PDF library in action

With thanks to Associate Member (and Staff Advisor) Darin Buri, we now have a computer in the Sigma Gamma Epsilon office on which we can store the PDF library! It's much faster than the old machine.

Dump your PDFs in the folder on the desktop (preferably renamed and organized according to the style in the Readme file), and scoop up some references that you didn't have before. This is a long-term project that we hope people will use, both by contributing PDFs they have scanned, and by using the references we already have.

UPDATE 28 November: We now have 596 files in the PDF library!

North Dakota Academy of Science

2008 North Dakota Academy of Science Annual Meeting (#100!)
Thursday, April 24th at UND - Present your senior project or research, and you don't have to travel!

If you are interested in presenting but aren't sure, talk to any of the current SGE members--we can help. This is an excellent way to get your foot in the door at a professional society, meet some people, and show off your hard work.


Becoming a member is $10 for students and required to present.

More details can be found at http://www.ndacadsci.org/

Minutes 10 October 2007

Important: Next meeting is tomorrow, October 17th at noon.

These aren't a full set of minutes, but here are the things that were discussed at the last meeting:

In attendance: Matt Belobraydic (P), Lucas Buckingham (VP), Tanya Justham (T), Matt Burton-Kelly (S), Marron Bingle (student member), Ryan Whittaker (student member) and Joseph Hartman (faculty advisor).

Matt Belobraydic presented the idea of a geoscience-oriented job workshop to the group. This has already been presented and approved with recommendations from the Geology and Geological Engineering faculty. We need to give them an outline of what we are planning. This workshop would be put on before the next career fair on a weekend or evening, depending on what works for students and alumni/UND staff presenters.

• Feedback: What area of the geosciences would you like this workshop to focus on?

• Committee to contact: Job Workshop committee, headed by Matt Belobraydic.

"The Beta Zeta" newsletter. Submissions need to be in so we have enough time to be able to distribute on November 1st and December 1st. The latter should be funded by BOSP, so we can have four full pages of text and color photographs and artwork. Submit writing and photos to Matt Belobraydic.

• Feedback: Who is are target audience for this newsletter? Is it just for us, is it for recruiting outside the department, inside the department?

• Committee: Newsletter committee, headed by Matt Belobraydic.

Initiation. We now have two years worth of members that need to be initiated. This should be an excuse for a party or other get-together with appropriate initiation rites. Nothing has yet been done on this.

• Feedback: What should we do for initiation? Should we do it traditionally, or make up our own rites of passage into SGE? Where will this happen?

• Committee: Initiation committee, headed by Lucas Buckingham.

Treasurer's Report:

• BOSP should go through, giving us the ability to print 300 copies of a 4-page full-color newsletter once a month for the rest of the year.
• SAC funding for travel of some members to GSA in Denver was less than anticipated.
• The scholarship fund has been rolled into a CD, which will make the organization more money per year than before.

• Feedback: What other fundraising ideas do we have? More importantly, what do we want to spend the money on that we already have?

• Contact: Tanya Justham.

Winter Banquet. Need a venue, need something fun to do. Various ideas have been tossed around, some of them super-secret.

• Feedback: What should we do for a winter banquet? How can we make it fun?

• Committee: Winter Banquet committee, headed by Marron Bingle.

Undergraduate recruitment. We are sorely lacking in undergraduate members at the moment, which means that elections in December are likely to be problematic. Therefore, we need to start hassling more people inside and outside the department to join up with Beta Zeta chapter. To be elected officer, you need to be a member and intend to be around for at least a year after you are elected. Some members volunteered to focus on certain areas of recruitment.

• Feedback: How do we recruit more members?

• Committee: Headed by the execs right now, but could be organized by a member as well.

Questions and comments can be asked anytime of the executive committee by emailing betazetasge@gmail.com.


[posted by MBK]

Fall Banquet

Everyone should remember that tonight is the Fall Banquet. Be there or be square. 5:30 at the Ramada Inn.

Geology PDF Library

I'm working on a sideline project to build a PDF library for UND Geology students. We all have PDFs laying around that we've bothered to scan, or to ILL, and in order to reduce the scanning/waiting time and effort, it makes sense for us to dump our PDFs in one place. This would not be accesible online (copyright issues), but would be a central computer.

If you would like to contribute or help out, please let me know.

Matt BK

September Newsletter

The first issue of The Beta Zeta is out and about. You can download it here.

Upcoming Events

Regular Meeting Number 8:
Wed, Sep 19th, Noon, AUG Lounge (Leonard Hall 7)

Department Picnic:
Wed, Sep 19th, 5 pm, Lincoln Drive Park

Department MeetNGreet:
Thu, Sep 20th, Noon, Leonard Hall Lobby

Third Thursday Lecture:
Thu, Sep 20th, 6:30 pm, Leonard Hall
Terry Bailey: "From Log-Slipping to 3D Workstations: The Changing Times in the Oil Industry"
UND GGE Alumnus, EERC

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Office

In case people didn't know, we have an office located in Room 42, Leonard hall. Feel free to use it if you need a quiet place to work, or for holding committee meetings.























































Here's a photo of the AUG lounge too:

Notes for next week

Hi everyone, here are some things to think about for the Beta Zeta meeting next week, Wednesday at Noon.
-Beta Zeta Executive Committee

In this email:
* Dues
* SAC funding for travel to GSA
* Call for submissions to The Compass
* Call for submissions to the newsletter
* Call for committee chairs
* Travel to Sigma Gamma Epsilon National meeting
* Research posters

******Dues******
Current members of Beta Zeta Chapter of SIgma Gamma Epsilon need to pay DUES for the next year! Pay dues to Matt Burton-Kelly. There are NO local dues, just national dues.

New members: $40 (includes initiation fees)
Old members: $15




******SAC funding for travel to GSA******
We're going to try to get SAC funding for travel to GSA in October. If you are interested in going to GSA, show up to the planning meeting THIS FRIDAY (Sep 14th) at NOON in the AUG lounge.





******Call for submissions to The Compass******
We're going to try to submit an issue of The Compass by the end of the calendar year. The way it generally works is to get a bunch of papers and submit them together, so then they can be published together with our name (Beta Zeta Chapter) on the issue.

Anything you want to submit that is research related would be acceptable, including senior research and revised term papers. Questions? See Matt Burton-Kelly ( matthew.burton.kelly@und.nodak.edu).

The deadline is set for Wednesday, November 21st. This is right before Thanksgiving break.




******Call for newsletter submissions******
If you did anything over the past year, we want to hear about it! We're working on a newsletter for the students, which will also be distributed to intro classes and labs in order to increase interest and participation in AUG and SGE.

We have the ability to do full-color photos as well as text, so anything is acceptable, even abstracts with diagrams.
Please submit what you have ASAP to Matt Belobraydic ( matthew.belobraydic@und.nodak.edu).




******Call for committee chairs******
The following committees are to be formed. If you would like to chair or serve on a committee, please talk to Matt Belobraydic. Remember, the execs can't do everything!

1. Newsletter. To produce a multipage (monthly?) newsletter that covers student activities, departmental happenings, and upcoming AUG and SGE events.

2. T-Shirts. To deal with all things t-shirt, including design, sales, ordering and distribution.

3. Winter Banquet. To organize the Winter Banquet, including food, drinks, venue, promotion etc.




******Sigma Gamma Epsilon National Meeting******
The Sigma Gamma Epsilon National meeting will be held in Iowa from October 19th-21st. We would like to send at least one delegate to represent the newly revitalized Beta Zeta chapter. If you are interested in this, please talk to one of the executive committee members.




******Research Posters******
Thanks to Dr. Hartman, we will soon have bulletin board strips in the basement (dungeon) hallway of Leonard to hang our research posters up on. If you've got one to show off, hang it up! Also, if you have recently done an oral presentation rather than a poster, you can print your slides (or a selection of them) off on poster paper and have it covered by GGE. For more information, talk to Joe Hartman ( joseph_hartman@und.edu).

Vote on Options for the Scholarship Investment Account

On September 5th, SGE members voted on the future of the invested $11,500 to fund the scholarships given each year by SGE to field school attendees.  The four options for the money included:

    1) leave it in the current moneymarket account at 2.6% interest
    2) switch it to a six month CD for 3.75% interest, then revote in March
    3) switch it to a 12 month CD for 4.25% interest, then revote in a year
    4) pull it out of the school completely and invest it ourselves, but we lose our tax-exempt status.

SGE voted to place the invested money in a 6 month CD with an interest rate of 3.75%.  The transfer of funds should be finalized by 14 September, and the organization will have to revote on the placement of the money at the end of February or early March.

Tanya

First Fall 2007 Meeting

Welcome back to campus! Beta Zeta Chapter is still going strong, and we have a lot of things to plan for the coming year. Don't miss the first meeting!

Wednesday, August 22 at Noon in the AUG lounge (Leonard Hall room 7).

Remember, it's never too late to join and get involved!

Regular Meeting #6 Minutes

Beta Zeta Chapter, Sigma Gamma Epsilon
Regular Meeting #6
11 April, 2007

Officers:
Lucas Buckingham (Vice President)
Tanya Justham (Secretary-Treasurer)
Matt Burton-Kelly (Secretary-Editor)


Members:
Marron Bingle
Andrew Bongard
Chase Christensen
Abby Franklund
Emil Opitz

Nonmembers:
Joseph Hartman (faculty)
Ashley Ignatius
Ryan Klapperich


Meeting to order by Lucas. Food provided by Tanya.

Emil says we can spell out University of North Dakota
Joe says no.

SHIRTS
Bigger letters
Gray shirt
Order form with mockups for banquet
Vote: Shirt approved with modifications.-->Matt BK

SPRING AWARDS BANQUET SLIDESHOW
Marron needs more photos by THIS FRIDAY.
Scenery and people pictures.

TOURS
Tours: Chase doing 2pm Wed

MOVIE NIGHT
$100 for movie night food.-->Tanya

SCHOLARSHIPS
Abby heading scholarship committee--Andy and Lucas as well, meeting at Noon on Monday.

SPRING AWARDS BANQUET
Don't need to buy extra tickets for last-minute people. Definitely round up by 5 people.

Ashley suggests seeing if high school classes AP want to come to banquet.

Lucas doing mocktails--he is going to pick them, fruit and ice.

Vote to let Joe do the program. Will add dedication for room 1.

Joe will take care of A/V for EERC.

Lucas will hand out tickets to people and keep track of who has what.

NEW BUSINESS
Name tags. Write your own. Who is in charge of this? Joe talk to Connie.

Membership Requirements

It was pointed out that neither our constitution nor our requirements for membership are anywhere to be found on this website, so here they are:

Beta Zeta Chapter constitution

Requirements for membership in the Beta Zeta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Epsilon:

A. Persons fulfilling the following conditions shall be eligible for active membership:

1. be currently registered at the University of North Dakota and majoring or specializing in Geology, Geological Engineering, or any other branch of the Earth Sciences;

2. have completed twelve (12) semester hours in the above fields of specialization. In special, individual cases, upon recommendation of the Membership Committee, the Chapter may vote, by a three-fourths majority of active members present and voting, to reduce the hours requirement of this section to ten (10) semester hours;

3. have status of at least sophomore;

4. have satisfied the following scholastic requirements;

a. In conformity with the objects of the Society, the general average required for admission to Sigma Gamma Epsilon shall be based upon a minimum overall average of 2.67 (based on the 4.00 system) but, in exceptional cases, the Chapter may elect to consider only the last two semesters of the last three quarters in computing this grade. A 3.00 grade point (based upon the 4.00 system) shall be the minimum requirement for all courses in the Earth Sciences. Graduate students who are in good standing with regular status, and who meet the above hourly requirements shall be eligible for membership, regardless of their grade point average.

b. Graduate students not on Approved Status must fulfill the requirements of undergraduate candidates listed above.

5. have demonstrated continued interest and enthusiasm for the Earth Sciences.

6. Associate, honorary, active alumni, and life members shall be admitted to the Chapter in accordance with Article II of the National Constitution. Such members shall not have the power of vote in Chapter affairs.

**Updated by MBK with new credit requirements.

Executive meeting notes

REMINDER: The next regular meeting will be next Wednesday, April 11th at noon in Leonard 110.

The weekly executive meeting was short and sweet. Here are some things that came out of it:

1. We have scheduled a movie night for next Wednesday at around 8. It should be happening in Leonard 100. Bring any geology movies you have and we'll vote on what to watch.
--To help out with this, contact Matt BK in Leonard 40 or matthew.burton.kelly@und.nodak.edu.
--Food $ will have to be voted on at the next regular meeting.

2. Marron needs as many photos as possible of geology students and study areas for the Spring Awards Banquet slideshow. If you have anything you want to send, her email address is marron.bingle@und.nodak.edu, or visit her office in Leonard 6.

3. Matt BK made up a t-shirt design at CafePress. The demo shirt should be here by next week. The online store (and design) is located at http://www.cafepress.com/betazeta.
--We will need to vote on this design at the next regular meeting.

4. More tickets need to be sold for the Spring Awards Banquet. If you have not bought your tickets, BUY THEM NOW. The more people who attend this event, the more fun it will be.

5. Other discussion:
--Are we going to hold a 'mixer' to attract new members? Where and when will this be? Discuss at regular meeting.
--There was some confusion as to who is eligible to apply for field camp scholarships. The answers can be found below.

Field Camp Scholarships

**Important: If you downloaded the scholarship form before 1 pm on April 2nd, you need to re-download the complete form at the same link below.**

Beta Zeta Chapter will be giving out 2 $250 scholarships for field camp this year. Scholarship recipients will be announced at the Geology and Geological Engineering Spring Banquet (Friday, April 20th).

To apply, you must be attending geology field camp within the next year.

Download Field Camp Scholarship Application
Due date: Friday, April 13th, 2007.
Return applications to Matt Belobraydic, c/o Leonard Hall office.

In the future, Beta Zeta Chapter hopes to increase the number, amount and type of scholarships. In the past, we have been able to supply funding for field camp, travel (for academic conferences, etc.) and research. If you wish to help us meet these goals, please consider becoming a member of the Beta Zeta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Epsilon.

Added April 4th, 2007 - Field Camp Clarification email:

Beta Zeta Chapter of SGE is giving out two (2) $250 scholarships for field camp. In the interest of making everything clear about the Field Camp scholarships, we'd like to clarify a few things:

1. These scholarships are open to ALL students in the Geosciences. If you are planning on going to field camp this summer, YOU SHOULD APPLY!

2. We will accept applications from graduate students, but we'd rather give money to UNDERGRADUATES. If you are an undergraduate, YOU SHOULD APPLY!

3. You DO NOT have to be a member of Sigma Gamma Epsilon (or AUG, for that matter) to apply. We do these things because we have the money, and sending you to field camp promotes the earth sciences. That is what the organization is about.

4. If you have any doubt about your eligibility, APPLY ANYWAY!

Scholarship application forms can be downloaded at the Beta Zeta website, http://betazetasge.blogspot.com (make sure you download the "Field Camp Scholarship" application).

Applications are due Friday, April 13th. Hand them into the Leonard Hall office (room 101).

If you have ANY questions, please reply to this email. If your question happens to be, "Am I eligible to apply?", we can tell you right now that the answer is YES.


Have a wonderful day,
Beta Zeta Execs

Meeting Feb. 28th at Noon

There will be a regular meeting next Wednesday (February 28th) at Noon in room 110.

Please read the minutes from last meeting before next Wednesday. Please raise issues before the minutes are approved.


If you aren't a member, consider becoming one this semester! Contact one of the Executive committee or email betazetasge@gmail.com. We're not collecting local dues, so you only have to pay the National office $25 initiation plus $8 in dues for the Spring semester.

Beta Zeta photo archive

I finally got around to scanning these group photos from the Beta Zeta office. Many of them don't have names (or dates!) so any help from alumni would be appreciated.

Click on each image for the full-size version.




















FRONT ROW: (L. to R.) Anton Alkofer, Dale Lalim, Larry Froelich, Arland Grunseth, Roger Reede, Jack Kume, Roger Schmid.
BACK ROW: (L. to R.) Jerry Davidson, James Chmelik, Lee Clayton, Jan Biers, J. Gene Halvorson, Ronald Erickson, Jesse Bednar, Charles Gessner, Morris McCollum, Robert Peterson, Barrett Williams.




Beta Zeta Chapter, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, 1960-61
December 1960
Back row: (L. to r.) Harold C. Ziebarth, President; Robert K. Norris; Dr. F. D. Holland, Jr., Faculty Advisor; Gary Thompson; Charles I Frye; John W. Bonneville; Orin J. Anderson, Secretary Treasurer; Larry Froelich.
Front row: (L. to r.) Albert D. Pernichels; Samuel J. Tuthill; Rodney M. Feldmann, Vice-president-Historian; John L. Merrell, Corresponding Secretary - Editor; Charles E. Larson; Kent A. Madenwald; Frederick V. Ballard.

Next meeting: CHANGED

Minutes from the last meeting can be found here.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 13th, at 4:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, February 14th at NOON. If this time does not work for you, PLEASE contact one of the executive committee members or email betazetasge@gmail.com.

Next meeting: 30 January.

Minutes for the meeting last Wednesday can be found here.

Next Executive Committee meeting: Tue, 23 January.
Next Regular Meeting: Tue, 30 January.

Post #1

A post to prove that this Blog is up and operational.