What Is a Geoprofessional?

What Is a Geoprofessional? From GBA Executive Director Joel Carson:

One of our most significant challenges in describing all of the positive impacts GBA members have on society is that the term “geoprofessional” is not yet commonly understood.

“Geoprofessional” incorporates practitioners with diverse educational backgrounds and professional experience.  Common to all is geoprofessionals provide engineering, earth, and/or environmental services applied to below-ground (“subsurface”), ground-surface, and ground-surface-connected conditions.  Also common to all is that geoprofessionals are creating a better, safer world by providing vital services to projects in the areas of energy, water, infrastructure, transportation, and buildings.  Geoprofessionals work together with other professions to design, construct, operate and maintain facilities, ultimately positively impacting our world.

Geoprofessionals have an honorable career because geoprofessionals improve the world every day.

GBA has taken the first bold step to define ‘geoprofessional’ and share its definition with everyone, using a medium that has become one of the world’s leading sources of knowledge and information: Wikipedia.”

-Joel Carson

According to Wikipedia: 

Geoprofessions is a term coined by the Geoprofessional Business Association to connote various technical disciplines that involve engineering, earth and environmental services applied to below-ground (“subsurface”), ground-surface, and ground-surface-connected conditions, structures, or formations.

The principal disciplines include, as major categories:

  • Geotechnical engineering;
  • geology and engineering geology;
  • geological engineering;
  • geophysics;
  • geophysical engineering;
  • environmental science and environmental engineering;
  • construction-materials engineering and testing; and
  • other geoprofessional services.

Each discipline involves specialties, many of which are recognized through professional designations that governments and societies or associations confer based upon a person’s education, training, experience, and educational accomplishments. In the United States, engineers must be licensed in the state or territory where they practice engineering. Most states license geologists and several license environmental “site professionals.” Several states license engineering geologists and recognize geotechnical engineering through a geotechnical-engineering titling act. …