b'COLLEGE OF GEOSCIENCESMAPPING A FUTURE FOR TOMORROWS GEOSCIENTISTSBY KARA BOUNDS SOCOLI n 1985, Erol Morey 84 had justToday, hes returned to the DODmoney was an issue. Texas A&M receivedhismastersdegreeinas a vital part of the team, deter- came through with a teaching assis-geology from Texas A&M Universitymining the future satellite needs oftantship complete with an in-state and embarked on his long-awaitedthe newly reestablished U.S. Spacetuition rate of $4 per credit hour. oil-and-gas career when the bottomCommand. fell out of the industry. There toTexas A&M took a chance on this catch him was the U.S. DepartmentAccompanying him on lifes jour- Yankee, so I wanted to pay back the of Defense (DOD). Before he knewney is his wife, Barbara, also a for- benefits I received, Erol said. The it, Erol was trading in his oil patchmer governmental defense mappingIRA provides yearly income off of aspirations for Cold War satellitescientist. Today, she is the lead geo- the principal that benefits Barbara spycraft.graphic information system (GIS)and me during our lives. After were mapping analyst in Jefferson Coun- gone, the principal is still there, so Duringthenext14years,Erolty, Colorado, where the couple nowwhy not be generous and share it worked in defense mapping for thelives. Her responsibilities have mor- with others?"NationalGeospatial-Intelligencephedfromtrackingsnowstorms Agency.Usinginformationfromand wildfires to tracking COVID-19Barbara said that leading by exam-spy satellites, he created maps andoutbreaks. ple is a fundamental component of mappingtoolsforpurposeslikethe way she and Erol hope to live predicting Soviet missile launcherEven though Erols Plan A didnttheir lives. That concept involves locations. His expertise in satellitework out, he credits Texas A&Mseverything from making your bed imaging evolved with technology.CollegeofGeoscienceswiththeto preparing the next generation, solid start it provided to an extraor- she said.dinarycareer.HeandBarbara recently expressed their apprecia-tion in a tangible way. By designat-ing the Texas A&M Foundation as the beneficiary of Erols individual retirement account (IRA), the cou-ple planned the Barbara A. and Erol D.Morey84EndowedGraduate Fellowship. Funds received from the IRA after his lifetime will create anIN THEIR WORDSendowment to support geosciences graduate students.Along with a stellar education, Erol"Texas A&M took a chance on credits Texas A&M with making histhis Yankee, so I wanted to pay This briefing map of Operationgraduateeducationaffordable.Aback the benefits I received."Desert Storm is one example of theBoston area native and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis,Erol Morey 84many maps the Moreys createdhesoughtoutabigoilschool during their defense careers. forhisgraduatecoursework.But 14 | TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION|OFFICE OF GIFT PLANNING'