February 2008 Issue
STUDENT COLUMN
Rocks and Smarts
Students, industry and tech societies share their geoscience knowledge during
WIUGC in Edmonton.
BY MARK JERONCIC & LEATINA WOOD
University of Alberta
Student Columnists (Geosciences)
After the furious pace of final exams in December, students tend to spend their holiday doing one of two things: catching up on missed sleep or hitting the slopes in the Rocky Mountains. However, more than 130 geoscience students awoke from their holiday hibernation early to participate in the 44th annual Western Inter-University Geoscience Conference.
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ROCK OF THE WESTIES |
From Jan. 3 to 5, post-secondary students from the universities of British Columbia, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, as well as some from Mount Royal College, converged on the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton.
From its beginnings at a time when bell bottom pants were fashionable and plate tectonics was a new theory, WIUGC has continued to bring geology and, most recently, geophysics students together from across Western Canada. It has become a forum for students to freely exchange their ideas and has grown to include both field trips and strong industry involvement.
This year’s talks and posters encompassed current research by undergraduate and graduate students from the fields of geology and geophysics. Topics ranged from the sedimentological and ichnological interpretations of formations to reviews of seismic survey basics.
All the talks were fascinating and provided an excellent overview of the topics of research that exist in geoscience, but special congratulations do go out to those who won awards.
Best poster award went to Isao Kurosawa from U of M. Best geophysical talk,
sponsored by the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, was won by Louis
Rosenthal, also of the U of M.
Award for the best geology talk, sponsored by the Canadian Society of Petroleum
Geologists, was split between Ryan Martin and Laura Groshak, both from — yet
again — U of M.
Lastly, the award for the best overall talk, sponsored by Petro-Canada, actually moved over a province — it went to Nadine Pearson from the University of Saskatchewan.
Many students networked with the many representatives of industry and technical societies present during the conference. They learned about industry applications of geoscience and expanded their industry contacts.
The luncheon keynote speaker, Dr. George Pemberton, Canada Research Chair in Petroleum Geology, gave an informative talk about biogenically enhanced permeability.
Dr. Gordon Williams, P.Geol., APEGGA President-Elect, gave the keynote address at the final banquet. He highlighted the importance of professionalism in geoscience.
Dr. Williams’ speech encouraged all students, not just those in Alberta, to actively participate in their professional associations and technical societies.
Included in his talk were several keys to success, but with a geoscience twist. Dr. Williams emphasized the importance of looking at rocks, because that’s the fundamental purpose of any successful geoscientist.
Two Tours Too
Aside from the formality of technical talks and industry fairs, two exciting
field trips were also attended by conference delegates. The Highvale Mine, owned
by TransAlta and operated by Prairie Mines & Royalty Ltd., gave a tour of
their coal mining operations, amazing many students with the sheer size of the
machinery used.
Other students ventured south of the city to the Canadian Petroleum Discovery Centre, located at the site of Leduc No. 1, where they learned about the history of oil and gas production in Alberta.
Each day provided many opportunities to network with each other and industry
representatives. The Rockbreaker on Thursday night allowed everyone to kick back,
socialize, dance the YMCA and play Guitar Hero. Some students also chose to venture
out Friday night to sample Edmonton’s night life.
On behalf of the planning committee, we extend a heart-filled thanks to all those
who attended WIUGC this year. As well, we thank our sponsors, and representatives
of industry and technical societies, many of whom
were hard at work judging the talks and posters.
As the two geophysics chairs of the conference, we join the geology chair, Becky Schmidt, an APEGGA student member, in thanking the volunteers and the planning committee members who made many of the events possible. With WIUGC now over, we would like to encourage everyone to attend next year in Vancouver when the University of British Columbia will play host.
Aside from regular club activities, Geoskills, formally known as the Alberta Universities Geoscience Day, was held Feb. 6 in downtown Calgary. Geoskills allows students from the U of A and the U of C to attend various geological and geophysical talks and mingle with industry representatives.
The upcoming year will be filled with even more events than the last one — from intramurals and ski trips to graduation and the annual Trad Cup hockey game — so please stay tuned.
WIUGC 2008 Sponsors
Imperial Oil Ltd.
Nexen Inc.
Aurora Geosciences
Petro-Canada
APEGGA
CSEG
Dahrouge Geological
Consulting
Yukon Nevada Gold
EnCana Corp.
ConocoPhillips
Total E&P
CSPG
Syncrude
Trident Exploration
Corp.
FNX Mining
Company Inc.
Petrel Robertson