RICHARDSON, Texas (March 18, 2004) – What will thousands of geologists focus on when they descend on Dallas next month for a major geosciences convention?

Oil and soil, of course, with a little natural gas, water and even dinosaur tracks thrown in for good measure.

A virtual gusher of earth science information awaits members of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) – with 30,000 members, the largest professional society of its kind in the world – and the Society for Sedimentary Geology at the 2004 AAPG annual convention, to be held April 18-21 at the Dallas Convention Center.

A technical program consisting of about 850 presentations has been assembled for attendees by representatives of industry, academia and the government, led by technical program coordinator Dr. Janok P. Bhattacharya, associate professor of geosciences at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).

From forums on finding oil in the future and teaching earth sciences to K-12 students, to poster sessions on offshore drilling and unconventional oil plays, to field trips to visit coal deposits in eastern Oklahoma and dinosaur tracks in Glen Rose, Texas, convention-goers will have plenty of opportunities to get a geological information fix. And, lest anyone think that the information being conveyed will be entirely arcane and somewhat dull, Texas oilman-cum-water-magnate Boone Pickens will address the Division of Environmental Geosciences luncheon on April 20 on an emerging controversy – “Texas Water: Oil of the 21st Century.”

“The AAPG annual convention is traditionally one of the best sources of information for geologists, educators and students to update themselves on the latest developments in petroleum geology and related fields, and this year will be no exception,” said Bhattacharya. “What will be new this year is an increased emphasis on education, which, it is hoped, will help encourage younger people to consider a career in this exciting field.”

Bhattacharya will be an active participant in the convention’s technical program, presenting information on deltas and leading a field trip to Mineral Wells, Texas, to examine rock outcrops. Several other members of the UTD geosciences faculty will make presentations at the convention, as will researchers and graduate students from the university.

While attendance projections for the convention are still in flux, Bhattacharya figures that the number of attendees could equal or exceed that of the last AAPG convention held in Dallas, in 1997 — 7,000. The visitors will be staying in 10 hotels in the downtown area.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 13,700 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at http://www.utdallas.edu.