CANCELLED: UT Austin and NSF at SXSW to Discuss State of Planet and Future of Geosciences

February 19, 2020

EVENT CANCELED: With the cancellation of this year’s SXSW, the Jackson School of Geosciences and the National Science Foundation have canceled their panels on the “Future of Geosciences” and the “State of the Planet” scheduled from Friday, March 13. There will be ongoing discussion about rescheduling them in a venue on campus at a later date, but that date has not been determined. Thank you for your interest in the event.

The challenges facing the planet are challenges that geoscientists are poised to solve.

Next month, The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will draw on geosciences experts from both institutions, including Jackson School Dean Claudia Mora and the NSF Assistant Director for Geosciences Bill Easterling, to discuss the state of the planet and the future of geosciences by hosting two back-to-back panels.

The event is Friday, March 13, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel (Room Palm Park A) on the first day of SXSW Interactive. It is free and open to the public and does NOT require a SXSW badge. All are highly encouraged to attend.

• The first panel, “State of the Planet” is from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Jackson School Associate Dean for Research David Mohrig and NSF Division Director of Ocean Sciences Terry Quinn, a former director of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics.

Panelists include:

• • Jackson School Professor Ginny Catania, an expert on ice sheets
  • Jackson School Assistant Professor Ashley Matheny, an expert on how plants influence hydrology
  • Associate Director for the Environment Division at the Bureau of Economic Geology Michael Young, an expert in the resiliency of warm and cold desert environments

• The second panel, “The Future of Geosciences,” is from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. will consist of talks by Mora and Easterling and will be followed by a Q&A session.

Attendees are encouraged to RSVP to the event, but an RSVP is not required for admittance.

For more information, contact: Anton Caputo, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-232-9623; Monica Kortsha, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-471-2241.