THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

SIGMA GAMMA EPSILON - DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCE NEWSLETTER #4

September 16, 2008

 

 

DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR:  On Friday, September 19, at 4 PM in room 125 TH, Bruce Fouke, University of Illinois, will present “CaCO3 Biomineralization: Biotic Response to Environmental Change.”  Coffee and cookies in room 135 TH at 3:30 PM.   BG/PHH

 

GEOLOGIC ORIENTATION (12:207) – This week’s orientation will be on Wednesday, September 17th.  You will be meeting with Randy Nessler in the Central Microscopy Research Facility.  Please meet in the TH lobby at 3:45 PM sharp; Tiffany Adrain will be escorting you to the facility.  CTF 

 

GEOSCIENCE ALUMNI ADVISORY BOARD (GAAB):  The Geoscience Alumni Advisory Board, formed in 1987, is composed of department alumni who assemble once a year to advise the Department on current trends in geology, employment opportunities (in a general sense), curriculum, etc.  They also serve to keep alumni in touch with the department, locate surplus equipment and help raise funds.  Most of the student field research funds, outside speaker funds, and much of our computer equipment came from this source.  They also are effective in interacting with the administration in our behalf.  You owe them a lot.  They will be meeting this year on September 25-27.

Various activities are planned for student participation.  These include: 

1.      Thursday, Sept. 25th, 5:30 PM, meet at The Mill Restaurant on Burlington Street – Opportunity for Geoscience and Environmental Science Undergraduate and Graduate Students to meet with the GAABers.  This session will provide students with opportunities to discuss present and future career trends in the Geoscience and Environmental Science industry.  Free pizza and drinks for the participants.

2.      Friday, Sept. 26th, 4:00 PM - Seminar presentation by alumna Bonnie Milne.

3.      Saturday, Sept. 27th, 3:00 PM - GAAB/SGE Picnic, East Overlook Shelter (Round), Coralville Reservoir. 

Faculty participation includes:

1.      Friday, Sept. 26th - Participation in the GAAB meeting and luncheon.

4.      Friday, Sept. 26th, 4:00 PM - Seminar presentation by alumna Bonnie Milne.

2.      Friday, Sept. 26th, 6:30 PM – Reception at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Coralville, followed by dinner at 7:30 PM.

3.      Saturday, Sept. 27th, 3:00 PM - GAAB/SGE Picnic, East Overlook Shelter (Round), Coralville Reservoir (Football game: Iowa vs. Northwestern – 11:05 AM). 

4.      Sunday, Sept. 28th, 9:00–11:00 AM - Continental breakfast and conversation at Tom Foster’s home.  CTF/gg

 

FREE opportunity for Environmental Science & Geoscience students:  Meet and network with erosion & sediment control professionals, local state & government agencies and product vendors.  Take advantage of this opportunity to diversify your knowledge in the growing Storm Water Quality industry. 

 Conference Highlights:

·         Keynote Speaker: Chad Pregracke, Living Lands & Waters, “Helping Clean America’s Rivers” http://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/

·         Rain Gardens: A Hands-On Training & Field Course 

This free opportunity was provided by Darice Baxter, an Environmental Science & Geoscience UI Alumni, who serves on the board of directors for IECA's Great RiversChapter. Darice is the UI's Storm Water Environmental Specialist.  This opportunity is only open to a limited number of students. Please register by October 15th, 2008. If you have any questions please contact her, via email darice-baxter@uiowa.edu.  To register for this conference please contact the UI Center for Conferences at 335-4141.  For additional information, please see Georgie in the main office.  DB

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA 2008 FALL FIELD TRIP will examine the Natural History of Bellevue State Park, Jackson County, Iowa on Saturday October 25.  Participants will see a Silurian Mosalem Formation dolomites filling large erosional channel in the Ordovician Maquoketa Formation capped by the Silurian Tete des Morts and Blanding Formations.  These rocks are exposed as very picturesque bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, and an interesting sequence of Mississippi terraces.  In addition to the geology, participants will learn about the flora and fauna of the park as well as the archaeological history and more recent park history.  Following the field trip, the GSI fall banquette will be held in a park lodge, with a banquette speaker yet to be announced.  The field trip is free to all, with a nominal charge for the guidebook.  For more information see the GSI web site (www.iowageology.org) for see Ray Anderson or Chad Fields at the Iowa Geological Survey.  RA

 

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.  A $20 stipend is available for each volunteer day or you can sign up for credit with a Geoscience Internship.  Please email tiffany-adrain@uiowa.edu more information.  TSA

 

Volunteers are needed for an outreach event at Wildcat Den State Park Heritage Day, Sept. 20th, 9.30am-4pm. Help kids identify fossils at the Fossil Hunt Sandpit! Transport provided if necessary. Contact Tiffany Adrain (tiffany-adrain@uiowa.edu).  TSA

 

Job vacancy - Paleontology Repository - Virtual Field School web developer: Duties include assisting with the development of an on-line interactive virtual field school based on the Repository’s collections of specimens and photographs from 30 years of field trips to Florida and the Caribbean; Fall semester biweekly undergraduate appointment. 20 hrs/wk, $9/hr. Please contact Tiffany Adrain (tiffany-adrain@uiowa.edu) for more details.  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

 

ASSISTANTSHIP/FELLOWSHIP/GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIP/EMPLOYMENT/OPPORTUNITIES/

SYMPOSIUMS:

·         IOWA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY – STUDENT LOGGING POSITION:  The Iowa Geological Survey is in need of hiring a graduate geology student or a senior undergraduate student to log water well samples in conjunction with a federal contract.  The work involves using a binocular microscope to create strip logs of both unconsolidated and bedrock well samples.  All work is at the IGS Sample Repository Facility located on the U of I Oakdale Campus.  Funding is available for up to 20 hours per week.  Inexperienced worker will start at $8.00 per hour.  Training will be provided.  This is an excellent skill for any geologist to acquire.  See Robert McKay at the IGS, Room 340D TH (335-1588).

·         Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) Brunton Award – AWG promotes the future of field mapping and data acquisition for the upcoming generation of women geoscientists.  This award is to a female geosciences student at the senior level or beginning of their graduate studies who has a summer intern, excelled at field camp or performed field data collection that will lead to a senior or graduate thesis.  Applications due October 31.  For more information visit: www.awg.org/eas/brunton.html.