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President’s Page- Henry Allen

PESGB is a great Society, isn’t it? I’d say it’s quite unusual, as well. The youthful energy that emanates from even our longer-toothed members is remarkable and speaks volumes for the culture of openness, free-thinking, respectfulness and fun. Long may it continue. And so I write this on the Aberdeen sleeper after a serious ticking off from our editor for yet again stretching the deadline, and his patience, to the limit. This after another full, and thoroughly enjoyable PESGB day culminating in a marathon but excellent double lecture session, combining a spirited delivery from one of our MSc beneficiaries and then a walk through some pretty intense but thought-provoking rock physics from one of the world’s experts. But this is now a good time to ruminate, not just because it’s been the end of a long day, but because this is my last opportunity to put a few thoughts together for digestion by a potential readership of five thousand or so.
Most importantly I would like to thank my colleagues in PESGB for making the Society what it is; the office staff, the Council members, the SIG and RG organisers, and all our members. It is a great pleasure to be part of that. Secondly I feel obliged to record my wish list, which should contain no surprises if you have read my pages over the year. So let’s have a Society that is driven by an average age of 35, not 45; that is not defensive about its industry’s role in catastrophes that no sane person wants, or in short-circuiting the carbon-cycle while wanting to help do something
about mitigating its consequences; and that is appreciative of our origins in academia and willing to be active in influencing and supporting it and the new generations of scientists that we will depend on for much more than just our future energy needs. The PESGB needs to evolve, and to evolve it should be looking forward, and only harking back to learn how to be even better. As long as it retains the sorts of values that I described at the top of this page, this is no threat, but rather a massive opportunity for the Society to continue to blossom while holding on to its roots.
So that’s about it, I think. Next year I stay on the Council as “Past President”. That sounds like what you do for aging horses which are sent off for a peaceful time at a respite
centre rather than the glue factory. Well I’m not having either, thank you!