higher education

Professional Geologist Licensure Requirements and the ASBOG National Geology License Examinations

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

This webinar will:

  • Provide an overview of geology licensure qualification requirements in the United States
  • Discuss the national licensing examinations for geologists prepared by the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG®)
  • Learn how data from the ASBOG® Fundamentals of Geology (FG) examination can be used as a curriculum assessment and curriculum modification tool

Our speakers are:

  • Laurie Racca, PG 6980, Senior Registrar, Geology & Geophysics, California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists |  pdf download icon Slides
  • Randy Kath, Professor of Geology, Department of Geosicences, University of West Georgia |  pdf download icon Slides
  • Jack Warner, President, TEST, Inc. |  pdf download icon Slides

CEU Credits

To earn CEU credits, please complete the associated on-demand GOLI course that was developed from this webinar with a grade of 70% or higher and then submit your application for CEUs. CEUs are awarded from the American Institute of Professional Geologists. To view the full list of on-demand GOLI courses, please browse the GOLI course catalog.

Additional Resources

About the Speakers

Laurie Racca, PG, is a licensed Professional Geologist with 25+ years of experience specializing in complex environmental site investigations and leading multidisciplinary teams. Her experience includes working in private environmental and geotechnical consulting, providing regulatory agency oversight large military and civilian environmental cleanups for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and investigating fraud, waste and abuse as part of the Office of Enforcement at the California State Water Resources Control Board. She was appointed as the Senior Registrar for Geologists and Geophysicists by the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) in June 2015. She also volunteers as the Examination Committee Chair for the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG®).

Randy Kath has a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology from the Institute for the Study of Mineral Deposits at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and over 30 years’ experience in academic, consulting and industry practice.  In addition to teaching engineering geology, structural geology, economic geology, field geology and geologic mapping, Dr. Kath is currently performing geologic mapping and structural interpretation at the 7.5-minute quadrangle scale in the Piedmont/Blue Ridge & Valley and Ridge provinces of northwest Georgia in support of the USGS State Map program.  These geologic quadrangles are currently being used to identify mineral, aggregate, and groundwater resources by a variety of end users. 

Dr. Kath also has extensive experience as an independent consultant performing structural and lithologic mapping, remote sensing analysis and developing three-dimensional geologic models for major infrastructure projects throughout the southeastern United States, specializing in complexly folded and faulted terrains.  Prior to joining the University of West Georgia in 1995, Dr. Kath worked as a senior geologist for Golder Associates, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, and before that, served as an exploration geologist for Goldstake Explorations Inc. in Spearfish, South Dakota, and a consulting geologist for Homestake Mining Co. in Lead, South Dakota, Beau Val Mines in Nevada, and Avatar Resources in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Dr. Kath performed district-scale and detailed geologic mapping and structural interpretation for gold exploration programs in the northern and central Black Hills, South Dakota.

Dr. Kath has served as a subject matter expert on the council of examiners for the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG®) since 2006, and ASBOG®’s president in 2015.  Since 2008, ASBOG has been collecting demographic data on the test form that allows for detailed statistical analysis of the content domain data from the Fundamentals of Geology (FG) examination by university and graduation year.  In 2012, Dr, Kath developed an assessment graphing application (CPAT) to streamline the statistical analysis and graphing of the FG examination data for assessing university curriculum performance relative to a national dataset.  The graphing application is programmed around the Microsoft Access database engine and has a GUI interface.  Data from the application is currently available for 217 universities.

Jack Warner received his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology in 1980 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  During his early professional career, Jack served as Director of Examination Services in the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Registrations.  He provided 25 licensing boards with expertise related to developing and validating their licensing examinations.

Jack is President of TEST, Inc. which he established after working in state government for several years.  TEST, Inc. has provided ASBOG® with psychometric services since 1992.  The services include developing test blueprints based on task analysis survey results, developing and updating the FG and PG Examinations, conducting test development workshops, analyzing the statistical properties of examinations items, grading examinations, establishing cut-off scores, and preparing summary reports that document the performance of the examinations. 

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Professional Geologist Licensure Requirements and the ASBOG National Geology License Examinations

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An Introduction to Professional Writing for Geoscience Careers

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Our speakers are:

  • Pranoti Asher, Scholar-in-Residence, American Geosciences Institute; Manager, Higher Education, American Geophsyical Union | pdf download icon Slides | YouTube download icon Video
  • Bob Simmons, Chief Hydrogeologist, HRP Associates, Inc  | pdf download icon Slides | YouTube download icon Video
  • Ron Wallace, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (retired)  | pdf download icon Slides | YouTube download icon Video

This webinar is co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Professional Geologists, American Meteorological Society, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, Council on Undergraduate Research, Geological Society of America, HRP Associates, Inc., National Association of Geoscience Teachers, National Association of State Boards of Geology, SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology, Society of Economic Geologists, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, The Geological Society of London

CEU Credits

To earn CEU credits, please complete the associated on-demand GOLI course that was developed from this webinar with a grade of 70% or higher and then submit your application for CEUs. CEUs are awarded from the American Institute of Professional Geologists. To view the full list of on-demand GOLI courses, please browse the GOLI course catalog.

Resources to learn more:

About Our Speakers

Pranoti Asher, Scholar-in-Residence, American Geosciences Institute; Manager, Higher Education, American Geophsyical Union

Pranoti Asher is the Member Society Scholar-in-Residence at AGI, and also is the Higher Education Manager for the American Geophysical Union (AGU). She has developed an extensive portfolio during her time at AGU and is mainly focused on programs and issues related to higher education. Prior to joining AGU, Asher spent eighteen years as a geoscience faculty member. In her last faculty position she was a tenured member of the Geology and Geography department at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro for nearly thirteen years. Among her many achievements at Georgia Southern, she served as the Acting Associate Dean of the College of Science and Technology and a faculty fellow at the University's Center for Excellence in Teaching. She also played a leading role in faculty development programs both on the university campus and national levels, for which she was recognized with teaching and service awards. Asher's current activities are focused on the intersection of education, outreach, and workforce development for the geosciences and the development of earth and space science faculty and their students at two-year and four-year colleges to better prepare students to enter the workforce. Asher received her Ph.D. in the geological sciences from the University of Connecticut.

Bob Simmons, HRP Associates, Inc, Chief Hydrogeologist

Bob Simmons is the Chief Hydrogeologist at HRP Associates, Inc. He Mr. Simmons has over 30 years of experience in groundwater assessment and remediation and the investigation and remediation of contaminated properties. Mr. Simmons has specific expertise in design and testing of remedial systems, site remediation activities, groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling, aquifer pumping tests, supervision of Environmental Site Assessments for hazardous waste and petroleum contamination, groundwater monitoring, well construction, sampling, conductivity testing and surveying, and supervision of underground tank investigations. Simmons earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Earth Science/Geology from Western Connecticut State University and graduate-level Hydrogeology at Ohio University and Geographic Information Systems at the University of New Haven. For his contributions to karst conservation, Bob was named a Fellow of the National Speleological Society in 2010. He is a licensed Professional Geologist in eight (8) states and a Licensed Environmental Professional in Connecticut.

Ron Wallace, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (retired)

Ron Wallace, PG, CPG was a Program Manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He worked previously for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division in the Underground Storage Tank Management Program for over 18 years. He has managed thousands of site investigations from initial release to no further action. Previously he worked for Exxon in production, exploration, and marketing where he managed company owned petroleum releases. He also worked for a number of years for private environmental consulting firms. Wallace is currently president of the Georgia Section of American Institute of Professional Geologists and the past national president. Wallace holds a BS in Oceanographic Technology from Lamar University and a MS in Geology from the University of Kansas. He was a member of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) team for Evaluating LNAPL Remedial Technologies for Achieving Project Goals.

Professional Writing for Geoscience Careers: Academic Writing and Preparation

The Current and Mid-21st Century Geoscience Workforce

Friday, May 11, 2018

This webinar will look at the latest data from various AGI surveys on workforce, which will shed light on the current state of geoscience programs, student experiences, and a view of long-term trends.  In addition, several emerging trends regarding what the future of geoscience work will look like will be discussed, especially the impact of technologies such as machine learning and what that means for the future of geoscience employment.

PDF of Slides

 

 

PDF iconWorkforce21.pdf

The Current and Mid-21st Century Geoscience Workforce

Pages

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