Posts Tagged ‘News’

Potomac Geophysical Society March Meeting

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

The Potomac Geophysical Society will hold its March 18th meeting at the Fort Myer Officers’ Club in Arlington, VA, in the Campaign Room. This month’s meeting will feature two talks:

The Nexus of Effective Communication of Geoscience Information to the Public and the Profession, by Patrick Leahy of the American Geological Institute.

Science and Communicating with Media, by Angela Botzer of National Geographic.

For more information about the Potomac Geophysical Society and upcoming meetings, visit http://www.potomacgeophysical.com/.

Jim LaMoreaux named Editor in Chief of Environmental Earth Sciences

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Dr. James W. (Jim) LaMoreaux has been appointed Editor in Chief of Environmental Earth Sciences, an international multidisciplinary journal covering the interactions between humans, natural resources, ecosystems, special climates, or unique geographic zones and the earth. He will also serve as Editor for Springer’s Environmental Earth Science Book Series.

LaMoreaux is Chairman of P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc. (PELA), an international consulting company based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. PELA provides services in geology, hydrogeology, environmental sciences, and cultural resources/archaeology.

Rob Thomas selected as one of CASE, Carnegie 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

November 19, 2009:  Rob Thomas—a professor of geology at The University of Montana Western—will receive one of four 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards today in a ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Washington, DC.

Thomas is being honored for his commitment to teaching field geology to undergraduate students. He also helped the University of Montana Western become the first public university to transition from regular semester courses to block scheduling.  As part of this new schedule, Thomas offers a course title “Experience One,” where geology students enroll in a single course for 18 days.  Coursework is primarily outside in a field setting and focuses on real-world research projects.

The 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards are administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Websoft sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  These awards recognize professors for excellence in teaching and commitment to undergraduate students.  Along with four national winners, CASE and Carnegie have selected state-level Professors of the Year from 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

MSU Proposes Eliminating Department of Geological Sciences

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Michigan State University has proposed closing its Department of Geological Sciences.   This measure is part of a larger cost-saving effort to deal with state budget shortfalls and the economic downturn.  The Geological Sciences Department at MSU is home to undergraduate, masters and doctorate-level programs.

For more information about the school’s proposed changes and the administrative process involved, visit the school’s official website at http://shapingthefuture.msu.edu/ and http://news.msu.edu/story/7056/.  Read reactions to the proposed department closing in the Haspsoftware.com press at the Lansing State Journal website and StateNews.com.

If you would like to get involved, the  next Board of Trustees meeting is December 11th, 2009, and there is an online petition for those who disapprove of MSU’s proposal.

Potomac Geophysical Society October Meeting

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The Potomac Geophysical Society will hold its monthly meeting October 15th at the Fort Myer Officers’ Club in Arlington, VA.  Gregory A. Good, Director  of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics, will present October’s talk titled  “Heresy at Cambridge:  Paleomagnetism before Vine and Matthews.”

Good will discuss Patrick Blackett, Teddy Bullard, and Keith Runcorn, Cambridge particle physicists and cosmologists who layed the groundwork for paleomagnetic studies of continental drift in the 1950s.  These physicists’ foray into geology is a story of mid-20th century interdisciplinary research that played an important role in shaping contemporary earth science research.

The monthly reception will start at 6:30, dinner at 7:30, and the talk at 8:30 PM. Feel free to attend the talk without dinner. Non-members and guests are welcome.

Visit the Potomac Geophysical Society website (http://www.potomacgeophysical.com/) for details.

Geoscience Currents #26: Catchment Areas for Geoscience Program Student Recruitment

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Geoscience Currents #26 examines the sources of high school graduates from which geoscience programs and their universities recruit. Geoscience departments see students coming from generally the same catchment as their parent institution, though geoscience students tend slightly to be more “local” than their peers on campus. Some regional variations are evident, especially in the Northeast where a higher percentage of undergraduate students are recruited from outside the region as compared to other U.S. regions. Also, geoscience departments in the South tend to have a higher percentage of bachelor degree recipients that graduated from high schools in the South as compared to all bachelor degree recipients from universities in the South. Read more in Geoscience Currents #26.

International Year of Planet Earth Update

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Sri Lanka and Angola each established International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) national committees.  This brings the total number of participating countries to 80.   IYPE notable events this year include the upcoming Planet Earth Lisbon 2009, which will celebrate the work of the IYPE Triennium (2007-2009), and the World Stress Map initiative.

AEGS Percival Allen Medal Award Announced

Friday, August 14th, 2009

The Association of European Geological Societies (AEGS) announced in July that the Percival Allen Medal Award will go to Eduardo de Mulder, Executive Director of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). The Percival Allen Medal Award is given biennially, recognizing achievement in the field of Earth Science international relations.

The USGS Announces a New Fellowship

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

The U.S. Geological Survey has announced the start of the annual Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship competition. One of this year’s Fellowship opportunities again focuses on the interaction of gas hydrates and climate, with a particular emphasis on studies related to onshore and shallow offshore permafrost gas hydrates

Applicants must be within 5 years of completing a Ph.D. in geology, geochemistry, geophysics, microbiology, or a related field and have a broad enough understanding of chemistry, physics, and biology to contribute to multidisciplinary projects. Applications are due on November 9, 2009 for fellowships starting on or after October 1, 2010.

The duty station for this fellowship will be Woods Hole, Massachusetts, with C. Ruppel and J. Pohlman as designated research advisors within the USGS Gas Hydrates Project. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to collect new data during field campaigns on the Alaskan North Slope or the shallow Beaufort Shelf.

USGS Public Lecture: Climate Change 101

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

The next presentation in the U.S. Geological Survey’s public monthly lecture series, “Climate Change 101″ given by Dr. Tom Armstrong, will be held on Wednesday August 5, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Dallas L. Peck Memorial Auditorium at the USGS Headquarters.

Climate change is an issue of increasing public concern because of its potential effects on land, water, and biological resources. In the next several years, the United States will be challenged to make management and policy decisions as well as develop adaptation and mitigation strategies that will require anticipating the effects of a changing climate and its impacts on humans and ecosystems. The USGS has a well-regarded history in studying these potential effects and understanding climate change science.

For more information on this topic, visit the USGS Office of Global Change.

For more information on the monthly lecture series, visit the USGS website at http://www.usgs.gov/public_lecture_series/.