American Institute of Professional Geologists
California Section
The Career as a Professional Geologist – Consulting and Service with Passion
Abstract - Rob Cambell
UC Davis
In the quest for a career as a consulting geologist, obtaining a Professional Geologist (PG) license is critical to perform professional geological work. The crux of performing work as a licensed PG is having strong ethics and integrity in order to develop and foster a good reputation. Many times in the course of your careers, these issues will pivot around completing a project on time and on budget. This will likely generate conflicts between the client’s interests and the interests of the general public, and/or governing agency. PG professional opinions are used to obtain clarity in difficult projects, such as geological hazard assessments, hydrogeological assessments, and environmental assessments focused on planning and development.
From the moment I graduated from UCD in 1989 to finding my first geology job, to career fumbles to highlights will be discussed. From this discussion, past consulting examples of poor ethics and poor integrity will be discussed and evaluated to garner alternative solutions for the problems initially rendered. Definition of standard of care practices for PGs will also be discussed. Consulting geologists current and future work opportunities, and lines of specialties for geoscience careers will be explored.
For more information see The Career as a Professional Geologist – Consulting and Service with Passion
Photo:
Rob Campbell of GeoSolve, Inc. spoke about being a professional geologist on March 6, 2013 at UCD.
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AIPG California Section Presents Awards at the 2013 California State Science Fair
For the 13th consecutive year the California Section of AIPG presented awards at the California State Science Fair at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. A special treat awaited the participants and judges this year – the earth science projects were located directly beneath the Endeavour!
As in years past, we gave awards to the Junior Division and Senior Division categories ($250 and a nice certificate in each category). Dave Sadoff, California Section Vice President, was assisted by Paul Enriquez with the judging.
The Senior Division winner was Hanna Washburn for her project entitled “Rehabilitating Hydrophobic Soil to Allow Indigenous Bunch Grass Growth”. This topic is of special interest in her Fresno (San Joaquin Valley) area. Her purpose was to determine if treating hydrophobic soil with an alkaline solution or an Aqua Gro L solution would speed the soil rehabilitation process. She conducted tests on four soil types with grass/root plugs over 2 weeks to check the effectiveness of both alkaline and Aqua Gro L solutions. This effectiveness was based upon the height of the grass/root plugs at the conclusion of the test period. She concluded that Aqua Gro L has a better potential to allow water percolation and promote plant growth, which may translate as a way to rehabilitate hydrophobic soil. This could lead to better plant and root structures which may mitigate soil erosion in areas with this type of soil.
The Junior Division winner was Amanda Mickelson, with her project entitled “Seaside Heritage: Investigation Local Eocene Fossils”. Based on a visit to an area of exposed fossils from the Delmar Formation, she wanted to describe and document the current fossil deposit conditions, as she is concerned about potential loss of the deposits due to erosional processes. She made multiple visits to the site and utilized a laser rangefinder to measure distances, metric rulers, a calculator, and a digital camera to document and to describe the fossils. She also gathered loose fossils for subsequent evaluation. She found numerous Ostrea idriaensis fossils, ranging from 3 to 10 cm in length, and with densities in the exposed rocks as high as 300 fossils per square meter. Her research found the fossil deposits to be approximately 46-48 million years old. She believes the exposed deposits to be at risk as erosion appears to have accelerated in the past 20 years. She hypothesized that potential mitigation measures (e.g., sand replenishment or engineering to lessen the impacts of a nearby seawall) may help preserve the deposits.
Once again, it was a pleasure to discuss projects with such bright students who represent our future. Congratulations to the winners!
Geologist Licensing
California
(Practice/Specialties) - (916) 263-2113
CA Board for Geologists and Geophysicists
E-mail: geology@dca.ca.gov
http://www.dca.ca.gov/geology
Related Links
President
James A. Jacobs, CPG 707
View Point Road
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Work: (415) 381-5195
Cell: 510-590-1098
Fax: (415) 381-5816
jimjacobs@ebsinfo.com
Vice President
Dave A. Sadoff, CPG 18309
Pepper St.
Castro Valley, CA 94546
Work: (415) 836-7261
Fax: (415) 836-3167
davesadoff@sbcglobal.net
Secretary/Treasurer
Karel L. Detterman
3197 Cromwell Pl.
Hayward, CA 94542
Work: (510) 638-8400 x127
Fax: (510) 638-8404
kmdetterman@sbcglobal.net
Advisor
Mark Rogers, CPG 60
East 4th Street, Apt #309
Long Beach, CA 90802
Work: (323) 224-8300
Fax: (323) 224-8954
mark.rogers@errg.com
Mehmet Pehlivan, CPG
Bays Environmental Remediation Management
Direct: 714-782-7497
Cell: 714-719-6854
mp@baysgrp.com
Other Speakers and Advisors:
Stephen M. Testa, CPG,
John Parrish, CPG,
Rob Sydnor , CPG
UC Davis AIPG Student Section
Advisor: Professor Robert Zierenberg
President of Student Section: Paul Edwards
UC Davis Section Sponsor; James Jacobs