b'Presidents pieceASEG newsPresidents pieceI wish our ASEG Members, corporate2018 Greek fires, including landslidesfor scientific research, better retention of partners and affiliate societies a veryand building collapses and flooding andour best minds in Australiawe will be happy and prosperous New Year. I alsopollution to water ways and reservoirs aswell on our way to globalsuccess. With want to express my deepest concerna result of the destruction of landscape.more STEM-skilled women and men in the and well wishes for all of our MembersOn behalf of EAGE, he offered I am sureworkforce, we will have a much stronger and their families and communitiesthat both ASEG and EAGE can find waysfoundation for innovation, and Australias that have been affected by Australiasto collaborate on better dealing withenvironment, health, wealth and wellbeing catastrophic fires. natural hazardsmy wishes for thiswill all prosper.We have all seen the horrifying mediadisaster to end soon in Australia. STA arranged for small multidisciplinary images and heard the heart-wrenchingIn late November, I attended Sciencegroups (3-4 scientists) to meet one-stories of loss of lives, homes andmeets Parliament 2019 (SmP), an annualon-one with individual Members of regional communities and loss ofevent arranged by Science & TechnologyParliamentin my view an extremely massive areas of biodiversity and wildlife.Australia (STA) and hosted in Parliamentvaluable opportunity to raise the Australias townships and regions, mostHouse, Canberra. As a Councillor of theawareness of our political leaders on the well-known to exploration geoscientists,Australian Geoscience Council (AGC), Ilatest in science and technology thinking have been absolutely decimatedhad the privilege of supporting Professorand breakthroughs and innovations in by almost unstoppable firestorms.David Cohen, President of AGC, who ledAustralian science. I heard from many Communities across QLD, NSW, VIC,the advocacy of major geoscience issuesother scientists at SmP that there was SA and WA are enormously grateful forof relevance to Australia, on behalf ofvery constructive questioning from the heroic efforts of the volunteer andthe geoscience member organizationsMembers on the latest science on climate professional firefighters on the groundof the AGC. I also had the privilegechange and likely future impacts for our and in the air, partnering with firefightersof joining with Marina Costelloe, ourenvironment, wellbeing and economy from Canada, NZ, PNG and the USA. Immediate Past President, who is nowand also on the possible link to the early I am aware of a number of our Membersa Board Member of STA, responsibleonset of devastating fires across Australia, who regularly serve in the volunteer firefor representing the Geoscience andahead of the traditional fire season.fighting services and who have beenGeographical Sciences.contributing everything in their localThe Australian Geoscience Councils key STA is Australias leading representativestrategies discussed at SmP, centred community and risking their own livesand active advocate for STEMon Geoscience Education, Geoscience over the past few months to protectprofessionals and STEM education atAdvocacy and Geoscience Sustainability, human life and to save homes andall levels. Science meets Parliament,and both Professor Cohen and myself townships. They have put their lives oncelebrating its 20th anniversary inpresented within small working groups the line to support fellow Australians in2019, brought together more thanand to two Members of Parliament on these extraordinary circumstancesour200 of Australias most engagedthree major mineral geoscience issues for thanks and appreciation will never bescientists, technologists, engineers andAustralia:enough! mathematicians across disciplines, states In the past two months as Australiasand territories and backgrounds to fosterCritical metals for a low carbon high fires have become more expansive, morescience connections and opportunitiestechnology economyvoracious and more destructive, Iveand share their science with theNational research programs to support received emails from across the globeMembers of the Parliament of Australia. next generation mineral discoveriesfrom friends, geo-colleagues and affiliateSTA delivered an impressive formalContinuing professional development geophysical societies, expressing theprogram, cross-disciplinary workshopsof geoscientistshighest level of concerns for Australiansand valuable networking sessions overIm writing this piece in mid-January, and our country and offering to help intwo days, with high profile presentationsimmediately after returning from several some way. from Professor Fiona Wood, formerweeks travelling through the central One of the emails received by theAustralian of the Year, and Dr Alanhighlands of Sri Lanka with family. ASEG was from Professor GeorgeFinkel, Australias Chief Scientist, and anIve been fascinated with Sri Lanka for Apostolopoulos, National Technicalimpressive presentation by Professor Lisasome time because of an involvement University of Athens and Chair of theHarvey-Smith, Australian GovernmentsI had some years ago in supporting the EAGE Near Surface Geoscience Division,Women in STEM Ambassador at thetraining and scientific exchange between who reflected on the horrific loss of lifeNational Press Club Lunch. the Sri Lankan Geological Survey and and environmental impacts from theThe STA President Professor EmmaMines Bureau (GSMB) and Australian 2018 wildfires in Greece. He expressedJohnston AO, in completing her term ofgeological surveys. The regional mapping his personal sympathies that Australiaoffice, emphasized the importance ofand mineral resource identification of is now facing a similar devastatingengagement with our Nations leaders atSri Lanka has been undertaken over the bushfire crisis, also with tragic loss ofSmP, past decades by GSMB with support lives. Professor Apostolopoulos referredfrom the British Geological Survey and to the positive collaboration betweenthe STEM sector is central to Australiasother international researchers, including engineers, geologists, geophysicists andstrong competitive economy, resilientAustralian geoscientiststhe excellent other earth and environmental scientistsenvironment, and healthy population. Withnational maps produced in 1983 for in dealing with the aftermath of theevidence-based policy, strong supportMineral Resources, Metamorphic Terrains, FEBRUARY 2020 PREVIEW 2'