and coastal and marine processes of the United States, its continental shelves, territories and possessions, and of many foreign areas. Under these programs, the USGS conducts geological, geophysical, and geochemical surveys, research, and investigations. The bureau cooperates in global geophysical monitoring and foreign disaster response and operates earthquake, landslide, crustal deformation, volcano, geomagnetic, marine, erosion, and climatological monitoring networks and arrays to understand, analyze, and model key geologic processes. The USGS collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on domestic and international mineral and energy resources, conducts geologic mapping to establish the composition, structure, and geologic history of sediment and rocks at and beneath the earth's surface, and prepares scientific papers, reports, and maps to document the results of these investigations. Individuals interested in this position should contact the Human Resources Office at (703) 648-6131 to receive a complete vacancy announcement, which describes job requirements, an application, and evaluation procedures. Applications, OF612, or resume must be received at the following address no later than 06/14/02, and should reference announcement SES-02-03. U.S. Geological Survey, Human Resources Office, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS601, Reston, Virginia 20192 The U.S. Geological Survey is an Equal Opportunity Employer U.S. Citizenship is required *************** Assistant Professor at Boise State University 1- to 2-Year Position Teaching Introductory Geology The Geosciences Department at Boise State University invites applications for a full time, non-tenure track, assistant professor position beginning fall semester, 2002. This is a 9-month position with the opportunity for a summer teaching contract and the expectation of renewal for a second year. Responsibilities will include teaching the core introductory geology courses, training and supervising teaching assistants for the freshman-level labs, and developing a new introductory-level course in environmental geology or Earth systems. Experience with web-based instruction is desirable. A Ph.D. is required, and the successful applicant must have a broad knowledge of the Earth sciences and must be able to demonstrate excellent teaching skills. The salary level will depend on experience and qualifications. Boise State University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity employer, women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants may send a curriculum vitae, names and addresses (including e-mail) of three referees, and a letter describing their scientific background and teaching experience and interests to: Search Committee, Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725. Boise State University is Idaho's largest university and is located in a vital urban center with a population of more than 200,000. Questions about this position can be directed to Craig White, (208) 426-3633, cwhite@boisestate.edu. For additional information about the department and the university, visit the web site at: http://earth.boisestate.edu/. *************** Tenure Track Faculty Position - Environmental Geology New Mexico Highlands University The Natural Resources Management Department at New Mexico Highlands University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, effective August 2002, in Environmental Geology with specialization in "soft rock" geology and competency in the use of geographical information systems. We seek a dynamic teacher and broadly trained geologist who is committed to undergraduate teaching at a small institution in a rural setting. Responsibilities will include teaching Sedimentation & Stratigraphy and Groundwater Hydrology, sharing in the delivery of the introductory geology classes, developing a course in GIS application, and engaging undergraduates and graduates in research. Additional courses shall be developed according to the candidate's specialty. All courses emphasize environmental geology and science education. The teaching load is 12 hours per semester. A Ph.D. in geology is required at the time of appointment. Favorable consideration will be given to candidates with teaching and research experience, publications, grant-funding success, and postdoctoral experience. Preference will be given to applicants who have experience in teaching and in applying GIS technologies. Application review will begin on June 10, 2002 and remain open until the position is filled. Applicants must submit a letter of application, vita, three letters of recommendation, transcripts, a statement of research interests and needs, and a one-page statement of teaching philosophy with ideas regarding program building and science education. Send all materials to: Academic Affairs Office, Assistant Professor of Geology Search Committee, New Mexico Highlands University, P.O. Box 9000, Las Vegas, New Mexico 87701. NMHU is an AA/EEO Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. NMHU is a state supported institution founded in 1894 with graduate programs in the sciences, some humanities, and social work. The university enjoys a rich cultural diversity including a largely Hispanic student body. Las Vegas, elevation 6500 feet and population 18,000, is situated at the boundary of the Great Plains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which rise to 13,000 feet. The town occupies a picturesque location with a delightful climate that offers great opportunities for the outdoor enthusiast. Field trips are an integral part of the geology curriculum. The area's vast rock exposures provide numerous opportunities for developing geology field experiences. For more information about the Environmental Geology program and the university, please visit our website at http://www.nmhu.edu/naturalresources/. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 7) CONTACT INFORMATION To submit an item to E-MAIL NEWS contact: editor@awg.org To submit advertising contact: ads@awg.org To change your address or be removed from the list contact: office@awg.org