Alumni Notes

December 8, 2024

1940s

Howard Lowe (B.S. ’48) says, “Guess I am the dinosaur – I’m celebrating my 100th on December 5. Fortunately, I still have all my marbles intact. In 2013, I was invited to join an organization of retired NASA scientists and engineers…TRC (the right climate stuff). The group is involved in extensive climate research. For me, it was a great opportunity to be exposed to climate research and to contribute my expertise on climate from a historical geological viewpoint. Many of the 33 members are highly regarded scientists. Well, that speaks for my activity. However, I will have many of the Lowe tribe attending my birthday party, about 40. One group of four—a great-granddaughter and husband—will be present with my two great-great-grandchildren.”

1950s

Gene Ames (B.S. ’55) writes, “Not too old to manage a powerful global bucket list of billion-barrel prospects. Can’t wait for when the search for billion-barrel fields can restart! Hook ‘Em!”

Wade Harry Burke (B.S. ’57) shares, “Turned 91 in January 2024; still own and operate one oil well in Nueces, West Texas since 1974. My wife Frances (UT 1955) and I celebrated our 70th anniversary in August 2023. Life is good!! Go Horns!!”

James V. Richards (B.S. ’56) Jim is still living in Houston, Texas and celebrated his 90th birthday in April 2024. He is still a consultant participating in several drilling projects in Texas and Louisiana. Retired from the US Navy as a Commander with 20 years of service.

Robert Travis (B.A. ’57) says, “Still having a great time. Spend our travel budget going to the mountains to get cool. All grandkids have graduated, and are in grad school or working. Life is good! I don’t see very many notes from the class of ’57 or ’56 that I started in. I just had my 90th which hasn’t changed much in my life. No more hiking in the Grand Canyon or mountain peaks, but I am still kicking…I live in Austin now, so call if in town.”

1960s

Rubin A. Schultz (B.S. ’61) shares, “Not a lot new: still enjoying grandkids and now great-grandkids. Nancy and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a Hawaiian Luau at the country club on July 8, 2023.”

1970s

Elmo Brown (B.A. ’76) writes, “Kathy and I are still enjoying the good life in retirement while living in Kerrville, Texas. In addition to several trips to Big Bend and a couple of trips to Colorado, we just recently returned from a South American adventure. We spent a week hiking through the Inca ruins scattered across south-central Peru and then a week in Ecuador. The highlight there was a tour of one of the islands of the Galapagos, where we wandered through massive rookeries of frigate birds and blue-footed boobies, watched the acrobatic antics of sea lions, tried to keep from tripping over iguanas, both land and marine and marveled at all of the wild tortoises as they roamed freely across the island. Who knows where our next adventure may take us.”

Patricia W. Dickerson (B.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’95) says, “Volcanoes and glaciers have been the geo-focus of my wanderings this year, while instructing on Smithsonian excursions in Alaska and Iceland. Checked out the young volcano in S. Iceland and explored outer Siglufjördur in the company of fluke-walking whales, within sight of the Arctic Circle. And the cosmos regaled us with aurorae! Just back from Alaska—no volcanic action along our route but additional soberingly fast-changing ice-scapes. Cruised Kenai Fjords on a rare clear, windless day and saw humpback whales bubble-feeding—enthralling. And at the other pole, I’m excited to be involved in a new study in Antarctica—a new continent for me. Co-authoring a talk for an Antarctic science meeting in Chile next month; we have a manuscript in progress on that work. No, I won’t get to either Chile or Antarctica this time, but I will cross the Tropic of Capricorn to Córdoba, Argentina for the IGCP 735 field conference in October (perhaps stopping over in Buenos Aires for a tango or twelve…) Shorter on whales but long on intriguing lower Paleozoic rocks—we’ll be in the Precordillera, the area that propelled me into one of my ongoing research projects; we have a new publication in progress on that. Another West Texas study (Devils River Uplift) appeared this spring in a volume on world rifts. Meanwhile, here in River City, ongoing GeoRef work with favorite folks at AGI and UT is edifying and enjoyable. And volunteering for Austin Classical Guitar embellishes all those themes.”

Armando Garza (B.A. ’71) shares, “Hello to all my classmates and contemporaries. Just enjoying retirement these days. It is so encouraging to see the bright young people who are now enrolled at the Jackson School.”

Gale Arden Bishop (Ph.D. ‘71) continues research on fossilized sea turtle nests from the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway in Colorado and the coastline of Croatia. His team has identified 41 fossil nests in the Late Albian rocks near Pula, Croatia, on the shoreline of the Adriatic Sea. The fossilized sea turtle nests are tied directly to a sea turtle nesting ethogram and interspersed with tracks and trackways of dinosaurs, birds, Crocodilians, pterosaurs, and other Early Cretaceous beasts; with four nests actually stepped and tracked by dinosaurs. The Pula deposit is especially important as it represents a sea turtle rookery. Bishop’s Research Team has thus far published six papers on the two occurrences.

Don Parker (B.S. ’70, M.A. ’72, Ph.D. ’76) says, “Becky and I have moved to Colorado Springs, but my email (don_parker@baylor.edu) remains the same. I continue to complete unpublished work on the Davis Mountains. See my ResearchGate site if you are interested. While we will miss occasional visits to the Jackson School, we are enjoying the geology of Colorado (and cooler summers!). Please visit us if you are in the area.”

1980s

Richard F. Carroll (B.S. ’80) writes, “After 43 years in the oil business, I am finally retired.”

Tatiana Frierson (B.S. ’85) says, “Approaching my 5-year service Anniversary as CEO of Inspirus (A Pluxee Company). We are a software and services firm focused on Employee Recognition and Engagement. It’s a very rewarding experience—where in the world of the Great Resignation/Quiet Quitting—recognizing your people and their contributions are paramount for successful organizations. I’m still in Dallas but am traveling more post-pandemic—although the travels are exhausting, it’s wonderful getting re-connected in 3D! If you are in Dallas—please do reach out, would love to see some of my old Geo Dogs from ’85. Also, if your firm is in need of recognition/engagement—please do ping me! Kind regards!”

Charles A. Goebel (B.S. ’80) shares, “Semi-retired and enjoying life in Fort Worth.”

Ben Hooper (B.S. ’80) writes, “Exploration Manager for Joy Resources and John Young Inc. in Houston. Learning about Carbon Sequestration. Took a long trip to Poland last year and a visit to Vienna at Christmas. Three grandchildren in St. Louis. Hope all are well!”

Jim Immitt (M.A. ’81) says, “Hello to my fellow Longhorn Alums! The beat goes on (it has to) for me as I am doing wellsite geology (aka mudlogging) in the Permian, DJ, and Powder River Basins. The downturn from 2015-2020 hit me hard and I’ll be making up time with someone who will have me! It is tough work, but I am grateful for it. It never ceases to amaze me when I think about what these drill rigs are capable of doing with horizontal drilling and miles-long laterals. And yes, geology changes even though you are in the “same” source rock! Pam and I live in Corpus Christi now and we get to walk the beach often for therapeutic benefit and monitoring of sea level rise due to climate change. 🙂 Our two children, Adrian and Angela, both live in the Denver area and work in healthcare. All is well. Peace be with all of you.”

Charles G. Johnson (B.S. ’83) shares, “Still producing crude oil and looking for Gulf Coast conventional producing opportunities to acquire. Ellen and I are traveling more frequently since our baby girl Lauren is now a sophomore Chi Omega sister at the University of Alabama. I never thought I would utter “Roll Tide,” but now we have season tix and a condo in Tuscaloosa. As a consolation, my first game in Bryant-Denny was wearing my burnt orange and watching the Longhorns roll to victory in September 2023. My Longhorn friends have shamed me enough, and now we are also season tickets holders in Austin! Sooooooo, Hook ‘em Horns!”

Richard A. Kolb (M.A. ’81) writes, “After 8 years in the oil patch in New Orleans and 31 years as a consulting environmental geologist, I retired in 2021 and started working as a volunteer, building houses for Habitat for Humanity and driving the Red Cross vans to pick up blood at blood drives. I am still active in the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geology, co-chairing the Student & Young Professional Support Committee and Membership Committee, and as field trip chair and sponsor chair for the Carolinas Chapter of AEG. I took cross-country motorcycle trips on my Yamaha FJR-1300 in 2022 and 2023, 14,000 miles altogether, to the American/Canadian Rockies and the US and Canadian West Coast. I made stops in Austin to see my daughter Jennifer (MS in Social Work from the Steve Hicks School at UT) and son Travis, who went to Texas State and works at ERIS, and visited campus and the Jackson School. In February 2024, I got a little bored and started work as a part-time temp in the Brownfields Redevelopment Section of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to see life from “the other side,” and then in May and June I took a road trip in my car to the southern Colorado Rockies in search of a place to spend summers out of the heat and humidity of North Carolina. The Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains are gorgeous – all the exposed rocks! On the way home, I visited Palo Duro Canyon in north Texas. I plan to spend summers in southern Colorado starting next year.”

Robert Murray (M.A. ’85) says, “Retiring after nearly 40 years of trying to put stuff back in the ground. In 1983, on the heels of an acrimonious divorce from my first advisor and determined to finish what I had started, a dear friend said, “go talk to Luigi.” So I did and he said, “sure.” Then he handed me a rock and said, “in 1951 on a field trip with S.P. Ellison himself, I found this by the side of a road. Go see if there are any others and what they are doing there.” And so began the culmination of my formal education with a study of a siliceous conglomerate in North Texas and the honor of doing so with Dr. Robert Folk. In 1985, with jobs scarce and a passable draft of my thesis under my arm, I abandoned Austin in a snowstorm to become a Field Geologist at a place called Yucca Mountain, Nevada. There, the Department of Energy had started trying to site a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and I figured a couple of years in Las Vegas would make for good stories later in life. That turned into 21 years (a very Vegas number) and the repository never did happen, but among the stories to tell is that I met my best friend, love of my life, and wife, Donna. In 2009, believing that if I knew something about putting one hazard in the ground, I might be able to help with another, we moved to Pittsburgh and the National Energy Technology Laboratory to help develop carbon capture and sequestration. Five years later, and thinking I’d finally found a place where DOE really was putting something in the ground, I joined a new team at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in New Orleans and took over Cavern Integrity for the salt dome storage caverns in Louisiana and Texas. With a few side trips into groundwater protection, hazardous waste, and unconventional oil and gas production, I have opportunities to do field and lab science, modeling, regulations, and plan and manage geoscience programs in sands, shales, volcanics, and salt. Funny, this all started with the Department of Geological Sciences – the DOGS in the pre-Jacksonian epoch – and am finishing with the DOGS – Drilling Operations General Services – as we drill two microseismic observation wells to better understand salt dome and cavern dynamics. It turns out you need Long Horns to run with the Big Dogs! It’s been a grand adventure. Let’s see what’s next. Hook ‘em!”

David C. Noe (M.A. ’84) writes, “Greetings to my old schoolmates. Hope you’re doing well! This was an auspicious year for me. In April, I married Ms. Jo Ann Jarreau. Jo Ann and I met as employees in Rocky Mountain National Park in 1978. We dated twice and went our own ways. Later in life we came together again – our third date was 40 years later! A number of UT geology grad school friends made it to our wedding in Baton Rouge. It was a joyous reunion! On the work front, I am working for OMI, Inc., a consulting geotechnical-engineering company in Huntsville, Alabama. I work on small drilling rigs, recovering and describing soil samples, run foundation and retaining wall design models, write technical reports, and write project proposals. Occasionally, I experience the wonder of looking down the maw of a sinkhole!”

Jerry Schwarzbach (B.A. ’83) shares, “Enjoying working, ranching, flying, family & being involved with the East Texas Gem & Mineral Society. Also have enjoyed being the President of the Tyler-Smith County Texas Exes for the last 3 years. We’ve had some great speakers at our annual Scholarship Dinners.”

William Wethington (B.S. ’85) says, “Greetings to the Class of ’85! I have been retired for 4 years now and am enjoying our 6 grandchildren and life at the lake in Virginia and winters in Texas & beyond. Retired means semi-retired as I contribute to a couple of Energy-related boards and consult on oil and gas developments.”

Arnold Woods (M.A. ’81) writes, “Had quadruple bypass surgery a little over a year ago. Slow recovery (to me) but I’m back lumping 80lb concrete bags, building rock walls and terraces, etc. (Never retire – I’m working more now and not getting paid for it) Still volunteering at the local library, and I do the ‘real antique’ road show for the college geology museum when I ID rocks, fossils etc. Not sure if the kids or the parents enjoy it more, but it’s fun to see them get excited when you explain what they have and why it’s special.

1990s

Christi Gell (B.S. ’96) shares, “Hi all! The Gells had a really fun summer. Part of it included a trip to Austin, where I got to hang out with Earle McBride and Ernie Lundelius throughout the week! Was so great being with these UT geo legends. Finished the summer with a geology-filled trip to New Mexico.”

Dan R. McConnell (B.S. ’95) says, “I continue to pick up contract work in marine site characterization, offshore wind, and in marine minerals. Sometimes the work is not offshore but can be done from the home office. I was happy to be subcontracted as a subject matter expert to compile known marine minerals and prospects for marine minerals in the US and Territorial OCS and EEZ for the US Dept. of Interior (BOEM) in a commissioned study they just published. I am always busy year-round with the Offshore Technology Conference where I serve on the Board of Directors. On the family front, we had the joy of seeing our older daughter married this year. Our younger daughter is planning her wedding for next year. This September, my wife and I are looking forward to a working vacation in the Cook Islands, followed by some time in Hawaii. Glad to see the Jackson School prosper.”

Benjamin Sloan (Ph.D. ’95) lives in Eugene, Oregon and has been consulting since 2023 on a challenging team management project in Qatar. Aside from crippling jet-lag, he enjoys the people, project and place. Ben has fond memories of GEO660 summer 1989 when trusty #22, the 2WD “Stink Pig,” was stuck on a steep New Mexico hill with the rear differential lodged on a tree stump and the rear wheels off the ground.

Christopher S. Swezey (M.A. ’91, Ph.D. ’97) shares, “I am still working for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, Virginia. However, in January 2024, I took a new job at the USGS—I am now the Program Coordinator of the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP). This is the Program that funds: (1) FEDMAP, which is geologic mapping by USGS geologists; (2) STATEMAP, which provides grants to State Geological Surveys for geologic mapping; (3) EDMAP, which provides grants to colleges and universities for geologic mapping; and (4) the National Geologic Map Database, which is the online National Archive of geologic maps of the Nation. More information about this program may be found at: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/national-cooperative-geologic-mapping-program.”

2000s

Fernando Cerda (M.S. GSC ’01) writes, “My journey in the field of geosciences has been both dynamic and fulfilling, spanning multiple continents and diverse roles. I graduated with a master’s degree in Geological Sciences with a specialization in Geophysics from The University of Texas at Austin, an institution renowned for its expert faculty and inspiring research environment. My time in Austin was marked by extensive work and dedication, but the sacrifices made during my studies were well worth it, providing a strong foundation for my professional career. Upon graduation, I began my career with Schlumberger in Houston, Texas, where I specialized in seismic attribute analysis. Over the course of eight years, I honed my skills in seismic data processing, reservoir characterization, and seismic attribute analysis. This period was pivotal in shaping my technical expertise and understanding of the energy industry. In 2008, I was transferred to Perth, Western Australia, where I spent two years working on advanced seismic projects. The experience in Perth broadened my horizons and allowed me to engage with complex geological settings, further enriching my professional journey. My next career move took me to London, UK, where I joined Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS). At PGS, I delved deeper into seismic data analysis and played a key role in various international projects. This opportunity enabled me to work with a diverse team of experts and contribute to cutting-edge geophysical research. In 2014, I relocated to Calgary, Canada, where I transitioned into consulting roles for small independent contractors. Here, I focused on reservoir characterization, leveraging my extensive experience to provide valuable insights and solutions to clients. Consulting allowed me to apply my knowledge in a practical, client-focused setting, further enhancing my problem-solving skills. Reflecting on my academic and professional journey, my time at the University of Texas at Austin stands out as a cornerstone of my career. The rigorous academic environment, combined with the support of distinguished faculty members like Dr. William Fisher, Dr. Bob Hardage, Dr. Bob Tatham, Dr. James Simmons, and Dr. William Galloway, inspired a lifelong passion for geosciences. The experiences and knowledge gained at UT Austin have been instrumental in my career development, driving me to excel in various roles across the globe. As I continue my professional journey, I remain committed to advancing the field of geosciences through innovative research and practical application. The path from a dedicated student in Austin to a seasoned geophysicist and consultant has been a rewarding adventure, and I am excited about the future contributions I can make to the energy sector.” Phone: 403 630 9499 Email: f_cerda@hotmail.com

2010s