houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
graduating senior talks adventure equestrian and jumping into the workforcegeography graduating senior alexandra king is excited to begin her geospatial career after commencement in decemberdec 13 2021photo courtesy of alexandra kingphoto courtesy of alexandra kingalexandra king 21 had a unique childhood her mother was a professional equestrian rider and because of this she traveled throughout europe growing up constantly experiencing new places and meeting new people throughout her life king began to enjoy this process of moving somewhere new and starting fresh this led her to apply to a university far from home: texas a&m university when it came time to apply to college king and her family were living in florida she knew she wanted to move to a new place and start her own adventure she applied and was accepted to texas a&m galveston in the fall of 2017 studying ocean and coastal resources after realizing that the program wasnt exactly what she wanted to do king then transferred to texas a&m and into the geographic information science and technology (gist) program in 2018 i knew i wanted to be in the oil and gas industry king said studying ocean and coastal resources didnt feel right so i switched luckily i had a friend who recommended the gist program to me now here at texas a&m king is active among her classmates in the ever-changing field of gist outside of her major she frequently travels out of state to compete with her horse in show jumping in the winter she competes at the world equestrian center in ocala florida and the winter equestrian festival located in wellington florida in the summer king also competes in north carolina new york new jersey long island virginia and many more king credits the lifelong friends shes made at texas a&m as one of the things that has made her aggie experience so worthwhile from class projects to football games her life at this university would not have been nearly as rewarding without meaningful friendships she said through her hard work and support from friends king has a full-time job waiting for her once she graduates she will be a gis technician at bge inc doing data and geodatabase updates king interned at bge in 2021 and is excited to join the company full-time she said now graduating from texas a&m she feels comforted by how well college station has accepted her as an aggie and she knows she will always be welcomed back i decided to go to a&m without knowing too much about it but now it feels like home king said for aspiring underclassmen wanting to follow in her footsteps she recommends being active in the gist community dont be afraid to talk to your classmates because i really believe thats what got me to this point most of the seniors i have talked to feel as though they couldnt have gotten to this point without each other she said not only talking to other classmates but professors as well can help someone succeed kings community participation throughout her life not just college has opened many doors for her she recommends trying to welcome wonderful people into your life just in case they lead you on your next adventure by abigail spears ‘23
alexandra king 21 had a unique childhood her mother was a professional equestrian rider and because of this she traveled throughout europe growing up constantly experiencing new places and meeting new people throughout her life king began to enjoy this process of moving somewhere new and starting fresh this led her to apply to a university far from home: texas a&m university when it came time to apply to college king and her family were living in florida she knew she wanted to move to a new place and start her own adventure she applied and was accepted to texas a&m galveston in the fall of 2017 studying ocean and coastal resources after realizing that the program wasnt exactly what she wanted to do king then transferred to texas a&m and into the geographic information science and technology (gist) program in 2018 i knew i wanted to be in the oil and gas industry king said studying ocean and coastal resources didnt feel right so i switched luckily i had a friend who recommended the gist program to me now here at texas a&m king is active among her classmates in the ever-changing field of gist outside of her major she frequently travels out of state to compete with her horse in show jumping in the winter she competes at the world equestrian center in ocala florida and the winter equestrian festival located in wellington florida in the summer king also competes in north carolina new york new jersey long island virginia and many more king credits the lifelong friends shes made at texas a&m as one of the things that has made her aggie experience so worthwhile from class projects to football games her life at this university would not have been nearly as rewarding without meaningful friendships she said through her hard work and support from friends king has a full-time job waiting for her once she graduates she will be a gis technician at bge inc doing data and geodatabase updates king interned at bge in 2021 and is excited to join the company full-time she said now graduating from texas a&m she feels comforted by how well college station has accepted her as an aggie and she knows she will always be welcomed back i decided to go to a&m without knowing too much about it but now it feels like home king said for aspiring underclassmen wanting to follow in her footsteps she recommends being active in the gist community dont be afraid to talk to your classmates because i really believe thats what got me to this point most of the seniors i have talked to feel as though they couldnt have gotten to this point without each other she said not only talking to other classmates but professors as well can help someone succeed kings community participation throughout her life not just college has opened many doors for her she recommends trying to welcome wonderful people into your life just in case they lead you on your next adventure by abigail spears ‘23
each individually renowned for their geosciences expertise service to the aggie family and legacy contributions to science three exemplary award recipients have been named by the texas a&m university college of geosciences the recipients will be celebrated and honored during the college of geosciences distinguished achievement awards gala which will be held jan 14 at the annenberg presidential conference center the geosciences awards program began in 1978 with the creation of the geosciences and earth resources medal for distinguished achievement (gerac) in 2004 it was unanimously decided by the gerac committee and supported by then texas a&m president robert gates to rename the highly regarded award the michel t halbouty medal in honor of the venerable originator of the award the awards program was expanded in 2017 to recognize highly distinguished individuals for extraordinary achievements and contributions to their professions the geosciences and to texas a&m dan allen hughes jr 80 dan allen hughes jr is being honored with the michel t halbouty geosciences medal with 41 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production dan allen hughes jr 80 is the president of the dan a hughes co as well as other oil and gas related companies hughes graduated from texas a&m in 1980 with a degree in management after completing further studies in geology he joined his familys oil and gas firm learning the business from his father texas a&m distinguished alumnus dan a hughes sr 51 hughes helped establish the berg-hughes center for petroleum and sedimentary systems at texas a&m with his father and his uncle dudley hughes in 2009 with the mission to integrate education and training in geology geophysics and engineering the center was designed to carry out collaborative research with industry and solve current problems efficiently he has served as the chairman of the centers industry advisory board for four years and today the berg-hughes center is highly regarded for its impactful research and applied education
dan a hughes sr dan allen hughes jr and dudley hughes the michel t halbouty geosciences medal
vallecillo (front row center) and college of geosciences students during a study abroad trip to costa rica (all photos courtesy of vallecillo)vallecillo experienced launching weather balloons in meteorology courses in the college of geosciences
in the second semester of her sophomore year at texas a&m leslie vallecillo came to the end of her rope she had been taking around 19 hours of classes each semester working about 30 hours a week as a server at a local restaurant and trying to keep up with challenging coursework as a meteorology major all while supporting herself financially i remember walking through the college of geosciences deans office dropping off my academic probation paperwork feeling hopeless vallecillo said i was very upset and decided to stop by judy nunezs office and hoped that someone i was familiar with would be able to understand the devastating circumstances i was in judy listened to me and helped me discover a major i didnt even know existed if it wasnt for her i dont think id be where i am now" thanks to her own determination and the support of the college of geosciences vallecillo was able to recover academically change majors and find her way forward today vallecillo is now a senior in the geographic information science and technology (gist) degree program in the department of geography and will graduate in december two years ago i was on academic probation and feeling lost but now im here celebrating my first-generation accomplishments and about to graduate she said tackling first-gen challenges growing up on the east side of houston vallecillo said that attending college was not common at her high school and no one in her family had attended college yet but when her senior year of high school came she realized she was ready to try to change that even though some people advised her not to a friend attending texas a&m told her about their experience at the school and vallecillo was interested no one at my school encouraged me to apply to texas a&m but i decided to do it anyway and i got in! she said i find it encouraging when people doubt me dont tell me i cant do something! her determination paid off and she began her academic journey at texas a&m in the fall of 2017 as a meteorology major between working long hours at her job and adjusting to college life vallecillo often felt overwhelmed there were a lot of challenges but the hardest thing was knowing how to balance everything because my family wasnt able to assist me financially and i had to figure it out on my own she said so having to go to work and then go to school full-time was challenging learning how to balance all of that and still take care of daily life was i think the hardest part for me personally i didnt know how to manage everything and i didnt have anyone to look up to
gist students jaron capps and leslie vallecilloleslie vallecillo and her aggie ring
experiencing the geosciences the summer after her freshman year vallecillo participated in a college of geosciences study abroad trip to costa rica led by nunez that was a huge highlight for me because i met such great people including some of my closest friends today she said vallecillo has a passion for gist and is excited to use it in a career as an environmental professional this summer she worked as an intern at the texas commission for environmental quality i want to have a significant impact on the preservation of our planet and i know that my passion for gis can help me do that during this final semester of her undergraduate degree she said that geography 476 with michael bishop professor of geography has been a highlight of her senior year the semester-long project in that course has been extremely challenging but it has been really fun incorporating everything weve learned in gis its so exciting! she said reflecting on her time aggieland what makes the texas a&m student experience unique for vallecillo it was the community ive been outside of bryan-college station now and run into other aggies with their aggie rings on and you just spark up a conversation the aggie family and that community aspect of being a student here is one of the best parts of being a student she said one piece of advice she said she would give younger students would be to try to find ways to talk to seniors graduate students and professors and to not be afraid to seek out advice proactively today vallecillo is extremely proud to be walking the graduation stage in december graduating is going to be my biggest accomplishment from my time at texas a&m she said i was really close to dropping out of college two years into it because it was just so difficult and i wasnt sure what i wanted to do now looking back im so glad that i pushed through didnt give up and found a major that i absolutely fell in love with by leslie lee texas a&m geosciences
geosciences celebrates first-generation studentsabout one out of four aggies are first-generation college students and this week the university is celebrating their accomplishments and determinationnov 11 2021 video by drew davis '23 this week texas a&m university and the college of geosciences are celebrating first-generation week in recognition of the determined spirit of students faculty and staff who are or were the first in their families to earn a four-year degree first-generation students are broadly defined as those whose parents have not earned a bachelors degree about 25 percent of the undergraduate population at texas a&m are first-generation students being a first-generation college student means breaking through barriers said allison savoie a phd student in the department of oceanography there are a lot of steps that youre not really prepared for when you get to college and you have to figure those out on your own the college of geosciences kicked-off first-gen week with a special celebration nov 8 gathering together students faculty and staff outside the o&m buildingstudents faculty and staff joined in the geosciences first-gen celebration (photos by leslie lee)i just didnt have anyone to look up to said leslie vallecillo 21 a first-gen student and geographic information science and technology senior now post-four-years about to graduate in december ive found a major that i fell in love with and graduating is going to be my biggest accomplishment yet the weeklong celebration is supported by the office for student success routh first-generation center and includes events around the university celebrating first-generation students pays tribute to their accomplishments as well as honoring the sacrifices others have made to help them on that journey said interim provost and executive vice president dr timothy p scott were excited to recognize the significance four-year degrees will make in the lives of our students by leslie lee texas a&m geosciences
video by drew davis '23 this week texas a&m university and the college of geosciences are celebrating first-generation week in recognition of the determined spirit of students faculty and staff who are or were the first in their families to earn a four-year degree first-generation students are broadly defined as those whose parents have not earned a bachelors degree about 25 percent of the undergraduate population at texas a&m are first-generation students being a first-generation college student means breaking through barriers said allison savoie a phd student in the department of oceanography there are a lot of steps that youre not really prepared for when you get to college and you have to figure those out on your own the college of geosciences kicked-off first-gen week with a special celebration nov 8 gathering together students faculty and staff outside the o&m building
students faculty and staff joined in the geosciences first-gen celebration (photos by leslie lee)
i just didnt have anyone to look up to said leslie vallecillo 21 a first-gen student and geographic information science and technology senior now post-four-years about to graduate in december ive found a major that i fell in love with and graduating is going to be my biggest accomplishment yet the weeklong celebration is supported by the office for student success routh first-generation center and includes events around the university celebrating first-generation students pays tribute to their accomplishments as well as honoring the sacrifices others have made to help them on that journey said interim provost and executive vice president dr timothy p scott were excited to recognize the significance four-year degrees will make in the lives of our students by leslie lee texas a&m geosciences
two earthquakes have hit the odessa area recently but texans should not be overly alarmed because the state lies in a relatively safe zone when it comes to severe earthquakes according to two texas a&m university experts dr fred chester and dr nick perez in the college of geosciences said the two quakes – a 36 and 34 on the richter scale – are not uncommon in the area especially since it is in the heart of texas oil country which in recent years has seen a dramatic uptick in earthquake activity earthquakes can happen just about anywhere in the north america continent but the risk varies greatly dr chester said in general the risk in texas is lower overall than most other places in the us and the risk is lowest along the gulf coast the largest and most devastating earthquakes – with respect to lives infrastructure and financial loss – occur at tectonic plate boundaries and texas is far from plate boundaries dr chester said natural earthquakes occur in west and north texas and some of these can cause damage and chance of injury according to the texas almanac the largest earthquake ever to hit texas occurred in 1931 near valentine in far west texas and measured 65 for decades both texas and oklahoma have seen huge increases in the production of oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs made possible by the practice of fracking to unlock gas and fluids trapped in the source rock numerous studies have shown a direct link between production from unconventional reservoirs and an increase in rates of local earthquakes most of which are in the 30 or below magnitude category and cause little damage dr chester said we now recognize that most of the north american continental crust is naturally stressed to levels that are close to failure and thus primed for causing earthquakes and that fluids in the crust have a role in earthquake faulting he said pumping fluids in and out of the crust can locally trigger earthquakes that would eventually occur naturally the physical understanding that pumping fluids into the crust can trigger earthquakes is robust and understood for 50 years or so and triggering is most likely to occur when pumping particularly large volumes of fluids quickly it is well documented that pumping wastewater into the crust such as in north texas and oklahoma increases the rate of earthquakes and can trigger earthquakes large enough to cause damage he added that researchers in the department of geology & geophysics at texas a&m have contributed to the scientific knowledge of earthquakes efforts to identify earthquake hazards and progress in earthquake forecasting through involvement in the southern california earthquake center (scec) texas a&m is a core institution of scec dr perez said those interested in texas earthquakes should go to the texnet website that regularly tracks them he also recommends the us geological (usgs) site by keith randall texas a&m university division of marketing & communications
professors julie loisel and angela gallego-sala co-leads of c-peat at the cop26 summit in glasgow scotland this week (photo by loisel)peatlands in tierra del fuego and texas a&m students on a research expedition led by loisel (photo by patrick campbell)
a crab fishing boat patrols the morning hours off the shores of huntington beach california (getty images)
dr yina liu awarded early career research fellowship by nasemtexas a&m oceanographys dr yina liu recently received a 2021 early career research fellowship from the national academies of sciences engineering and medicineoct 18 2021the gulf research program of national academies of sciences engineering and medicine (nasem) recently announced the eight scientists to receive the early career research fellowship (ecrf) among them was texas a&m oceanographys own dr yina liu dr liu is a rising star and is incredibly deserving of this award texas a&ms oceanography department head dr shari yvon-lewis said she is both a thought leader in the field of organic biogeochemistry and a thoughtful mentor and advocate for her students and research staff as an assistant professor of oceanography and the analytical chemistry research and development team lead at texas a&ms geochemical and environmental research group lius focus is in organic biogeochemistry and is studying organic compound cycling and how it affects biological and ecological processes a proponent of multiple approaches she uses both targeted and untargeted analyses and data science in her research because the ecrf award is not attached to a specific project she will have the opportunity and freedom to pursue creative high-risk high-reward research ideas that might have previously been impossible i am very excited about this opportunity not only because this fellowship provides me with support to conduct new research but also because nasem has vast interests in promoting diversity equity inclusion and justice liu said i have always been passionate about including diversity equity inclusion and justice as integral parts of my research; but with this particular opportunity i get to work with my fellowship mentor dr pamela plotkin on implementing them the ecrf fellows will investigate specific issues related to the gulfs changing ecosystems with the goal of producing research that informs decisions that enhance environmental protection and stewardship according to a nasem press release i would like to thank my research group members sangeetha puthigai xiaolei xu and dr michael shields for their support and hard work that enabled the science projects liu said working with them has been the most rewarding and inspiring experience i would like to thank my mentor dr pamela plotkin she continued dr plotkin has been an amazing female scientist role model and has introduced me to many new topics regarding engaging the community and communicating science to the general public finally i would like to thank the department of oceanography and the college of geosciences for fostering a welcome and supportive environment for early-career faculty members like myself