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Technical Sessions - September 2018

MORNING SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: Fifteen Years of Professional Geoscience and P.G. Licensure in Texas – History, Status and Future

Speakers: Y. Lynn Clark, P.G.

Mr. Clark is co-founder and principal geoscientist of LCA Environmental, Inc., a past member and chairman of the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists and a past president of the Texas Association of Professional Geoscientists.  Mr. Clark will discuss the challenges of developing and implementing a new licensure program for an entire profession.  He will summarize the similarities of rules and regulations governing professional engineering and professional geoscience practice in Texas, and the collaborative working relationship between the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists and the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.  He will provide some perspective on the current political climate in Texas with regard to providing professional services for the public, and throw in some statistics and metrics for those that can’t live without them.

AFTERNOON TECHNICAL SESSION @ 1:10 PM

Topic: Guiding Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning Through Socio-Ecological Vulnerability

Speaker: Barbara Minsker, PhD

Dr. Minsker is the Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Professor of Leadership and Global Entrepreneurship, Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and Senior Fellow in the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity at Southern Methodist University. Prior to joining SMU in 2016, Dr. Minsker was Professor and Arthur and Virginia Nauman Faculty Scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Minsker’s research uses information technology and “Big Data” to improve understanding and management of coupled environmental and human systems, with a focus on water, sustainability, and resilience. She has received numerous awards for her research, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Army Young Investigator Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize. Dr. Minsker has served as Principal Investigator (PI) on more than $11 million in research grants and co-PI on another $12 million.

Prior to her academic career, Dr. Minsker was a policy analyst as a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency. She earned a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering with Distinction and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.