Staff members from the IODP-USIO (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program-US Implementing Organization) were recognized for their outstanding work in the Houston Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication’s (STC) annual awards competition. They won awards in the categories of online communication, informational materials, art packaging design, and annual report design. The College of Geosciences, Texas A&M University, is the science operator for the U.S. portion of this international program.

Ocean World (oceanworld.tamu.edu), a Web site developed and maintained by the Jason Education Project at Texas A&M, has been awarded the 2007 Outstanding Website Award of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS). Robert Stewart, professor of oceanography and head of the Ocean World "crew," accepted the award at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Denver.

Dr. Gilbert Rowe, Head of the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M at Galveston and Professor of Oceanography in the College of Geosciences, was honored with the title “Regents Professor” Thursday during an open session of the Texas A&M Board of Regents.

The College of Geosciences is co-hosting a visit by Mr. Caleb Pungowiyi, an Yup'ik Eskimo, with students at Allen Academy and Cypress Grove Middle School in College Station on Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 13/14). Pungowiyi, a noted spokesperson and advocate for Native Alaskan concerns, will talk to the students about the effects of climate change on coastal communities of northern Alaska. Dr. David Cairns, associate professor of Geography, and Oceanography graduate student Chrissy Wiederwohl will accompany Pungowiyi. He will also be a guest lecturer for a Geosciences 489/689 International Polar Year 2007-2008 course while he is here.

Discusses Challenges, Goals for Future

Dean Björn Kjerfve presented distinguished service awards to several faculty and staff in the College of Geosciences at the College’s annual Fall Meeting held Friday, November 02, in Room 501 Rudder Tower. Recognized were Dr. David M. Cairns, Dr. Donald R. Collins, Dr. Matthew K. Howard, Mrs. Margaret “Peggy” Foster, Ms. Rhonda Simmons-Fulton, and Ms. Debra Stark. Two faculty members, Dr. Craig Epifanio and Dr. Debbie Thomas, were presented College Level Teaching Awards by the Association of Former Students, and recently retired Professor Worth Nowlin was recognized for being named Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oceanography.

Dr. Piers Chapman has been named head of the Department of Oceanography in the College of Geosciences. Chapman received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and his Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the University College of North Wales in the UK. Most recently Chapman was Director of the CREST program at Louisiana State University. Chapman is a member of several professional associations including the Limnological Society of Southern Africa, the Oceanography Society, and the American Geophysical Union. He has been a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist since 1978 and was elected a Fellow in 1995. For more information on Dr. Chapman and the Department of Oceanography visit ocean.tamu.edu