A former Iowa State president and prominent geologist will be speaking at the on campus Thursday.

Former Iowa State president Gordon Eaton will speak May 2 to the North-Central Section of the Geological Society of America in Benton Auditorium at the Scheman Building.

“Dr. Eaton is considered one of the leading geologists in the U.S., if not the world,” said Carl Vondra, professor and chair of ISU’s department of geological and atmospheric sciences.

Vondra, who has known Eaton for about 10 years, said it is an honor to have a former president and faculty member come back and speak at this conference.

Eaton became the 12th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey after working in Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y. From 1986 to 1990, he served as president of ISU.

Vondra said he and others got to know Eaton through brown bag lunches at Science I.

Eaton’s speech is titled “Employment and Education in the Geosciences, 1996-2006.” However, Eaton speaking is not the only highlight of this conference.

The conference will stress all aspects of geology, said Bill Simpkins, associate professor of geological and atmospheric sciences. One of the areas of special interest to Iowans will be the discussions about water quality and hog lots.

“What we want more than anything is to heighten water quality awareness and those issues are big in Iowa,” he said.

“The only way to really understand water quality is to look at other disciplines such as engineering or other sciences,” Simpkins said.

People who have signed up for the conference will also have the opportunity to go on field trips this weekend that focus on different aspects of geology.

One field trip will be to the Walnut Creek Watershed south of Ames. The other field trip will visit wetlands, earthen manure storage facilities and agricultural drainage wells within the Des Moines “lobe.”

The second field trip “will focus on issues that are under a lot of legal scrutiny,” such as environmental concerns arising from large hog lot operations, Simpkins said.