As researchers, we carry intensive knowledge about a particular subject. To be blunt, geographers are cool, and we should not shy away from an opportunity to share our knowledge of the word and how we perceive it from a spatial, geomorphological, anthropological, political economy, or any of the hundreds of other “beholding eyes” (Meinig 1979) with which we see the world. Third and finally, I am interested in chatting with lawyers and property owners about their experiences leasing and what knowledges are required to develop mineral estates. There are a variety of ways to carry this out, however I have personally used live-Twitter feeds when I am out in the field, newspaper op-eds, and media interviews. Geographers assume that mineral owners uniformly benefit from extraction. As many geographers have learned though, policymakers are oftentimes not aware of our research and how our findings can have tangible societal impacts. In this vein, I see my didactic mandate as three prongs: Like many collegiate researchers, I have had to teach geography courses to specialists and non-specialists, often in the same classroom. I examine these tensions through research that attempts to understand how subsurface property developed as well as the ways that property owners relate to and develop their properties. Carrier Pigeon/Columbograma: @Tiomurph. This is an integral part of using tax-payer dollars, however small the amount, and something we mustn’t forget. The Burgos-Eagle Ford project will be evaluating the opportunities for trans-national oil and gas development and the roadblocks present in both countries that inhibit this growth. Email: murphyt@unc.edu. I have met a number of colleagues who shun this responsibility and perform these duties as a perfunctory aspect of their job. I am a PhD candidate in the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Geography Department studying the political economy behind upstream petroleum production in Texas. Second, I am dissecting a recent Texas Supreme Court case, Coastal Oil v. Garza (2008), that explores the rule of capture and whether property rights dogmas that were established more than a century ago are still relevant in the world of hydraulic fracturing. By making ourselves vulnerable to sharing personal details about our life while tying these to our lessons, we are enriching the classroom experience and hopefully creating a lasting memory pertinent to the lesson. Whether we fight for resources through political activism that acknowledges the importance of higher education or more subtly by demonstrating the consequence of your research through a newspaper column makes no difference; what is crucial, though, is that our capacities as researchers and educators are known by policymakers and the public more broadly. In this way, this dissertation aims to give a strong historical account of the emergence of subsurface property rights while also being attentive to the ways those rights are utilized today. what inequalities exist among mineral property owners. Our educational mandate does not stop at the university property-lines, but rather extends globally. Carrier Pigeon/Columbograma: @Tiomurph. My central concerns revolve around split estates—where in the surface is owned by one person and the subsurface is owned by someone else, a common practice in petroleum producing regions in the United States—and. While I have traditionally lacked the resources to put together large symposia or expositions on my own research, I do not miss an opportunity to chat with a policymaker one-on-one about my research and have worked hard to share any pertinent results with stakeholders. Broadly, my interests lie in the realm of political ecology and legal geography, however I would more associate myself with the emerging cohort of energy geographers. The third prong on my stance on education involves public guidance. Individual owner interests are tensely positioned at the intersection of geology, the actions of fellow property owners, and broader state priorities. Email: murphyt@unc.edu. In the race for resources, the reality is that we can no longer shroud ourselves behind the ivory walls and hope for the best. This is especially important for energy geographers, where our research and the way we present it can help dictate everything from transportation policies to electricity consumption. In this way, my project explores mineral property ownership from the perspectives of the state, the mineral owner, and the hydrocarbon. Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008 Email: murphyt@unc.edu. Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008, Policy Implications of Trans-National Shale Development in Texas and Mexico, Ownership and Spatial Distribution of Mineral Wealth in Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, Shale Boomtowns: Local Economic Stakeholder Perspectives on the Eagle Ford, Texas. Dissertation Research on Texas Mineral Estates, Burgos-Eagle Ford Collaborative Research Project, Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008, Policy Implications of Trans-National Shale Development in Texas and Mexico, Ownership and Spatial Distribution of Mineral Wealth in Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, Shale Boomtowns: Local Economic Stakeholder Perspectives on the Eagle Ford, Texas. In practice, these benefits are uneven. I completely disagree with this mindset, and I encourage a change of heart to those who believe as much. This all-important aspect of education is frequently forgotten. As one of the largest petroleum producers in the world and a state that champions private property rights, I examine how subsurface property ownership plays out in the state of Texas, where I focus on several key aspects. While conducting research on his dissertation related to mineral rights in Texas, UNC Geography PhD Candidate Trey Murphy was interviewed by the NPR bureau in west Texas on the booming oil economy and the possibility of a bust. Additionally, with resources increasingly strained at the local, state, and national levels, academics must be willing to demonstrate some form of research transparency when possible. Carrier Pigeon/Columbograma: @Tiomurph. As a geographer, I believe that teaching, in the broadest sense, is an integral part of our profession. For many of us, our policymaker-driven mandate is to share the knowledge gained from of our research broadly. This tactic not only demystifies me as an instructor standing at the front of the classroom but also engages the students into a lived experience. projects examine how energy development materializes in space and the places it impacts. In this vein, I often incorporate personal details about my research and travels into my lectures. Currently on Research Leave in Texas. Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008, Policy Implications of Trans-National Shale Development in Texas and Mexico, Ownership and Spatial Distribution of Mineral Wealth in Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, Shale Boomtowns: Local Economic Stakeholder Perspectives on the Eagle Ford, Texas. Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008 Trey Murphy PhD Candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 435 connections Snail Mail/Correo: 104 Brees Way, Aledo, Texas 76008 Currently on Research Leave in Texas. In this way, we have to be vocal members of society, making sure that the right knowledge is given to the correct stakeholder at the proper time. To hear … Continued Currently on Research Leave in Texas. First, I am interested in the Texas Relinquishment Act, which is a large set of properties—mostly in west Texas—where the surface is privately held and the subsurface is owned by the state government of Texas. For a list of my teaching experiences, please refer to my curriculum vitae. Petroleum Governance through Texan Subterranean Properties, Property is a central, yet understudied, element of social science research on the governance of petroleum. My dissertation research explores property ownership as a constituent and oft-forgotten aspect of petroleum governance in Texas. Both of these. I have two ongoing major projects: 1) my dissertation research, and 2) a collaborative grant exploring development on the Burgos-Eagle Ford Shale in northern Mexico and south Texas.