TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Dr. Ernest A. Mancini, professor of geological sciences at The University of Alabama, has been elected as editor of the 31,000-member American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

During his three-year term beginning July 1, Mancini will be responsible for the editorial content of all scientific and peer-reviewed publications of that association and will be a voting member of the AAPG executive committee.

Mancini also directs the Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies at UA and is regional director of the Eastern Gulf Region of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. He joined UA in 1976 after previously being an exploration geologist with Cities Service Co. in Denver.

He holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Albright College, a master's in zoology from Southern Illinois University and a doctorate in geology from Texas A&M.

AAPG, founded in 1917, has members in 115 countries with international headquarters in Tulsa, OK.

UA's geological sciences department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University's largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state, with approximately 5,500 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students. The College has received national recognition for academic excellence, and the College's students have been selected for many of the nation's top academic honors, including 13 Rhodes Scholarships, 15 Goldwater Scholarships, seven Truman Scholarships, one Udall Scholarship and 16 memberships on USA Today's Academic All-American teams.