UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences has announced the appointment of two new members to the Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS) board of directors, and four new members to the college’s Development Council. Thomas Rauch will begin his three-year term on Jan. 1, 2026; the others began their terms on July 1, 2025.
The new GEMS board members are:
- Quentin Lawson-Parchment, office engineer at Promatech Inc.
- Siddharth “Sid” Pandey, location intelligence manager at Deloitte
The new Development Council members are:
- Andrew Armpriester, subsurface manager at Chevron
- Robert Pyle, partner and senior wealth adviser at Mission Wealth
- Thomas Rauch, president of McCarl’s Technical Services LLC
- Beth Stump, global geological and geophysical operations manager at Chevron
The GEMS board is composed of 16 members — 15 plus the immediate past president. It was established in 1994 to provide leadership and programming opportunities for the GEMS Alumni Society. Board members are nominated and elected by the general GEMS membership and the active board of directors and serve a three-year term.
The Development Council assists the dean and the college's Office of Development and Alumni Relations staff in identifying and developing fund raising goals and initiatives. The committee helps increase alumni giving and pledging and provides alumni volunteers as needed for fund raising events and initiatives.
New GEMS board members
Quentin Lawson-Parchment
Lawson-Parchment earned his bachelor's degree in energy engineering, with a minor in environmental engineering, in 2023. He is an officer engineer with Promatech Inc., where he is currently assisting in work related to the Commodore Barry Bridge Rehabilitation project. Before his current role, he was a project Engineer at Waga Energy. In this role, he assisted in the development of renewable natural gas facilities, created scope of work documents for subcontractors and interpreted permitting and technical reports.
Lawson-Parchment is a dedicated volunteer to Penn State. He participated as a judge for the 2024 EMS Energy Crisis Leadership capstone event, where he assessed real-time student reactions to artificial energy-crisis scenarios. Additionally, he assisted with the annual GEMS “Letter Writing Campaign,” helping to write letters sent to more than 900 prospective students, sharing his Penn State story.
“Penn State did a lot to help my transition from an international high school to a U.S. university,” Lawson-Parchment said. “They made it smooth and comfortable by surrounding me with numerous resources and connections. I’m happy to give back to the department and college that has shaped my goals, pushed me to present complicated topics in front of crowds I might have otherwise been intimidated by and allowed me to participate in exciting events after my graduation.”
Siddharth “Sid” Pandey
Pandey earned his bachelor's degree in geography in 2014. He also received a master of professional studies degree in geographic information systems (GIS) from the University of Maryland. Pandey is currently a manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP in the location intelligence practice. He has more than 10 years of experience helping organizations make data-driven decisions with solutions leveraging geospatial data and technology. He also serves on the board of directors for the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN) and previously served a 3-year term on the GPN’s Vanguard Cabinet. He was recognized in 2018 in the xyHt magazine’s "40 Under 40" list of remarkable geospatial professionals. Geospatial World named him one of its "50 Rising Stars" in the geospatial industry in 2021 and he was listed in xyHt magazine’s "22 Young Geospatial Professionals to Watch in 2022." He was one of the GPN’s Young Professional of the Year award recipients in 2022 and most recently, the GPN Leadership Award in 2023.
“This opportunity aligns perfectly with my passion for advancing the geospatial industry, supporting emerging professionals and my dedication to fostering a vibrant and engaged alumni community,” Pandey said. “Joining the GEMS Board allows me to give back to the institution that played a pivotal role in my career and also enables me to contribute to the success and growth of current and future students in the field.”
New Development Council members
Andrew Armpriester
Armpriester earned his bachelor's degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering in 1998. He is the current general manager for NOJV & Royalty, Shale and Tight at Chevron in Houston, Texas. He has been with Chevron since his graduation from Penn State working in several engineering, planning and management roles in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, California and Indonesia. Before his current role at Chevron, he was the Permian portfolio optimization manager.
Armpriester has remained a dedicated volunteer to Penn State after graduating. He has served on the GEMS board since 2020, helping the board with various student, faculty and staff, and alumni outreach initiatives.
Robert Pyle
Pyle earned his bachelor's degree in 1984 and his master's in 1986, both in meteorology and atmospheric science. He currently is a partner and senior wealth adviser for Mission Wealth in Boulder, Colorado. He is a widely recognized leader in the Boulder financial adviser community. Before his current position, he was for 29 years the owner of Diversified Asset Management Inc, a firm providing financial planning and wealth management services to self-employed professionals and small business owners throughout the country.
Pyle has remained a dedicated volunteer to Penn State after graduating. Since 2024, he has served as a Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Ambassador, assisting the college in planning and executing events for college graduates under the age of 40 in the Boulder area.
Thomas Rauch
Rauch graduated in 2013 with two bachelor’s degrees: one in energy business and finance and the other in mining engineering. Rauch is the current president of McCarl’s Technical Services LLC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has expertise in mining, mineral processing and metals with a geographic focus on businesses, investments and operations in and relating to Asia and Africa. Before his current role, he held the position of president of technical services and director of technical services at McCarl’s LLC.
Rauch has served both Penn State and his community after graduating. He currently serves as a committee member of the Mining Engineering program’s Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) in the John and Wille Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. Additionally, he is the membership chair of the Young Leader Committee for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc. (SME) organization, and he served as the 2024 President of the SME Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SME.
Beth Stump
Stump earned her bachelor's degree in meteorology and atmospheric science in 1993 and her master's in geosciences in 1998. She is the global geological and geophysical manager at Chevron, overseeing subsurface characterization support for the planning, design and drilling of oil and gas wells across the world. Before her current role, she was the Upstream Capability Geologic and Geophysical Technical Assurance team lead, also for Chevron.
Stump has remained a dedicated volunteer to Penn State after graduating. She currently serves as the president of the Geosciences External Advisory Board, which she joined in 2019. She also has participated for numerous years in the college’s annual letter writing campaign, where she assists the GEMS board in writing letters to more than 900 prospective students. Additionally, she recently assisted with planning and executing a Houston-based career networking event between mid-career and c-suite level individuals. In 2021, she was named as a 125th Anniversary Fellow by the college.