THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
SIGMA GAMMA EPSILON - DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCE NEWSLETTER #1
August 26, 2008
WELCOME BACK for the beginning of fall classes. Hopefully, you had a relaxing summer and are refreshed to meet the challenges a new semester brings. To the new students in the department (both undergraduate and graduate) - welcome aboard. New faces in Trowbridge Hall include Professor Bill McClelland, Lecturer Richard Josephs and graduate students Jennifer Cash, Richard Hunt, Shawn Malone and Kristopher Rhodes. A familiar face now returning at the graduate level is Adam Karch. gg
DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR: All students are expected to attend the Friday afternoon seminars at 4 PM in 125 TH. All faculty, students and staff are encouraged to attend an introductory session on Friday, August 29 at 4 PM in 125 TH. Introductions of new and continuing graduate and undergraduate students and faculty will be followed by refreshments (pizza) at The Mill on Burlington Street. [Faculty members should line up speakers for the open slots on the seminar schedule.] CTF/PHH
DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR: Next Friday, September 5, at 4 PM in room 125 TH, Dean Adams, Iowa State University, will present “The Evolution of Phenotypic Diversity in Plethodon Salamanders.” Coffee and cookies in room 135 TH at 3:30 PM. AFB/PHH
FACULTY MEETING: There will be a faculty meeting next week Wednesday, September 3, at 3:30 PM, in room 231 TH. Agenda will follow via e-mail. CTF
GEOLOGIC ORIENTATION (12:207) –This week’s orientation will be on Wednesday, August 27, 4 PM, in room 131 TH. Jean Florman from the Center for Teaching will give a special workshop for Geoscience TAs. [All returning TAs are also encouraged to attend.] CTF
EXXONMOBIL RECRUITMENT – Leon Aden, ExxonMobil, will be interviewing students interested in petroleum geosciences-related careers in those areas associated with Exploration, Production and Research. Leon Aden will be conducting the interviews on Wednesday, Sept. 10th, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm in room 121D.
· Candidates for Regular Employment: Graduate students receiving a MS or PhD degree in geology or geophysics. Preference will be given to those candidates who complete their degree and will report to work during 2008 or 2009.
· Candidates for Internships: Graduate students who will be completing their MS or PhD degree program within a year after their internship and ability to work approximately three months.
· Applicants are required to fill out an online application and post a copy of their resume on their website, preferably by Wednesday, Sept. 3rd. The ExxonMobil website is www.exxonmobil.com/apply. . If our school is not listed, you can submit to the "Other-Geoscience" job which you can find by searching for the word "Geoscience."
· There is an interview sign-up sheet in the main office. Interviews will be 30-45 minutes in length. gg
Volunteer guides for Devonian Fossil Gorge: Volunteers are needed to work weekends at Devonian Fossil Gorge, helping visitors enjoy their experience by answering questions, pointing out fossils and explaining what they are and why they're there. Please email tiffany-adrain@uiowa.edu more information. TSA
69th Annual Tri-State Geological Field Conference, October 17-19, 2008, University of Northern Iowa. The trip will focus on Middle and Upper Devonian stratigraphy in northern Iowa with emphasis on the Lithograph City Formation. The evening banquet will feature a presentation on lithographic printing by Dr. Robert Glasgow, Professor of Print at the University of Iowa. The 2008 TRI-STATE geological field conference will be held from Friday evening through mid-day Sunday, October 17-19, 2008. Dr. John Groves, an alumnus from our department, is one of the coordinators of this field conference. Note that the deadline for pre-registration is October 3, 2008. For more information, please see Georgie in the main office. PHH
NEWSLETTER ITEMS: Items to be entered in the weekly newsletter should be on Georgie's desk no later than 9:00 AM (preferably earlier) Tuesday mornings. We will make every effort to have the newsletter distributed by noon on Tuesdays. gg
HONORS, AWARDS, PROMOTIONS, NEW APPOINTMENTS, ETC:
· Dr. William McClelland will begin this fall as a Tenured Professor in the department.
· Richard Josephs has been hired as a Lecturer in the department.
· Dr. Art Bettis was appointed to the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature and the U.S. National Academy’s Committee to the International Quaternary Association.
· Dr. Art Bettis was also notified that he is the recipient of the Geological Society of America’s Rip Rapp Archaeological Geology Award for 2008.
· Dr. Ingrid Peate’s paper “Re-evaluating plume-induced uplift in the Emeishan large igneous province” has been scheduled for Advance Online Publication (AOP) on Nature Geoscience's website.
· Dr. David Peate received a National Science Foundation Grant (3 yr.); "MRI: Acquisition of a Laser Ablation ICP-MS Instrument for Geosceince and Environmental Engineering and Sciences Research and Teaching in Iowa".
· Dr. Ingrid Peate received two NASA/SETI Institute grants (3 yr.); “Formation and Evolution of Spherules and Possible Planetary Analogy” and "Formation and Evolution of Spherules and Possible Planetary Analogy: Education and Public Outreach Supplement”.
· Congratulations to our August Geoscience graduates:
o PhD - Danielle Jannusch “Systematics and Paleoecology of Devonian Stromatoporoids From the Cou Falls, Iowa City, and Osage Springs Members, East-Central Iowa”
o MS – Diane Ramirez “Analysis of Streptognathodus Species Succession in Eudora Shale Member of Stanton Limestone (Upper Pennsylvanian) on the Northern Midcontinent Shelf, Central United States”
o BS – Benjamin Ferreira
o BA – Sarah Naser (Sarah also graduated with a BS in Environmental Science, brown track)
· Linda Maxson, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), has announced the winners of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Scholarships for the 2008-09 academic year. Kara Prior, a senior studying international studies and environmental science (hydroscience track) in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded the $4,000 Winifred S. Scott Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need, academic promise and academic accomplishments.
· Daniel Murray received the Pudil Trust Scholarship for the fall 2008 semester. This scholarship provides aid to academically promising students who are undertaking courses of study aimed at maintaining and improving our natural environment.
· PhD candidate Talia Karim has accepted a permanent position as Collections Manager, Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, and will be starting the job mid-September.
· PhD candidate Tom Marshall has accepted a permanent position as a Geologist 2 with the Iowa Geological Survey. He began working for the IGS mid-summer.
· New leadership in the Geoscience Department for 2008-2009 includes:
o Tawny Bailey – Undergraduate Student Representative
o Brittany Guzzo – Graduate Student Representative
o Kat Rocheford – AGGS Representative
o Brittany Guzzo – AAPG President
o Jessica Bruse – AAPG Vice-President
o Tim Stroope – AAPG Treasurer
o Susan Kilgore – AAPG Secretary
Congratulations to everyone above on their accomplishments! gg