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October 1999

Inside this Issue

1 Annual Review & AGMHighlights

2 Subs Reminder

2 Social Calendar

3 Dodgy Pictures

4 Standing Order Form &Committee Members

5 Departmental News

6 One Old Fossil MeetsAnother – Gordy in theNews

Correspondence to:Rachel CharnockAlumnus OfficerUniversity OfficeAberdeenAB24 3FXr.charnock@abdn.ac.uk

AGA Ends FirstYear on High NoteChairman Mair addresses packedAGM

The Basin Studies Lab at AberdeenUniversity Geology Dept played hostto the first AGA Annual GeneralMeeting. The seething crowd,conservatively estimated at 15, satspellbound whilst Chairman BruceMair reviewed the year’s successesand laid out the AGA’s plans forfurther penetration into the Nation’shearts & minds.

AGM at a glance

• Membership up to 77• Net income on year £1845• £450 donated to Aberdeen

Geology Dept already, with afurther £1200 pledged for1999/2000

• 5 social events completed in98/99, turning a combined profitof £969

• JTC Hay accepted position ofHonorary President

• New AGA logo produced• First steps taken to assume

organisation of Granite City Ball• More volunteers needed to run the

committee• AGM pitifully underattended

Despite the bright picture painted bythe Chairman, once the mutualbackslapping was finished it wasstressed that AGA needs to build uponthe success of its first year andimprove its profile, membership andprofitability. Only by widening thescope of the association and improvingmembership numbers, especiallycorporate members, can AGA hope tomake any impact on the fundingshortfall that students are suffering.Fortunately, the signs for the comingyear are good so far. The wine tastingheld on the 30th September was again

sold out, and despite holding the ticketprice from last year and paying for theservices of the superb CarolWhitehead, the event turned a £145profit compared to last year’s £54.This was due to the excellent uptake ofraffle tickets by an audience suitablysoftened up by the South Americanreds on offer. If you missed this eventand are still confusing your Pinot Noirwith your Cabernet Sauvignon, bewarned that next year we will bestaging a Wine Appreciation Evening,and ticket prices will be hikedappreciably to suit.

AGA Newsletter No.3

Hits, misses and lessons learnt – isAGA meeting its targets?

The initial aims of AGA were roughlythese:• To get graduates, students and

“friends” of AU Geology depttalking to one another

• To promote links between industry& the dept

• To help alumni to maintain linkswith one another

• To raise money to help students ofAU Geology dept, especially withthe costs of fieldwork

So far, the social events havemanaged to get everyone talking toeveryone else, usually at fairly highvolume and with alcohol-fuelledcandour. The social events have alsorealised most of the money raised inthe past year.Less successful have been the linksbetween the dept & industry andbetween alumni. With any luck, theprovision of the long-awaited AGAwebsite will help alumni to track oneanother down. As far as industry isconcerned, the production of somedecent headed paper with the newAGA logo and the added gravitas ofJimmy Hay’s name will help in thebattle to be taken seriously by potentialdonors.Main lessons learnt? Charge more forthe events we promote, with a biggerdiscount for members; always have araffle at each function, and boy arequizzes popular!

Annual Subs DemandIf it is October, it must be time to askAU Geological Alumni for money.Subscriptions have been held for thisyear (99/00) only at £10 for fullmembership. Please send chequesmade out to “Aberdeen Geoalumnus”to Rachel Charnock at the addressgiven at the foot of page 1.

If you have an eye to a bargain, youcan hedge your subscriptions againstfuture rises by filling in the standingorder form provided on page 4. If youdon’t want to chop up your newsletter,photocopy the form, complete it andsend it to Rachel as above.

Ideally, you will have sufficient swingto get your employer to stump up £50on your behalf. The only company tohave done so last year was Total OilMarine, who have since gone fromstrength to strength. I am sure thatthere are many Fina and Elf employeessitting wishing that they had used theopportunity to safeguard their

companies against takeover, sorry,merger for a mere £50.

Forthcoming Events

30th October – AGA Ceilidh.

Aberdeen Boat Club, 8pm onwards.An informal ceilidh at an intimate (!)venue. Highly recommended. Stoviesincluded in the knock down price of£9, £8 for AGA members.

24th March – AGA Quiz.

A rip-roaring success last year, raising£600 and really raising the AGAprofile. Venue to be announced.

1st April - Granite City Ball.

This is the big one. Expensive tickets,corporate tables, full bib and tuckerrequired. Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroomwill host this world famous event onceagain this year. This will be the firstGCB to have any AGA input into theplanning and execution.

For further details of all AGAevents, contact Rachel Charnock.

Newsletter Supply

If you are reading this in gloriousTechnicolor, congratulations. Youmust be a fully paid-up member ofAGA. If you have resisted thetemptation to shell out a paltry £10 tohelp the hard-pressed students of 1999,shame on you. Not only will you besquinting at an almost impossible toread monochrome newsletter, but thiswill be the last newsletter you willreceive. From now on only AGAmembers will be kept in touch with allof the departmental and alumni news.Think about it. Isn’t it time to reachfor the cheque book & pen?

Jimmy Who?The gracious acceptance of position ofhonorary president by JTC Hay,glorious alumnus, former Britoil bigcheese and currently main man atScottish Enterprise, means that we feelobliged to thank him for his assistancefor our cause and also to put out arequest for stories or photosconcerning the big man during hisstudent days. Appropriate material canbe forwarded to Rachel Charnock incomplete confidence.

Ways to help AGASubscribe

Send us a cheque. £10 buys a year’s membership, which buys two

newsletters a year and gives nominal discounts on AGA social events. Add

a little extra as a donation. Better still, fill in the standing order mandate on

page 4 and sit back, knowing that you will never again be pestered to send

money.

Send stories, photos, e-mail addresses

Most people reading this will have humorous photos or anecdotes that

could cheer up other alumni. Although we do not intend to fill the

newsletters up with stories or photos, once the AGA website is finally

commissioned it will be an ideal platform for alumni to swap stories and

gory photos (see page 3). If you are already wired up, sending us an e-mail

means that we can inform you of meetings or events quickly and cheaply.

Address e-mails to r.charnock@abdn.ac.uk.

Join the committee

Although the AGA gives the impression of being a well-oiled machine that

effortlessly pushes out thoroughly professional events and newsletters, we

do need extra volunteers to come to committee meetings in order to

shoulder the ever-increasing workload and responsibility. Committee

meetings are held at members’ houses in Aberdeen every couple of

months, and you get your dinner, a glass of wine and a sense of

achievement. Get in touch with Rachel if you think you can help.

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Back to the Halcyon days when money was no object – mid seventiesstudents relax in front of their 5 star accommodation.

Class of ’74 celebrates cornering the world sailcloth market.

Rogues’ GalleryWe have scoured the archivesceaselessly to bring you a couple ofscary photos from the distant past.

Both of these featured photos havebeen included courtesy of BruceMair. They highlight the fact that,although today’s students certainlylack resources for carrying outfieldwork, they may not realise thatin days gone by the de rigeuraccommodation for Helmsdale tripswas a leaky caravan in a donkeyfield. Eagle-eyed viewers will havenoticed that the chap taking thephoto has cast a good long shadow –not only were students richer inthese far-off days, but the sun alwaysshone on field workers too!

The lower photo harks back to thedays when Scottish public housesboasted criminally short licensinghours, longer only than those in NewZealand. This group has fallen foulof the lunchtime chucky out and willnow have to wait until 8.30 to getanother drink, before being senthome again at 9.30. Perhaps it is nowonder that they seemed well off,with so few opportunities to spendtheir grant money on beer.

As a way of encouraging newsletterreaders to rummage through their oldshoe boxes full of photos, AGA areoffering a bottle of wine to anyreader who can come up with agenuinely funny class photo. Sendphotocopies, not originals, to Rachel(address on page 1). If you canname names or give a “where arethey now” that is even better, withextra points being scored if the photoshows staff members incompromising situations. The oldestphoto we receive will get a specialmention too.

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STANDING ORDER MANDATE

To…*………………………………………………Bank

Postal Address…*…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Please pay Bank

Bank of Scotland

Branch Title

University

Sort Code No

80 – 12 – 15For the creditof

Beneficiary’s name

Aberdeen Geoalumnus

Account number

0 0 2 8 7 0 5 3

Reference

The sum of Amount

£10.00

Amount in words

Ten pounds onlycommencing Date of first payment

(preferably 1st Nov 1999)

*

And thereafterevery

Due date &frequencyΨ1st NovemberAnnually

Until further notice in writingand debit my/our accountaccordingly

Account numberAccount to be debited

*

Signature(s) …*…………………………………

…………………………………….. Date…*………….

---------------------------------------------------------------------!--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Banks may decline to accept instructions to charge standing orders to certain types of account other than current accounts.Subscribing member to fill in blanks marked *. Please return completed mandates to Rachel Charnock, address on page 1,rather than to your bank.

Committee Members following elections at 1999 AGM:

Honorary President JTC HayChairman Bruce MairVice Chairman Roger HintonTreasurer George DownieMembership Secretary Rachel CharnockNewsletter Editor John SandsDepartmental rep Alan CraneStudent rep Mark Douglas

Regular committee helping hands: Nicky Tessen, Rachel O’Brien, Gordon Holm, Cameron Hercus, Amanda Cowley.Volunteers are always welcome. Organising the social calendar and newsletters requires a certain amount of time andeffort – why not show some interest and help to oil the wheels. The newsletter editor doesn’t even need to live in Britain,with the wonders of modern communication.Special thanks to Bruce Mair for his enthusiastic chivvying, and to Roger Hinton for his organising skills & AGA logo.

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DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW

WEB PAGES

The Department of Geology & PetroleumGeology is continuing with its moves to becomeincreasingly accessible to everyone. This has notbeen more evident than in the last year with thelaunch of new departmental web pages. The webpage can be found at:

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/geology

The web pages feature information on all aspectsof the Department from undergraduate studies &fieldwork to research giving a broad overview ofthe department as a whole. It is hoped the webpage in addition to helping future students willbe of use in funding further research and alsoprovide an interface for the Geological AlumniAssociation with the possible addition of a pagefor the society.

RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

The department opened its doors even furtherand on the 14th & 15th of June held adepartmental research symposium in KingsCollege Conference Centre. Key aspects of thedepartment’s research were covered. Thesymposium was well attended by industry. Noless than 56 companies and representatives fromthe DTI attended. The highlight of this eventwas undoubtedly the after dinner speech byMarlan Downey of Sarkeys Institute, Oklahomawho pointed out the advantages and cost savingsto be made by carrying out research through theuniversity rather than by in house R&D. It ishoped to hold a further symposium in the future.Information on the department’s researchinterests can be obtained from the web page orfrom the address below.

OPEN DAY

In association with Scottish Natural Heritage andthe Scottish Tourist Board the Department heldan Open Day on the 1st September 1999 as partof Scottish Geology Week. This event was verywell attended by people of all ages. On offerwere a wide variety of events including goldpanning and a chance to win a prize by drillingfor oil at the “fit like oil field”. Oil was struck

by many but after some reservoir appraisal it wasfound to be non-economic to keep drilling. Thestar of the show was however the department’slatest invention - an earthquake machine whichproved to be exceedingly popular with thevisitors and even attracted the attention of theengineering department.

DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS FOUND ONFOURTH YEAR FIELD TRIP

Claws indicate a meat-eating dinosaur

Fossil footprints from what may be a previouslyunknown species of dinosaur have beendiscovered in Yorkshire, England.

They appeared after a section of sandstone cliff collapsed on a beach near Scarborough.

The scientists who found the tracks say they areabout 175 million years old. Geologists DrGordon Walkden and Dr Mike Simmons noticedthe tracks during a field trip they were runningfor fourth-year students at the University ofAberdeen.

They have recorded several sizes of print whichrange up to 25cm across. In most cases, thecreature that made them is known. However,there is one set of impressions that are provinghard to identify. "They have something like a10cm spread of the foot and what has been leftbehind is a very clear impression of claws," saidDr Walkden. "From the print we can work outthe shape of the foot and can go back to what isknown of the fossils and try to match it up," he

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said. "We can't do that at the moment - whichmeans we are possibly looking at a species ofdinosaur we haven't seen before."The presence of sharp claws on the ends of thetoes is a clear indication that they ate meat. Andthat puts them in the same batch of dinosaurs asvelociraptor."

The geologist said the "loose conclusions" thathad be drawn from the prints now needed to betested by the wider scientific community.The discovery will be written up, photographedand published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Fossil footprints are not common in Britain, saidDr Walkden. "There are only a few places wecan get them. We have to search very hard."

The blocks containing the fossils are on displayat the Department of Geology, University ofAberdeen .

This article can also be viewed on the BBC website.

DEPARTMENTAL FUNDING

The department is always looking for additionalresearch funding and funding as provided by theGeological Alumni Association forundergraduate fieldwork (Thanks again) isalways welcome.

The department currently has 24 PhD studentsand numbers are set to increase again with thestart of the new term.

The MSc class number 26 students.

Junior Honours currently stands at 38.

Senior Honours at 32.

Should you wish more information on any aspectof the department, or are in a position to fundresearch, or donate money, do not hesitate tocontact Dr Mike Simmons at the department on

geology@abdn.ac.uk

or write to

The Department of Geology & PetroleumGeology, Meston Walk, Old Aberdeen,Aberdeen. AB24 3UE

NEW STAFF

The Department of Geology & PetroleumGeology are pleased to announce the addition ofthe following staff to the department and wouldlike to take this opportunity to introduce them tothe members of the Geological AlumniAssociation.

Professor David Macdonald has recently joinedthe department from CASP Cambridge ArcticShelf Program where he was director of thesuccessful research program.

Dr John Parnell also joined the department andbrought with him a large list of recent researchpublications and several students.

Replacements within the department for BillAshcroft and Tim Reston are currently beingsought, following the retirement of Bill andTim’s departure to Germany.

MD.