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A famous exploration geologist who had a ranch in the Guadalupe Mountains, named Wallace
Pratt, once said that “Oil is first found in the minds of men.” That was all about
the creativity it takes to envision what the earth looks like 10 to 35,000 feet below the
surface and be able to visualize the potential accumulations of oil-because they are very
rare. If you went around and looked for them every place, you would waste a lot of money
and you would be very unsuccessful. It is that ability to look inside the earth
inside your mind and figure out where the right places to drill for oil are.
There were a lot of fabulous professors that contributed to me becoming an exploration
geologist. Randy Keller who was chairman of the department
when I was here is one of my fondest memories of the faculty. But there are other outstanding
professors here who each in their own way were great academician, a great explorer in
their own rights. I believe that the academic education that
the students get should be focused on the fundamentals rather than specifically on oil
and gas exploration. UTEP provides an outstanding place to learn the fundamentals.
It is a good size school. It provides the right mix of research and teaching and allows,
because of its size, it allows good interaction between the faculty and students.
What sets UTEP apart from almost all other geosciences programs in the U.S. is its location.
Just within a few minutes from campus you can see rocks that are anywhere from less
than 10,000 years old to over a billion years old…and the diversity of geology and structural
styles, depositional systems, Igneous rocks, metamorphic, sedimentary rocks--is about a
good as any place in the world. Not only do you learn from a very good faculty
who has the time to teach you also learn from having the time to be out on the rocks and
from touching and looking at those rocks.