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Department News

Mike Reed '08 has just come ashore from 2 weeks aboard the R/V Thompson, U. Washington's 200' research vessel.  He was one of two survey technicians in charge of the multibeam sea floor mapping of the Hydrate Ridge and Axial Volcano off the coast of WA.  These surveys are the first for establishing the site selection for the nodes of the Regional Cabled Observatory (formerly called NEPTUNE). MIke's contribution to the mission is posted on their website. 

Alum Mitchell Leverette '85 was recently promoted to Chief for the Division of Solid Mineral for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  You can learn more about Mitchell's work at the BLM in our Alumni News section.

Junior Brent Cobb has a summer internship as a geologist in a national park in Germany.

Senior Greg Pelkey has been awarded a Carnegie Institute for Science summer fellowship, working in the biogeochemistry research group. His project will involve a series of hydrothermal experiments designed to assess the role of hydrogen-oxygen disequilibria at low to moderate temperature conditions (50-200oC) in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems.  The work aims to provide a better understanding on the flux of chemical nutrients  that support microbial communities near deep sea black smokers.  

The Geology and Environmental Geosciences Department has been awarded funds to establish the South Carolina Earthquake Education & Preparedness (SCEEP) Program.

One of Jim Carew ’s articles was selected as one of the 40 most influential papers in karst science since 1950.  It was originally published in 1990 and it is republished (with a short discussion by the editors about its significance) in the book “Benchmark Papers in Karst Science.”

Mike Katuna, Norman Levine and Scott Harris have been appointed as members to a state-wide SCDHEC-OCRM Shoreline Change Advisory Committee to review the existing guidelines and to develop recommendations involving coastal erosion issues and future management of the coastal environment.

Junior Lauren VanArsdall has been awarded a NASA Internship at Goddard Space Flight Center during the Fall '07. She is studying polar terrain of Earth's moon.

Welcome Dr. Scott Harris to the faculty in the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences. Scott is a marine and coastal geoscientist.

Andrea Steffke '01, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawaii, recently visited Mt. Ruapehu in New Zealand. She and her field team safely witnessed a lahar that sent mud and rock down the eastern flank of the mountain. This summer, Andrea will be conducting research on Colima Volcano in Mexico for two months.

Several of our undergraduate majors and graduate students made research presentations the 2007 Regional Meeting of the Geological Society of America. Undergraduate presenters included Chandra Lilly, Lauren VanArsdall, Chris Stubbs, Mike Reed, Matt Tinley, Chris Itteilag, Peir Louise Hardin, Meagan Rosenblatt, Dylan Murphy, Zach Briggs, Keith Meaney, and Josh Mode. Graduate students, Emily Batts, Bray Beltran, and Ileana Latorre. Faculty who supervised research also attended: Tim Callahan, Norm Levine, Leslie Sautter, and Robert Nusbaum. Part of our alumni family in attendance included Nicole Abdul, Amy Bondourant, Lauren Metger, Ransom White, Gina Applebee, Jonathan Geisler, and Ted Millings.

Senior F. Scot Fitzgerald served as moderator for a panel discussion on "Alternative Fuels in South Carolina." The event will be held from 6:15-8:15 PM on Thursday, February 8 in the Robert Scott Library Building.

Thinking of traveling for a few months after graduation? Katy Mackie "06 is doing just that, while working as an apprentice vintner at Hillinger Weingut in Jois, Austria. In her spare time, she is applying to international graduate programs in water resources and management.

You can download a copy of our new departmental brochure. This will be distributed to newly declared majors and anyone else who is interested.

Tim Callahan and MES graduate students Ileana La Torre and Bray Beltran will present research results at the Southeastern Geological Society of America meeting in Savannah in March. Ileana and Bray also co-authored a poster with Tim Callahan for the Graduate School Poster Session last Jan. 18 and their poster "Streamflow and Water Quality in Managed and Natural Forested Watersheds of the Lower Coastal Plain, Southeastern U.S." won 1st place! The award came with a cash prize of $250.

The Geology and Environmental Geosciences has developed a hurricane disaster plan.

Drs. Kem Fronabarger and Norman Levine were featured in the Charleston News and Courier. The article focuses on research which combines science and technology with the Egyptian history of Theban Necropolis.

We are grateful to the alums who contributed money to our program last December. For those who didn't and would like to contribute funds directly to the Geology and Environmental Geosciences Department, feel free to do so when it is convenient. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document. Please go to the Adobe web site at http://www.adobe.com/ to download the latest version.)

Danko Taborosi '97 has recently published a book entitled "Field Guide to Caves and karst of Guam." The book is published by Bess Press.

Now that the two Mars rovers have successfully landed on the surface, Deanne Rogers '99 is part of the mission team operating from NASA's JPL in California. Her official title is Mini-TES Uplink Lead for the Opportunity Rover. Deanne is responsible for controlling when and where to point the instrument, and what kind of data to collect. When she is not operating the Mini-TES, she participates as a scientist, analyzing the data, and helping with decisions about where to drive Opportunity next.

Steffi Schwabe '90 was featured in the High Profile section of the Charleston News and Courier, January 3, 2004. Steffi is currently an adjunct professor in Geology and Environmental Geosciences. She is also Director of the Rob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation.

Vicki Balfour '02,third person on the right, has been studying water runoff associated with forest fires in Montana.

Recent Graduate Degrees

Sarah (Kincaid) Glass , M.S. Geosciences, Mississippi State University

Carly Smith , M.S. Marine Science, Earth Science, Florida International University

John (Pennington) Meta , dual M.S. degrees in Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University

Nicole Abdul , M.S. Marine Science, Savannah State University

Vicki Balfour , M.S. Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana

Shawn Malone , M.S. Geology, University of Florida

Kyle Kelso , M.S. Geology, University of South Florida

Jessica Barton , M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Jordan Felber , M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Cristel (Lopez) Purvis , M.S. Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina

Jeff Nettles , Ph.D. Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee

Toni Reale , M.S. Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amy Bondurant , M.S. Geology, University of Montana

Deanne Rogers , Ph.D. Geological Sciences, Arizona State University

Megan (Weiner) Lang , Ph.D. Remote Sensing, University of Maryland

Lauren Fuqua , M.S in Geology, The Penn State University

Jessie (Sladek) Metta , Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

David Gorney, M.S., Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin

Andrea Steffke, M.S. Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Milton Rhodes , M.A. Architecture, University of Miami

Russ Willis, M.S. Geology, Louisiana State University

Nancy Whiting, M.S. Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota

Thomas Quattlebaum, M.S. Earth Sciences, University of California at Santa Cruz

Jack (Bo) Stalnaker, Ph.D. Geophysics, Texas A&M University

Jenn (Guelfo) Bagdol, M.S. Environmental Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Brickman Way, M.S. Geology, University of Florida

Jonathan Geisler, Ph.D. Columbia University

Laura Murray, M.S. Environmental Sciences-Hydrology, University of Virginia

Kurt McCoy, M.S. Geology, University of West Virginia

Amer Smailbegovic, Ph.D. Geophysics, University of Nevada-Reno

Anton Dumars, M.S. Geology, Louisiana State University

Jennifer Meisburger, Ph.D. Geography, University of South Carolina

Kim Owens, M.Ed. Science and Math Education, College of Charleston.

Elizabeth Rogers, M.Ed. Science and Math Education, College of Charleston

Gretchen Hay, M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Mike Jordan, M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Deanne Rogers, M.S. Geology, University of Arizona

Jason Permenter, M.S. Geology, Indiana State University

Danko Taborosi, M.S. Geology, University of Guam

Megan Weiner, M.S. Remote Sensing, University of Maryland

Dianna Alsup, M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Jamie Chose, M.S. Environmental Studies, College of Charleston

Susan Oakley, M.S. Earth Science, Boston University

Buddy Ferry, M.S. Geology, Louisiana State University