1990
 Note:  some of this information was 'Googled'
Abushagur, Sulaiman; DGS, 1992
    Sulaiman not only owns and operates the Mediterranean Restaurant here in El Paso, but he also teaches at the EPCC.   In 2002, he and Dr. B. Cornet created the "Take Virtual Tours to the Franklin Mountains of El Paso, Permian Basin and Big Bend of West Texas, and Cretaceous of New Jersey" web site
Adams, Don; PhD., 1995
    Don Adams is a Senior Petroleum Geophysicist at 4th Wave Imaging.  He has 6 years of industry experience and worked for Exxon from 1995 to 2000. His exploration assignments included work in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon areas of the Gulf of Mexico and in the Doba Basin, Chad. His production assignments included work in the Permian and South Texas Gulf Coast Basins. He has also worked for Veritas as a Senior Interpretation Geophysicist in their depth-imaging group for Walker Ridge and Green Canyon areas of the Gulf of Mexico. In Amoco, he worked on seismic amplitude quality control applications for seismic processing. Don worked for Burlington Resources in the Permian Basin and Mobil Exploration Company in the Anadarko Basin. His primary interests include quantitative seismic interpretation, integration of geophysical and geological data, interpretation of multi-component seismic data, and seismic data processing

Allberg, Carrie E.; B.S., 1996
    Carrie teaches chemistry at El Paso High School.  Check out her web page


Bader, Janet; PhD, 1997
    Janet is with the EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory.  In addition, she teaches an on-line environmental science course for the American Military University.  She currently is one of the researchers for the Norman Landfill Research Personnel.  She has over 14 years of experience conducting research in environmental and geological science, consulting, and teaching. She is currently employed at Walcoff Technologies at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, where she writes National Environmental Policy Act documents for Department of Defense program actions and testing-related activities.
    At WSMR, she conducts research to determine the baseline conditions of the physical, biological and cultural resources within the proposed project areas, and evaluates the effects of project activities on these resources.
    Her past research interests have focused on remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with heavy metals, nitrate, and organic compounds. Janet also worked as a research environmental scientist at U.S. EPA, where she applied permeable reactive barrier technology to remediation of ground water contaminated with landfill leachate.
Ballard-Wynam, Jenny; M.S., 1997
  Jenny passed away from cancer September 2004.
Barrow, Ronald; M.S., 1992
    After leaving UTEP, Ron spent 8 years with Marathon, 5 of those years in Cork, Ireland.  In 1998, he started work with Seagull Energy which was subsequently bought by Ocean Energy (where he worked with Dana Jurick)  which was subsequently bought by Devon Energy.  During that period, he traveled to Cairo, Egypt, regularly, but never learned to speak Arabic.   In 2001, he left Ocean Energy to work with Murphy Oil (Bob Graham joined them around the 1st of 2006).  He is currently traveling to Pointe Noire, Congo, on a regular basis for meetings with the local government agency that oversees exploration.  They made a discovery on one of his prospects and currently are in the process of doing economic evaluations to see if it meets criteria for development.  Other garden spots visited are Tanzania and Libya.  Currently he is trying to learn French which is the language spoken in Congo.
    Ron and his wife have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl.  The oldest boy will be a sophomore in high school this year, and the youngest (girl) will be in third grade.  The other two are in 5th grade and a freshman in high school.
Bartolini, Claudio; PhD 1998 (email to Pam 6/19/06)
   In March 2006, Claudio accepted a position with REPSOL YPF in the Exploration Division.  REPSOL is Spain's largest oil company -- a fully integrated oil and gas company -- has proved reserves mostly in Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa.
    Claudio served as lead editor for AAPG Memoir 79, which has just been published by AAPG.  The Memoir provides an overview of the geology of the Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.   He also presented a paper entitled The Tampico-Misantla Basin, Mexico: New Neogene Deepwater Plays in a Mature Basin at the 2005 AAPG International Conference.
Bene, James E.; B.S., 1997
    Jim competed his M.S. at UT Austin in 2000 and is employed with R.W. Harden Assoc. in Austin, TX.  In 2004, he presented a paper The Trinity/Woodbine Aquifer System: Historical Use and Projected Impacts at the Texas Groundwater 2004 conference.
Blanco, Linda; B.S., 1997
    Linda teaches 7th grade science at Ranchland Hills Middle School in the Ysleta School District, El Paso 
Boenish, Marcus; B.S., 1997
    Marcus teaches science at Bowie High School here in El Paso.  He is also enrolled in the new Masters of Science Teaching program at UTEP.  He graciously loaned us some of his rock specimens, which we now have in our display case.   Thank you, Marcus
 Borrego, Pat; M.S., 1998  (personal visit; 1/30/04)
    Pat works full-time for Miratek Corp. at Ft. Bliss.  In her spare time, she is a Research Specialist for the North Central, District No. 2., City of El Paso.  She says it 'keeps her busy'.
Braile, William; M.S. 1993 (e-mail to Dr. Keller; 9/23/03)
     Bill and Margaret are now in El Dorado, CA, a community on the western edge of the Sierra foothills, about 25 mi east of Sacramento.   Bill is returning to school to become a middle/high school science teacher and will be enrolling in California State University-Sacramento.  In October 2005, he presented Every Pebble Tells a Story" at the California Science Education Conference in Palm Springs, CA.
Burgos-Ponce, Arturo; M.S., 1993; email to Pam Hart; 1/05
    Art is working at the Ray Mine for ASARCO in Hayden, AZ
Chen, Jeffrey; B.S., 1991
     Jeff received his M.S. from UT Austin and then left for Trinidad where he worked for the Institute of Marine Affairs.  He has been a keen racing sailor since school days.
  During the last eight years, Jeffrey has raced throughout the Caribbean and has been involved at the organization level; he is now Project Manager of the Caribbean Sailing Association.  As a graduate of ABARIS Composite Training Facility of Nevada, his extensive experience with heavy weather sailing, combined with his USA training, has led to a no-nonsense approach with construction.
Cline, Veronica; B.S., 1997
    Veronica completed her M.S. in geophysics in 2000.  Currently she is an Exploration Geoscientist for Chevron Energy Technology Company on a project in Deepwater Nigeria..  She had two previous internships prior to having an internship with Chevron -- with the South Carolina State Government and Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.  Both internships allowed her to expand my professional network and grow technical skills.
    She worked in a Development Geologist position planning and geosteering horizontal wells and enjoyed going out to the rig and having to think on her feet and make decisions at the rig. The problem solving aspect was quite exciting.  During the geosteering assignment on horizontal wells, she was able to have a high-end workstation in the field with the 3-D reservoir models. This was the first time within the company in North America that someone was using the 3-D modeling program in the field to assist with real-time decision making.   She was able to make decisions quickly because she had access to the data and could communicate more efficiently with the drilling personnel when trying to explain the geology and why certain decisions should be made.
    In October, 2004, American Petroleum Institute featured an interview with Veronica.   Here is one of the Q/A comments.  

Q. What subjects/courses were instrumental in helping you gain your current position?
A. For me, it had to have been my Introductory Geology Course.  If it wasn't for that course I wouldn't have changed majors to Geology and  would  most likely have gone into another industry.  Aside from this I would encourage students that are interested in the industry to have a strong foundation in Math, Physics and Geology and to take elective courses in Economics, Finance and Languages.  

Veronica, thank you for saying such nice things about us.
Deng, Qingping; PhD, 1991
    Qingping is President, Behre Dolbear (Asia) Inc.; Vice President, Behre Dolbear & Company (USA), Inc.; and Global Director of Ore Reserves and Mine Planning Principal.  Before Behre Dolbear, Qingping was Senior Geologist Mineral Ridge Resources Inc.   He lives in Colorado
Dial, Paul J.; PhD, 1998
   Wendi just stopped by the office towing Benjamin (9 years old) and Jacob (13 months).   Paul and Wendi moved to Edmond, OK; he currently works for Devon Energy Corp.

Dunavin, Louie; M.S., 1994 (office visit, May 09)
    Louie just dropped by to say "hi'.   He currently works for Signal Equities, a division of Clean Harbors Envrionmental Services He's working on the Asarco Company clean up here in El Paso and provides sales services provides hazardous and non-hazardous waste recycling, treatment and disposal, as well as laboratory chemical packing and household hazardous waste management services. Their onsite Services, Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery

Duran, Alejandro "Alex"; B.S., 1993; M.S., 1997 (visit; April 09)
    Alex just dropped by; he was in town for the Easter Holidays and wanted to say 'hey'.   He works for Ion Geophysical, which bought out GXTechnology.   He's modeling velocity speed in marine environments.

Fetzner, Keith R.; M.S. 1992
    Keith works for Mostardi-Platt Environmental in Oak Brook, Il.  The company provides consulting environmental engineers who perform air pollution source compliance & performance testing, hazardous pollutant emissions & waste testing, quality assurance
Fitzpatrick, Scott; M.S., 1992
    Scott is now working on his PhD in geology here at UTEP.   He continues to conduct research in Chihuahua, Mexico, on various projects which ultimately will lead to (hopefully) paid employment.  He received his MBA from UT Dallas in 1998.  He says, "Hi" and 'drop him a line".
    Scott has become quite the photographer and has sold many of his pictures to various collectors of Mexican photographs
Garibay, Gerardo; M.S., 1992 (email 3/2007)    
     I'm still with El Paso Corporation in Houston.  This year will be my 15th year with El Paso.  I work in the Environmental Remediation Department managing the Retail Group.  My group conducts remediation activities at former Tenneco and Coastal Mart gasoline stations located in 17 states.    
    On occasion, I would see Dana Jurrick and Ron Barrow in downtown Houston, where we all work or worked.  Although, I have seen them in a long time.  I haven't seen anyone else.  I attend UTEP Alumni Association Houston Chapter functions but again I haven't run into any UTEP geology graduates.
    I travel a lot, both for work and pleasure.  I travel mostly to the mid-west and east coast.  For instance, tomorrow I'm traveling to Kansas City, MO for a meeting with state regulators in Jefferson City.
Gerstenberger, Matthew; M.S., 1994
    Matt completed his PhD from ETH-Zurich, Switzerland in 2003.   He worked with the Swiss Seismological Service and researching in earthquake statistics.  The bulk of his dissertation involved Probabilistic Aftershock Hazard Mapping.  He also studied the Landers and the Hector Mine earthquake aftershock sequences. Currently, Matt is with the USGS in Pasadena, CA, and his current project is earthquakes in geologically complex media and the conditional earthquake probabilities for Southern California
Giles, Geoffrey C.; M.S., 1991
    Geoff is a hydrologist with Allied Signal Aerospace: NASA-WSTF; he lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  In 2001, he and John Pearson coauthored a paper entitled "Contaminated Groundwater Interception and Remediation within the Mid-Plume Constriction Area, NASA White Sands Test Facility" which was presented at 2001 International Containment & Remediation Technology Conference in Orlando, FL
Gridley, Dr. James M.; PhD; 1993;  (e-mail to Keller; 8/2005)
    Jim  reported for duty at the Office of Naval Intelligence September 2005.   Joyce and Luke were already in Maryland and started school.  They are building a house in Calvert County about a mile from the Chesapeake Bay, but it will not be ready until the Spring 2006.
Gomez, Roger B.; M.S., 1998 (April 08)
    Roger completed his M.S. in 2004 from the University of Iowa.  His thesis title was A Paleoenvironmental Record from West Jamaica for the Past 600 Years.  He is now in the PhD program at Univ. Iowa continuing work on speleothem-based paleoclimatology
Guerrero-Suastegui, Martin; M.S., 1997
    Martin received his PhD December 2004 from the Center for Earth Resources Research at Memorial University-Newfoundland, Canada.  His dissertation was entitled:  Depositional and Tectonic History of the Guerrero Terrane, Sierra Madre de Sur, with Emphasis on the Sedimentary Successions of the Teloloapan Area, Southwestern Mexico .  He currently teaches geology in the Earth Science Department (Unidad Academica de Ciencias de la Tierra-ERCT) at Universidad Autonoma de Guerrero, Mexico.  He would like to hear from classmates
Guillen, Rosalio; M.S., 1993
    Rosalio is the Project Manager/Geologist for D&H Petroleum & Environmental Services in El Paso
Gutierrez, Melida; PhD, 1992
    Melida is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning at Missouri State University.   She teaches Physical Geology, Earth Science, and Geohydrology courses. In May 2004, she was the recipient of the Springfield/Greene County, MO, "Choose Environmental Excellence" Award.
Hadi, Julfi; M.S. 1991
    Julfi works for Star Energy, Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.  In 2005 he was coauthor of a paper entitled Reservoir Characterization and Performance Prediction for a Volcanic-Hosted Geothermal Reservoir: Darajat, Indonesia presented at the 2005 AAPG meeting.  In 2006 he coauthored a paper presented at the 36th workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering at Stanford Univ.
Hincapie, Jaime; M.S., 1991
    Jimmy has accepted a position as Project Geophysicist with Tremaine & Associates in Sacramento, CA.  The company provides a full range of cultural and natural resource services and offer innovative strategies to practical and regulatory problems associated with archaeological and environmental reconnaissance, site testing, mitigation, and monitoring.
    After getting settled, Jimmy will work on complete his PhD 
Isik, Iskender; PhD, 1993
    Iskender is Chair of the Ceramic Engineering Department at Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Engineering, in Kutahya, Turkey.  In 2005 he attended the Roof Facade Symposium and gave detailed information on the determination of "Regions of Decomposition Index for Exterior Surface Ceramic Coating Materials", which were implemented for the first time in Turkey and used in establishing the production criteria for the exterior surface coating.
    Isikender also is an active officer of the Alas Tempered Glass Company Group.  They produce heat, shock and scratch resistant glass kitchen boards in various sizes, shapes and forms.
Jenkins, Richard D.; MS 1999  (pers. comm.; 7/25/02)
     Richard just dropped a note to the department and graciously donated Arizona and New Mexico BMMB Circulars as well as maps.   He's currently a Geophysicist with Science Applications International Corp. in San Diego, CA.
Jenssen, Olav; B.S., 1990
    After graduating Olav moved back to Norway, where he continued to compete professionally in discus throwing.  To this date, he is still listed under the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships "Men's All-Time Champions"
Jimenez, Alberto J.; M.S., 1999 (personal visit; 6/1/06)
    Alberto worked in Ruidoso, NM, Albuquerque, NM, and then moved to Austin, TX.  He currently is an Investigator with the Texas Board of Professional Geologists in Austin, TX.  He'd like to hear from his class mates
Kingwell, Julia; M.S., 1999 (email; March 07)
    I left the oil business in 1999 and started teaching Honors Physics and Advanced Placement Physics at Cypress Springs High School in Katy, Texas.  I love working with the kids! 
    On a personal note, I now have 2 married daughters and 3 beautiful grandchildren who, by the way, live next door to me. I am a blessed woman!
 Latter, Kelly; M.S. 1998; (e-mail; May 07)
      I left BP in 2005 and am now a Senior Geologist for Hess Corporation in Houston.  My preferred region is still the Caribbean, but I am reluctantly working on West Africa Exploration as well.  I live in Houston (with my Trinidadian dog Shaggy) but take every opportunity possible to escape back to the Caribbean.
McAllister, George; B.S., 1995
   Until Fall 2005, George worked for EPISD as a Science Higher Ed, Lead Teacher/Teacher Professional Developer.   September 2005 he began working at UTEP in the "Teachers for a New Era" program.  This is a a landmark initiative designed to strengthen K-12 teaching by developing state-of-the-art programs at schools of education. With funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Annenberg Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, UTEP is one of eleven TNE institutions participating in the initiative 
McLemore, Virginia; PhD, 1993
    Virginia is Senior Economic Geologist and Mineral Research Liaison and adjunct professor in the Earth and Environmental Science Department and Mineral Engineering at NMT .   
    Some current or recent projects and research programs include environmental geology, natural resources, regional geology, and volcanology.  A number of research projects are currently underway at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources reflecting the varied needs of the state, citizens, and the expertise of our staff.  Many projects are collaborative both within the organization, and with faculty at colleges and universities, with industry, and with other state and federal agencies.  In addition, she teaches courses at Teacher's Workshops.
Modesto, Mario E.; B.S., 1990
    Mario works for the Border Environment Cooperation Commission as a Project Engineer.
Murphy, Brian; M.S., 1991 (email to Sandy)
    After graduating in 1991, Brian began his career with ARCO domestic, and has since worked for several independent oil and gas companies as both exploration and development geoscientist.  Currently, he is a development geophysicist with Wagner Oil Company in Fort Worth, Texas.  He lives in Coppell, Texas, with his wife, Traci, and their two daughters—Alyssa (14 ) and Kaitlin (11.) 
    You can see by the picture Brian (in middle) manages to find time to have fun.  The sailfish was caught in 2002 around the offshore platforms out from Port Aransas 
 Ndame, Emmanuel C.; M.S., 1993
    Emmanuel is the Permit Reviewer in TCEQ Air Permit Division.  Before that, he was Project Manager in TCEQ SuperFund Cleanup for 7 years.
Ntsimanyana, Mokwaledi; PhD, 1990
    Mokwaledi is an economic geologist with the Department of Geology Survey in Lobatse, Botswana.  His duties involve evaluating industrial mineral prospects that could support local industry and reduce Botswana's reliance on imported raw materials; undertake regional geochemical surveys in order to lay down a foundation and provide targets for further detailed investigations; ensure proper management and utilisation of mineral resources; and assist the Director of Geological Survey in the administration of the relevant parts of the Mines and Minerals Act as it relates to mineral exploration
Olmstead, Gary; PhD, 1998; updated Dec 08
   Gary was an Instructor of Geology at NMSU-Alamogordo Branch since 2000,.  However he now works as a geologist with Petrolog in Ventura, Ca.  He works for three weeks and comes back home for a week to spend time with his family.   He's 'toying' with the idea of moving back to El Paso. 
Omenda, Peter; PhD, 1997 pomenda@kengen.co.ke;
    Peter is a Senior Geologist with Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Ltd.,   He presented a poster "The Geology and Geothermal Potential of Eburru Volcanic Complex" at the 2nd Geothermal Sustainability of Geothermal Energy and Strategies Conference for its development in the East African Rift.
Oueity, Jounada; M.S., 2002
    Jounada is working on his PhD at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Ronald Clowes.  In 2006 he was coauthor of a paper "CANOE: A Broadband Array in Northwestern Canada"
Ouimette, Mark A.; PhD., 1995    11/05
     Mark is the new head of the department of geological sciences and director of the environmental management program at Hardin-Simmons University. Ouimette joined the HSU faculty in 1995 and is an associate professor of geology.
    He has taken his geology students to Terlingua, Texas, to dig up dinosaurs on numerous occasions.  During the springs of 2003-2004, Mark and his graduate students took the gifted and talented children from Wylie Middle School to Terlingua where Mark cooked and provided various programs on natural science.  In addition to the field trips, Mark instructs and judges science fairs for the GT students.
    Recently Mark was featured in the Faith and Ethics newsletter discussing his belief in science versus faith
Palsole, Sunay; MS, 1996
    Sunay manages all distance learning activities at UTEP. He also co-manages a technology development center within ISS. He has co-designed and runs workshops for the training of faculty in the delivery of hybrid and online courses. He is available for consultations on course design, interaction planning, production and delivery mechanisms; general technology implementation; assessment strategies for instructional and noninstructional areas; team-based learning; student engagement issues and larger issues of faculty development.
Perez-Santiago, Vilma; M.S., 1997
    Vilma works as an environmental specialist for the Environmental Resource Management in Puerto Rico (ERM).  After graduation she was employed by the School for Field Studies in Baja California, México, aintist where she taught social impact courses and conducted fieldwork with Fishing Cooperatives. In Denver, she worked for Greystone Consultants as an environmental scientist and conducted studies in geology and soil for coal bed methane projects.
    Her ERM duties include developing clean up solutions and working with the client as project managers to remediate the site in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.  She works with property managers to devise strategies for managing the entire portfolio of contaminated sites. including environmental cleanups in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. She is a member of the Division of Environmental Geosciences, AAPG, and was elected Secretary of the Geological Society of Puerto Rico.
Pittenger, Michelle; M.S., 1991
    Michelle is Sr. Geologist at ConocoPhillips in Texas.
Rathjen, James; PhD, 1998 (email to Sandy; 11/05)
   James is working at Pojoaque High School about 15 miles north of Santa Fe, very rural - student body around 700, and doing part time at Northern New Mexico Community College.  He says his teaching flips between astronomy and geology.
    James participated in the SpiNet AS-1 Workshop in Roswell, NM, October 2005.  This was a two-day workshop to help teachers learn to use an AS-1 instrument in the classroom and the role of SpiNet in integrating AS-1 educational seismology.
Reyes-Cortes, Ignacio; PhD, 1997; ireyes@uach.mx
    "Nacho" is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Geological Engineering University of Chihuahua, Mexico.  He recently presented an invited paper " Origin of Uranium in the Pena Blanca Uranium District, Chihuahua, Mexico" at the annual GSA meeting in Salt Lake City, UT.  He is a scientific promoter of sustainability of water issues in Chihuahua State and writes in the editorial opinion area of El Diario.  
Rimkus, Karl; B.S., 1994
    After completing an M.S. in Instruction in 1998, Karl taught for several years at Cathedral High School.  More recently, he is an Environmental Investigator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality here in El Paso.  He also teaches part-time at EPCC.
Roberts, Donald.; B.S., 1984; M.S., 1993 (email 10/12/07)
    How are things? I saw your note today regarding the Homecoming lunch and thought I should send you a note. I'm sorry to hear the lunch didn't catch on.  Are things going well in El Paso? At UTEP?   Have things changed much since Randy left?
    I've had some changes recently myself. I've recently taken a promotion and moved to Tampa, Florida. I'm still with URS (7+ years, now) but I've taken over the management of our Corporate IT operations in Tampa. We've only been here for a week so we are still unpacking the scores of boxes we brought, but the kids are in school and we are very excited about the change. Janna (she's 20 now) decided to stay in Austin. She got a small apartment and is working as a teacher at a day care. Needless to say, she's learned a lot in the last few weeks, but she's excited to be on her own.
    I'm not sure when I'll make to El Paso again.  Probably not until next summer. Claudia's mother and brother still live in El Paso. Claudia's father passed away this summer and all my family has moved elsewhere.
Sandidge, Michael H.; MS, 1993
    Mike was hired by United Bolero Development Corp., which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, effective October 2005.   He will compile the National Instrument 43-101 on the company’s Bald Butte molybdenum project located approximately 35 miles northwest of Helena, Montana.
    Mike is a professional registered geologist registered in the State of Washington with 20 years of experience in the United States, Canada, Russia, Mexico, and has worked extensively in South America over the last ten years.  His work history has a client roster that includes the University of Washington, Department of Geological Sciences, Canadian Geological Survey, Bema Gold Corp., Phelps Dodge Corp., Cyprus/AMAX, and numerous other companies. 
Schneider, Robert V.; PhD., 1990;  (11/05)
    Bob was Director of the Energy Institute at the University of Louisiana and also taught there.   He recently moved to  Houston, TX.
 Seeley, John M.; PhD, 1997; (email to Sandy; 2/09)
    John is currently co-owner and Managing Director of Sciences for Aquifer Group, LLC, and also works as an independent consultant (John M. Seeley Consulting) for various clients, mostly uranium and oil & gas companies.  He was most recently Regional Exploration Geologist with Uranium Resources, Inc., from 2006 to 2008. He and is wife Catherine currently reside in Corpus Christi, Texas. 
Simiyu, Silas M.; PhD 1996
     Simiyu is the Senior Geophysicist for Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Ltd., Olkaria Geothermal Project, (KenGen) in Kenya.   In 2005 he co-organized the "Workshop for Decision Makers on Geothermal Projects and their Management", in co-operation with UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and ICEIDA (Icelandic International Development Agency). Six countries with good geothermal potential in East Africa joined forces in geothermal research and development, within the African Rift Geothermal Facility (ARGeo).  
Stacy, Kevin; M.S. 1991
    Kevin is Sr. Geologist with Anadarko in Houston.  He also is a recruiter for Anadarko and interviews our students for potential jobs.  In 2005, he coauthored a paper Oil Classification and Exploration Opportunity in the Hugoton Embayment, Western Kansas and Las Animas Arch, Eastern Colorado
Suleiman, "Abdul" Abdunnur; PhD, 1994 email to Dr. Doser; 5/06
   Abdul is in the Geophysics Department at Al-Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya.  He presented a paper entitled Gravity Investigations of Sirt Basin Rift System, Northern and Central Libya which as related to work that he and Dr. Doser are collaborating on regarding the active tectonics and related stress regime in Libya. 
    He is President Elect of the Libyan local European Association of Geosciences and Engineers (EAGE) chapter.  It is a large society, and he was invited to attend the 68th conference and exhibition which took place in Vienna June 12-15, 2006.  The EAGE-Libya 2007, 3rd North African and Mediterranean conference and exhibition will be held in Tripoli, Libya Feb. 26-28 2007; the web site is www.eage.org .
    The major American petroleum companies have returned to Libya and recruit students from the Geology Department at the El-Fateh University.  
    Abdul is an active member at the Earth Science Society of Libya (ESSL) and will present a lecture on the geophysics of the Sirte Basin and surrounding areas at their monthly meeting May 2006. 
Summerour, Joseph; M.S. 1990;  (Email 7/2009)
    I am still teaching on a part-time basis, for a little while longer.  Full-time, I am working online for Allen's company DrillingInfo as database editor, official title E & P Trends Editor.
    I am thankful for the opportunity to work full-time in Geology and am relearning a lot of stratigraphy for various basins, the Williston, the Anadarko, the Arkoma,...I enjoy it greatly.
    As for family stuff (if you are going to put this in the alumni updates), my wife Marla and I just celebrated our 25th Anniversary earlier this summer.  Our married daughter, Ashley (22) just moved with her husband Josh and their son (Ben - 5 months) to NYC.  At home we still have son Travis (14) who will be starting high school in a few days.
     So summer vacations (when possible) will be split between New York City and Edmond, OK and Dallas (where most of Marla's family lives).  I wish we had the time to revisit El Paso.
     Thanks for the email, I have to get back to work.  Hope things are going well for the department, despite the economy.

    Take care,  ya'll.
        Joe Summerour

Steinhoff, Doerte & Ingo; PhDs, 1998 and 1999;  e-mail to Sandy; 1/28/08
     "Hi folks,
       After a swift labor of 32 hours, we are happy to announce that our little offspring, Johann Steinhoff, has made a successful landing on the runway at West Houston Medical Center at 11:04am on January 26. The flight was delayed by 7 days but we couldn't care less. The fuselage at touch down measured 21 inches and weighed 7 pounds and 10.8 ounces (including remaining fuel reserves).
Tekbali, Ali; PhD, 1994
    Ali was on the Organizing Committee for the 1st Conference on Microfossils, held October 2-4, 2004, in Tripoli, Libya.   The conference focused on the use of microfossils as a tool for sediment dating and age delineation. Their importance comes  from the vertical and horizontal extension and variable niches of habitat.
Tesha, Aloyce; M.S., 1995; email to Sandy, 6/06
   He currently works with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Tanzania as a Project Manager for a Project assisting Artisanal and small-scale gold miners.  He contracted with UNIDO end towards the end of 2006 and plans to return the Ministry of Energy and Minerals as a Government Senior Geophysicists.
          His alternative e-mail address is tesha@bol.co.tz
van Dusen, Shelly; M.S., 1995
    Shelly van Dusen-Williams is a science teacher at Permian Basin High School, Odessa, TX
Wakiihuri, Kingston; B.S., 1990
    Kingston teaches at the Kariguini Primary School in Nyeri, Kenya
Whitelaw, Julia; PhD, 1996; email from Mick, March 20, 2006
    Julie passed away in 2007 after finally losing the battle with cancer.  Mick stayed in Tennessee and is raising the boys and teaching at East Tennessee State University
 White, Tina (Willsie); B.S., 1991
    Tina teaches science at Eastwood High School here in El Paso.
Whitescarver, Michael; B.S., 1998
    After graduating with his B.S. from UTEP, Mike went to the University of Kansas where he received his M.S. in Education in 2002.  He was teaching Earth Space Science; Meteorology and Astronomy at Blue Valley High School in Kansas
Williams, Wendi J.W.; PhD, 1999
    Wendi is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.  She provides expertise in K-16 science education pedagogical methods, applied engineering and environmental geology, physical volcanology ( U.S. and Mexico ), remote sensing, geochemistry, petrology, and pre- and in-service teacher integrated science and technology training.   
Wong, Virgina;  PhD, 1998 (email to Pam; 03/07)
    Gina is still with the IAEA and lives in Toronto, Canada
Yuan, De-Ren; PhD, 1992
    De-Ren works here at UTEP as a Special Research Engineer in the Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems.  He area of expertise is pavement materials/geotechnical engineering.  His research interests are in nondestructive testing and numerical analysis.