Alum returns to present geology colloquium

Franklin College alumnus Ed Moritz (B.S., Geology, '82) returns to campus next week to give a talk about his work on oil and gas projects in Afghanistan. His talk, "Afghanistan's Mineral Endowment: Example Projects from the Hydrocarbon and Mining Sectors," will be held at 3:30 pm on Thursday, October 11 in room 200A of the Geography and Geology Building. The talk is free and the public is invited to attend.

Mr. Moritz joined Gustavson Associates in September 1989 and became President of the firm in August 2007. Since that time he has been involved in and personally conducted numerous oil, gas, and mineral fair market appraisals, reserve and economic studies. These studies involved properties in all major producing regions in the U.S. and includes properties in the Anadarko, Permian and East Texas Basins of the Mid-Continent region as well as properties located in the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. Recent emphasis has been placed on international properties and on oil and gas provinces in the Rocky Mountains.  He has worked on numerous unconventional oil and gas projects that include basin-centered gas accumulations and coalbed methane.

As I mentioned recently about the school of art doing well by their students by bringing in so many terrific visiting artists, they are not the only ones. Many units around the college are doing this, and Moritz's visit and lecture brings up another couple of benefits to this practice: giving alums the chance to come back to campus and talk with current students about what they do, as well as educating the general public about what students in specific disciplines do with thier degrees. A geology degree, for example, is full of possibilities; what are some of them? Many of our graduates work for successful companies all around the world, building careers in interesting, productive and dynamic industries, just as Mr. Moritz will talk about. Sharing experiences like this is what motivates students and gives them an idea about possibilities for their own careers. This is just one aspect of the many things our departments do beyond the classroom. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Moritz back to campus next week. 

Image: Public domain map of Afghanistan, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.