After spending the earlier part of the day with Grade 10 students at the Estevan Comprehensive School, Stephen Bend, who teaches undergraduate classes in resource geology, petroleum geology and petroleum systems geology at the University of Regina, addressed a group of adults during an evening reception. The day long event was arranged to assist the U of R with its annual Community Connections program which includes Estevan.
Brien Maguire, professor of computer sciences at the U of R, who served as host for the evening's social in the Days Inn, said with a grin it was an interesting experiment "to send the scientists out into a community event like this." He added though, that it was thought Bend's interest in the provincial oil and coal sectors might prove interesting for the local populace.
During a power point presentation, Bend pointed out the growing target areas in Saskatchewan where oil, natural gas and coal will be found and also paid some attention to the evolving job market for geologists and their counterparts as a huge wave of retirement age professionals is making their way to the sidelines.
Using the past to predict the future, or uniformitarianism, begins in today's world with seismic studies that start the search to mark the pattern below the Earth's surface. Bend said geology majors next work with carbonite reefs to help them determine where they are going to go exploring.
He noted that studies of Saskatchewan's coal beds and potential finds, including a new potential field known as the Rosetown field, would allow the province to take the entire carbon dioxide volume to be found in the province and sequester it in this seam alone. The economic and scientific significance is potentially very large, he said.
A new model for petroleum systems is now under way and it involves Bend along with one other professor, two doctoral degree students and three master's degree students. They are finding exploration targets and assessing carbon dioxide sequestration potential. They also seek higher than average heat sources.
The U of R just recently received a gift of computer software, courtesy of Schlumberger, a well known name in the oil patch, valued at over $2.17 million which will be deployed to advance the research efforts.
With a future scientific labour shortage soon advancing on the profession, Bend said the wage scales for well trained geoscientists will be significant with entry-level wages for a bachelor of science graduate hovering around the $70,000 mark.
"The resource sector right now isn't high on the list for local geoscientist grads and so they are hiring abroad," said Bend.
He went on to tout the educational benefits at the University of Regina, noting that the majority of previous graduates have praised its program which includes a lot of practical work as well as theory and classroom efforts. He said those in the field compare the U of R program favourably with other major university programs across Canada because the U of R offers innovative classroom experiences and classes that use industry standards including the software packages.
Bend was introduced and thanked by Maguire.
The evening included social time that allowed guests ample opportunity to quiz the visiting professors and university representatives in a relaxed atmosphere.
