Last Year At Connects
2025

Last Year at GSA Connects

Find attendee documents, schedule, highlights, and information from GSA Connects 2025.

GSA Connects 2025, 19–22 October, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Archive

Browse the Connects 2025 program

Find abstracts and events from last year’s meeting.

Browse the meeting program book and schedule PDF.

Browse ProgramAll Past Meetings
Conference attendees check in at registration kiosks.

Highlights & Overview

Key information about GSA Connects 2025.

Dates

19–22 October 2025

Location

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Main Venues

  • Henry B. González Convention Center
  • Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk

Themes

  • Energy and Resource Innovations in the 21st Century
  • Geology without Borders
  • From Earth to the Cosmos: Geoscience Beyond Our Planet

By the Numbers

  • 4,215 Attendees
  • 3,211 Abstracts
  • 24 Field Trips
  • 19 Short Courses

International Impact

  • 47 countries represented
  • 7 percent international attendees

Connects 2025 in Pictures

You—our attendees—made GSA Connects 2025 a resounding success. We can’t wait to see you next year!

A smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendee leads a group of 3 people past the Registration area.
A GSA Connects 2025 poster presenter points to a section on their poster for two attendees who have stopped to examine the poster.
A Connects 2025 presenter faces the audience and looks out as they stand at the podium.
Several members of a band joyfully raise their arms as they perform at Connects 2025.
A Connects 2025 attendee places a pin the Baja California section of a world map projection to indicate their favorite geologic site.
A group of GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in the audience section of the Innovation Stage. Some wear headphones with glowing red earpieces.
Seven GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in purple camp chairs, some around tables, and relax while chatting with each other at the meeting. An orange tent has been placed atop green carpet in the background.
A smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendee leads a group of 3 people past the Registration area.
A GSA Connects 2025 poster presenter points to a section on their poster for two attendees who have stopped to examine the poster.
A Connects 2025 presenter faces the audience and looks out as they stand at the podium.
Several members of a band joyfully raise their arms as they perform at Connects 2025.
A Connects 2025 attendee places a pin the Baja California section of a world map projection to indicate their favorite geologic site.
A group of GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in the audience section of the Innovation Stage. Some wear headphones with glowing red earpieces.
Seven GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in purple camp chairs, some around tables, and relax while chatting with each other at the meeting. An orange tent has been placed atop green carpet in the background.
A smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendee leads a group of 3 people past the Registration area.
A GSA Connects 2025 poster presenter points to a section on their poster for two attendees who have stopped to examine the poster.
A Connects 2025 presenter faces the audience and looks out as they stand at the podium.
Several members of a band joyfully raise their arms as they perform at Connects 2025.
A Connects 2025 attendee places a pin the Baja California section of a world map projection to indicate their favorite geologic site.
A group of GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in the audience section of the Innovation Stage. Some wear headphones with glowing red earpieces.
Seven GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in purple camp chairs, some around tables, and relax while chatting with each other at the meeting. An orange tent has been placed atop green carpet in the background.
A smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendee leads a group of 3 people past the Registration area.
A GSA Connects 2025 poster presenter points to a section on their poster for two attendees who have stopped to examine the poster.
A Connects 2025 presenter faces the audience and looks out as they stand at the podium.
Several members of a band joyfully raise their arms as they perform at Connects 2025.
A Connects 2025 attendee places a pin the Baja California section of a world map projection to indicate their favorite geologic site.
A group of GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in the audience section of the Innovation Stage. Some wear headphones with glowing red earpieces.
Seven GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit in purple camp chairs, some around tables, and relax while chatting with each other at the meeting. An orange tent has been placed atop green carpet in the background.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee sits in a red motorized scooter as they are interviewed. Behind them is a white backdrop accented at the bottom by a green mountain range. Various lighting equipment and the interviewer is in the foreground.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees stand and pin a large, printed poster to a black poster stand.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee stands in front of a glass wall at the entrance of the San Antonio Convention Center. A large GSA Connects sign affixed to the building is in the background and displays above them.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees dance at the outdoor icebreaker event. Additional attendees stand in the background amongst the patio's stone pillars that are lit with purple uplights.
Three smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees hold a variety of colorful badge ribbons as they stand in front of the Registration area of the meeting.
Four smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit at a table and face the camera as they network at a meeting event.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee beams with a smile as they stand near a meeting stage. Three attendees in the background sit in chairs on a platform.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee sits in a red motorized scooter as they are interviewed. Behind them is a white backdrop accented at the bottom by a green mountain range. Various lighting equipment and the interviewer is in the foreground.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees stand and pin a large, printed poster to a black poster stand.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee stands in front of a glass wall at the entrance of the San Antonio Convention Center. A large GSA Connects sign affixed to the building is in the background and displays above them.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees dance at the outdoor icebreaker event. Additional attendees stand in the background amongst the patio's stone pillars that are lit with purple uplights.
Three smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees hold a variety of colorful badge ribbons as they stand in front of the Registration area of the meeting.
Four smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit at a table and face the camera as they network at a meeting event.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee beams with a smile as they stand near a meeting stage. Three attendees in the background sit in chairs on a platform.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee sits in a red motorized scooter as they are interviewed. Behind them is a white backdrop accented at the bottom by a green mountain range. Various lighting equipment and the interviewer is in the foreground.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees stand and pin a large, printed poster to a black poster stand.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee stands in front of a glass wall at the entrance of the San Antonio Convention Center. A large GSA Connects sign affixed to the building is in the background and displays above them.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees dance at the outdoor icebreaker event. Additional attendees stand in the background amongst the patio's stone pillars that are lit with purple uplights.
Three smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees hold a variety of colorful badge ribbons as they stand in front of the Registration area of the meeting.
Four smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit at a table and face the camera as they network at a meeting event.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee beams with a smile as they stand near a meeting stage. Three attendees in the background sit in chairs on a platform.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee sits in a red motorized scooter as they are interviewed. Behind them is a white backdrop accented at the bottom by a green mountain range. Various lighting equipment and the interviewer is in the foreground.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees stand and pin a large, printed poster to a black poster stand.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee stands in front of a glass wall at the entrance of the San Antonio Convention Center. A large GSA Connects sign affixed to the building is in the background and displays above them.
Two GSA Connects 2025 attendees dance at the outdoor icebreaker event. Additional attendees stand in the background amongst the patio's stone pillars that are lit with purple uplights.
Three smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees hold a variety of colorful badge ribbons as they stand in front of the Registration area of the meeting.
Four smiling GSA Connects 2025 attendees sit at a table and face the camera as they network at a meeting event.
A GSA Connects 2025 attendee beams with a smile as they stand near a meeting stage. Three attendees in the background sit in chairs on a platform.
Receipts & Certificates

Attendee Documents

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Meeting Receipt

Get your proof of registration and payment.

Get Receipt

Certificate of Attendance

Get your certificate for attending GSA Connects.

Get Certificate

CEU Certificate

Get your continuing education units certificate for attending the conference, trips, courses, and events.

Get Certificate

Lectures & Addresses at a Glance

Attend these lectures and engage with big ideas in geoscience.

Presidential Address & Awards Ceremony

Sunday, 19 October, noon–1:30 p.m.
Stars at Night Ballroom 2 & 3

Presented by GSA President Nathan A. Niemi and Executive Director and CEO Melanie Brandt.

2025 Michel T. Halbouty Distinguished Lecture

Comparing Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of Electricity Generation Systems with Michael Young

Special Lectures

  • GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lectureship | Kathy Benison
  • GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lectureship | Maria Rose Petrizzo

More details below.

Noontime Lectures

All lectures start at 12:15 p.m. in Stars at Night Ballroom 2 & 3.

  • Monday: Ron Nirenberg
  • Tuesday: Michel T. Halbouty Distinguished Lecture | Michael H. Young
  • Wednesday: Elizabeth Rampe


Presidential Address

President Nathan A. Niemi

Beyond the Compass: Redefining Field Education in Geoscience
At Connects 2025, GSA highlights themes of transition, dissolving borders, and reaching for the stars—mirroring the shifting landscape of geoscience field education. Changing student interests, rapid technology, and ongoing barriers are reshaping what field training must become. Inspiring the next generation to tackle society’s geoscience challenges has never been more urgent.

A man's headshot.
Halbouty Distinguished Lecture

Michael Young

Comparing Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of Electricity Generation Systems

What are the all-in costs—environmental and economic—of expanding and operating an electrical grid for Texas, and how might these costs change over the next 30 years?

In this talk, we showed how environmental impacts manifest along global supply chains for materials (e.g., lithium, cobalt, etc.) at different times during the 30-year lifespan of facilities that support energy development. We connect every operating facility, using different generation mixes, in a nodal-scale, grid dispatch model that allows us to track grid reliability, improvements in environmental performance, and differences in consumer cost of electricity. The results show the complicated nature of impacts along the global supply chain of materials needed for energy development and electricity generation, and they point to areas where impacts can be mitigated through innovation and action.

Michael Young GSA Connects

Special Lectures

Connect with leading voices shaping the future of geoscience.

Thompson Lecture (outgoing) | Kathy Benison

The outgoing GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer, Kathy Benison, is a dynamic speaker of established scientific stature living within North America who can present stimulating and cutting edge geoscience research through lectures outside of North America on topics that are at the forefront of research to raise visibility for The Geological Society of America within the international geoscience community.

Thompson Lecture (incoming) | Maria Rose Petrizzo

The incoming GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer, Maria Rose Petrizzo, is a dynamic speaker of established scientific stature living outside of North America who can present stimulating and cutting edge geoscience research through lectures in North America on topics that are at the forefront of research to raise visibility for The Geological Society of America within the U.S. geoscience community.

Explore Past Years at Connects

Get highlights and key info for past meetings.

2024

Explore

2023

Explore

2022

Explore

2021

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Get Ready for GSA Connects 2026

Last year is in the books—it’s time to get ready for GSA Connects 2026 in Denver, Colorado, from 11–14 October.

Back to Connects 2026

2025 Sponsors

Contact

Have questions or special requests about last year?

GSA Meetings Department

meetings@geosociety.org
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