Page 20 - 2020 GGE Newsletter

A NOTE FROM THE ROBERT J. WEIMER CHAIR AND Page 20
DIRECTOR OF THE SEDIMENTARY ANALOGS DATABASE (SAND)
CONSORTIA
WRITTEN BY LESLI WOOD
CONT’D

Image with CSM researchers and Moroccan OHNYM and academic
collaborators on tidally influenced deltaic barforms outcropping in
the Miocene-age wedgetop basin fills of the northern Morocco.
Students have continued to receive great funding for their research from the Bartshe and Keck funds, and the support is
an immeasurable asset in this time. In addition, students have written successful proposals for funding from AAPG, GSA
and SEPM, and taken TA positions to help with our support costs. We are pushing forward, as geology stops for no pan-
demic.

I would like to summarize our year so far with two very positive items. This year saw three students graduating in May;
Dr. Sebastian Cardona, Dr. Pengfei Hou and Ms. Alden Griffin, the later of whom finished with her master’s degree. Dr.
Hou has remained in the area and is working with Dr. Zane Jobe and myself to revise our 20 year compiled database of
sedimentary research and analytical data in to new formats and newly machine readable deliverables for our sponsors.
Dr. Cardona is currently working as a Geologist with Equinor in Houston. Ms. Griffin is employeed with EOG in Midland,
Texas. As for myself, after six years at CSM as a full professor, I was granted tenure at the University in June. It It is
clear that tenure is not so much an imperative to success for those of us who have been at it for 30 years or so, as can be
attested to by Dr. Weimer and Dr. Sonnenberg. However, for me, as tenure is now a key vehicle of academia, I think that
academic tenure is important to be able to influence many of the decision processes
that happen on campus. I hope that having such will make me a more effective leader
on campus and off, and enable me to better assist with bringing opportunities to the
Department and growing our programs.

I hope your families have been safe and remain prosperous in these difficult times. The
aspen continue to turn gold and winter will be here soon enough! The number of sci-
entific talks on line are proliferating, and we will soon be back to a brave new world of
short and long distance science. Please come see us when you can, and thanks so much
for your generosity and support. We could not continue to support our students and
programs without you.

Sincerely,