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Bruce Yardley appointed Chief Geologist

Bruce Yardley (Leeds University) has been appointed Chief Geologist by The Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

Chartership news

Chartership Officer Bill Gaskarth reports on a projected new logo for use by CGeols, advice on applications and company training schemes

Climate Change Statement Addendum

The Society has published an addendum to 'Climate Change: Evidence from the Geological Record' (November 2010) taking account of new research

Cracking up in Lincolnshire

Oliver Pritchard, Stephen Hallett, and Timothy Farewell consider the role of soil science in maintaining the British 'evolved road'

Critical metals

Kathryn Goodenough* on a Society-sponsored hunt for the rare metals that underpin new technologies

Déja vu all over again

As Nina Morgan Discovers, the debate over HS2 is nothing new...

Done proud

Ted Nield hails the new refurbished Council Room as evidence that the Society is growing up

Earth Science Week 2014

Fellows - renew, vote for Council, and volunteer for Earth Science Week 2014!  Also - who is honoured in the Society's Awards and Medals 2014.

Fookes celebrated

Peter Fookes (Imperial College, London) celebrated at Society event in honour of Engineering Group Working Parties and their reports

Geology - poor relation?

When are University Earth Science departments going to shed their outmoded obsession with maths, physics and chemistry?

Nancy Tupholme

Nancy Tupholme, Librarian of the Society and the Royal Society, has died, reports Wendy Cawthorne.

Power, splendour and high camp

Ted Nield reviews the refurbishment of the Council Room, Burlington House

The Sir Archibald Geikie Archive at Haslemere Educational Museum

You can help the Haslemere Educational Museum to identify subjects in Sir Archibald Geikie's amazing field notebook sketches, writes John Betterton.

Top bananas

Who are the top 100 UK practising scientists?  The Science Council knows...

Accrediting Excellence - at home, abroad and in house

bgBill Gaskarth, Accreditation Officer, reports the accreditation of a new MSc course, the first ever company training scheme and a new Saudi Arabia university course

Geoscientist 22.05 June 2012

Heriot Watt University’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering recently applied for Accreditation of its Petroleum Geoscience MSc. Assessors from the Accreditation Panel favourably reviewed the programme and it was duly accepted for Accreditation at the Panel meeting on April 3rd.

The Society has previously accredited MSc programmes from Manchester, Newcastle and Portsmouth Universities and the full list can be found on the accreditation page. Accreditation means that the programme has been peer reviewed and found to provide the opportunity for graduates to gain the necessary skills for entry into the geoscience profession. Students graduating from an accredited programme will be eligible to apply for Chartered status a year earlier than those whose degree is not accredited. Graduates will be attractive in the market place, while for universities, it demonstrates that their vocational training has been recognised as sound by the profession.

In this new era of high fees, where emphasis is on employability, holding an accredited degree is undoubtedly an asset.

DHARAN

Degrees in Petroleum Geology and Exploration Geophysics at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, have been accredited. The accreditation visit was undertaken by Peter Styles and Bill Gaskarth (picture, left) who recommended acceptance after seeing the excellent facilities at the University. The University is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and they are pleased to achieve accreditation as part of their celebrations. Our congratulations are offered to Professor Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani and his staff. The Department has strong links with Saudi ARAMCO and oil related companies where graduates readily achieve employment.

The students of the Department entered the Imperial Barrel Award competition for the first time last year and won the Middle East section. In the worldwide final they came third. This year they have again won their area section and are competing in the final in California.

COMPANY TRAINING

The Society, through the Professional Committee, launched a scheme in 2011 to Accredit Company Training Programmes, replacing the previous ‘Endorsement’ of these programmes. The scheme is designed to help candidates with their applications for Chartership by working with companies to monitor career and skills development. Under the scheme candidates will be advised as to their eligibility and readiness for Chartership, allowing earlier application and assisting in successful applications.

The training programme of Gammon Construction (Hong Kong) was assessed by a panel from the Professional Committee and Accreditation and has now been accepted. We look forward to a steady stream of Gammon trainees joining the Society and achieving Chartered status.

Accreditation is part of the natural progression of the Society’s plans for the support of the profession. The Accreditation Scheme has been well received and a number of other companies (both in the UK and in Hong Kong) have expressed an interest in applying.
  • Information about the Society’s scheme can be gained from the Society’s website under Chartership and Professional or by contacting the Chartership Officer ([email protected]).
  • Scrutineers’ Day took place on 23 March 2012. Some 23 Scrutineers attended the day in Burlington House. Many had already attended a previous training day and were there for a ‘refresher’. Bill Gaskarth’s full report of the day can be found online attached to this story.