50 YEARS OF GULF COAST SECTION SEPM - A BRIEF HISTORY

In 2003, the GCSSEPM celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding. The Section was established for the purpose of "promoting the science of stratigraphy in the Gulf Coast states through research in paleontology and sedimentary petrology, especially as it relates to petroleum geology". The Gulf Coast Section is the largest section of SEPM and is likely the most active.

The first Executive Council, the governing body of the Section, included Stuart A. Levinson, President, Grover E. Murray, Vice President, William H. Akers, Secretary, and Frank V. Stevenson, Treasurer. Since its inception in 1953, the GCSSEPM has fostered the science of stratigraphy in a number of ways: through co-sponsoring the Annual Convention and its published Transactions with GCAGS; in sponsoring field trips; by publishing field guides and special research reports; and importantly, in producing the Annual GCSSEPM Research Conferences and Conference Proceedings volumes.

Two significant events in the history of the Section occurred during 1980-1981: the initiation of the Annual Research Conferences and the establishment of the GCSSEPM Foundation. Then, Gene B. Martin, Past President, and Bob F. Perkins, President of the Section, conceived the idea for annual GCSSEPM-sponsored research conferences. Under their leadership, the First Annual Research Conference was held December 1980 in Houston and was titled Geology of the Woodbine and Tuscaloosa Formations. This first effort was fully subscribed with over 300 registrants. Since then, 22 additional conferences have convened, carrying forward the initial success and building a heritage of excellence. From these conferences come some of the Section's most popular publications, including: Salt, Sediment and Hydrocarbons; Innovative Biostratigraphic Approaches to Sequence Analysis - New Exploration Opportunities; Deep-Water Reservoirs of the World; Submarine Fans and Turbidite Systems - Sequence Stratigraphy, Reservoir Architecture and Production Characteristics, Gulf of Mexico and International; and Sequence Stratigraphy as an Exploration Tool - Concepts and Practices in the Gulf Coast.

The most popular conference to date has been Sequence Stratigraphy as an Exploration Tool. The initial presentation of this conference in December 1990 was so in demand that it was offered a second time in June 1991 in order to accommodate all of those wishing to participate. The total registration for the original and encore presentations was 973.

The 2003 GCSSEPM Foundation Research Conference Shelf Margin Deltas and Linked Down Slope Depositional Systems: Global Significance and Future Exploration Potential will be held this December 7th to 10th. The 2004 and 2005 conferences are currently in the advanced planning stages.

The GCSSEPM Foundation was established in 1981 as a trust for sponsorship of research and research-related activities, including research grants, seminars, conferences, symposia, publications, and programs of continuing education in stratigraphy and the related sciences of paleontology and sedimentary petrology. The Foundation supports these activities through tax-exempt donations from corporations and individual patrons and through fees from conference registrations and sale of publications. The first three Trustees of the Foundation were John B. Dunlap, Claude M. Quigley, and Doris M. Curtis. Largely as a result of the efforts of Bob Perkins, Executive Director of the Foundation from the date of its establishment to the time of his death in 1999, the trust is able to continue to fulfill the promise of "excellence in education and research". In 1999, the Trustees posthumously honored Bob Perkins deciding to name future conferences in the series after him. In 2002, the Foundation began awarding the first Fellowship Grants for Graduate Studies in Earth Science, and these carry the name of Honorary and Distinguished Member Edward B. Picou, Jr.

This 50th anniversary sees Section membership at 487, a number that has been relatively stable for decades despite downturns in petroleum industry employment. At its peak in the early 1980s, the Section had more than 600 members. Though primarily drawing from the Gulf Coast region, the Section has members from across the United States and has 25 members from other countries. The geographic distribution of our membership is testament that the Section has earned recognition for service to scientific excellence from a community of petroleum industry geoscientists, university faculty and students that now extends worldwide.

Sheila C. Barnette and Ron F. Waszczak

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