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Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference
Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) IX–XI www.elsevier.com/locate/orggeochem
Announcements
Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference The Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference for 2002 was held at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories on Castray Esplanade, in Hobart the capital of Tasmania. A full program of 36 talks (seven from students) and 12 posters were presented over two and a half days. These covered a broad range of topics which included: petroleum, gas, ancient sediments, biomarkers, stable isotopes, soils, coal, humics, marine lipids and environmental organic geochemistry. Other events included a pre-conference mixer at CSIRO, a cruise on the River Derwent and a conference dinner at one of Hobart’s fine old hotels. A feature of the AOGC has been its encouragement of student participation. Generous support from Geotech and Woodside Energy enabled a prize to be awarded for the best presentation by a student. This was won by Thelma-Jean Whelan for her talk entitled ‘‘HPLC investigation of humics found in Bayer liquors’’. The runner-up was Susan Ferguson for her talk ‘‘Comparison of microbial mineralisation of petroleum hydrocarbons in Antarctic sediments by radiometric experiments and gas chromatography’’. The chairman’s selection for the most thought provoking talk was awarded to Dr Evelyn Krull for her talk on ‘‘d13C and d15N dynamics in soil organic matter’’. Evelyn provided some very interesting data on the stable isotope changes in C3 and C4 plant materials on combustion. Awards also went to Dr Ben van Aarssen and Dr Simon George for their excellent presentations. A pdf copy of the conference proceedings and abstracts is available free of charge from the AOGC web-site: http:// www.marine.csiro.au/conf/aogc/AOGC 2002 Proceedings.pdf.
AOGC Medal Since 1991 the AOGC has awarded a medal for lifetime achievement in the field of Organic Geochemistry to one of the distinguished members of our society. Previous winners have included Dr. John Smith (formerly CSIRO Division of Petroleum Research and recent winner of the Treibs medal of the Geochemical Society), Professor Basil Johns (University of Melbourne, Victoria), Dr. Trevor Powell (Australian Geological Survey Organisation now Geoscience Australia, Canberra), Professor David McKirdy (University of Adelaide, South Australia), Professor Robert Alexander (Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia) and Professor Barry Batts (Macquarie University, New South Wales). The winner of the AOGC 2002 medal is Professor Roger Summons, formerly of the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and now Professor at the Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Roger was unable to attend the conference due to his new teaching commitments, but provided an acceptance speech.
Citation for the award of the Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference Medal to Professor Roger Summons The winner of the 2002 AOGC medal, Professor Roger Summons, is well known to the Australian and international communities of organic geochemists for the excellence, variety and scientific rigour of his research. Indeed, many like myself are pleased to say that their own research has benefited greatly through collaboration with Roger and his team. Roger has a record of sustained publication over many years as can be seen by his publication record which now stands at over 180 papers. What is possibly less well known is that more than a third of these papers are in fields unrelated to organic geochemistry. A list of these papers is provided at the web site: http://www.marine.csiro.au/conf/aogc/AOGC 2002 Proceedings.pdf. 0146-6380/02/$ - see front matter PII: S0146-6380(02)00036-0
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Announcements / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) IX–XI
Roger received his PhD in chemistry from the University of New South Wales in 1971 and this was followed by a stint as a fellow in genetics at Stanford University Medical School (1972–1973), research fellow at the Australian National University (ANU) and then a Research Officer in the School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University (1973–1983). It was not until 1983 that Roger joined the Bureau of Mineral Resources (now AGSOGeoscience Australia) as a Senior Research Scientist at the instigation of Dr Malcolm Walter who guided Roger’s early studies in organic geochemistry. It wasn’t long before Roger’s knowledge of biochemical pathways and natural products chemistry plus his talents with mass spectrometry really began to make an impression in this new field of endeavour leading to co-authorship with Dr Trevor Powell (winner of the 1995 AOGC medal) of two papers in Nature in 1986. Since then there have been a number of similarly influential papers published in Nature, Science, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Organic Geochemistry and other leading journals. The quality of his work has been recognised by a best paper award from the Organic Geochemistry Division of the Geochemical Society (1988) and nationally he has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (1987) and Australian Academy of Science (1998). Roger is particularly well known for his research on biomarkers. His work in the mid 1980s focused on branched and isoprenoid hydrocarbons in ancient sediments, particularly those associated with the Chlorobiaceae. By the end of the 1980s, he was already publishing review articles on chemical fossils! Much of this work took advantage of reaction monitoring MS, which was only available in a few Australian laboratories at that time. Later work focussed on cyclic alkanes, including the identification of dinosteranes, 3ß-alkylsteranes and methyl hopanes. Roger’s interest in the biogeochemistry of prokaryotic organisms was already apparent in papers in the early 1990s and continues to the present day with recent papers on the biogeochemistry of methanotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria and microbial mats. Studies of microalgae have not been neglected either with work on biomarkers in Botryococcus and sea-ice diatoms. Plants haven’t escaped his attention with work on the compositions of resins, particularly as an aid to identifying the sources of coastal bitumens. Another characteristic of Roger’s work, particularly noticeable in the last decade, is his application of advanced isotope techniques to organic geochemical problems. This work has ranged from studies of the Proterozoic carbon cycle, which confirmed that it is possible to do organic geochemistry on rocks a billion years old or more, to studies of the depositional environment of a wide range of source rocks and source affinities of crude oils. The research has benefited greatly from the collaboration of many notable Australian and overseas scientists and, most especially, the long-standing and productive interactions with microbiologist Linda Jahnke and isotope biogeochemist John Hayes. In 2001, Roger made yet another career move to take up a position as Professor of Geobiology at MIT. This is undoubtedly Australia’s loss, but also an opportunity to expand collaborations between Australian and US scientists. The Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference wishes him well in his new role.
AOGC 2002 Medal Winner Professor Roger Summons
John K. Volkman CSIRO Marine Research GPO Box 1538 Hobart, Tasmania 7001 Australia
Announcements / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) IX–XI
XI
Acceptance Speech for the AOGC 2002 Medal Dear Friends and Colleagues, It is a great privilege to have been chosen for the AOGC award this year. It is also very disappointing not to be there in the flesh to share the conference’s well-known good spirit with so many of the people who have directly contributed to my ‘fortunate life’ in organic geochemistry. The first Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference that Basil Johns initiated in Melbourne was also my first real exposure to the breadth and depth of organic geochemistry after taking a job at BMR in May 1983. This clearly had an impact because I attended and enjoyed every meeting since that time. The AOGC has always been a source of excellent ideas and, for me, led to numerous productive encounters and collaborations over the years. I hope you are all able to benefit in the same way from this year’s meeting, not to mention the chance to enjoy Tasmania’s special ambience and epicurean delights. John Volkman has asked me to name some ‘career highlights’. Three things come easily to mind. The first is to work for twenty years in the earth science community in Australia and elsewhere. It has never been like ‘work’ work and I’ve been especially rewarded in the generosity and communion of a large number of people who have freely shared their ideas, enthusiasms and projects over the years. I gave up trying to think of a way to ‘name names’ and be comprehensive so I can only extend my deep gratitude and say, to you all, that this cannot be topped as a career highlight. Another highlight has been to observe and interact with students as they encounter organic geochemistry, blossom as independent scientists and go on to carve out very successful careers. In this respect, it has been my great pleasure to work closely with students from Curtin, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Macquarie, Indiana, Bristol and Regensburg Universities without ever having been a member of their faculties and having to be formally accountable. When the opportunity finally came to engage in a career with a teaching component I thought it was long overdue to take the plunge. Hence I’m writing this from an icy cold Cambridge with six inches of snow outside our door. The ‘White Christmas’ came a month late but those of you who know me well understand how we came here ‘well-provisioned’. Life’s greatest blessing and the third career highlight is, of course, having a loving, supportive and tolerant family. If our good fortune continues just a little longer, my valentine Elizabeth and I will reach for the Pipers Brook Riesling on Thursday February 14th. We hope you enjoy something of a similar kind. Roger Summons Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Ave E34–246 Cambridge, MA 02139–4307 USA
Announcements
Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference The Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference for 2002 was held at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories on Castray Esplanade, in Hobart the capital of Tasmania. A full program of 36 talks (seven from students) and 12 posters were presented over two and a half days. These covered a broad range of topics which included: petroleum, gas, ancient sediments, biomarkers, stable isotopes, soils, coal, humics, marine lipids and environmental organic geochemistry. Other events included a pre-conference mixer at CSIRO, a cruise on the River Derwent and a conference dinner at one of Hobart’s fine old hotels. A feature of the AOGC has been its encouragement of student participation. Generous support from Geotech and Woodside Energy enabled a prize to be awarded for the best presentation by a student. This was won by Thelma-Jean Whelan for her talk entitled ‘‘HPLC investigation of humics found in Bayer liquors’’. The runner-up was Susan Ferguson for her talk ‘‘Comparison of microbial mineralisation of petroleum hydrocarbons in Antarctic sediments by radiometric experiments and gas chromatography’’. The chairman’s selection for the most thought provoking talk was awarded to Dr Evelyn Krull for her talk on ‘‘d13C and d15N dynamics in soil organic matter’’. Evelyn provided some very interesting data on the stable isotope changes in C3 and C4 plant materials on combustion. Awards also went to Dr Ben van Aarssen and Dr Simon George for their excellent presentations. A pdf copy of the conference proceedings and abstracts is available free of charge from the AOGC web-site: http:// www.marine.csiro.au/conf/aogc/AOGC 2002 Proceedings.pdf.
AOGC Medal Since 1991 the AOGC has awarded a medal for lifetime achievement in the field of Organic Geochemistry to one of the distinguished members of our society. Previous winners have included Dr. John Smith (formerly CSIRO Division of Petroleum Research and recent winner of the Treibs medal of the Geochemical Society), Professor Basil Johns (University of Melbourne, Victoria), Dr. Trevor Powell (Australian Geological Survey Organisation now Geoscience Australia, Canberra), Professor David McKirdy (University of Adelaide, South Australia), Professor Robert Alexander (Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia) and Professor Barry Batts (Macquarie University, New South Wales). The winner of the AOGC 2002 medal is Professor Roger Summons, formerly of the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and now Professor at the Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Roger was unable to attend the conference due to his new teaching commitments, but provided an acceptance speech.
Citation for the award of the Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference Medal to Professor Roger Summons The winner of the 2002 AOGC medal, Professor Roger Summons, is well known to the Australian and international communities of organic geochemists for the excellence, variety and scientific rigour of his research. Indeed, many like myself are pleased to say that their own research has benefited greatly through collaboration with Roger and his team. Roger has a record of sustained publication over many years as can be seen by his publication record which now stands at over 180 papers. What is possibly less well known is that more than a third of these papers are in fields unrelated to organic geochemistry. A list of these papers is provided at the web site: http://www.marine.csiro.au/conf/aogc/AOGC 2002 Proceedings.pdf. 0146-6380/02/$ - see front matter PII: S0146-6380(02)00036-0
X
Announcements / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) IX–XI
Roger received his PhD in chemistry from the University of New South Wales in 1971 and this was followed by a stint as a fellow in genetics at Stanford University Medical School (1972–1973), research fellow at the Australian National University (ANU) and then a Research Officer in the School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University (1973–1983). It was not until 1983 that Roger joined the Bureau of Mineral Resources (now AGSOGeoscience Australia) as a Senior Research Scientist at the instigation of Dr Malcolm Walter who guided Roger’s early studies in organic geochemistry. It wasn’t long before Roger’s knowledge of biochemical pathways and natural products chemistry plus his talents with mass spectrometry really began to make an impression in this new field of endeavour leading to co-authorship with Dr Trevor Powell (winner of the 1995 AOGC medal) of two papers in Nature in 1986. Since then there have been a number of similarly influential papers published in Nature, Science, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Organic Geochemistry and other leading journals. The quality of his work has been recognised by a best paper award from the Organic Geochemistry Division of the Geochemical Society (1988) and nationally he has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (1987) and Australian Academy of Science (1998). Roger is particularly well known for his research on biomarkers. His work in the mid 1980s focused on branched and isoprenoid hydrocarbons in ancient sediments, particularly those associated with the Chlorobiaceae. By the end of the 1980s, he was already publishing review articles on chemical fossils! Much of this work took advantage of reaction monitoring MS, which was only available in a few Australian laboratories at that time. Later work focussed on cyclic alkanes, including the identification of dinosteranes, 3ß-alkylsteranes and methyl hopanes. Roger’s interest in the biogeochemistry of prokaryotic organisms was already apparent in papers in the early 1990s and continues to the present day with recent papers on the biogeochemistry of methanotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria and microbial mats. Studies of microalgae have not been neglected either with work on biomarkers in Botryococcus and sea-ice diatoms. Plants haven’t escaped his attention with work on the compositions of resins, particularly as an aid to identifying the sources of coastal bitumens. Another characteristic of Roger’s work, particularly noticeable in the last decade, is his application of advanced isotope techniques to organic geochemical problems. This work has ranged from studies of the Proterozoic carbon cycle, which confirmed that it is possible to do organic geochemistry on rocks a billion years old or more, to studies of the depositional environment of a wide range of source rocks and source affinities of crude oils. The research has benefited greatly from the collaboration of many notable Australian and overseas scientists and, most especially, the long-standing and productive interactions with microbiologist Linda Jahnke and isotope biogeochemist John Hayes. In 2001, Roger made yet another career move to take up a position as Professor of Geobiology at MIT. This is undoubtedly Australia’s loss, but also an opportunity to expand collaborations between Australian and US scientists. The Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference wishes him well in his new role.
AOGC 2002 Medal Winner Professor Roger Summons
John K. Volkman CSIRO Marine Research GPO Box 1538 Hobart, Tasmania 7001 Australia
Announcements / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) IX–XI
XI
Acceptance Speech for the AOGC 2002 Medal Dear Friends and Colleagues, It is a great privilege to have been chosen for the AOGC award this year. It is also very disappointing not to be there in the flesh to share the conference’s well-known good spirit with so many of the people who have directly contributed to my ‘fortunate life’ in organic geochemistry. The first Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference that Basil Johns initiated in Melbourne was also my first real exposure to the breadth and depth of organic geochemistry after taking a job at BMR in May 1983. This clearly had an impact because I attended and enjoyed every meeting since that time. The AOGC has always been a source of excellent ideas and, for me, led to numerous productive encounters and collaborations over the years. I hope you are all able to benefit in the same way from this year’s meeting, not to mention the chance to enjoy Tasmania’s special ambience and epicurean delights. John Volkman has asked me to name some ‘career highlights’. Three things come easily to mind. The first is to work for twenty years in the earth science community in Australia and elsewhere. It has never been like ‘work’ work and I’ve been especially rewarded in the generosity and communion of a large number of people who have freely shared their ideas, enthusiasms and projects over the years. I gave up trying to think of a way to ‘name names’ and be comprehensive so I can only extend my deep gratitude and say, to you all, that this cannot be topped as a career highlight. Another highlight has been to observe and interact with students as they encounter organic geochemistry, blossom as independent scientists and go on to carve out very successful careers. In this respect, it has been my great pleasure to work closely with students from Curtin, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Macquarie, Indiana, Bristol and Regensburg Universities without ever having been a member of their faculties and having to be formally accountable. When the opportunity finally came to engage in a career with a teaching component I thought it was long overdue to take the plunge. Hence I’m writing this from an icy cold Cambridge with six inches of snow outside our door. The ‘White Christmas’ came a month late but those of you who know me well understand how we came here ‘well-provisioned’. Life’s greatest blessing and the third career highlight is, of course, having a loving, supportive and tolerant family. If our good fortune continues just a little longer, my valentine Elizabeth and I will reach for the Pipers Brook Riesling on Thursday February 14th. We hope you enjoy something of a similar kind. Roger Summons Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Ave E34–246 Cambridge, MA 02139–4307 USA