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Media Contacts

Deborah DeChurch
Indiana Geological Survey
ddechurc@indiana.edu
812-855-1941

John Steinmetz
Indiana Geological Survey
jsteinm@indiana.edu
812-855-5067

Last modified: Thursday, August 14, 2003

Indiana's foremost geologist slides into national post

Indiana Geological Survey Director John Steinmetz has been elected president of the Association of American State Geologists, an alliance of the chief geologists from all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico.

During his one-year term, Steinmetz will oversee AASG's collaborations with a number of federal agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation and the National Park Service.

Steinmetz has been Indiana's state geologist and main geological advisor to Gov. Frank O'Bannon since 1998. Steinmetz is a member of Indiana's State Hazard Mitigation Council and Groundwater Task Force. He also administers the licensing program for professional geologists in the state. Under Steinmetz's direction, the Indiana Geological Survey, an applied research institute of Indiana University, has quickly increased its digital holdings of geological and geophysical information, many of which are publicly available for download via the World Wide Web.

AASG coordinates the efforts of state geological surveys and expands the areas in which state surveys cooperate with federal entities. The AASG also advocates the use of geological information in the mitigation of natural hazards, provides leadership in the development of digital mapping techniques, supports a cost-efficient federal stream-gauging program and promotes the preservation of geological data for future generations of scientists.

Steinmetz may be reached at 812-855-5067 or jsteinm@indiana.edu, or via Deborah DeChurch at 812-855-1941 or ddechurch@indiana.edu.