Don’t Do It!

Honesty is always the best policy

The reputation of this university and its degrees depends on academic honesty. It is for this reason the Faculty of Science has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to academic misconduct.

Every year significant numbers of students are found guilty of academic misconduct in a variety of Science courses. Some stressed students make serious errors in judgment and such errors can and often do have very significant consequences. Students who contravene the Code of Student Behaviour are often under the false impression that leniency will be a standard response to first offenses and that they won’t have to face any real consequences for their actions. The Faculty of Science wants all students to understand that we take academic integrity very seriously and that harsh penalties will apply when students contravene the Code. All students enter University with the understanding that cheating is unacceptable behaviour and, irrespective of stage of program, should therefore expect to receive an automatic disciplinary failing grade (F8) for cheating. This sanction may or may not be accompanied by suspension or expulsion. In the case of plagiarism, students should expect sanctions that range from a zero on the assignment all the way to an F8 (with or without suspension or expulsion), depending on the degree of plagiarism and case particulars. It is therefore critical that you understand your professors’ expectations. Ignorance is not an acceptable defense. There are no excuses! Here are some ethical choices:

1) Don’t procrastinate: practice good time management and start assignments early.

2) Take a reduced grade, even a zero; these are better than an F8 (disciplinary failing grade) and a suspension.

3) Talk to your Professor if you run into difficulty.

4) Reduce your course load to what you can manage.

The Consequences are serious!

You will have a disciplinary record denoted on your transcript for a period of 2 years.

Your GPA is lowered substantially if you receive an F8. This grade is averaged into your GPA and may lead to your being required to withdraw, without the right to appeal, if your GPA falls below Satisfactory Standing (2.0).

You might lose your scholarship or be denied admission (or risk future chances of admission) into another program (for example, Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Business, Education or Graduate Studies).

Suspension can set back or prevent graduation.

Resentment of your fellow students – honest students don’t want to see their grades diminished by those who cheat on exams and plagiarize written work.

Here are some examples of academic offences:

Plagiarism: Using any text/words, phrases, ideas or images from

books (including encyclopedias), articles–including the internet–without proper citation.

Paraphrasing incorrectly or without providing proper citation also constitutes plagiarism. ASK, if you’re in doubt!

Copying (in whole or in part) essays, text, answers, assignments or lab reports from another student or any other source (even if you cite the source). Copy and paste is easy to do, but wrong.

Submitting an essay, assignment or report that was (in whole or in part) submitted in another course.

Cheating: Use or possession of unauthorized materials (notes,

textbook, cheat-sheet, iPhone) during an exam. Copying or simply looking at another student’s answers

during an exam or allowing another student to see your answers during an exam.

Unacceptable levels of external compositional or editorial assistance by a paid or unpaid tutor. If you are unsure of what would be acceptable, ASK!

Misrepresentation of Facts: Making up data, sources or page numbers for reports,

assignments or essays. Changing answers on a corrected exam and re-

submitting it for a mark increase. Making false statements (for instance regarding the

reason for a deferred exam request) to any member of the university community.

Please familiarize yourself with the following web resources: Truth in Education http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/TIE/

Student OmbudService http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/OmbudService/

Plagiarism

The Code of Student Behaviour appears in Appendix A of the Calendar and can be accessed online at http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/

Cheating

Careers in the Geosciences - Online Brochure http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/brochure.html

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Geoscientists follow paths of exploration and discovery in quest of solutions to some of society's most challengingproblems.

Predicting the behavior of Earth systems and the universe.Finding adequate supplies of natural resources, such as ground water, petroleum, and metals.Conserving soils and maintaining agricultural productivity.Developing natural resources in ways that safeguard the environment.Maintaining quality of water supplies.Reducing human suffering and property loss from natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,floods, landslides, hurricanes, and tsunamis.Determining geological controls on natural environments and habitats and predicting the impact of humanactivities on them.Defining the balance between society's demand for natural resources and the need to sustain healthy ecosystems.Understanding global climate patterns.

What is a GEOSCIENTIST?

Geoscientists are stewards or caretakers of Earth's resources andenvironment. They work to understand natural processes on Earth andother planets. Investigating the Earth, its soils, oceans, and atmosphere;forecasting the weather; developing land-use plans; exploring otherplanets and the solar system; determining environmental impacts; andfinding new sources of useful Earth materials are just a few of the waysgeoscientists contribute to our understanding of Earth processes and history. Geoscientists provide essential information for solving problemsand establishing governmental policies for resource management;environmental protection; and public health, safety, and welfare.

Geoscientists are curious about the Earth and the solar system. Is there life on other planets? How are they changing?What effects will shrinking glaciers have on the oceans and climate? What makes a continent move, a mountain form, avolcano erupt? Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?

Geoscientists are concerned about the Earth. How is the global climate changing? How do Earth systems work? Howand where should we dispose of industrial wastes? How can society's growing demands for energy and water besatisfied while conserving natural resources for future generations? As global populations increase, can we growenough food and fiber to sustain them?

The Earth is an outdoor laboratory filled with opportunities to observe Earth processes in action. By applying theirknowledge of forces and factors that shape the Earth, geoscientists seek to reconstruct the past and anticipate thefuture.

Careers in the Geosciences - Online Brochure http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/brochure.html

2 of 5 23/11/2006 7:19 AM

What Do GEOSCIENTISTS Do?

Geoscientists gather and interpret data about the Earth and other planets. They use theirknowledge to increase our understanding of Earth processes and to improve the qualityof human life. Their work and career paths vary widely because the geosciences are sobroad and diverse. The National Science Foundation considers geology, geophysics,hydrology, oceanography, marine science, atmospheric science, planetary science,meteorology, environmental science, and soil science as the major geosciencedisciplines. The following list gives a glimpse of what geoscientists do in thesedisciplines and a variety of subdisciplines.

Atmospheric scientists study weather processes; the global dynamics of climate; solarradiation and its effects; and the role of atmospheric chemistry in ozone depletion,climate change, and pollution.

Economic geologists explore for and develop metallic and nonmetallic resources; theystudy mineral deposits and find environmentally safe ways to dispose of waste materialsfrom mining activities.

Engineering geologists apply geological data, techniques, and principles to the study of rock and soil surficialmaterials and ground water; they investigate geologic factors that affect structures such as bridges, buildings, airports,and dams.

Environmental geologists study the interaction between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and human activities. They work to solveproblems associated with pollution, waste management, urbanization, andnatural hazards, such as flooding and erosion.

Geochemists use physical and inorganic chemistry to investigate the natureand distribution of major and trace elements in ground water and Earthmaterials; they use organic chemistry to study the composition of fossil fuel(coal, oil, and gas) deposits.

Geochronologists use the rates of decay of certain radioactive elements inrocks to determine their age and the time sequence of events in the history ofthe Earth.

Geologists study the materials, processes, products, physical nature, and history of the Earth.

Geomorphologists study Earth's landforms and landscapes in relation to the geologic and climatic processes andhuman activities, which form them.

Geophysicists apply the principles of physics to studies of the Earth'sinterior and investigate Earth's magnetic, electric, and gravitational fields.

Glacial geologists study the physical properties and movement ofglaciers and ice sheets.

Hydrogeologists study the occurrence, movement, abundance,distribution, and quality of subsurface waters and related geologic aspectsof surface waters.

Hydrologists are concerned with water from the moment of precipitationuntil it evaporates into the atmosphere or is discharged into the ocean; for example, they study river systems to predictthe impacts of flooding.

Marine geologists investigate the ocean-floor and ocean-continent

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3 of 5 23/11/2006 7:19 AM

boundaries; they study ocean basins, continental shelves, and the coastalenvironments on continental borders.

Meteorologists study the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena,including the weather.

Mineralogists study mineral formation, composition, and properties.

Oceanographers investigate the physical, chemical, biological, andgeologic dynamics of oceans.

Paleoecologists study the function and distribution of ancient organisms and their relationships to their environment.

Paleontologists study fossils to understand past life forms and their changes through time and to reconstruct pastenvironments.

Petroleum geologists are involved in exploration for and production of oil and natural gas resources.

Petrologists determine the origin and natural history of rocks by analyzing mineralcomposition and grain relationships.

Planetary geologists study planets and their moons in order to understand the evolutionof the solar system.

Sedimentologists study the nature, origin, distribution, and alteration of sediments, suchas sand, silt, and mud. Oil, gas, coal and many mineral deposits occur in such sediments.

Seismologists study earthquakes and analyze the behavior of earthquake waves tointerpret the structure of the Earth.

Soil scientists study soils and their properties to determine how to sustain agriculturalproductivity and to detect and remediate contaiminated soils.

Stratigraphers investigate the time andspace relationships of rocks, on a local,

regional, and global scale throughout geologic time -- especially the fossiland mineral content of layered rocks.

Structural geologists analyze Earth's forces by studying deformation,fracturing, and folding of the Earth's crust.

Volcanologists investigate volcanoes and volcanic phenomena tounderstand these natural hazards and predict eruptions.

Where Do GEOSCIENTISTS Work?

Geoscientists may be found sampling the deep ocean floor or examining rock specimensfrom the Moon or Mars. But the work of most geoscientists is more "down to Earth."They work as explorers for new mineral and hydrocarbon resources, consultants onengineering and environmental problems, researchers, teachers, writers, editors, andmuseum curators as well as in many other challenging positions. They often divide theirtime among work in the field, the laboratory, and the office.

Field work usually consists of making observations, exploring the subsurface by drillingor using geophysical tools, collecting samples, and making measurements that will beanalyzed in the laboratory. For example, rock samples may be X-rayed, studied under anelectron microscope, and analyzed to determine physical and chemical properties.

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4 of 5 23/11/2006 7:19 AM

Geoscientists may also conduct experiments or design computer models to test theories about geologic phenomena andprocesses.

In the office, they integrate field and laboratory data and prepare reports and presentations that include maps anddiagrams that illustrate the results of their studies. Such maps may pinpoint the possible occurrence of ores, coal, oil,natural gas, water resources, or indicate subsurface conditions or hazards that might affect construction sites or landuse.

Job and Salary OUTLOOK

The employment outlook in the geosciences -- as in any profession -- varies with theeconomic climate of the country. The long-range outlook is good at this time. Dwindlingenergy, mineral, and water resources along with increasing concerns about theenvironment and natural hazards present new challenges to geoscientists.

According to the National Science Foundation, about 125,000 geoscientists work in theUnited States. Most geoscientists are employed by industries related to oil and gas,mining and minerals and water resources.

Many geoscientists are self-employed as geological consultants or work with consultingfirms. Most consulting geologists have had extensive professional experience inindustry, teaching, or research.

Also, many geoscientists work for the federal government or a state government agency.The U.S. Geological Survey (Department of the Interior), Department of Energy,Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state geologicalsurveys, and state departments of environment and resources all employ geoscientists.

Salary scales vary from employer to employer depending on the career path, location, qualifications of the geoscientist,and, of course, the economy.

Salaries for college graduates with bachelor's degrees start at about $29,000. Starting salaries for geoscientists withmaster's degrees are about $38,000 and about $42,000 for Ph.Ds.

INTERESTED?

A strong interest in science and a good education are themost important elements in becoming a geoscientist. Thegeosciences draw on biology, chemistry, mathematics,physics, and engineering. High school courses related to these subjects plus a geology or earth-science course, or anintegrated science curriculum, will help prepare you forcollege. Also, get a solid grounding in English, because geoscientists need to be able to write and speak clearly.

In choosing a college or university, look at the course listings for departments of geology, geoscience,earth-systems science, or environmental science to identifythe geoscience programs that best match your interests. Asin any profession, the applicants with the best qualifications get the best jobs. Most professional positions in the geosciences require a master's degree. A Ph.D. isneeded for advancement in college teaching and in most high-level research positions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...

Careers in the Geosciences - Online Brochure http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/brochure.html

5 of 5 23/11/2006 7:19 AM

"Professional Career Pathways in the Geosciences" includes the American Geological Institute's "Careers" site on theWorld Wide Web, an interactive CD-ROM, and a videotape. AGI developed these materials in cooperation with itsmember societies and other geoscience organizations through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Directory of Geoscience Departments lists more than 800 degree-granting geoscience departments in NorthAmerica; the Guide to Geoscience Departments gives in-depth profiles of selected geoscience departments. Both booksare available from AGI.

Contact the organizations listed here, as well as other geoscientific societies and government agencies that employgeoscientists.

American Geological Institute,4220 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22302-1502

Phone: 703/379-2480, FAX: 703/379-7563 - ehr@agiweb.org - http://www.agiweb.org/American Association of Petroleum Geologists,P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101-0979

Phone: 918/584-2555, FAX: 918/560-2636 - postmaster@aapg.org - http://www.aapg.org/Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, Colorado 80301

Phone: 303/447-2020 - FAX: 303/447-1133, educate@geosociety.org - http://www.geosociety.org

Supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

AGI Home | Earth Science World Home | Careers Home

© 2002 American Geological Institute. All rights reserved.

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GEOLOGIST AMY SIMONSON LOVES HER

work. She spends her days in the country-side around Charlottesville, Virginia, meas-uring stream flow and groundwater levelsfor the state’s Department of Environmen-tal Quality. The job, she says, is exactlywhat she wanted.

Simonson, 25, began her job hunt in2007 after getting a master’s degree in geol-

ogy from the Uni-versity of Delaware,Newark. She hadone condition: Shewanted to spend asmuch time as pos-sible in the f ield,

not in front of a microscope or a computer.Taking a scattershot approach, she appliedfor jobs in geophysics, engineering, environ-mental consulting, and geographic informa-tion system mapping. She didn’t have to waitlong. “I got offered a lot of stuff,” she says.

Simonson’s experience isn’t rare. Formany young geoscientists now embarkingon careers, the job outlook is very good.The current federal research funding situa-tion means it’s less rosy for those on an aca-demic research track. But for those inindustry, the number of geoscience jobswill grow by 22% from 2006 to 2016, muchfaster than the projected total of a 10%increase for all occupations, according tothe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“In general, the market is hot,” saysCindy Martinez, who analyzes geoscienceworkforce issues at the American Geologi-

cal Institute (AGI) in Alexandria, Virginia.“Functionally, there’s no unemployment ofgeoscientists right now.”

In the petroleum, mining, and environ-mental consulting industries, a desperatequest for new talent has sent companiesscrambling to hire new graduates. Tradi-tionally, a master’s has been the profes-sional degree of choice for industryemployers. But the need for new hireswithin these fields is such that even gradu-ates with bachelor’s degrees are f indingjobs, particularly in environmental con-

sulting—although a master’s is generallyneeded to move up the ladder from field-work to the office.

That intense competition for new hireshas raised starting salaries in these indus-tries, especially oil: Graduates now enter-ing the petroleum industry earn $82,500 ayear, on average, according to AGI.

Geoscience salaries generally have alsobeen increasing, AGI data show. In 2005,the average starting salary for a geoscientistin an industry, academic, or governmentposition was $74,000, a 9.7% increase over2004. For later career scientists with morethan 20 years of experience, the averagesalary was $139,000 in 2005, an increase ofmore than 23% over the previous year.

The current hiring boom in the petro-leum industry is a welcome change fromthe layoffs of the 1980s and 1990s; un-employment among geoscientists reached11% in 1985. Those layoffs left a distinctgap in the oil industry workforce betweennew hires and senior managers, a 2007National Petroleum Council report noted.And with many senior managers likely toretire within the next decade, there aren’tenough midlevel managers ready to takethe helm. This hiring and firing pattern is“totally cyclical,” Martinez says. “Theindustry needs to work on fixing that.”

Although industry jobs are readily avail-able, the job market is tougher for studentsseeking careers in academia. One problem is aresearch-funding shortage, as primary fund-ing sources such as the National Science

Flat federal funding means tight times in academia, but jobs abound in the

petroleum, mining, and environmental consulting industries

Oil and Gas 81,300 82,500Environmental Firm 47,500 45,500Any Government 46,200 45,000

AVERAGE MEDIAN

Postdoc—Academe 43,100 42,000Postdoc—Gov’t. 55,200 53,000Permanent Academe 51,900 52,500Private Sector 72,600 71,000

Geoscience Masters ($) ($)

Geoscience Ph.D.s

Starting Salaries

Employment by sector

43% Petroleum

18% Government

17% Academia

12% Mining

8% Environmental

1% Exec. Mgmt.

1% Other

GEOSCIENCE STATS

In the Geosciences, Business Is Booming

OnlineHear more aboutgeology careers in

this week’s Science podcast.

sciencemag.org

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Foundation have suffered from essentially flatresearch budgets for the past few years. Thatlack of research money contributes to anothertrend: When a venerated geology professorretires, some universities are choosing not tohire a replacement, filling the position with ascientist in a different, often environmental,field, or not at all. As of January 2008, the num-ber of geoscience faculty members in U.S. col-leges and universities was 12,354, down from13,554 in 1999, according to a June 2008report released by AGI.

The lack of available academic positionshas left geoscientists who aspire to faculty jobsin limbo, often stringing together several post-doc positions as they wait for openings, Mar-tinez says. The percentage of geoscience post-docs “has really gone through the roof,” withabout 58% of Ph.D. graduates pursuing post-docs in 2005 compared with 40% in 1999.That trend may soon slow if a combination ofstrong industry salaries and weak academicopportunities pushes some students to leavegraduate school early. “We’re seeing geoscien-tists in droves going into industry with mas-ter’s degrees and not staying on for Ph.D.s,”Martinez says.

“My perception is indeed that there aremany more applicants for jobs than there arepositions,” says Joseph Colgan, a Menden-hall Postdoctoral Research Fellow at theU.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in MenloPark, California. Colgan, who studies thegeologic setting of mineral deposits in thewestern United States, has considered aca-demic jobs but would like to stay in a morepermanent job at USGS. However, theagency, like many universities, has tight-ened its belt after years of flat or decliningbudgets, which means fewer hires.

Geoscience graduates will have trainingthat qualifies them for jobs outside of theirhome field. Scientists with training in multi-disciplinary specialties such as isotopic trac-ers, mineral commodities, and geotechnologyare successfully venturing into fields thataren’t considered geologic, including medi-cine, law, and finance. In fact, only 50% ofpeople with geoscience degrees currentlywork in the geosciences, according to AGI.

Ultimately, for geoscientists who want towork in industry, job opportunities abound.“The earth sciences are in a somewhatunique situation at the moment becausewe’re in one of the biggest commoditybooms ever,” Colgan says. So if he doesn’tget a permanent position with USGS, headds, “I’ll come up with something else.”

–CAROLYN GRAMLING

Carolyn Gramling is a geosciences writer in Wash-

ington, D.C.

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In the field.

Sally Serenyi joinedSchlumberger for

“a bit of adventure.”

SIX YEARS AGO, WOULD-BE LAWYER KIRA DIAZ-TUSHMAN HEARD A NATIONAL PUBLICRadio program about the impending retirement of senior U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) geo-logists. “I thought, ‘That sounds fun. I want to do what they’re doing and play around in the field.’ ”So she double-majored in geology and political science at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania anddid a summer internship at USGS.

Watching researchers scramble for dwindling federal funding turned her away from govern-ment work. But her interest in geology persisted, so she studied for a master’s degree in structuralgeology at the University of Texas (UT), Austin. While there, she interned with the technologygroup at Apache Corp., an oil exploration company based in Houston, and learned the basics ofseismic mapping. She began to seriously consider a job in oil exploration.

Diaz-Tushman, now an operations geologist for BP, is part of a fast-growing global cadre ofscientists and engineers building careers around unlocking more of Earth’s energy reserves.Those in the field repeat the mantra that the “easy oil is gone”; this new generation faces thechallenge of finding oil in remote locations and of pioneering new ways to tap into unconven-tional reserves in existing oil fields.

Mind the gap The cyclical nature of oil prices has left a historical footprint on the existing pool of humanresources. Low prices in the 1980s and 1990s meant that many major companies recruited less ornot at all, leaving them top-heavy and in need of young talent.

The hiring gap “is more of a driver than the price” of oil today, says Laura DeMott, a Houston-based senior petroleum geologist at ExxonMobil. Regardless of the cause, demand for people withgeological and geophysical training is high in the oil industry, and experts predict it will staystrong for the next 5 to 10 years.

People entering the industry will have their choice of a great diversity of companies, locations,and career paths. In North America, family-owned single-drill outfits work alongside multinational

SCIENCECAREERS

The next generation of petroleum geologists will face uniquechallenges in meeting the world’s energy demands

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WHEN HYDROGEOLOGISTS TALK ABOUT

their field, one word keeps coming up: “reces-sion-proof.” While geologists in the energyand mineral industries face roller-coaster hir-ing-and-firing cycles, those who study themovement and chemistry of water seepingthrough rocks and sediment find demand fortheir expertise almost as steady as the flow ofgroundwater itself.

“I can’t think of any unemployed hydro-geologists,” says Roy Haggerty, an associateprofessor of hydrogeology at Oregon StateUniversity, Corvallis. It’s easy to see why.Water is essential, irreplaceable, and, as popu-lations and economies grow, increasingly indemand and endangered.

Environmental consulting companies,which employ about 80% of hydrogeologistsin the United States, currently report four jobsfor every qualified graduate, according to theAmerican Geological Institute (AGI). Gov-ernment regulatory agencies, national labora-tories, and mining and oil companies alsoneed them. New niches open regularly ashydrogeologists team up with scientists inother disciplines to grapple with huge envi-ronmental challenges, such as forecastinghow changing climate will affect waterresources and aquatic life. And signs are thatthe future will hold more of the same. AsRichelle Allen-King, a hydrogeology profes-sor at the University at Buffalo in New York,puts it, “Water problems are not going away.”

A steady flow

Kurt Zeiler, 32, works in the Denver, Colorado,office of the global environmental-servicescompany AMEC Geomatrix. After 5 years as ahydrogeologist, he says: “It’s going well. Idefinitely love this f ield. There’s a lot of

opportunities to do really interesting science.”Zeiler’s training—a B.S. in earth science

from Montana State University in Bozemanand a double-M.S. in water resources andhydrogeology from the University of Wis-consin, Madison—exposed him to the wholegamut of hydrogeologic work. He learned tomonitor the water levels in wells for the dif-ferences in hydraulic potential (“head”) thatdrive water through porous rock or sedi-ments, analyze well-drilling cores to get apicture of underground rock and sedimentlayers, perform pump tests to determine howreadily the water can flow through the strata,and probe water samples for their geochem-istry and contamination.

His forte, though, is running the computermodels that hydrogeologists use to integratetheir knowledge of a groundwater system andplan its future. Zeiler’s modeling work hascovered sites in California, Montana, Alaska,and Ghana. His biggest project is an aquifereast of Los Angeles where groundwater con-taminated with fuel and industrial solvents isbeing pumped out and treated for use as drink-ing water. Zeiler says he leaves most of the

data gathering to other scientists. “I enjoybeing outside—working on a drill rig, gettingmy hands dirty, all that stuff,” he says. “Butmodeling is where I’ve ended up.”

Of the 15 hydrogeologists in the Denveroffice where Zeiler works, only three havePh.D.s. That’s typical of the field as a whole:AGI estimates that university programs grad-uate f ive times as many M.S. students asPh.D.s. Its figures show that about 18,000hydrologists and hydrogeologists now work inthe environmental industry, a few thousand inthe mining and petroleum industries, andabout 850 in academia, the only sector forwhich a doctorate is required.

Despite high demand, salaries for hydro-geologists in government and in the privatesector remain about 15% to 20% below thoseof other geoscientists. Low payoffs go hand inhand with high security, Haggerty says: “Iknow of people in their 50s who have been fab-ulously successful in the petroleum industry,but there are boom-and-bust cycles. In hydro-geology, the boom and bust is not there. It’smuch more level. But I don’t know of manymultimillionaire hydrogeologists, either.”

If the field doesn’t surge, it does at leastebb and flow. “Ten to 20 years ago, it was allcleanup—contaminant work,” Allen-Kingsays. The profession’s cleanup phase waned inthe late 1990s and early 2000s as changingpolitical priorities, soaring cleanup costs, andsome noteworthy environmental successesled to cutbacks in remediation.

Now, the focus has shifted to supply, theproblem of f inding and managing waterresources while protecting their quality. Tech-niques such as artificial recharge (reinjectingwater into the ground for storage) and carbonsequestration (keeping carbon dioxide emis-sions from combustion out of the atmosphereby forcing them underground) raise newwater-related environmental issues that scien-tists are just learning to tackle.

In the realm of research, academic hydro-geologists are broadening their time horizonsto help forecast and mitigate the effects of cli-mate change, and they’re stretching the tradi-tional boundaries of their field to explorequestions such as how groundwater interactswith the surface water of lakes and rivers.Collaborations with scientists from otherdisciplines are proliferating. “More andmore, hydrogeologists are no longer workingalone,” says John Wilson, a hydrology profes-sor at the New Mexico Institute of Miningand Technology in Socorro. “The subsurfaceis part of it but no longer the whole thing.Other parts of the cycle—biology, chemistry,ecology, and climate—that is where researchis going, I think.”

8 AUGUST 2008 VOL 321 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org

Pumped up. Trayle

Kulshan tests a new

well north of Kabul,

Afghanistan.

Taking data.

Kurt Zeiler logs

core samples.

Cross-disciplinary collaborations and a steady stream of new environmental

problems give groundwater experts plenty of work to do

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SCIENCECAREERS

Shades of green

The broadening of academic research has fil-tered down to the training of M.S. students.Some graduate programs, such as New Mex-ico Tech’s and the double-M.S. program at theUniversity of Wisconsin, now require inter-disciplinary courses in topics such as surfacewater, ecology, and economics. Some hydro-logic consulting companies, however, com-plain that versatility isn’t what they need.“We’re having difficulty finding traditionalhydrogeologists,” says Daniel Stephens,founder and head of a 110-employee environ-mental consulting company with offices inNew Mexico, Texas, and California. “Thepeople we’re seeing are fewer in number, andtheir qualifications are thinner.” Instead ofgiving students a smorgasbord of skills,Stephens says, universities should equip themto start work on real projects.

But Wilson, whose department at NewMexico Tech embraced the multidisciplinaryapproach a decade ago, says his students arewell-prepared to learn anything they need toknow. “At some point, the employer is respon-sible for training students in the details of thejobs,” he says. Oil companies, he notes, arehappy to recruit promising hydrogeologistsand train them in petroleum exploration.

If money were the only lure for earth sci-entists, fossil fuels might be the only fluids intown. But hydrogeologists say a strongundercurrent of environmental idealism per-vades the field as well. Just as many seniorscientists drew their inspiration from the firstEarth Day, some young water experts arepursuing activist agendas of their own—andcarving out new career paths to do it.

Trayle Kulshan is one of them. After get-ting her M.S. in hydrogeology from StanfordUniversity in Palo Alto, California, in 2002,she spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in Guinea.Now, as water, sanitation, and hygiene coordi-nator for the humanitarian nongovernmentalorganization Action Contre la Faim (ActionAgainst Hunger), she plans and oversees proj-ects to build wells, latrines, and water net-works in developing countries as far-flung asAfghanistan and the Democratic Republic of theCongo. She currently is working in Kenya.Although she is now as much a public-healthworker as an earth scientist, Kulshan says hergraduate training gives her a quick grasp ofhydrologic conditions as well as skill in collect-ing, analyzing, and interpreting other kinds ofdata and communicating the results. “In gradschool, we are all [teaching assistants] anddevelop skills as teachers. Every day I amteaching,” she wrote by e-mail from Nairobi.“And I have to say I am still a student learningevery day as well.” –ROBERT COONTZ

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 321 8 AUGUST 2008

exploration companies such as Schlumberger and companies that integrate the entire process fromexploration to production to distribution, such as BP and ExxonMobil.

Recruitment and preparation

Sally Serenyi didn’t set out to join the oil industry. But not long after she graduated with her bach-elor’s degree in physics from the University of Exeter in the U.K., she walked past a glossy recruit-ing display at a career fair with pictures of exotic landscapes. The display was for Schlumberger;now, just under 2 years later, she works for the company as a field engineer. “I joined for a bit ofadventure,” she says, and the “opportunity to go all over the world.” Serenyi works with a crew ofa half-dozen engineers and equipment operators near exploration sites in Austria and Hungary,collecting and preparing data for client companies.

Recruiters generally encourage students interested in the oil industry to obtain master’sdegrees, and industry-sponsored scholarships provide some incentive. But the current demandfor new talent means that companies are “happy to have people with a strong bachelor’s,” saysCharles Groat, former USGS director and now a professor of energy and mineral resources at UTAustin. Groat tells students that oil companies still prefer graduates who have fundamental train-ing in geology and geophysics and who are comfortable with quantitative analysis, perhapsthrough classes in economics, statistics, or computer science. There are also jobs available to peo-ple in related fields including physics and engineering, as Serenyi found.

Companies use internship programs as recruiting tools and as extended interviews, says EricLyons, a geophysicist at BP. Lyons did three internships with Marathon Oil Corp. en route to earn-ing a geophysics master’s degree. Such programs give companies “a chance to look at the stu-dents and vice versa,” Groat says. But internships are “a long way from being required,” he adds.

The daily grind

New recruits to large companies typically spend a significant part of the first couple of years com-pleting in-company training and gaining experience with different parts of the company. Lyons,who has worked on North American oil fields, now works on fields in the Gulf of Mexico and willbe assigned elsewhere next year. For DeMott, who earned her master’s degree in geology in 2007,training at ExxonMobil will involve three 8-month placements.

As companies bring in green staff, they are also trying to bring experienced staff back fromretirement, or retain baby boomers as part-time consultants, to train the young recruits. Even so,the workforce is expected to be bottom-heavy—which could work to the advantage of youngeremployees. “In a few years, there will be the option to go up the ladder faster,” Diaz-Tushman says.

In large companies, young geoscientists often have a choice of pursuing a managerial track ora parallel technical career ladder, with comparable compensation and recognition. In smallercompanies that have just one or two geologists on staff, that may not be possible, and the workcan be “more mundane, since they don’t have the resources for more exotic stuff,” says Groat.Still, smaller companies can have a different culture that may suit some geoscientists, he adds.

Lyons warns students who “love being outside” that at most oil industry jobs, “you’re gonnabe sitting inside all the time.” Diaz-Tushman says that even though some of her work is in thefield, ultimately, “I have an office job.” It is possible to find fieldwork-focused jobs, such asSerenyi’s, but fieldwork can mean giving up sleep when a well needs attention or a client suddenlyneeds data. “[The lifestyle] wouldn’t fit someone who wasn’t particularly energetic,” Serenyi says.

Challenges

Plenty of technical challenges await this new generation of geoscientists. “The hottest area rightnow is unconventional reservoirs,” says Groat. These include tight reservoirs of traditional hydro-carbons that have no natural fractures for engineers to exploit as conduits. Oil companies are alsoexploring other hydrocarbon sources such as heavy oils, coal-bed methane, and oil shale.

“There’s a lot of stuff out there,” DeMott emphasizes, “but what’s there is not easy and notcheap to get out; … that’s the problem that everyone is facing.”

It’s hard to forget the price crashes, layoffs, and hiring freezes that swept the industry duringthe 1980s and 1990s. But analysts predict not just stability but strong growth in jobs in the fieldin the near future.

“Maybe the hiring rate will slow in 5 or 10 years,” DeMott says, “but I’m not concerned withlosing my job. There’s still not that many people to hire.”

–LUCAS LAURSEN

Lucas Laursen is a freelance science writer in Cambridge, U.K.

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MODERN PETROCHEMICAL USES

OF OIL AND GAS

A FIELD GUIDE TO CRITICAL THINKING AND EVIDENTIAL REASONING

FALSIFIABILITY If the claim is valid, there must not be a single argument or piece of evidence thatfalsifies it.

LOGIC Any argument offered as evidence in support of the claim must be logical.

COMPREHENSIVENESS The evidence offered in support of the claim must be exhaustive, and allof the available evidence must be considered.

SUFFICIENCY Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

HONESTY The evidence offered in support of the claim must be evaluated without self-deception.

REPLICABILITY If evidence for the claim is based on experimental results, or if the evidence couldbe logically explained as coincidental, then it is necessary for the evidence to berepeated in subsequent experiments or trials.

BURDEN OF PROOF The burden of proof for any claim rests on the claimant.

AUTHORITY The claimant should be a person of authority in the field.

Note: Passing all eight tests does not guarantee that the claim is true (future investigations may revealinvalidating evidence), but passing the tests does guarantee that there are good reasons to conclude thatthe claim is true.

Simple rules for quickly judging claims (or newspaper stories):

1. Do not believe everything you hear or read.

2. Be skeptical of studies or experiments from which different workers elicit different answers.

3. Be skeptical if claims are made that violate one or several laws of nature.

4. Be skeptical of opinions of 'experts' outside their area of expertise.

5. Be skeptical of individuals (scientists, economists, theologians) who are 'fanatic' about their ownhypotheses or claims.

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- EAS 103/201 - University of Alberta - compiled by Hans G. Machel -- see also: Lett, J. (1990), Skeptical Inquirer v. 14, p. 153-160; Lipps, J.H. (2004), Skeptical Inquirer v. 28, p. 35-37. -

6

CAUT Policy Statement on Academic Freedom

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is dedicated to the promotion and protection of academic freedom. The common good of society depends upon the search for knowledge and truth and its free expression. Academic freedom is essential for these purposes. Academic freedom does not require neutrality on the part of the individual. Rather academic freedom makes commitment possible. Academic staff, like all other groups and individuals, are entitled to enjoy recognized civil, political, social and cultural rights. Therefore, all academic staff must enjoy freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly and association as well as the right to liberty and security of the person and liberty of movement. They must not be hindered or impeded in exercising their civil rights as citizens, including the right to contribute to social change through freely expressing their opinion of state policies and of policies affecting higher education. They must not suffer any penalties simply because of the exercise of such rights. Academic staff are entitled to the exercise of academic freedom. Academic freedom includes the right, without constriction by prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom in producing and performing creative works, freedom to engage in service to the institution and the community, freedom to express freely their opinion about the institution, its administration, or the system in which they work, freedom from institutional censorship and freedom to participate in professional or representative academic bodies. Academic staff must not be forced to teach against their own best knowledge and conscience or be forced to use curricula and methods contrary to national and international human rights standards. Academic staff must play the predominant role in determining the curriculum and assessment standards. All academic staff must have the right to fulfill their functions without discrimination of any kind and without fear of repression by the state or any other source.

Amended and approved by the CAUT Academic Freedom & Tenure Committee,December 2002; Approved by the CAUT Council, May 2003.

http://www.caut.ca/en/policies/academicfreedom.asp