Overall, 2017 is going to be a slow year for conference travel. With administrative responsibilities increasing for me on campus, and knowing I have much research dissemination to focus on (meaning, book chapters to write), something has to “give.”

Photo with Dr. Richard Alley, before his talk

In March, I traveled to Pittsburgh for the Northeast/North-Central Geological Society of America Section Meeting. I was there to give two presentations (Representing Women Geoscientists with Selfies and Stories and Making Climate and Energy Educational Resources Available Through the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association (PAESTA)), serve as a career mentor on two panels, and assist the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association (PAESTA) with their weekend activities. I saw Dr. Richard Alley (Penn State) give an excellent presentation on “Climate Research for the Classroom” [By the way, a great short video by Dr. Alley for students to check out is his PSU State of State talk on Earth materials and why they matter] and was able to reconnect with geoscience colleagues from across the region.

My next trip wasn’t until final exam week. I’m on the Meetings Committee for the American Geophysical Union. I traveled to DC for two days to have a meeting about meetings! AGU has a diverse meetings portfolio, and it was great to hear about new developments and details about the Fall Meeting taking place in December. The committee’s charge is:

The Meetings Committee works on behalf of the AGU Board and Council to advance the Union’s scientific direction and strategy for disseminating scholarly research presented at meetings. The committee provides input into the overall strategy for meetings, recommends criteria and policies that support AGU’s meeting goals, ensures the scientific direction and scope of AGU meetings are consistent with AGU’s overall strategy and is reflective of Earth and space science, secures the appointment of program committee chairs, and reviews the annual performance of meetings.

The committee partners with AGU leadership, staff, other committees, and sections/focus groups to accomplish its work. The Meetings Committee plays a key role in communicating and promoting AGU’s scientific strategy for the dissemination of scholarly research, working in conjunction with AGU leaders.

(You can also check out the committee’s key initiatives)

For years, this meeting has been held in San Francisco (you can check out my AGU tag and read about prior AGU meetings). But this fall, because of construction on the Moscone Convention Center, the meeting is moving to New Orleans! This new venue offers new meeting formats and opportunities. It is going to be an exciting meeting and one I will definitely be attending later this year.

I think I may start sharing some of my campus duties and responsibilities on this blog, at least for the upcoming year. I’m involved with some exciting projects, including a sustainability-focused one involving students, staff, and faculty from across the campus, as well as alumni. These sustainability-themed projects with community partners are going to be fun and hopefully have a great impact on our local community.