The Journey of ETGUI

The Journey of ETGUI: A conversation with Dr. Gabriel Senay

In this blog, we present a Q&A with one of ETGUI’s co-founders, Dr. Gabriel Senay. Dr. Senay is a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey. He will share with us a brief account of ETGUI’s journey.

ETGUI: Before going to ETGUI’s journey, can you tell us a little bit about your academic background and work?

Dr. Senay: Sure, I graduated from Alemaya University, Ethiopia, in Agricultural Engineering and earned an M.Sc. in Catchment Hydrology from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Then, I received a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University. I have regularly attended the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meetings since 2003 after starting to work for the U.S. Geological Survey as a scientist.

ETGUI: This nicely links to our next question. Knowing that ETGUI was founded on the side of AGU, can you tell us about the inception of ETGUI?

Dr. Senay: I remember counting about ten Ethiopians in the first couple of years at AGU in 2003/2004. The numbers started increasing year by year and some suggested having a group dinner at the Piano Bar, in San Francisco, California. I think the motivation and idea of forming the ETGUI were conceived during joyful moments.

ETGUI: When did that motivation and idea become an organization?

Dr. Senay: I think the idea first floated in 2004 and ETGU was formally established in 2007 as a non-profit organization. As we realized that there were more of us working in similar fields, it was a natural step to strengthen the network through a formal organization.

ETGUI: Can you walk us through some of the highlights of ETGUI’s early years?

Dr. Senay: In the early years, we started seeing more and more Ethiopians at AGU. Meeting a new face would lead to an invitation to the Wednesday dinner gathering and talking about ETGUI, which created a family feeling. Progressively, we started the initiative to acknowledge outstanding students at Addis Ababa University (AAU) with a monetary award and sending GRE materials to facilitate graduate school admission here in the US, which was extremely fulfilling (2011). However, the second-year effort encountered a problem due to changes in personnel and the lack of an established network in Ethiopia. Looking back, this could be expected as ETGUI was an ambitious young organization based in the US and lacked representatives or formal affiliations back home. This, I believe, might have demoralized the team a bit and led to ETGUI’s slowdown.

ETGUI: That is indeed an ambitious and bold move given that ETGUI was young and founded by a few like-minded professionals who are busy with work and life. Continuing on ETGUI’s contribution, our next question is - what have been the most important contributions of ETGUI to the scientific community and society in general?

Dr. Senay: We have had quite a few accomplishments through the years:

Securing permission from AGU to make some of their publications freely available for ETGUI members was a success.
Showcasing an ETGUI booth at the 2011 fall AGU attracted several visitors.
Successfully challenging an erroneous AGU news article in 2020 about the safety of the GERD helped revitalize the spirit of ETGUI.
Publishing co-authored scientific papers among ETGUIties would not have been possible without ETGUI.
Building a network among professionals and connecting students with professors is an ongoing activity.

ETGUI: This is quite a list of achievements. Let’s move to some of the challenges of ETGUI. Can you point us to the main challenges in creating collaborations among Geoscience organizations and professionals in and outside Ethiopia?

Dr. Senay: I think communication is a major challenge. Everyone is busy establishing and advancing their career which makes it challenging to keep the momentum. A single misstep such as an unanswered email could break the flow. Thus, it is important to strengthen and maintain the lines of communication, networking and collaboration.

ETGUI: Looking forward, where do you see ETGUI in the next 5 to 10 years?

Dr. Senay: I think ETGUI has a great potential in taking a leading role in advancing Earth Sciences in Ethiopia through stronger partnerships with local researchers and organizations. ETGUI is planning to focus on achievable objectives in the next couple of years such as building a more complete database of experts, encouraging communication among members, highlighting and distributing member achievements through seminars, and organizing workshops and conference sessions.

ETGUI: Before we close the interview, can you summarize the benefits of becoming a member?

Dr. Senay: I believe becoming a member has several benefits. It creates networking opportunities to meet like-minded Ethiopian Earth Science professionals, promote their work, and build leadership skills. It also allows members to join forces and focus on ways to work on geosciences education and research in Ethiopia.

ETGUI: One last question, do you welcome professionals from other disciplines and countries?

Dr. Senay: Absolutely, ETGUI is open for all, and we encourage diverse and active participation.

ETGUI: Thank you Dr. Senay for your time and insight.