b'Presidents pieceASEG newsPresidents piecedecline, which begs the question how doeducation. That is an article in itself- read on we expand? Not just how do we expand,in this issue of Preview for Dr Kate Selway, but who do we expand to? Its in our nameour Education Committee Chairs summary and our constitution that we are the societyof geophysics education in Australia, of exploration geophysicists but whatspoiler alert: its looking bleak. While job does this really encompass in this day andprospects are high in Australia right now, age? We all know resources are becominggeophysics education opportunities are harder to find, and its become apparentlow, and the discussion point is how can that the exploration geophysicist needs tothe ASEG help to fill this gap.encompass a much broader skillset, so who do we target? Data scientists? Physicists?Then finally, onto a discussion about Kate Robertson Mathematicians? Solid-earth geophysicists?Exploration Geophysics, our Societys Or do we continue to represent strictlytechnical journal. A shout-out to our long-There are not many people to whom Iexploration geophysicists? term hardworking editor Dr Mark Lackie, could suggest a two-hour meeting at 6and our associate editors who give their am on a Sunday morning and receive theExistential questions aside, we need toprecious time to handle the submissions. enthusiastic response: Sounds perfect.evolve, and keep up with the rapidlyDespite their best efforts, a gradual decline Luckily for me, our President-Elect is onechanging times, to be a society thatin impact factor has occurred over the of them. And that is how my day startedadheres to the sustainability journeylast couple of years (in part due to bulk today, with Emma Brand surviving offtoward a Net-Zero future. On Friday nightpublishing of a backload of papers in the a few hours sleep after getting up toI sat down and watched Professor Alanchangeover in publishers in 2019). But the watch Ash Bartys Wimbledon win, andJones presentation The perfect storm -question is, how do we really determine me chucking a hoodie over PJs; businessCanadas future in peril, where he walksthe success of our journal? Is it the number ready and the strategising begins. Eachthe predominantly non-geoscientistof downloads? The number of citations? year, the Federal Executive (FedEx) holdaudience through the stark increase inThe number of Members who value our a Strategy Day, where we make plansresources and rate of extraction requiredjournal? The number of Members who for the year/s ahead and have focussedif we are to achieve a 2-degree scenariopublish in our journal? How well we are discussions. Developing an agenda for(global average increase in temperaturegetting our Members research out into the this years strategy day was the focus ofof 2C). As my partner wandered in andpublic? I would love to hear any thoughts todays meeting, and this is how it went. out of the room watching parts of theyou might have on this, or in fact any of presentation, I was able to see what partsthese questions, and this is the last topic We started the morning talking aboutsurprised or shocked him, and what partsplanned for our Strategy Day in September.Member value - what are we doing right,prompted him to ask questions. It was a what can we improve on, and how can wevaluable experience that underscored theBy the time youre reading this, the solidify our Member value proposition toimportance of having a toolkit of facts atAustralasian Exploration Geoscience broaden our appeal? In recent years wethe ready in support of our industry andConference will be upon us. A huge have had a slow decline in membershipthe work that we do. Are you prepared tothank you to the outstanding conference numbers, and we would like to turn thisanswer the tough questions if needed?organising committee. The mammoth decline around. We want to ensure thatI urge you to inform yourself on thesetask of organising a conference during a our Members are receiving such goodmatters, and can highly recommendpandemic cannot be understated. They value, satisfaction and sense of belongingthe course Geologize (https://training. had to reorganise after it was postponed that each year at renewal time its a no- geologize.org/) to make a start. from April to September and then, brainer to renew. Were investigating howjust weeks before the conference, do to eliminate renewal hurdles - consideringThis leads to the next discussion pointa rapid switch from a hybrid to a fully options such as auto-renewal offor Strategy Day - the importance ofvirtual format. It is very disappointing membership and one-click pay methods.the voice of the ASEG - we want tonot to meet in person but it is now clear We also want to ensure that every decisiondevelop an actionable plan for proactivethat their decision to move to a virtual we make and every action we takecommunication on societal mattersformat was the right one. If you have considers all our Members, and makesthat affect our Members. Heres anany comments, ideas, and critiques on every under-represented group know thatexample from the SEG who have recentlyanything Ive mentioned, dont hesitate to they belong in the ASEG. On that note, Imreleased a position statement on climateemail or chat to me virtually at the AEGC. proud to announce the initiation of thechange (https://seg.org/About-SEG/ASEGs Diversity Committee, to initiallyClimate-Change), which also succinctlyLastly, Im delighted to announce another be chaired by our President-Elect. If youhighlights a number of important roles(and final) addition to the FedEx. Dr would like to join the committee, pleasegeophysicists will play in the continuedJanelle Simpson makes up our 11th send an email to president-elect@aseg.org. fight against climate change, and thismember as Branch Liaison, and a big au, and keep an eye out when we releasearticle highlighting the criticality ofthanks to immediate past-President Dr our plans. On that topic, have a read of anour profession in responding to the UNDavid Annetts who has been covering article Emma recently wrote about womenSustainability Goals https://library.seg. this role in the interim.in STEM https://bit.ly/3eatNmG. org/doi/full/10.1190/tle40010010.1.Kate Robertson Despite all our efforts to ensure MemberAnother key discussion to be had is howASEG President satisfaction, our membership may stillwe deal with the decline of geophysicspresident@aseg.org.auAUGUST 2021 PREVIEW 2'