As the end of summer approaches (all too rapidly), it is high time for the next Main Thrust. Before getting down to business, the executive would like to thank, on behalf of the SGTD, the organizers of the 1993 GAC meeting in Edmonton, and congratulate t hem for a job well done. Bravo! There is lots of news, and at least one classified ad, so here goes...
SGTD BUSINESS MEETING REPORT
The SGTD held its latest business meeting at the GAC-MAC in Edmonton on 18 May 1993. The meeting was well attended, and a number of proposals which had been put forward by the executive (see Main Thrust, January 1993) were discussed at some length. Here is an overview of the discussion and the decisions that were taken.
Best student GAC abstract award
This year an award of $150. was offered for the best abstract by a student. The award is intended to encourage students to participate in the GAC meetings. The only restrictions on submitted abstracts were that they be accepted for presentation at the GA C, and that they deal with a topic related to Structural Geology and / or Tectonics. Abstracts were to be submitted to the executive prior to 15 March for review (five excellent abstracts were submitted), and the award was presented at the business meeti ng. The recipient was Robert J. Scammell (Queen's University, Kingston) for his abstract "Thermochronometric and thermobarometric constraints on the exhumation history of the northern Monashee Mountains, southern Omineca Belt, British Columbia". Congratul ations Robert!
A best student abstract award did exist previously, but the criteria for the award were modified by the executive this year and the merits of the new criteria were discussed. A proposal was made that the prize be awarded for the actual oral presentation, rather than the written abstract. It was however decided that the procedure of having judges attend all student talks might prove to be unworkable. As it stands, both the criteria for the award, and the amount of the award should remain unchanged for nex t year.
Best thesis award
The executive had also proposed that the Best Thesis Award be changed to a Best Paper Derived From a Thesis Award. It was pointed out that students can submit their papers for the Best Paper Award, and that a Best Paper Derived From a Thesis Award would therefore be redundant. It was also pointed out to the executive that any fears of a crushing workload in reviewing theses were probably unfounded. Therefore, a strong consensus was reached that the Best Thesis Award should remain as is.
Proposal for an SGTD medal
In late 1992, the chairman of the division was contacted by a very generous person who has offered to cover the costs of founding and maintaining a medal to be awarded by the SGTD. The division would be free to adopt any criteria governing the award, and to establish the design of the medal. The offer was discussed at some length at the business meeting, where it was decided that we should definitely go ahead with the project, and that the medal should become the award for the Best Paper of the Year. A p roposal was put forward that each author on the Best Paper should receive a medal. After some reflection, it seems that awarding multiple medals might put a bit of strain on our generous benefactor, who will be covering all the costs! Perhaps the division should consider awarding one medal for the Best Paper, with all authors names inscribed. The authors could decide amongst themselves whose bookshelf would be so adorned, and all authors could include the medal award in their CV's. The benefactor has been notified of our keen interest in his offer, and more discussion about the new SGTD medal will take place at the Canadian Tectonics Group meeting this autumn (see below). SEE YOU THERE.
CTG 1993 MEETING
The 1993 meeting of the Canadian Tectonics Group will be held at Espanola (Northern Ontario) from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17. The meeting organizers are Frank Fueten (Brock University), and Pierre-Yves Robin and Sandy Cruden (Erindale Campu s, University of Toronto). Field trips will feature the Huronian Supergroup and their Penokean deformation. For more details on the meeting, please see the flyer attached to this newsletter.
STUDENTS PLEASE NOTE: the SGTD will be contributing $800. to the meeting. This money will be used to help defer some costs for students who attend, at the discretion of the CTG organizers. Contact them if you are interested.
GAC 1994 WATERLOO - SPECIAL SESSION
There will be a Special Session at the 1994 Geological Association of Canada meeting in Waterloo dedicated to Applied Structural Geology. A separate flyer with details will be issued in September.
** DEADLINES **
Note that nominations for the Best Paper and the Best Thesis awards, accompanied by a copy of the work, should be submitted to the executive by 15 September. For the Best Paper award, any published work with 50% or more structural geology or tectonics co ntent on a Canadian topic or by a Canadian author is eligible.
E-MAIL COMMUNICATION
As a reminder, Frank Fueten (Brock University) has put together a file of E-MAIL addresses of division members. The list is still rather short. If you have E-MAIL and are not on the list, please send your address to Frank at: "ffueten@spartan.ac.brocku.c a". If you have colleagues who are division members and who don't read the Main Thrust, please inform them of this worthy initiative to improve communication amongst our membership. Frank has also set up an E-MAIL redistribution system to help you communi cate quickly and efficiently with the membership whose addresses have been compiled. Send a message to: "ctg@spartan.ac.brocku.ca" and it will be forwarded to all the compiled addresses.
SGTD COUNCILORS
The councilors principal responsibility is to review journals each year in search of eligible papers for the Best Paper Award. Most of the councilors have agreed to continue in this capacity. Pierre-Yves Robin will be on sabbatical, and Simon Hanmer has offered to shoulder the burden. Merci to Pierre-Yves for several years of acting as councilor. The current councilors, and the journals they will review, include:
Philippe Erdmer Journal of Structural Geology Frank Fueten Tectonophysics Bill Fyson Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences Simon Hanmer Journal of Geophysical Research Larry Lane Geology Wilhem Langenburg CSPG Bulletin Joe White Tectonics Paul Williams GSA Bulletin
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION
The SGTD is pleased to inform its membership that the division is very much solvent. Please do not inform Floyd Laughren. Our financial situation is as follows.
Income Expenses
Assets transferred by previous
executive ...................... 5466.44
Interest ....................... 5.61
Bank charges ................... 4.00
Student GAC abstract award ..... 150.00
________ _______
Total .......................... 5472.05 154.00
Total assets ................ 5318.09
That about wraps it up for this newsletter. Don't forget to check out the classifieds. Looking forward to seeing you all at the CTG meeting! Here's how to reach the SGTD executive with ideas, suggestions, etc.
Simon Hanmer, Chairman
Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0E8 fax: (613) 234-8951
EMAIL: SIMON_HANMER@CARLETON.CA
CompuServe: 76557,430
Cees van Staal, Treasurer
Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0E8, fax: (613) 995-7997
Keith Benn, Secretary
Department of Geology, University of Ottawa
161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ont. K1N 6N5
fax: (613) 564-9916
EMAIL: KBENN@acadvm1.uottawa.ca
CompuServe: 74750,3271
THE CLASSIFIEDS
Seeking post-doc. Foreign student with recent doctorate in structural geology from Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France). Looking for post-doc in structural geology and / or mineral resources. For CV, contact Keith Benn, University of Ottaw a.
Seeking employment. Tens years experience teaching / research in structural geology, igneous and metamorphic petrology at university level. Will consider research contracts. For CV, contact Keith Benn, University of Ottawa.