Applied Geology is an Essential Profession

Speaker: David Fenster, AEG 2019-2020 Immediate Past President

Critical facilities can be defined as those important to health, safety and the environment.  The failure of a critical facility can be disastrous in terms of loss of life, injuries, property destruction and the cost of recovery.  Applied geology plays an important role in the site characterization, design and construction of many critical and non-critical facilities and in the solution of environmental problems.  As young geologists we leave school with a basic geological toolkit.  We need to supplement that education with experience and continuous learning.  Detailed site investigations led by licensed applied geologists are necessary to provide the data, and interpretations based on those data, that form the basis for our understanding of site geology.

Characterizing a site to determine its suitability for nuclear power plant construction and operation tests our ability to use the basic toolkit.  Successful site characterization depends on using a multidisciplinary approach that enhances our toolkit.  The toolkit is further enhanced by learning “on-the-job”, taking courses, getting out of your comfort zone, and by participating in professional association activities, both in the field and at meetings.  An applied geologist brings a unique perspective to both engineering geology and environmental geology projects. Training and experience give applied geologists the ability to understand the geologic setting of the site which, hopefully, enables us to more effectively address the problem at hand.  This presentation is comprised of site characterization, forensic geology, environmental geology, and dam foundation case studies to illustrate why applied geology should be considered an “essential” profession.

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