Geology Newsletter
Spring, 2007
Lee
Rosberg ‘05
I married Lauriana Capone (now Rosberg) in 2006. We are planning a big celebration on July 7th, 2007. Our beautiful daughter was born on November 17th at home with the assistance of a midwife and a doula. Our baby weighed 7.5 lbs, was 20 and 3/4 inches, and as healthy as can be. I was offered a position as a Staff Scientist with Stone Environmental, Inc., an environmental consulting company based in Montpelier, Vermont. This is a field geologist position; I will be doing groundwater profiling using a waterloo profiler. This device is a probe that is pushed into unconsolidated material, measuring hydraulic conductivity to determine stratigraphy and sampling groundwater to determine groundwater contamination distribution. Thanks to everyone at the SLU Geology department for the help; this exciting career was made possible by you.
**We send congratulations and wish you success, Lee.**
Robert G. Davis ‘71
I have not had the opportunity to return to SLU yet, but hope to visit next summer. I have spent 33 years working "soft rocks" after following Dr's Bloomer, Elberty and Street, learning Appalachian hard rock geology. Dr. Elberty was a great educator, because he taught his students, not only to understand the geology they were observing in the field, but also the techniques needed to view and understand outcrops that they might visit in the future. After graduation from SLU I attended Virginia Tech. and received a Masters in Geochronology. My thesis focused on the radio-metric agedating of a granite pluton in the Appalachian Thrust Belt, in an area of interest to Dr. Bloomer. I have visited, and studied the geology of more than 30 countries. The education that I received at St. Lawrence provided the inspiration to want to seek out and understand interesting areas around the world. What I would like to give back to the Geology Dept. at SLU is the following advice: Learn as much as you can about the Culture, Language, Geology and History of any country that you plan to work in. All of these are necessary, before one can conduct business there.
**Bob, we hope you can make it to SLUGAC 6 this fall!!!**
Connor O’Loughlin ‘05
I am working for Camp Dresser and McKee, an environmental consulting firm. I have been working here for over a year and things are going great. I am an environmental geologist for the firm and I have been traveling the country to remediate different sites. I am enjoying the job and I am also learning quite a bit about the industry.
REPORT OF STREET FUND ACTIVITIES FOR 2006 – 2007
The street fund continues to be our only source of funds for discretionary support of student research during the regular academic year. Since the last newsletter was circulated, the Street Fund has been called on to support the travel costs of Lauren Chrapowitzky to the SHRIMP labs in Australia where she analyzed zircons from the Adirondacks for her thesis project with Jeff Chiarenzelli. Lauren was in Australia for the semester studying at James Cook University. The fund paid for her travel in Australia between school and labs making possible her use of this special analytic opportunity. Lauren was able to gather her thesis research data while abroad thanks to Jeff’s connection with the lab and to the Street Fund. Anna Harrod is conducting a research project in China as this Newsletter goes to press. Some of her travel is also being subsidized by the Street Fund. Your donations to the Jim Street Endowment make the
Have a nice summer!!!
Well, the end of spring semester is upon us. As we all look forward to our various summer activities I want to say that you are all stuck with me for at least another year as my appointment as a Jeffrey Campbell Fellow has been extended to the 2007-08 academic year. I am slowly beginning to match faces with names and settle in with the students here in the Geology department. The Faculty and Administration continue to be very supportive of my efforts. I have noticed that I’m more relaxed and hope to increase my interaction with the students and faculty on a social level in the upcoming semesters so that people may get to know me a little better. I had fun on our mineral collecting trip and at the Geology club BBQ at Diane’s house. Although I froze my butt off riding home that night from Diane’s on my motorcycle, it was all worth it for the company, conversations and delicious food available.
I would like to give a fond farewell to Diane who will be leaving us shortly. I am regretful that I am just getting to know her and will not have the opportunity to become as familiar with her as many of you already are. The students speak very highly of her and you can see that they relate to her on a special level. I want to thank her for helping with refreshments at the Seismic Hazards Final. Good Luck Diane! I know you will do well wherever you go.
In closing, I would like to wish all the faculty my best wishes for their travels this summer. Mark Erickson is headed to North Dakota and Stephen Robinson is off to China. I want to thank Jeff Chiarenzelli for letting me help with the introductory geology classes. Also, KUDOS to Cathy Shrady for helping me get my Jeffrey Campbell Fellowship extended while I finish my dissertation.
Carl J. Pierce
Sarah Czajka '01
Things are going well in Colorado, aside from all the snow which is starting to get old (even for a Buffalo, NY girl). I'm still working for Kleinfelder, Inc. which acquired my former company Geologic Services Corporation. Amazingly, I had my 5-year anniversary in November. Hard to believe. We're still developing our Colorado environmental consulting department, which means I've been traveling a bit and cross-training with our geotechnical department. I had the opportunity to help our Albuquerque office log and oversee the installation of monitoring wells in a canyon at Los Alamos to help define a chromium gw plume. Very cool, using a track mounted rig to drill in arroyos. Beautiful area. Logging the contact between volcanic alluvium and tuff was challenging, but really neat. We worked side-by-side with DOE and LANL geologists, so it was an awesome learning opportunity.
Before that, I was on a naturally-occurring radioactive material (NORM) grading project for 9.5 months. It was a 55-acre site being developed for residential building that had low levels of NORM. Our job was to guide the graders, so the higher NORM concentrations were below the basement footprints. This project got me hooked on collecting petrified wood. Now my boyfriend and I hike looking for wood. We actually have quite a bit (smaller broken pieces) and are planning on selling the odds and ends to a local aquarium shop.
**Good to hear from you Sarah and of course we could always use some petrified wood here in the department if you have extra!**
SLUGAC 6
(September 13-16)
• SLU GEOLOGY Alumni Web site: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/
• SLUGAC 6 web site: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/SLUGAC6.html
• William T. Elberty Medal Nominations are due by July 15th. Letters may be sent via email to Sarah McElfresh at sarah_mcelfresh@hotmail.com with the subject: SLUGAC 6: WTE Medal Nomination
or via
US Mail to:
William T. Elberty Medal Committee
c/o Sarah McElfresh
11540 Clematis Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15235
More information about the award can be found at: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wtemedal.html
• Call for nominations letter can be found at: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wte-call2007.html
• Reservations at the Best Western can be done as follows:
Call 315-386-8522
Reservations for SLUGAC 6
Rooms have 2 double beds and the price is $89.00 plus tax.
Please note: There are limited rooms and reservations must be made by August 13, 2007
By this time you all know this fall is SLUGAC 6. If you have not been a student at a SLUGAC or an alumnus attending, you have missed one of the most significant and unique parts of a St. Lawrence Geology education. These events which include a diversity of experiences from formal presentations such as the Bloomer Lecture to informal alumni presentations to free form discussions of career paths and future opportunities are proven formative occasions in the lives of our undergraduates. They have been positive experiences for alumni participants as well. Networking among the entire group builds intergenerational friendships that last for years. We hope that many of you will make the altruistic endeavor to attend this gathering this year.
We will gather on Thursday, Sept. 13 in the afternoon take dinner together then hear a convocational talk. Friday the alumni discuss topics of their choice with students and students will share their St. Lawrence experiences with alumni. New Faculty will give alumni some insights to their interest as well. On Friday evening we will have a reception at President Sullivan’s home before adjourning to Eben Holden Conference center for the Bloomer Dinner and Lecture followed by the Elberty Auction. We try to keep Saturday more free form until closer to the conference because of the dynamism of these events. The Elberty Medal will be awarded. Please nominate recipients after reading about the award on the website (http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wtemedal.html).
Greetings from Canton, New York
It has been an eventful year here, with job searches, planning for an eventual relocation (or not) of the department, and establishing good working relations with the natives. I’ve enjoyed myself and am looking forward to the summer and time to work intensively with a few students on research problems. Brian Congiu (’08) and Matt Zabik (’08) were both awarded summer fellowships to work with me on water quality issues. Brian will be using GIS and water quality data to determine the susceptibility of local lakes to shoreline development and environmental degradation. Matt will be starting a pilot project on the quality of ground water in St. Lawrence County. In addition, Evan Blumberg (’08) will be working with the Broome County Health Department and plans to build a senior thesis project related to the study of
hazardous waste sites in that area. While in Australia this spring, Lauren Chrapowitzky (’08), analyzed zircons from an interesting metasedimentary sequence on top of Chimney Mountain in the Adirondacks. Lauren worked with my colleague Dr. David Nelson, and former student Mr. Eric Thern, at the SHRIMP laboratory in Perth and intends to continue her work next semester. Ms. Carol Cady will be working closely with many of these students on applying GIS to their research.
Cathy Shrady and I are leading a fieldtrip to Yellowstone late May with six lucky students. Alumni Steve Alexander (’03), who has extensively Yellowstone experience, will be helping us with planning logistics and trip details. I will spend part of the summer working at the field camp my colleague Dave Valentino runs and also in Alaska working on Formerly Used Defense Sites on St. Lawrence Island. I am also involved in several projects in the local area working on some pretty interesting mafic and ultramafic rocks and mineral deposits. Drs. Marian Lupulescu from the New York State Museum and Brian Cousens of Carleton University will join me. I’m hoping to get more of our students interested in Adirondack geology, however, it’s a hard sell as most are very keen on environmental topics. Where have all the hard rockers gone?
It has been a pleasure to get to know, and interact with, my new colleagues (Cathy, Carl, Diane, Mark, Matt, Sherrie, and Steve) here in the department and we will all miss the stabilizing presence of Dr. Diane Burns who will be moving on this summer. John Bursnall took the time to teach me how to play squash which is more fun than a box of rocks (well almost as much fun). We’ve had some excellent speakers stop by this year including Dr. David McConchie (Southern Cross University, Australia), Dr. James McLelland (Colgate University), Dr. Brian Cousens (Carleton University, Canada), Dr. Michael Perfit (University of Florida), Dr. Bill Arnott (Ottawa University, Canada), Dr. William Kirchgasser (SUNY Potsdam), Mr. Ryan Adams (Clarkson University), and Mr. Kent Littlefield,PG, (SAIC).
If you haven’t checked out the alumni (http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/index.html) website yet, please do. It is great to see what your classmates and fellow SLU geologists are doing. For example, I was pleased to find short articles on the accomplishments of my 1981 field partners Carol Newell (’79) and Gerry Ross (’81). It brought back thoughts of eight foot high waves in a twelve foot long boat in Great Bear Lake!
Last but not least, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the senior class, although I don’t know many of them as well as I would like. I did really enjoy having Will Hackett (’07) in my mineralogy course. I think he is the second student I’ve ever had who had petrology before mineralogy! Good luck to everyone in your job searches or graduate school plans.
Jeff Chiarenzelli
This will be my last missive as I will be leaving SLU at the end of the spring term. I have been honored to have been a part of the students' lives during the past three years and am lucky to have met the wonderful alumni that I have encountered at SLUGAC and other conventions. You are wonderful people and hold a special place in my heart.
Take care,
Diane
Hi Everyone:
The highlights of a very demanding semester I will share so those of you who didn't hear from me when I should have been in correspondence will understand why I wasn't! Between teaching activities and the activities of the department and university I was just about as busy as I have been for several years. I had two sections of Historical, Micropaleontology, Stratigraphy, Badlands Trip, one thesis and one independent project. All were good experiences. Then I had the unusual experience of serving on the Academic Honors Council for the year. A group of very hard working students and 3 faculty make an effort to understand instances of possible academic dishonesty. Yes, we are not without some real world issues at St. Lawrence now and then. We also had two searches going on at the same time along with regular Friday seminars. This made for a full schedule so I can't report great progress on the research front!
On the Department front we are graduating a great group of seniors this year - small class but interesting. We have had some intriguing reports on senior thesis work at our seminars as the semester drew to close. Students re-enacted Darcy's permeability experiment, studied generation of mud boils in the Tully valley, examined surface structure of detrital quartz grains from varied depositional settings, and analyzed postglacial drainage evolution of Adirondack rivers. Rob Menard will be going on for a Ph.D. program at SUNY Binghamton and Will Hackett is headed for his masters at UVM.
We will also be saying "goodbye" to Diane Burns who has been a reliable and energetic force for quality education of our students for the past 3 years. She has made many positive contributions to the department and especially to our students over her time here, and we all want to thank her for her interest in our students and department. I wish her all the best in her future activities.
By the time you read this I will be on the road with the regional field studies class headed west through Ontario and the UP of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota-classic Iron Range country-- to the Plains of North Dakota. We will look at much of the geology between here and the Badlands. A stop at the headwaters of the Mississippi will heighten awareness of continental divides and drainages before we rendezvous with Dr. Hoganson to excavate a mosasaur from the Pierre Shale of eastern ND. We are hoping for good camping weather. I visited ND in January before the semester began in order to work out some of the trip details but also to work with Bud Holland and John Hoganson on the Fox Hills shark paper and to see the new exhibit of Late Cretaceous and Paleocene fossils at the Heritage Center that opened in December of '06. Very impressive! Portions of the exhibit include materials from a number of SLU student studies including those by Myron Getman, Peterr Bonnett, Tim Bouchard, Brett Palmateer, Maureen Jones, Glenn Kays and Dan Peppe to mention a few. A paper based on part of Dan's thesis was just published in the Journal of Paleontology, as a matter of fact.
For the remainder of my spare time I have been working with Sarah Zimmerman to get the details of the next SLUGAC set up. The meeting promises to be the best yet, and I encourage all alumni who can to participate. More than ever the students and all of us need the contact with you folks from the "real world" that is afforded by your attendance at the conference. You need not make a presentation to be an important participant because many of the most significant contacts are informal ones between alumni and students at some of the social events. See the SLUGAC page elsewhere in this letter for dates and details and please register early if you can.
Finally, I note that there has been a contagion of engagement announcements lately. They include David Waugh, Carrie Denesha, and Andrew Fetterman that I know of! I wish you all the best!!
Have a great Summer and please put SLUGAC 6 on your list.
Mark Erickson
Root beer Mugs
The St. Lawrence University Geology Club will be selling 25 oz. glass “Root Beer Mugs” for SLUGAC 6. The mugs are 6.6” tall and 4” wide at the base. Silk screened on the front in black are the words “St. Lawrence University Geology” along with the SLU Geology logo. The cost is $15.00 per mug. A few years ago, the club sold mugs and they were a HOT item!! To ensure that you will be able to wrap your hand around the handle of one of these beautiful mugs at SLUGAC, the Geology Club is accepting pre-paid orders. To pre-order your mug, please mail a check (payable to St. Lawrence University Geology Club) to Brian Congiu CMR# 119 23 Romoda Dr. St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617-1455 by July 1st. Please include your full name, the quantity of mugs you are ordering, a contact phone number, an email address, and the check for the total amount. This will help us to make sure there are plenty of mugs available at SLUGAC. We will have your mugs ready for you when you arrive on campus that weekend. All proceeds go directly to the SLU Geology Club to support our annual activities and fieldtrips. If you have any questions or if you want a mug but can’t make it to SLUGAC this time, please email Brian Congiu at bacong04@stlawu.edu to make other arrangements. Your support is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Brian Congiu ’08: Geology Club President.
To see a picture of the mug go to: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/2007geoclubmugs.html
Hi all,
Hope this summer finds you all well and in good spirits. Time is once again winding down here in the Geology Department and on campus. Currently, seniors are enjoying senior week in anticipation of commencement. Campus is surreal and quiet at this time of year. Just when everything is coming into bloom campus is quieting down. The geology department becomes a quiet and lonely place at this time of year as well. There is very little to distract me from the end of semester chores of equipment maintenance, picking up and organizing geology labs and ordering supplies for the start of the fall semester. It is a peaceful and fine time of year. Dr. Erickson and a few of his students will be going to North Dakota in June and there is some preparation I will be doing in hopes of keeping his trip smooth and safe. This year also finds me busy at home too trying to get lots done before I leave for the summer and prepare for my summers work outside of the SLU community. I have a pretty fair start on next seasons fire wood and have done some fence work, though there will be plenty more to do on both of those fronts when I get back home late in August. This summer's work takes me to the Williamsport, Pennsylvania region as an environmental inspector on natural gas pipeline construction. Being an EI is one of my favorite jobs though I am away from home and the hours are long. Basically I ensure the construction company complies with all federal, state and local environmental regulations. The work involves lots of walking and inspecting the right of way and consulting with the Energy Company and construction company laborers and heavy equipment operators to ensure that environmental controls and safeguards are installed correctly. We also keep an eye out for endangered species, working around them when we can and safely removing them from the right of way when we can't. I sure will miss Shirley and being home and working with the horses and enjoying the company of our three dogs. With any luck after this summer or next, my summers will be spent working on our small farm; cutting wood, fixing fence, working with and riding our horses and maybe some fishing and camping. Not a bad plan really. Hope I can pull it off. This fall is a SLUGAG year and maybe I will be seeing some of you if you visit campus and the department. We usually have a pretty good turn out and it is always nice to see the alumni that used to walk these halls. If you are able to, I sure hope you will consider a visit. Guess I have tugged on your eyes enough for one sitting.
Take good care and drop a line when you can. As always, best wishes to you all.
Your Geology Technician
Matt
Stephanie Peek ‘06
I’ve just completed the first year of a masters program in geology at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie Wyoming. Laramie is a great metropolis after 4 years in Canton (it has 2 McDonalds, Whoa). The west is great, it is a different culture more polite, more relaxed, and much more conservative. The geology is awesome without those pesky plants and glacial deposits covering rock outcrops! My project is in vertebrate paleontology boking at the place of marine mammals in food webs and how that has changed over time. I’ll graduate (hopefully) in May of 2008. After that….who knows. The University of Wyoming offers many opportunities in geology and geophysics and offers a very different lifestyle. It’s a wonderful learning experience (not just geologically speaking).
Aaron Mead ‘08
I have been really busy recently with mid term exams and essays. I am currently in the middle of writing about the life style of graptaloid graptolites. I was able to spend a week kayaking in New Zealand about a month ago. It was an absolutely amazing country. The most beautiful and dramatic scenery I have ever seen. Great whitewater too! I spent a few days in a city called Rotorua on the North Island and when you drive into the city it all smells like sulfur because of all the geothermal activity. There are random parks that you drive by and there are big steaming ponds or boiling mud pools. Smelly, but very cool. I'll be updating my blog again when I get done with this essay.
Karl Fleischmann ’83
The news is this- I'm starting a new job Shell in Aberdeen on Thursday. I'm the new Reservoir Engineering and Production Technology Data Manager for Europe. It's a big job with a focus on the new 'Smart' Fields technology- new sensors and 3d subsurface mapping tools. It's pretty exciting. Also saw the SLUGAC6 announcement. Once I get settled and have a better idea of what my schedule is going to look like, I'll get you an abstract proposal. There's some interesting things to talk about that are right on-target with the subject matter this year!
All the best to you and the SLU faculty.
Student Acomplishments
WILL HACKETT, ‘07
Will has been accepted to the University of Vermont for a master’s degree. This summer Will continues his work on the Tully Valley project with the USGS.
EMILEE MROZ, ‘07
Emilee was offered a Geocorps internship at the Capulin Volcano National Monument (NM) *and* a Great Smoky Mountains Institute (TN) environmental education internship.
ROB MENARD, ‘07
Rob has received an offer from Binghamton University to DIRECTLY enter the Ph.D. program!
DAVE BAKER, ‘08
Dave has received funding for his senior thesis project from the Northeastern Geological Society of American (NEGSA).
AARON MEAD, ‘08
Aaron has been asked to return for another internship with Tighe and Bond, and this time he will be working on bioremediation projects.
JO PALMER, ‘09
Jo is returning to her internship at Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District.
MATT ZABIK, ‘08
Matt has been awarded a SLU Fellowship to research the potential relationship between bedrock and water quality in St. Lawrence County.
BRIAN CONGIU, ‘08
Brian has been awarded a SLU Fellowship to work on his senior thesis project on the environmental effect on water quality from waterfront property development.
EVAN BLUMBERG, ‘08
Evan has obtained an internship with the Broome County Health Department.
SARAH FULLER, ‘08
Sarah will be working with Dwight Coleman and Mark Wishburn mapping paleo-shorelines in the Black Sea as part of her URI/GSO fellowship.
Pictures from the Mineral collecting trip to Benson Mines, Star Lake May 2007 and the End of Year BBQ are in the PDF.
I married Lauriana Capone (now Rosberg) in 2006. We are planning a big celebration on July 7th, 2007. Our beautiful daughter was born on November 17th at home with the assistance of a midwife and a doula. Our baby weighed 7.5 lbs, was 20 and 3/4 inches, and as healthy as can be. I was offered a position as a Staff Scientist with Stone Environmental, Inc., an environmental consulting company based in Montpelier, Vermont. This is a field geologist position; I will be doing groundwater profiling using a waterloo profiler. This device is a probe that is pushed into unconsolidated material, measuring hydraulic conductivity to determine stratigraphy and sampling groundwater to determine groundwater contamination distribution. Thanks to everyone at the SLU Geology department for the help; this exciting career was made possible by you.
**We send congratulations and wish you success, Lee.**
Robert G. Davis ‘71
I have not had the opportunity to return to SLU yet, but hope to visit next summer. I have spent 33 years working "soft rocks" after following Dr's Bloomer, Elberty and Street, learning Appalachian hard rock geology. Dr. Elberty was a great educator, because he taught his students, not only to understand the geology they were observing in the field, but also the techniques needed to view and understand outcrops that they might visit in the future. After graduation from SLU I attended Virginia Tech. and received a Masters in Geochronology. My thesis focused on the radio-metric agedating of a granite pluton in the Appalachian Thrust Belt, in an area of interest to Dr. Bloomer. I have visited, and studied the geology of more than 30 countries. The education that I received at St. Lawrence provided the inspiration to want to seek out and understand interesting areas around the world. What I would like to give back to the Geology Dept. at SLU is the following advice: Learn as much as you can about the Culture, Language, Geology and History of any country that you plan to work in. All of these are necessary, before one can conduct business there.
**Bob, we hope you can make it to SLUGAC 6 this fall!!!**
Connor O’Loughlin ‘05
I am working for Camp Dresser and McKee, an environmental consulting firm. I have been working here for over a year and things are going great. I am an environmental geologist for the firm and I have been traveling the country to remediate different sites. I am enjoying the job and I am also learning quite a bit about the industry.
REPORT OF STREET FUND ACTIVITIES FOR 2006 – 2007
The street fund continues to be our only source of funds for discretionary support of student research during the regular academic year. Since the last newsletter was circulated, the Street Fund has been called on to support the travel costs of Lauren Chrapowitzky to the SHRIMP labs in Australia where she analyzed zircons from the Adirondacks for her thesis project with Jeff Chiarenzelli. Lauren was in Australia for the semester studying at James Cook University. The fund paid for her travel in Australia between school and labs making possible her use of this special analytic opportunity. Lauren was able to gather her thesis research data while abroad thanks to Jeff’s connection with the lab and to the Street Fund. Anna Harrod is conducting a research project in China as this Newsletter goes to press. Some of her travel is also being subsidized by the Street Fund. Your donations to the Jim Street Endowment make the
 |
Street Fund Gifts Since the Last Newsletter Mr.& Mrs. John L. Kosicki '67 Michael Perfit ‘71 Mike Ward ‘72 Russell L. Barnes ‘73 Neil Sammis ‘74 Tom Shaver ‘76 Jeff and Valerie Chiarenzelli ‘81 James Billings ‘87 Heather (Franco) Kaste ‘97 Sally Street and Severn Brown Bud and Mardi Holland R. Eleanor Fetterman ExxonMobile 3 x 1 |
Have a nice summer!!!
Well, the end of spring semester is upon us. As we all look forward to our various summer activities I want to say that you are all stuck with me for at least another year as my appointment as a Jeffrey Campbell Fellow has been extended to the 2007-08 academic year. I am slowly beginning to match faces with names and settle in with the students here in the Geology department. The Faculty and Administration continue to be very supportive of my efforts. I have noticed that I’m more relaxed and hope to increase my interaction with the students and faculty on a social level in the upcoming semesters so that people may get to know me a little better. I had fun on our mineral collecting trip and at the Geology club BBQ at Diane’s house. Although I froze my butt off riding home that night from Diane’s on my motorcycle, it was all worth it for the company, conversations and delicious food available.
I would like to give a fond farewell to Diane who will be leaving us shortly. I am regretful that I am just getting to know her and will not have the opportunity to become as familiar with her as many of you already are. The students speak very highly of her and you can see that they relate to her on a special level. I want to thank her for helping with refreshments at the Seismic Hazards Final. Good Luck Diane! I know you will do well wherever you go.
In closing, I would like to wish all the faculty my best wishes for their travels this summer. Mark Erickson is headed to North Dakota and Stephen Robinson is off to China. I want to thank Jeff Chiarenzelli for letting me help with the introductory geology classes. Also, KUDOS to Cathy Shrady for helping me get my Jeffrey Campbell Fellowship extended while I finish my dissertation.
Carl J. Pierce
Sarah Czajka '01
Things are going well in Colorado, aside from all the snow which is starting to get old (even for a Buffalo, NY girl). I'm still working for Kleinfelder, Inc. which acquired my former company Geologic Services Corporation. Amazingly, I had my 5-year anniversary in November. Hard to believe. We're still developing our Colorado environmental consulting department, which means I've been traveling a bit and cross-training with our geotechnical department. I had the opportunity to help our Albuquerque office log and oversee the installation of monitoring wells in a canyon at Los Alamos to help define a chromium gw plume. Very cool, using a track mounted rig to drill in arroyos. Beautiful area. Logging the contact between volcanic alluvium and tuff was challenging, but really neat. We worked side-by-side with DOE and LANL geologists, so it was an awesome learning opportunity.
Before that, I was on a naturally-occurring radioactive material (NORM) grading project for 9.5 months. It was a 55-acre site being developed for residential building that had low levels of NORM. Our job was to guide the graders, so the higher NORM concentrations were below the basement footprints. This project got me hooked on collecting petrified wood. Now my boyfriend and I hike looking for wood. We actually have quite a bit (smaller broken pieces) and are planning on selling the odds and ends to a local aquarium shop.
**Good to hear from you Sarah and of course we could always use some petrified wood here in the department if you have extra!**
SLUGAC 6
(September 13-16)
• SLU GEOLOGY Alumni Web site: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/
• SLUGAC 6 web site: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/SLUGAC6.html
• William T. Elberty Medal Nominations are due by July 15th. Letters may be sent via email to Sarah McElfresh at sarah_mcelfresh@hotmail.com with the subject: SLUGAC 6: WTE Medal Nomination
or via
US Mail to:
William T. Elberty Medal Committee
c/o Sarah McElfresh
11540 Clematis Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15235
More information about the award can be found at: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wtemedal.html
• Call for nominations letter can be found at: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wte-call2007.html
• Reservations at the Best Western can be done as follows:
Call 315-386-8522
Reservations for SLUGAC 6
Rooms have 2 double beds and the price is $89.00 plus tax.
Please note: There are limited rooms and reservations must be made by August 13, 2007
By this time you all know this fall is SLUGAC 6. If you have not been a student at a SLUGAC or an alumnus attending, you have missed one of the most significant and unique parts of a St. Lawrence Geology education. These events which include a diversity of experiences from formal presentations such as the Bloomer Lecture to informal alumni presentations to free form discussions of career paths and future opportunities are proven formative occasions in the lives of our undergraduates. They have been positive experiences for alumni participants as well. Networking among the entire group builds intergenerational friendships that last for years. We hope that many of you will make the altruistic endeavor to attend this gathering this year.
We will gather on Thursday, Sept. 13 in the afternoon take dinner together then hear a convocational talk. Friday the alumni discuss topics of their choice with students and students will share their St. Lawrence experiences with alumni. New Faculty will give alumni some insights to their interest as well. On Friday evening we will have a reception at President Sullivan’s home before adjourning to Eben Holden Conference center for the Bloomer Dinner and Lecture followed by the Elberty Auction. We try to keep Saturday more free form until closer to the conference because of the dynamism of these events. The Elberty Medal will be awarded. Please nominate recipients after reading about the award on the website (http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/wtemedal.html).
Most importantly, come
to SLUGAC…..Participate.
Greetings from Canton, New York
It has been an eventful year here, with job searches, planning for an eventual relocation (or not) of the department, and establishing good working relations with the natives. I’ve enjoyed myself and am looking forward to the summer and time to work intensively with a few students on research problems. Brian Congiu (’08) and Matt Zabik (’08) were both awarded summer fellowships to work with me on water quality issues. Brian will be using GIS and water quality data to determine the susceptibility of local lakes to shoreline development and environmental degradation. Matt will be starting a pilot project on the quality of ground water in St. Lawrence County. In addition, Evan Blumberg (’08) will be working with the Broome County Health Department and plans to build a senior thesis project related to the study of
hazardous waste sites in that area. While in Australia this spring, Lauren Chrapowitzky (’08), analyzed zircons from an interesting metasedimentary sequence on top of Chimney Mountain in the Adirondacks. Lauren worked with my colleague Dr. David Nelson, and former student Mr. Eric Thern, at the SHRIMP laboratory in Perth and intends to continue her work next semester. Ms. Carol Cady will be working closely with many of these students on applying GIS to their research.
Cathy Shrady and I are leading a fieldtrip to Yellowstone late May with six lucky students. Alumni Steve Alexander (’03), who has extensively Yellowstone experience, will be helping us with planning logistics and trip details. I will spend part of the summer working at the field camp my colleague Dave Valentino runs and also in Alaska working on Formerly Used Defense Sites on St. Lawrence Island. I am also involved in several projects in the local area working on some pretty interesting mafic and ultramafic rocks and mineral deposits. Drs. Marian Lupulescu from the New York State Museum and Brian Cousens of Carleton University will join me. I’m hoping to get more of our students interested in Adirondack geology, however, it’s a hard sell as most are very keen on environmental topics. Where have all the hard rockers gone?
It has been a pleasure to get to know, and interact with, my new colleagues (Cathy, Carl, Diane, Mark, Matt, Sherrie, and Steve) here in the department and we will all miss the stabilizing presence of Dr. Diane Burns who will be moving on this summer. John Bursnall took the time to teach me how to play squash which is more fun than a box of rocks (well almost as much fun). We’ve had some excellent speakers stop by this year including Dr. David McConchie (Southern Cross University, Australia), Dr. James McLelland (Colgate University), Dr. Brian Cousens (Carleton University, Canada), Dr. Michael Perfit (University of Florida), Dr. Bill Arnott (Ottawa University, Canada), Dr. William Kirchgasser (SUNY Potsdam), Mr. Ryan Adams (Clarkson University), and Mr. Kent Littlefield,PG, (SAIC).
If you haven’t checked out the alumni (http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/index.html) website yet, please do. It is great to see what your classmates and fellow SLU geologists are doing. For example, I was pleased to find short articles on the accomplishments of my 1981 field partners Carol Newell (’79) and Gerry Ross (’81). It brought back thoughts of eight foot high waves in a twelve foot long boat in Great Bear Lake!
Last but not least, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the senior class, although I don’t know many of them as well as I would like. I did really enjoy having Will Hackett (’07) in my mineralogy course. I think he is the second student I’ve ever had who had petrology before mineralogy! Good luck to everyone in your job searches or graduate school plans.
Jeff Chiarenzelli
This will be my last missive as I will be leaving SLU at the end of the spring term. I have been honored to have been a part of the students' lives during the past three years and am lucky to have met the wonderful alumni that I have encountered at SLUGAC and other conventions. You are wonderful people and hold a special place in my heart.
Take care,
Diane
Hi Everyone:
The highlights of a very demanding semester I will share so those of you who didn't hear from me when I should have been in correspondence will understand why I wasn't! Between teaching activities and the activities of the department and university I was just about as busy as I have been for several years. I had two sections of Historical, Micropaleontology, Stratigraphy, Badlands Trip, one thesis and one independent project. All were good experiences. Then I had the unusual experience of serving on the Academic Honors Council for the year. A group of very hard working students and 3 faculty make an effort to understand instances of possible academic dishonesty. Yes, we are not without some real world issues at St. Lawrence now and then. We also had two searches going on at the same time along with regular Friday seminars. This made for a full schedule so I can't report great progress on the research front!
On the Department front we are graduating a great group of seniors this year - small class but interesting. We have had some intriguing reports on senior thesis work at our seminars as the semester drew to close. Students re-enacted Darcy's permeability experiment, studied generation of mud boils in the Tully valley, examined surface structure of detrital quartz grains from varied depositional settings, and analyzed postglacial drainage evolution of Adirondack rivers. Rob Menard will be going on for a Ph.D. program at SUNY Binghamton and Will Hackett is headed for his masters at UVM.
We will also be saying "goodbye" to Diane Burns who has been a reliable and energetic force for quality education of our students for the past 3 years. She has made many positive contributions to the department and especially to our students over her time here, and we all want to thank her for her interest in our students and department. I wish her all the best in her future activities.
By the time you read this I will be on the road with the regional field studies class headed west through Ontario and the UP of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota-classic Iron Range country-- to the Plains of North Dakota. We will look at much of the geology between here and the Badlands. A stop at the headwaters of the Mississippi will heighten awareness of continental divides and drainages before we rendezvous with Dr. Hoganson to excavate a mosasaur from the Pierre Shale of eastern ND. We are hoping for good camping weather. I visited ND in January before the semester began in order to work out some of the trip details but also to work with Bud Holland and John Hoganson on the Fox Hills shark paper and to see the new exhibit of Late Cretaceous and Paleocene fossils at the Heritage Center that opened in December of '06. Very impressive! Portions of the exhibit include materials from a number of SLU student studies including those by Myron Getman, Peterr Bonnett, Tim Bouchard, Brett Palmateer, Maureen Jones, Glenn Kays and Dan Peppe to mention a few. A paper based on part of Dan's thesis was just published in the Journal of Paleontology, as a matter of fact.
For the remainder of my spare time I have been working with Sarah Zimmerman to get the details of the next SLUGAC set up. The meeting promises to be the best yet, and I encourage all alumni who can to participate. More than ever the students and all of us need the contact with you folks from the "real world" that is afforded by your attendance at the conference. You need not make a presentation to be an important participant because many of the most significant contacts are informal ones between alumni and students at some of the social events. See the SLUGAC page elsewhere in this letter for dates and details and please register early if you can.
Finally, I note that there has been a contagion of engagement announcements lately. They include David Waugh, Carrie Denesha, and Andrew Fetterman that I know of! I wish you all the best!!
Have a great Summer and please put SLUGAC 6 on your list.
Mark Erickson
Root beer Mugs
The St. Lawrence University Geology Club will be selling 25 oz. glass “Root Beer Mugs” for SLUGAC 6. The mugs are 6.6” tall and 4” wide at the base. Silk screened on the front in black are the words “St. Lawrence University Geology” along with the SLU Geology logo. The cost is $15.00 per mug. A few years ago, the club sold mugs and they were a HOT item!! To ensure that you will be able to wrap your hand around the handle of one of these beautiful mugs at SLUGAC, the Geology Club is accepting pre-paid orders. To pre-order your mug, please mail a check (payable to St. Lawrence University Geology Club) to Brian Congiu CMR# 119 23 Romoda Dr. St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617-1455 by July 1st. Please include your full name, the quantity of mugs you are ordering, a contact phone number, an email address, and the check for the total amount. This will help us to make sure there are plenty of mugs available at SLUGAC. We will have your mugs ready for you when you arrive on campus that weekend. All proceeds go directly to the SLU Geology Club to support our annual activities and fieldtrips. If you have any questions or if you want a mug but can’t make it to SLUGAC this time, please email Brian Congiu at bacong04@stlawu.edu to make other arrangements. Your support is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Brian Congiu ’08: Geology Club President.
To see a picture of the mug go to: http://it.stlawu.edu/~geoclub/alumni/2007geoclubmugs.html
Hi all,
Hope this summer finds you all well and in good spirits. Time is once again winding down here in the Geology Department and on campus. Currently, seniors are enjoying senior week in anticipation of commencement. Campus is surreal and quiet at this time of year. Just when everything is coming into bloom campus is quieting down. The geology department becomes a quiet and lonely place at this time of year as well. There is very little to distract me from the end of semester chores of equipment maintenance, picking up and organizing geology labs and ordering supplies for the start of the fall semester. It is a peaceful and fine time of year. Dr. Erickson and a few of his students will be going to North Dakota in June and there is some preparation I will be doing in hopes of keeping his trip smooth and safe. This year also finds me busy at home too trying to get lots done before I leave for the summer and prepare for my summers work outside of the SLU community. I have a pretty fair start on next seasons fire wood and have done some fence work, though there will be plenty more to do on both of those fronts when I get back home late in August. This summer's work takes me to the Williamsport, Pennsylvania region as an environmental inspector on natural gas pipeline construction. Being an EI is one of my favorite jobs though I am away from home and the hours are long. Basically I ensure the construction company complies with all federal, state and local environmental regulations. The work involves lots of walking and inspecting the right of way and consulting with the Energy Company and construction company laborers and heavy equipment operators to ensure that environmental controls and safeguards are installed correctly. We also keep an eye out for endangered species, working around them when we can and safely removing them from the right of way when we can't. I sure will miss Shirley and being home and working with the horses and enjoying the company of our three dogs. With any luck after this summer or next, my summers will be spent working on our small farm; cutting wood, fixing fence, working with and riding our horses and maybe some fishing and camping. Not a bad plan really. Hope I can pull it off. This fall is a SLUGAG year and maybe I will be seeing some of you if you visit campus and the department. We usually have a pretty good turn out and it is always nice to see the alumni that used to walk these halls. If you are able to, I sure hope you will consider a visit. Guess I have tugged on your eyes enough for one sitting.
Take good care and drop a line when you can. As always, best wishes to you all.
Your Geology Technician
Matt
Stephanie Peek ‘06
I’ve just completed the first year of a masters program in geology at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie Wyoming. Laramie is a great metropolis after 4 years in Canton (it has 2 McDonalds, Whoa). The west is great, it is a different culture more polite, more relaxed, and much more conservative. The geology is awesome without those pesky plants and glacial deposits covering rock outcrops! My project is in vertebrate paleontology boking at the place of marine mammals in food webs and how that has changed over time. I’ll graduate (hopefully) in May of 2008. After that….who knows. The University of Wyoming offers many opportunities in geology and geophysics and offers a very different lifestyle. It’s a wonderful learning experience (not just geologically speaking).
Aaron Mead ‘08
I have been really busy recently with mid term exams and essays. I am currently in the middle of writing about the life style of graptaloid graptolites. I was able to spend a week kayaking in New Zealand about a month ago. It was an absolutely amazing country. The most beautiful and dramatic scenery I have ever seen. Great whitewater too! I spent a few days in a city called Rotorua on the North Island and when you drive into the city it all smells like sulfur because of all the geothermal activity. There are random parks that you drive by and there are big steaming ponds or boiling mud pools. Smelly, but very cool. I'll be updating my blog again when I get done with this essay.
Karl Fleischmann ’83
The news is this- I'm starting a new job Shell in Aberdeen on Thursday. I'm the new Reservoir Engineering and Production Technology Data Manager for Europe. It's a big job with a focus on the new 'Smart' Fields technology- new sensors and 3d subsurface mapping tools. It's pretty exciting. Also saw the SLUGAC6 announcement. Once I get settled and have a better idea of what my schedule is going to look like, I'll get you an abstract proposal. There's some interesting things to talk about that are right on-target with the subject matter this year!
All the best to you and the SLU faculty.
Student Acomplishments
WILL HACKETT, ‘07
Will has been accepted to the University of Vermont for a master’s degree. This summer Will continues his work on the Tully Valley project with the USGS.
EMILEE MROZ, ‘07
Emilee was offered a Geocorps internship at the Capulin Volcano National Monument (NM) *and* a Great Smoky Mountains Institute (TN) environmental education internship.
ROB MENARD, ‘07
Rob has received an offer from Binghamton University to DIRECTLY enter the Ph.D. program!
DAVE BAKER, ‘08
Dave has received funding for his senior thesis project from the Northeastern Geological Society of American (NEGSA).
AARON MEAD, ‘08
Aaron has been asked to return for another internship with Tighe and Bond, and this time he will be working on bioremediation projects.
JO PALMER, ‘09
Jo is returning to her internship at Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District.
MATT ZABIK, ‘08
Matt has been awarded a SLU Fellowship to research the potential relationship between bedrock and water quality in St. Lawrence County.
BRIAN CONGIU, ‘08
Brian has been awarded a SLU Fellowship to work on his senior thesis project on the environmental effect on water quality from waterfront property development.
EVAN BLUMBERG, ‘08
Evan has obtained an internship with the Broome County Health Department.
SARAH FULLER, ‘08
Sarah will be working with Dwight Coleman and Mark Wishburn mapping paleo-shorelines in the Black Sea as part of her URI/GSO fellowship.
Pictures from the Mineral collecting trip to Benson Mines, Star Lake May 2007 and the End of Year BBQ are in the PDF.