AAPG EXPLORER Award-winning educator John Underhill has a special passion for Greek culture – and at the core <strong>of</strong> that relationship is geology. Underhill from page 48 not only take place within school curricula, but between academia and industry as well. “I am delighted to have been a member <strong>of</strong> AAPG since 1984, some 29 years now,” he said, a bit proud <strong>of</strong> his academic credentials in a pr<strong>of</strong>essional society adding that, “It has given me so much through conferences, publication and fellowship over that time.” For the record, he is associate pr<strong>of</strong>essor in the Institute <strong>of</strong> <strong>Petroleum</strong> Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh; Fellow <strong>of</strong> the Royal Society <strong>of</strong> Edinburgh; Fellow <strong>of</strong> the Geological Society since 1982 (Council Member 2005-08); was head <strong>of</strong> the Earth and Planetary Sciences Research Group in the School <strong>of</strong> Geosciences; and was the president <strong>of</strong> the European <strong>Association</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geoscientists and Engineers for 2011-12. He also was the 1998-99 Allan P. Bennison Distinguished Lecturer in North America, presenting the talk “The Role <strong>of</strong> Propagating Normal Faults in Controlling Sequence Variability and Sediment Dispersal in Rift Systems.” He always seems to be teaching. But along the way, he also has worked for Shell in various locations throughout the globe, including London and The Hague, and spent time with BP in Glasgow and Norsk Hydro, which, he says, was beneficial to both business and academia. “It allowed me to maintain links with industry and develop my own skill set to train, educate and inform a generation <strong>of</strong> students” – students who keep changing, demanding more. “I try to keep the content <strong>of</strong> lectures up-to-date,” he said. “Making them topical, timely and relevant is essential as is being enthusiastic.” I Get a Kick Out <strong>of</strong> … 50 MAY 2013 WWW.AAPG.ORG There’s something else, too, that has occupied his time, his life – something that lies between avocation and recreation: For over 28 years he was a soccer referee <strong>of</strong> which 14 included <strong>of</strong>ficiating on international FIFA matches between 1994-2008. And as dissimilar as geology and the sport may seem, they both represent something similar to Underhill. “I have been fortunate,” he said, “to follow two hobbies as careers.” Growing up, he says, he loved sports, generally, but soccer, specifically – and played through college. “Having picked up an injury whilst representing my university, I turned to refereeing as a way and means to get back fit and back on the pitch.” And then a strange thing happened. “I discovered I had a greater aptitude for it than playing,” he said. “I am not sure if that made me a failed footballer or a promising referee.” You’d have to put money on the latter, for he has <strong>of</strong>ficiated at the top levels <strong>of</strong> Scottish and European Football for years, including 132 SPL matches and more than 40 international matches – including World Cup games. And there was at least one time when his worlds <strong>of</strong> geology and football meshed perfectly – at the 2008 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, when he “refereed” a debate on the causes <strong>of</strong> the infamous Lusi mud volcano in northeast Java. “I readily agreed to taking on what I saw as a fascinating and challenging task as a facilitator with a front-row seat,” he said at the time. He is now retired from the sport – and for him, not a moment too soon. Or as he says, “Before I made any highly contentious decisions that would haunt me forever.” He’s being modest. One imagines that many students grow up to be coaches and players – and somebody has to deal with them. His joy, though, and the reason for the award have been found in the classroom where he strives to inform, educate and inspire. “There is nothing like seeing a student suddenly grasping a difficult concept,” Underhill said, “It is those Eureka moments that make it all worthwhile.” “It is a rewarding and enriching experience to see others that you have in some small way helped then go on to succeed in their chosen career path.” EXPLORER
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