Travel: Overview of Environmental and Engineering Geology and Geohazards with a Virtual Field Trip to Landslides Near Pittsburg, PA

This project will provide travel support for student participation in a professional development and skills-training workshop that aids their progress toward environmental geology/engineering geology careers, an area of significant national need. The Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) is the acknowledged international leader in environmental and engineering geology and is greatly respected for its stewardship of the profession. AEG offers information on environmental and engineering geology useful to practitioners, scientists, students, and the public. To increase awareness of AEG and the career pathways AEG supports, a 1-day, pre-meeting workshop and virtual field trip will be convened at the Geological Society of America - GSA Connects 2023 annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. The effort will target student-scholars of GSA’s On To the Future program. OTF student-scholars will learn about the benefits of AEG membership with respect to professional skills training, acquiring professional capital, developing professional networks, and advancing altruistic environmental geology/engineering geology careers. The Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG), a member of the NSF-sponsored Geosciences ASCEND Research Coordination Network, is hosting an Applied Geosciences Career Discussion and Virtual Field Trip (VFT) during the Geological Society of America GSA Connects 2023 annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, 14 October 2023. The focus of the workshop is investigating and understanding landslides and mitigating landslide hazards. This event is an accessible, day-long pre-meeting workshop developed for GSA On To the Future (OTF) student-scholars to introduce them to career opportunities in applied geosciences. The workshop provides career information and skills-oriented professional development via a virtual field trip to examine prominent landslides in the Pittsburgh area. AEG facilitators will share career advice with OTF scholars and develop research skills by exploring the notable geological sites in and around Pittsburgh. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.