Month: July 2011

Amy Williams (’07) awarded NASA fellowship.

smuthukrishnan / / Alumni News, Awards

amy and rocksAmy Williams (2007) was recently awarded a prestigious NASA Fellowship, awarded to only 14 students in the country. The fellowship will fund the completion of Amy’s Ph.D. degree at the University of California – Davis. Amy’s research focuses on the characterization of microbial processes in pyrite weathering in dry environments that are relevant to Mars. It ties together mineralogy, microbial ecology, and planetary science, and she will apply her results to data relayed by the Mars Science Laboratory rover, which will land on Mars in fall 2012. Amy received a M.S. in Geology in 2009 from the University of New Mexico.  Congratulations Amy!

Garihan et al., publish the Geologic Map of Campobello Quadrangle, SC

smuthukrishnan / / Appalachian Geology, Department, Earthscience News, Faculty News, Presentations, Publication, Student News

The South Carolina Geological Survey recently published the Geologic map of Campobello, South Carolina (GQM 51). It is available to the public at:

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/geology/publications.htm#gqm

This publication is the result of geologic mapping done in Summer 2010 by Earth and Environmental Sciences majors Alyssa Wickard and Rhonda Chan Soo, supervised by Dr. Ranson and Dr. Garihan.  This research was funded by Furman Advantage Research Fellowship and logistical support was provided by SC Geological Survey. The students spent the summer time mapping the geology and structure in this area including tracing of the extent of the known brittle faults eastward within this quadrangle. In addition, Alyssa Wickard and JMG have submitted a manuscript to South Carolina Geology with emphasis on the polyphase folding in Campobello and its relationship to folding in the Inner Piedmont.

Faculty attend sustainability seminar in Europe

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Faculty News, Field Trip, Sustainability, Travel

2011 June in Switzerland

Brannon Andersen, Bill Ranson, Suresh Muthukrishnan, and our newest faculty member, Betsy Beymer-Ferris (starting in August), attended a Mellon Foundation funded travel seminar in sustainability that visited Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, and Freiburg, Germany.  A total of 18 faculty from 8 different colleges participated in this program.  The group met with city planners, architects, and design experts in each city.  We used public transportation for traveling between cities and used hired bicycles to travel within the city.  Overall, we studied sustainable design in buildings, alternative energy, agriculture, and transportation.  After the seminar was over, Betsy traveled on to do research in Norway and Sweden, whereas Bill, Brannon, and Suresh traveled with Dr. Becky Gould (Middlebury College) to Zermatt, Switzerland to study glaciers, glacial geomorphology, and water resource management (and lots of good hiking).  The outcomes of the travel will be incorporating our experiences and learning into our curriculum and the development of a May Experience trip to Germany and Switzerland. 

Click on links below to see some photographs from these places.