Dr. Rubén A. Mazariegos is an Associate Professor. He served as interim chair of the Department of Physics and Geology at UTPA from January 2003 to May 2007.  Dr. Mazariegos received his Ph.D. (Geophysics, 1993) from Texas A&M University, his M.S. (Geophysics 1988) from the University of Oklahoma, his Graduate Diploma as an Exploration Geologist and his B.S. (Electrical Engineering, 1983) from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala. Dr. Mazariegos received the Ph.D. Dissertation Award from the U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics for Best Dissertation (significant, original contribution): ?Mechanical Modeling of the Evolution of Salt Structures.? His research areas include salt tectonics modeling, exploration geophysics for oil and groundwater prospecting, GIS, GPS, and remote sensing technology applied to agriculture and coastal dynamics. Before joining UTPA he worked as a geophysicist for Hadson Petroleum International, Marathon Oil Company, and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala. Dr. Mazariegos has taught courses in physical science, physical geography, physical geology, historical geology, structural geology, GIS, and undergraduate research in geosciences.