PRESIDENT'S LETTER.

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1 NAMS NEWS October, 2007 Volume 28, No. 2 Newsletter of the North American Micropaleontology Section, SEPM NAMS SEPM I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve NAMS in the capacity of the Section s newest President. I will endeavor to provide the effective leadership afforded the Section by predecessor officers whom, over the past thirty years, have collectively given the time, energy and vision that have moved the Section forward. I give thanks to our current Past President Nancy Engelhardt-Moore, Secretary Rob Campbell, and Newsletter Editor Jason Lundquist for their continued and dedicated service to NAMS membership. I give special thanks to Pete McLaughlin who volunteers his service as NAMS Webmaster. Join us as we welcome to office President Elect Ron Martin and Treasurer Don van Nieuwenhuise. Together, over the next year, this Council will be working earnestly to bring to reality NAMS customary annual activities and we will be planning extraordinary programs for implementation in 2009 and beyond. One of NAMS annual necessities is to establish a committee to identify nominate and recruit candidates for the ballot of the current NAMS election. For this election cycle, there are normally three offices scheduled for the ballot: President, Newsletter Editor, and Secretary. The office of President is on the ballot yearly, and for this election, the candidates are Tony D Agostino and Martin Farley. As Editor, Jason Lundquist is completing his third two-year term, the maximum allowable in the by-laws. So, the office of Editor needs to be on the ballot, and Todd Boesiger and Anthony Gary have agreed to offer themselves as candidates. As Secretary, Rob Campbell, in his second year of a two-year term, offered to continue as Secretary, and as allowed by our by-laws, Council approved his renewal. So the office of Secretary will not be on the ballot. As the annual election is a very important Section affair, I encourage full participation of the membership. Please -- cast the ballot that is attached to this newsletter -- today! And if you have interest in offering your time and talent to the Section in the capacity of a future officer, please inform any Council member of your interest in candidacy for an upcoming election. A second order of our annual business, awarding student funding, is an enjoyable PRESIDENT'S LETTER function with which NAMS members are certainly pleased to be associated. NAMS awards two grants yearly. The first: NAMS has just begun to solicit applications for the 2008 Garry Jones Memorial Grant. This award pays $1500 to one winning NAMS student member to support the student s research. Important information on the Jones Grant application procedure and deadline is contained within this newsletter. The second: NAMS has recently completed a successful competition among applicants for the 2008 Mobil Foundation Student Participation Grant. This award pays up to $1500 for travel to the AAPG/SEPM Annual Meeting to give a presentation at the SEPM-sponsored Student Awards Posters session. We congratulate this year s awardee, David Mans of Carleton University, Ottawa, who will be representing NAMS at the upcoming 2008 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. As a third annual event, NAMS, once again invited by the 2008 AAPG/SEPM Technical Program Committee to chair sessions, has successfully solicited abstracts and compiled those into a proposed oral and poster session. The sessions, both titled Advances in Chronostratigraphic and Paleoecologic Analysis: Case Studies, include presentations from practitioners cross academia, industry, and government, on the applications and utilities of a diversity of microfossil groups. Check for updated information on the convention and the final technical program. Also in conjunction with the upcoming AAPG/SEPM Annual Meeting, NAMS will once again seize the opportunity to sponsor and organize the Marine Micropaleontology Research Group Meeting. The proposed topic of this year s MMRG is Revitalized Programs in Micropaleontology. NAMS stands not alone in believing this is a timely topic: Micropaleontology and biostratigraphers, now experiencing a welcomed renaissance, are playing increasing and important roles in solving a variety of technical problems. As a result, there is increased demand for and an apparent shortage of specialists across the spectrum of see President s Letter (cont.) on page 2 NAMS NEWS Fall

2 PRESIDENTS LETTER (cont.) micropaleontology disciplines. Recognizing this discordance in demand and supply, NAMS seeks to utilize the MMRG as a forum for community discourse toward resolving this dilemma. In addition to sustaining the aforementioned customary activities, NAMS is developing some new traditions. For a second successive year, NAMS, in addition to the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (AASP), will co-sponsor the Cushman Foundation Reception and Award Ceremony at the 2008 GSA Annual Meeting and Exposition. There, representatives of each sponsoring organization will have the opportunity to address the attendant gathering, provide information on each society s activities and programs, with the goal of building synergies borne of partnering relationships. This year, NAMS will be represented by President Elect Ron Martin. If you re attending GSA, check it out. The reception and award ceremony is scheduled for October 30, from 7:00 to 11:00 PM, Ballroom A, Hyatt Centennial, Denver, Colorado. For a third successive year, on October 13, NAMS with the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM (GCSSEPM) co-sponsored the Micropaleontology Passport Station at the annual Earth Science Week kick-off at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The ESW kick-off, hosted by the Houston Geological Society, is a partnership-in-outreach program, directed at children and adults, to promote public and professional awareness of the status of Earth science in education and society. And last but certainly not the least Throughout this year and next, Council will continue planning and executing its future extraordinary event: Geologic Problem Solving with Microfossils 2", the second in the NAMS- SEPM Research Conference series. The conference is now scheduled to be held the week of March 15, 2009, on the campus of the University of Houston. An initial organizing committee has been set, and includes: General Chair, Don van Nieuwenhuise; Vice-Chairs, Nancy Engelhardt-Moore and I; and Technical Program Chairs, Ron Martin and Pete McLaughlin. A Program Advisory Committee remains to be staffed. As conference planning progresses, updated technical program and schedule information will be available online via the NAMS website. By the virtues of our activities and growing programs, the North American Micropaleontology Section has become one of the premier Sections of the SEPM. Thank you, each and every member for your continued participation and support. Ron F. Waszczak NAMS President GARRY JONES AWARD SOLICITATION The North American Micropaleontology Section (NAMS) of SEPM is pleased to solicit applications for the 2008 Garry Jones Memorial Grant for NAMS student research. The Garry Jones Grant is a $1500 annual award available to one NAMS student member to support research with a substantial micropaleontologic component. The student s research must involve one or more subdisciplines of micropaleontology such as foraminifera, nannofossils, diatoms, radiolaria, pollen, dinoflagellates or conodonts. Projects may apply micropaleontology to traditional fields such as biostratigraphy, paleoecology, and paleoceanography or to rapidly expanding fields like biogeochemistry and geomicrobiology. The NAMS Council of Officers will rank the proposal based on scientific merit, faculty recommendation, and financial need. The grant will partially support a M.S. or Ph.D. research project that is not funded through other major grants. Applicants must be student members of NAMS. The 2007 Garry Jones Memorial Grant was awarded to Andrew Kemp, a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His abstract was entitled Microfossils as indicators of Late Holocene relative sea-level change in the Albemarle - Pamlico estuarine system, North Carolina, USA. Andrew s research is focused on gaining a better understanding of global climate change and finding ways to improve coastal management. To apply, interested students should submit the required award applications forms (Forms A and B) along with a two- to three- page summary of his/her research, a Curriculum Vitae, and a budget. A supporting letter of reference from the applicant s faculty advisor must be provided separately to the address below. Application forms may be requested from the address below. Proposals should be submitted by February 1, 2008 and directed to the same address. The awardee will be notified by March 15, Address for application and submittals: Nancy L. Engelhardt-Moore Devon Energy Corporation 1200 Smith Street Houston, TX Office: Mobile: Fax: Nancy.Engelhardt-Moore@dvn.com 2 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007

3 Table of Contents President's Letter 1 Garry Jones Award Solicitation 2 Treasurer s Report 3 Meeting Calendar 4 Research Group Meeting Report 4 GSA Happenings 5 News and Notes 6 Mobil Travel Grant 7 Candidates for NAMS President 8 Candidates for NAMS Newsletter Editor 9 NAMS at Houston Museum of Nat Hist. 10 Job Postings for Biostratigrapher 11 Memorials 12 NAMS Membership/Renewal Form 13 NAMS Election Ballot 13 TREASURER'S REPORT This will be my first report as Treasurer and it is a privilege to serve the section as Treasurer. I would like to thank Martin Farley for his outstanding efforts over the last eight years in this position. As of 26 September 2007, the NAMS treasury has $11, on account. Since Martin s last report in March, NAMS received $506 from member dues and interest. Of that amount $70 was received as dues payment through SEPM. No expenditures have been made. If you aren t paid through 2007, we would appreciate your payment to bring your membership to date. I remind NAMS members that they can be a member at no cost if they are also individual subscribers to Micropaleontology. Please see for further information. I look forward to seeing all of you at future NAMS meetings. Don Van Nieuwenhuise, NAMS Treasurer October 19, 2007 Visit NAMS online at: About NAMS What is Micropaleontology Membership Newsletters Meetings Science News Networking Resources for Students Micropaleo Links Welcome to the NAMS Home Page NAMS is the North American Micropaleontology Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). The purpose of the Section is to promote all aspects of micropaleontology through application, research and education dealing with morphology, biostratigraphy, ecology/paleoecology, and geologic history of all groups of microfossils occurring in the stratigraphic record. The field of micropaleontology covers a diverse array of micro - fossils groups, including foraminifera, ostracodes, nannofossils, palynonmorphs, radiolaria, diatoms, and silicoflagellates. NAMS serves as a center point for these many fields of study and provides a venue for exchange of information among micropaleontologists in academia, industry, and government. NAMS is the sponsor of the Marine Micropaleontology Research Group, a formal research group within SEPM which reports to the SEPM research committee. NAMS/SEPM OFFICERS President Ron F. Waszczak ConocoPhillips 600 N. Dairy Ashford, Room PR-3044 Houston, TX (281) Ron.F.Waszczak@conocophillips.com President-Elect Ron Martin University of Delaware Newark, DE (302) daddy@udel.edu Secretary Robert Campbell Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. HOU-WCK Rm North Dairy Ashford Houston, TX, (281) Robert.Campbell@shell.com Treasurer Donald S. Van Nieuwenhuise Department of Geosciences University of Houston Houston, Texas Voice: Fax: donvann@uh.edu Newsletter Editor Jason J. Lundquist BP America Inc. 501 Westlake Park Blvd. Houston TX, (281) lundqujj@bp.com Past-President Nancy L. Engelhardt-Moore Devon Energy Corporation 1200 Smith Street Houston, Texas (W); (H) nancy.engelhardt-moore@dvn.com NAMS NEWSLETTER ADVISORS John Van Couvering Ken Finger Mervin Kontrovitz Annika Sanfilippo Patricia Whalen Fay Woodruff NAMS NEWS is published two times a year, just before the GSA meeting in the fall and AAPG meeting in the spring, by NAMS. Submissions are always welcome. Copyright NAMS NEWS Fall

4 The 51st Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association December 16-19th, 2007 Uppsala, Sweden th B o b F. Perkins Research Conference: The Paleogene of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Basins: Processes, Events, and Petroleum Systems December 2-5, 2007 Houston, Texas. 18th Caribbean Geological Conference March 24-28, 2008 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic American Association of Petroleum Geologists 2008 Annual Meeting April 20-23, 2008 San Antonio, Texas MEETING CALENDAR RESEARCH MEETING GROUP MEETING NEWS REPORT The Marine Micropaleontology Research Group and the Quantitative Stratigraphy Research Group held a joint meeting Monday, April 2, 2007, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. in Long Beach, California. The joint meeting was sponsored by NAMS, the North American Micropaleontology Section of SEPM. The program included three presentations. The principal speakers were Dr. Claudia J. Schroder-Adams (Carleton University - Ottawa), Dr. David K. Watkins (University of Nebraska - Lincoln), and Dr. Walter S. Snyder (Boise State University). Schroder-Adams presentation Influence of sediment transport dynamics and ocean floor morphology on benthic foraminifera offshore Fraser Island, Australia was co-authored by Ron Boyd and Kevin Ruming (University of Newcastle, Australia). The presentation focused on longshore processes along the SE margin of Australia which transport sand from New South Wales and southern Queensland north towards Fraser Island. A recent study using multibeam sonar imagery and sediment sampling established that sand is being diverted over the shelf edge into the deep sea through a series of gullies that puncture the slope. The study revealed that foraminifer assemblages in gullies fed from the shelf edge contained 90% transported species. Hence, foraminiferal distribution patterns, without consideration of ocean floor processes, could provide erroneous biofacies interpretations. AASP 41st Annual Meeting and 12th International Palynological Congress Aug. 30-Sept Bonn, Germany International Nannoplankton Association 12th Bi- Annual Meeting September 2008 Lyon, France The Eighth International Workshop on Agglutinated Foraminifera September 7-13, 2008 Cluj-Napoca, Romania Geological Society of America Annual Meeting October 5-8, 2008 Houston, Texas American Association o f Petroleum Geologists 2009 Annual Meeting June 7-10, 2009 Denver, Colorado The 8th International Symposium on the Cretaceous System September 6-12, 2009 The University of Plymouth (UK) Geological Society of America Annual Meeting October , 2009 Portland, Oregon Geological Society of America Annual Meeting October 31-Nov 3, 2010 Denver, Colorado Please consider submitting meeting dates, announcements, or information to the editor for inclusion in future editions of the NAMS News Watkins presentation was titled Quantitative biostratigraphy versus the fossil record. Discussed was a case study that compared upper Maastrichtian core from the South Carolina coastal plain with coeval core from the adjacent continental slope. The biostratigraphy of coastal plain cores yielded an internally consistent and coherent succession of calcareous nannofossil biohorizons. Similarly, continental slope cores yielded an internally consistent and coherent biostratigraphic succession of nannofossils. Though the two cored locales were separated by only a few hundred km, they can not be easily correlated owing to significant differences in species composition and community structure. Multivariate analyses indicate a strong thermal contrast between the surface waters of the coastal plain and the continental slope. Hence, a segregation of the two nannofossil populations resulted in complications in correlation between adjacent locales. Snyder presented Interactive data systems for sedimentary geology and paleontology - the PaleoStrat example. PaleoStrat is building the infrastructure of the GeoSystems Data Portal for deep-time paleoclimate research. PaleoStrat, part of the larger national geoinformatics effort, is being developed as an open, comprehensive, and dynamic working environment that hosts an integrated suite of sedimentary, paleontologic, paleobiologic, stratigraphic, geochemical, and geochronologic data, and provides user support for the input, searching, output and synthesis of these data. see MMRG Report (cont.) on page 7 4 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007

5 2007 GSA Annual Meeting October Colorado Convention Center Denver, Colorado Selected Highlights Pond Scum to Carbon Sink: Geological and Environmental Applications of the Diatoms Saturday Short Course, October 27 Colorado Convention Center: 601, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM Scott W. Staratt, Organizer (see note below) Environmental Change and Evolution: Micropaleontological Case Studies Tuesday Afternoon Oral Session, October 30, 2007 Colorado Convention Center: 506, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM R. Mark Leckie and B. Huber, Presiding Cushman Foundation/NAMS/AASP Reception & Award Ceremony Tuesday Evening, October 30, 2007 Hyatt: Centennial Ballroom A, 7:00 PM-11:00 PM GSA DIATOM SHORT COURSE Pond Scum to Carbon Sink: Geological and Environmental Applications of the Diatoms October 27, 8-5 in room 601 Diatoms exist almost anywhere there is sufficient light and moisture. Their abundance and wide distribution, combined with the excellent preservation potential of their silica frustules, make them consummate tools for a wide range of geological and environment applications. These include the anthropogenic impact on lakes, identification of paleoseismic events, and the search for mineral resources. The course will include discussions of taxonomy and classification, numerical analysis, marine and continental biostratigraphy, paleolimnology, paleoceanography, and forensic applications. -Introduction 8:00-8:15 Scott Starratt -Perspectives on the evolution and diversification of the diatoms Matthew Julius 8:15-9:00 -Applications of commonly used numerical techniques in diatombased paleoecology 9:00-9:45 Brian Cumming and Katrina Moser* -Cretaceous records of diatom evolution, radiation, and expansion 9:45-10:30 David Harwood, Vladimir Nikolaev, and Diane Winter* -Methods and applications of Cenozoic marine diatom biostratigraphy 10:30-11:15 Reed Scherer*, Andrey Gladenkov, and John Barron -Diatoms in estuaries and tidal marshes 11:15-12:00 Scott Starratt -Solving environmental problems using diatom-based esti mates of ph, nutrients, and lake levels 1:00-2:00 Katrina Moser -Using diatoms as ecological and paleoecological indicators in riverine environments 2:00-2:30 Jeffrey Stone -Diatoms in saline lakes: Paleoclimate and paleoecology inter pretations 2:30-3:00 Erik Ekdahl -Environmental change at high latitudes 3:00-3:30 Marianne Douglas -Long-term records of continental diatoms: Paleolimnology and biochronology 3:30-4:00 Scott Starratt -Diatoms and forensic science 4:00-4:30 Benjamin Horton -Diatomites: socially relevant diatoms and closing 4:30-5:00 Scott Starratt *Speaker NAMS NEWS Fall

6 THE PALEONTOLOGY AND STRATIGRA- PHY DATABASE OF CHINA The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology is just starting a long-term effort to build a paleontologystratigraphy data system for all of China. This effort is lead by Prof. Shuzhong Shen and Dr. Fan Junxuan. The system will be compatible with that of PaleoStrat ( Paleostrat hosts a complete range of paleontologic and stratigraphic-based data, and is being designed to allow users to input, edit and manage their data. This collaboration will help insure the exchange of data and to lessen development efforts for the Chinese system and to foster the exchange of ideas and technology. This partnership will also bring many new enhancements and modifications to PaleoStrat, in particular the development of tools for better user interaction with the systems, including graphic correlation, constrained optimization, and visualization tools. A team from the Nanjing Institute will be visiting PaleoStrat in October, 2007 to begin this collaborative effort. Walter S. Snyder Boise State University OLIGOCENE PLANKTONIC FORAMINIF- ERAL WORKING GROUP MEETING The Oligocene Planktonic Foraminiferal Working Group met in Opatija, Croatia from May to continue their work on the taxonomy and phylogeny of Oligocene planktonic foraminifera in preparation for assembly of the Atlas of Oligocene Planktonic Foraminifera. The meeting was hosted by Vlasta Premec-Fucek and Morana Hernitz Kucenjak and participants included Bridget Wade (WG Secretary), Bill Berggren, Helen Coxall, Christoph Hemleben, Brian Huber, Michel Kucera, Dick Olsson, Paul Pearson, Maria Rose Petrizzo, Isabella Premoli Silva. Following a number of talks and discussions the WG was treated to wonderful field trips to see Paleogene outcrops in Istria and the Plitvice Lakes District. The WG thanks INAindustrija nafte d.d. for their generous support of this meeting. Brian T. Huber Smithsonian Museum of Natural History GEOLOGIC PROBLEM SOLVING WITH MICROFOSSILS, GARRY JONES SEPM SPECIAL PUBLICATION: AN UPDATE NEWS AND NOTES As many of you are aware, a Special Publication is in the works of which the manuscripts are the result of presentations given at the successful SEPM Research Conference, Geologic Problem Solving with Microfossils. This meeting was held in April in 2005 on the campus of Rice University in Houston, TX, in honor of the late Garry Jones. The present status of the publication and associated manuscripts is as follows: 10 manuscripts have been submitted to SEPM for copyediting and type-setting. No word on the progress regarding proof pages being sent to the authors. 10 additional manuscripts are in various stages of final editing, some are better and some worse. A few of these manuscripts simply need final word-smithing and/or minor alterations to figures, while a few others require significantly more work. Nonetheless, the plan is for all 10 of these manuscripts to be finalized and submitted to SEPM. Additionally, there is one manuscript still outstanding and it is doubtful it will make the final Publication unless it is returned to us in the very near future, in very good form. Finally, editing continues on the frontpiece and other necessary upfront material for the Publication. These will be forwarded to SEPM in the very near future. Although the editorial path for this Special Publication has been tortuous, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Work commitments, other priorities and various delays have pushed back the final publication date beyond our initial expectations. We will do our best to finalize the outstanding 10 manuscripts and get them to SEPM very soon. SEPM projects that this volume will become SEPM Special Publication No. 92 depending upon arrival of the final manuscript. Thomas D. Demchuk and Anthony C. Gary Co-Editors, SEPM Special Publication Geologic Problem Solving with Microfossils CHRONOS The CHRONOS team traveled to Houston during February to meet with oil-and-gas industry representatives to explore the potential of a partnership that would support the continued development of CHRONOS cyber infrastructure for stratigraphy and paleontology. An outcome of this meeting was the development of two proposals for industry funding. The goal of the first proposal On-line Planktonic Foraminifera Atlas Suite is to deliver an expert identification and training resource to facilitate biostratigraphers utilizing Mesozoic and 6 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007

7 NEWS AND NOTES (cont.) Paleogene planktonic foraminifera. The goal of the second Biostratigraphic and Lithologic Data from Deep Sea Cores is to deliver a comprehensive and quality-controlled biostratigraphic and lithologic dataset from globally distributed and age-calibrated DSDP and ODP holes. The proposed projects (a) build upon CHRONOS products developed the last four years with 3.5 million dollars of federal funding, (b) leverage on this equity to diversify products for industry, and (c) are designed to meet the needs of scientists working on oil and gas exploration. For additional information on this consortium, contact Cinzia Cervato [cinzia@iastate.edu] and visit 8TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE CRETACEOUS 6th - 12th September 2009 followed by field excursions to Cretaceous locations in the UK The symposium will be held at the University of Plymouth, UK with Malcolm Hart [mhart@plymouth.ac.uk] as the lead organiser. A number of sessions will require input from micropalaeontologists, including a session on the chalk fields of the North Sea Basin and adjacent areas. MMRG REPORT (cont.) PaleoStrat and the GeoSystems Data Portal are being built for the community. As such, and toward building a better system, community feedback, suggestions, and criticisms are welcomed. What can you do? Contact PaleoStrat.org for more information. The program of this Marine Micropaleontology / Quantitative Stratigraphy group meeting was organized by Ron F. Waszczak (ConocoPhillips) and H. Rich Lane (National Science Foundation). The joint session provided an opportunity for networking among paleontologists and stratigraphers working in industry, academia and government. These 14 attended: Stacie Blair, Florida State University, blair@quartz.gly.fsu.edu Robert Campbell, Shell International Exploration, Robert.Campbell@shell.ocm Tom Dignes, Chevron, twdi@chevron.com Nancy Engelhardt-Moore, Devon Energy, nancy.engelhardtmoore@dvn.com Jim Gamber, BP America, Inc., gamberjh@bp.com Rich Lane, National Science Foundation, hlane@nsf.gov Ron Martin, University of Delaware, daddy@udel.edu Pete McLaughlin, Delaware Geological Survey, ppmclau@udel.edu David McNeil, Geological Survey Canada, dmcneil@nrcan.gc Claudia Schroder-Adams, Carleton University, csadams@earthsci.carleton.ca Walt Snyder, Boise State University, wsnyder@boisestate.edu Eva Tuzzi, University of Nebraska, evatuzzi@libero.it Ron Waszczak, ConocoPhillips, ron.f.waszczak@conocophillips.com David Watkins, University of Nebraska, dwatkins1@unl.edu Mobil Foundation Travel Grant 2008 AAPG MOBIL TRAVEL GRANT AWARDED Thanks to the generosity of the Mobil Foundation, SEPM sections are able to offer a SEPM Student Participation Grant for students to contribute to the annual AAPG/SEPM meeting. This program, which began in 1998, allows nominees from each section to present his/her work in a Best Student Poster Awards session at the meeting and provides a generous grant to support the student s travel expenses. Participation in AAPG/SEPM Annual Meetings provides a great opportunity for students to be exposed to the wide variety of basic and applied science presented in the technical sessions and to make professional contacts early in their careers. We are please to nominate David Mans to represent NAMS at the upcoming 2008 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX (April 20-23, 2008). David who has just completed his Master s thesis at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and will present a poster entitled Albian-Cenomanian Foraminifera in Northeastern British Columbia and Western Alberta: Paleoecology and Integration of Biostratigraphy with Allostratigraphy. We encourage all NAMS members who attend AAPG to visit the student poster session and meet David to learn about the interesting work that he will be presenting. Ron Waszczak and Nancy Engelhardt-Moore, with Natalia Vazquez Riveiros (2007 Mobil Student Travel Awardee), at the SEPM Awards Reception during the Long Beach AAPG NAMS NEWS Fall

8 CANDIDATES MEETING FOR NAMS NEWSPRESIDENT Anthony D Agostino is currently a Geologic Advisor for OMNI Laboratories in Houston. He has been wrestling with the mysteries of the micropaleontologic realm for over 25 years. Tony has held research and operational support positions for Atlantic Richfield, TD Geoscience, Petroleum Geoservices (PGS), and OMNI, in both the domestic and international areas. Tony acquired his B.S. in geology from Illinois St. University in 1978, and his M.S. from Northern Illinois University in Since completing his graduate research on Neogene benthic forams of the Ross Sea Antarctica, his attention has been focused on projects in bio-, litho-, and sequence stratigraphy, clastic and carbonate sedimentology, and reservoir characterization. The common thread through these projects has been utilization of existing biostratigraphic data and the generation of new data as frequently as possible. Some of his major projects include studies of the Miocene sand systems of the Gulf of Mexico, the Paleogene Wilcox Group of the Gulf Coast, Oligocene of the Burgos Basin in Mexico, the Eocene Misoa Fm. of west-central Venezuela, and several Paleozoic intervals of the Permian Basin and the U.S. midcontinent. He has published (singly or with co-authors) research studies on biostratigraphy of the Miocene-Recent in the Ross Sea, Early and Middle Eocene sequence biostratigraphy of south and central Texas, foram biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic of the northwestern Pacific, fusulinid biostratigraphy in the Big Hatchet Mountains of New Mexico, and the cycle stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Abo Formation in West Texas and New Mexico. Tony has also published papers on the sedimentology, petrography, and ichnofossils of the Wilcox Fm. of Texas and the Jackfork Group in the Ouachita Mtns. of Arkansas. Some of his biostratigraphic and micropaleontologic highlights include working on fossil material from Antarctica, studying the seriously challenging Lower Tertiary foram fauna of the Gulf Coast, and sixty-two days as shipboard foram specialist on DSDP Leg 86 (Shatsky Rise and NW Pacific). Most recently he has been utilizing conodont and palynomorph biostratigraphy to refine interpretations of the Late Devonian and Carboniferous foreland basins in the U.S. where industry is making an unconventional shale gas play. Over the past 2.7 decades Tony has been leader or coleader of numerous ARCO, AAPG, and SEPM field trips. He served as technical program chairman for the West Texas Geological Society, secretary, 2nd Vice-President, and President of the Permian Basin Section of the SEPM, program chair for the 1995 Carbonate Symposium of the PBS-SEPM. He was Secretary for the North American Micropaleontology Section of SEPM (NAMS) from Tony served the Gulf Coast Section of the SEPM as Vice-President (2000), President-Elect (2001) and President (2002). He is a member of AAPG, SEPM (national, Gulf Coast, and Permian Basin sections), West Texas Geological Society, Houston Geological Society, the Pander Society, and of course, NAMS. Martin Farley is Assistant Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Geology & Geography at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I received a B.S. in geosciences from Penn State, where Alfred Traverse was my undergraduate advisor. This gradually drew me from a general interest in paleontology toward palynology. This then led to a master s in geology from Indiana University, and back to Penn State for a Ph.D. in palynology. My graduate work was oriented toward the association of palynomorphs with nonmarine depositional environments and what that tells us about the distribution of plants across the landscapes of the past. In postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Institution, I extended that to an examination of how this plant distribution responded to climate change during the Early Eocene. I then moved to Exxon Production Research where I played an important role in the new generation of cycle charts culminating in the SEPM Special Publication on the Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins. This showed me the importance of integrating all kinds of biostratigraphic data. At EPR, I also worked on a wide variety of biostratigraphic projects in Cretaceous-Recent sediments from every continent except Antarctica. I may have been the last research micropaleontologist in the oil industry in North America when I was transferred to Exxon Exploration in At Exxon Exploration, I continued biostratigraphic projects through out the world and added experience in Cenozoic nannofossils. When I got to UNC-Pembroke in 2001, I was the sole geologist at UNC-Pembroke, which led to the exciting accomplishment of teaching 12 different courses in the first 9 semesters (don t ask how many sections). I persuaded the administration to add a second geologist in 2004 and enrollment in geology courses has more than quadrupled since my arrival. When the Department of Geology and Geography was reinstated in 2005, I became Chair. This did allow me to avoid new course preparations. Enrollment has continued to increase, so we are planning a major and received approval from the administration to recruit a third tenure-track geology faculty member. see Meeting Announcements (cont.) on page 9 8 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007 See Ballot on Page 13

9 I was Treasurer of NAMS from 1999 until April In addition, I was a member of the organizing committee for Geologic Applications of Microfossils held at Rice University in 2004 for which NAMS was lead sponsor. In related societies, I have been a director of AASP and am currently chair of its Award Committee. I was on the organizing committee (as Field Trip Coordinator) for the 9th International Palynological Conference in Houston. I have also been a convener of symposia at several International Palynological Conferences. In 2000 and 2002, John Armentrout and I wrote articles for Geotimes and Offshore explaining the value and proper use of micropaleontology in the petroleum industry. At the international meeting in London in 2002 that NAMS co-sponsored, I gave one of the keynote addresses, entitled Forging a path for biostratigraphy. In this talk, I discussed the importance of explaining the value of our field to broader audiences (geological, biological, or even broader). In addition to organized forays, such as the sessions NAMS sponsors at AAPG or publications detailing micropaleontological contributions to sequence stratigraphy, I advocate infiltration. Infiltration involves going to the broader audience on an individual basis to demonstrate the value of micropaleontology (e.g., one relevant micropaleontologic talk in a session addressing a broader question). I continue to believe in the importance of actively selling what we can do to other parts of our science and will focus NAMS in this direction as President, if elected. CANDIDATES FOR NAMS NEWSLETTER EDITOR Todd M. Boesiger: When not working on the family farm during my teenage summers, I spent my days helping my grandfather drill domestic water wells on small homesteads around Southeast/South central Nebraska. The unwitting beginning of my appreciation for geologic processes emerged with the sediments from those shallow well-bores. Following a long family tradition, I majored in music at the University of Nebraska - with a non-traditional hiatus - touring professionally, for several years, with a vocal ensemble. Returning to UNL to finish my B.A. in music, I met Dr. David Watkins, and therein, my introduction to marine micropaleontology. I remained to complete an additional B.A. in Geology and eventual M.S. in Geosciences. My thesis research in western Kansas examined portions of the Niobrara formation and the response of calcareous nannofossil assemblages during regression of the Western Interior Seaway in the Late Cretaceous. To come full-circle and liberate a portion of the rich geologic history from stratigraphy equivalent to that drilled with my grandfather years prior, was deeply satisfying. It has been equally agreeable for my family to know that, in addition to some fertile Southeast Nebraska farmland, they technically own beachfront property. For the past three years, following an internship with Energy and Geosciences Institute at the University of Utah, I have worked as a biostratigrapher for BP America. Using multi-discipline micropaleontology for an integrated approach to geologic interpretation in basins around the world, as well as for real-time biostratigraphy in deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, continues to be a deeply rewarding professional and educational experience. I have also been enriched by my professional memberships in GSA, AGU, AAPG, SEPM, INA and NAMS. It would be my sincere pleasure to serve the distinguished membership of NAMS as the Newsletter Editor and I am honored to be nominated. Anthony Gary received his M.S. in Geology in 1984 from Old Dominion University and Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of South Carolina. The focus of his academic studies was the paleoecology of benthic foraminifer and he continued this work during a Post-doctoral Fellowship with the late Dr. Martin Lagoe at the University of Texas at Austin from 1989 to In 1990 Anthony joined Unocal Corporation as a biostratigrapher and during his first three years at Unocal his work increasingly moved to the development of statistical and computer applications for biostratigraphic analysis. In 1994 Anthony moved into reservoir characterization where he developed fuzzy set-based, analytical techniques for the interpretation of wireline logs. In late 1996, after finding that E&P was not yet ready for fuzzy, Anthony took a position as Associate Research Professor at the University of Utah s Energy and Geoscience Institute (EGI). At EGI Anthony initiated the Stratigraphy Group within EGI and founded the Technical Alliance for Computational Stratigraphy (TACS) which is an industry-sponsored research program that over the past ten years has developed a variety of applications for the analysis of multivariate biostratigraphic data. Anthony continues his work with TACS and has recently begun to extend his research into the field of semantic reasoning. In 2001 Anthony also founded Tramontane, Inc. Tramontane unifies legacy and vendor biostratigrahic databases, and builds specialized tools for the analysis of biostratigraphic data within the databases. Anthony has eighteen papers published or in press, and twentyeight published abstracts, he was a SEPM Local Organizing Chairperson for the 2003 AAPG meeting in Salt Lake City, and has co-chaired sessions at five AAPG Annual meetings. See Ballot on Page 13 NAMS NEWS Fall

10 NAMS AT HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES EARTH SCIENCE WEEK 2007 ACTIVITIES Once again, NAMS and the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM (GCSSEPM) cosponsored a Micropaleontology Passport Station at the annual Earth Science Week (ESW) NAMS kick off, hosted by the Houston SEPM Geological Society, during the Family Energy Festival at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Saturday, October 13th. This year s theme The Pulse of Earth Science promoted public and professional awareness of the status of Earth science in education and society. It marked the tenth annual ESW and NAMS second year of participation. This years volunteers included Ron Waszczak (NAMS President) and Janok Bhattacharya (GCSSEPM President-Elect) as acting representatives of their sections. Other volunteers included Mike and Suchit Styzen, Tony and Janie D Agostino, and Bob Moore and Nancy Engelhardt-Moore, and Martha McRae. The event officially lasted four hours and volunteers worked the passport stations. During that time, child participants were required to visit eight passport stations to learn about a variety of earth science topics. As they went from station Children enjoyed viewing microfossils at one Passport Station to station, they had to answer questions to earn a stamp for their passport. Once the passport was completed, the participants received a prize for completing the task. It was a fun way to learn and receive an award. At the Micropaleo Passport Station, our volunteers showed microfossils to children of all ages. As a new addition The volunteer group for this year s Earth Science week Micropaleontology Passport Station at the Houston Museum of Natural History (from left to right): Janie D Agostino, Tony D Agostino, Ron Waszczak, Nancy Engelhardt-Moore, Mike Styzen, Suchit Styzen and Janok Bhattacharya. 10 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007

11 this year, once an hour Tony and Janok along with audience participants gave a short presentation on the geologic timeline to complement the fossil viewing. This involved using a string as a time line to show events in time from the formation of Earth to the launching of Sputnik into space. Student volunteers stood by small red flags attached to the string that represented a key event and held up a photo of that event. It was a great visual way to show how recently man appeared in geologic history compared to the entire existence of the planet since its birth. This demonstration was well received and a big hit. As usual, the event was a huge success with hundreds of enthusiastic participants including children, students, scouts, parents and visitors. Ron Waszczak with two helpers holding part of the geologic timeline for the demonstration of geologic time. JOB POSTINGS FOR BIOSTRATIGRAPHER Biostratigrapher, ConocoPhillips, Houston, Texas, USA Description ConocoPhillips is currently accepting online resumes for a Biostratigrapher Specialist. The successful candidate will part of the Upstream Subsurface Technology/Sedimentary Systems team and will be responsible for driving application of biostratigraphic interpretation techniques within the framework of sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary systems. Preferred Qualifications -PhD or Master s Degree in Geology, with specialization in micropaleontology/biostratigraphy. -Specialization in marine microfossils, specifically benthonic and planktonic foraminifers and/or calcareous nannofossils, with a basic knowledge of other microfossil groups. -Strong knowledge of bio- and chronostratigraphic concepts, with experience in clastic and carbonate sedimentary systems. -Strong knowledge of paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic reconstructions using microfossil assemblages. -Five or more years related experience. Please apply for this position on-line Go to NAMS NEWS Fall

12 MEMORIALS MEMORIAL TO JOHANNA MARTHA RESIG ( ) This exceptional woman had an outstanding career at the University of Hawai i, contributing to the lives of her many students and colleagues, and to understanding of the geology and micropaleontology of the Pacific. She retired as an Emeritus Professor in 2001 and was working on a paper with Scot Izuka on the Plio-Pleistocene history of Kauai when her terminal illness was diagnosed in early She lived a life of grace and was an exemplary role model. Johanna Martha Resig died quietly on 19 September 2007 under the care of Hospice Hawai i. She will be missed. Johanna Martha Resig was born in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 27 May She earned her BS and MS from the University of Southern California under the direction of Dr. Orville Bandy. As a superbly trained micropaleontologist, she applied her skills to a wide range of environmental and geological problems. Her publications on the impacts of ocean outfalls on foraminiferal ecology are regularly cited among the pioneering applications of the field now known as environmental micropaleontology. In 1962, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to pursue research at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, under the direction of Professor Eugen Seibold, where she earned her Doctor der Naturwissenschaften in Dr. Resig was then recruited by the Hawai i Institute of Geophysics at the University of Hawai i. She was the first woman on the HIG faculty and the only one for many years. She participated in Leg 7 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project and sailed on Legs 112, 130 and 180 of the Ocean Drilling Program. During her more than 40 years at UH, her publications ranged from micropaleontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleoceanography of Hawai i and the Pacific basin, to Cenozoic structure and tectonics of the Peru margin. She described numerous new species of Foraminifera; most notably the deep-sea opaline foraminifer, Silicoloculina profunda Resig, Lowenstam, Echols and Weiner, which is now recognized as the type species for the Order Silicoloculina. Dr. Resig introduced hundreds of undergraduates to historical geology/earth history, and taught paleontology, micropaleontology and paleoceanography to majors and graduate students. She mentored nearly a dozen students as thesis or dissertation advisor, and served on the advisory committees of two dozen more. She was Editor of the Journal of Foraminiferal Research from and a member of the Board of Directors of the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research from , when she became an Honorary Director. She was also a 50+ year member of the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). Pamela Hallock College of Marine Science University of South Florida St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA pmuller@marine.usf.edu MEMORIAL TO MICHAEL B. MICKEY ENCINITAS -- Michael B. Mickey, 61, died, Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Glenbrook Inpatient Hospice in Carlsbad of mantle cell lymphoma. Born Aug. 25, 1945, in Santa Monica, he lived in Encinitas for 33 years. He was a micropaleontologist/self consultant. He was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Alaska Geological Society, Pacific Section SEPM. Mr. Mickey was preceded in death by his father, Basil Mickey. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Mickey, of Encinitas; mother Doris Mickey of Cerritos; son and daughter-in-law Gregory and Jaime Mickey of Paso Robles; daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Michael Gilner of Ventura; brother and sister-in-law Gary and Terry Mickey of Cerritos and four grandchildren. His cremains will be scattered at the Gates to the Arctic, Alaska. The family suggests memorial donations to San Diego Hospice 4311, Third Ave., San Diego, CA 92103; Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, CA and KBPS TV/FM 5200 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA Mike worked forams for Mobil in Sante Fe Springs, CA, before becoming a consultant. He had been a consultant with Anderson, Warren, and Wilcoxin before splitting off with others to form MicroPaleo Consultants. You may have seen him at AAPG-SEPM meetings at the MicroPaleo Consultants exhibit booth - he always wore a leather safari (Indiana Jones) hat on his head. He remained close to A.D. Warren (who is in a nursing home) and ensured that A.D. s collection (which included that of Robert Kleinpell s) was transferred to UCMP. Kenneth L. Finger Museum of Paleontology Valley Life Sciences Building 1101 University of California Berkeley, CA NAMS NEWS Fall 2007

13 NAMS Renewal Information The last NAMS News you recieved would have had a note on the mailing label indicating your dues status. If you don t know you are paid up into the future, please take a moment to print this form and mail in your dues payment. Thank you or later - dues are paid up PLEASE RENEW NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET! please pay $10.00 for 2007 dues please pay $10.00 for 2006 dues, $10.00 for 2005 dues, and $.50 late fee you must pay $31.00 this year or you will be dropped from membership!! If you are a Micropaleontology subscriber you are entitled to free NAMS membership. Send us a copy of your JM renewal so we can credit your account. remit to: NAMS, SEPM Donald S. Van Nieuwenhuise, Treasurer Department of Geosciences University of Houston Houston, Texas NAME AFFILIATION ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP COUNTRY PHONE FAX SPECIALIZATIONS IS THIS A RENEWAL? Y N YEARS YOU ARE PAYING FOR WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER: Electronically or Hard Copy? MICROPALEONTOLOGY SUBSCRIBER? (enclose JM renewal) Y N PLEASE INDICATE YOUR STATUS a) student (please provide information about your interests/project and, if you would like, any career goals or directions you might wish to share). b) academic/government professional c) industry professional d) retired/consultant/self-employed/other ENCLOSE A CHECK PAYABLE TO NAMS, SEPM FOR $10.00 each year of membership $0.50 each late penalty (dues prior to 2006) AMOUNT ENCLOSED $ Thanks! NAMS SEPM CAST YOUR VOTE! NAMS SEPM PRESIDENT Anthony D Agostino NEWSLETTER EDITOR Todd M. Boesiger Martin Farley Please check one candidate for each office Please send a copy of your completed ballot before January 15, 2008 to: Robert Campbell NAMS SECRETARY Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. HOU-WCK Rm North Dairy Ashford Houston, TX, (281) Anthony Gary Or your choice to: Robert.Campbell@shell.com (Subject: NAMS Election) NAMS NEWS Fall

14 The next issue of NAMS News will be published before the 2008 AAPG Annual Meeting. Please send news to the Editor through April 5, News regarding meetings, symposia, people, books, internet information, software, new journal articles, and just about anything else regarding micropaleontology is welcome. Submit your news by (preferred), FAX, letter, or phone to the Editor: Jason J. Lundquist NAMS News Editor BP America Inc. 200 Westlake Park Blvd. Houston, TX Tel. (281) Fax (281) NAMS SEPM Jason J. Lundquist, NAMS News Editor BP America Inc. 200 Westlake Park Blvd. Houston, TX 77O79 FIRST CLASS ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED PLEASE FORWARD 14 NAMS NEWS Fall 2007