Category: Furman

GIS in community problem solving!

smuthukrishnan / / Community Research, Department, Faculty News, Furman, GIS News, Sustainability

Using GIS and Drones, Furman University students are studying the existing condition of street lighting in neighborhoods with the goal of making these areas safe and reduce incidences of crime in Greenville communities.  As part of their GIS class project taught by Mike Winiski of Center for Teaching and Learning, they have studied Po Mill and New Washington Heights communities in Greenville to field map street light conditions and intensity and now using drone technology for developing a model of street lighting reach so that this can be scaled to a larger area of study.

Students and faculty have worked with the community members to identify the problem and to address the problem through some kind of community based funding model, so the decision about the location of new streetlights is based not only on solid data, but more importantly the voice of the entire community.  For more information, please check out: http://edge.furman.edu/lights-on-for-safety.htm­l

image

Video compiled and edited by Taylor de Lench, Furman University

75th Anniversary Meeting of the Carolina Geological Society held in Greenville

smuthukrishnan / / Appalachian Geology, Bartram Society, CGS, Department, Earthscience News, Faculty News, Field Trip, Furman

HollandPhoto to the left: Wilbur C. Holland circa 1930, founding father of the Carolina Geological Society.

It was 75 years ago, in 1937, that Wilbur C. Holland, then Geology Professor at Furman University, founded the Carolina Geological Society (CGS) to create an active community of geologists in the area. The main purpose of the society is to promote the Geosciences, encourage the study of Earth Science, promote spirit of friendship and cooperation, and encourage research and publication. At the time of its founding, Holland envisioned a full day meeting with presentations of papers in a morning session and field trip in the afternoon. Currently, the meeting is held over three days, starting with a reception on the first evening, followed by a day and a half of field trips to various localities.

As a tribute to the 75th anniversary of CGS, Furman Earth and Environmental Sciences professors Dr. Bill Ranson, Dr. Jack Garihan, and Dr. Suresh Muthukrishnan conducted the meeting in Greenville. Field trips showcased the geology, geomorphology and landslide hazards in Upstate of South Carolina. A special celebration was held at the Table Rock State Park Pavilion on Saturday evening.

Collages

Students Brooks Bailey, Claire Campbell, Stephen Campbell, Katharine Compton, Elizabeth Johnston, and Ryan Richardson assisted the leaders during the planning stages and during the field trips, ensuring the safety of participants along congested roadways. Apart from these student assistants, 15 other Furman students attended the conference. A total of 156 total participants were present making it a successful event. The edited volume of the field guide in electronic format will be available from CGS website.

2012-10-14_CGS Meeting

The department wishes to thank all the student assistants and especially Ms. Nina Anthony for their tireless efforts and help over the last several months. We also thank our recent graduate Jay Bridgeman (‘12) for leading a part of the field trip to the Salem ultramafic body on Saturday.

Click here for photos from Carolina Geological Society annual meeting, 12-14, October 2012, Greenville, South Carolina.

Jay Bridgeman’s experience with USGS exploring Mineral and Geothermal Potential

smuthukrishnan / / Alumni News, Career, Furman, Student News

2012_SV_groupJay Bridgeman, 2012 graduate from EES, spent the summer working on an internship with the US Geological Survey western region branch in Menlo Park, CA. He worked with the geophysics unit investigating mineral and geothermal potential in several locations in Nevada, California and Oregon. Jay worked with several geophysical techniques including gravity, magnetic, paleomagnetic and electrical methods to image structures in the subsurface.

He says, “we would spend between 10-15 days in the field locations doing long days of field work, collection and processing of geophysical data, and physical rock property measurements. We even got to do a joint venture with NASA flying a magnetic survey with an unmanned aerial vehicle, which was featured in a Scientific American expedition blog. I really enjoyed my internship with the USGS, and felt that Furman had definitely prepared me and given me the skills necessary to excel.”

Jay is currently working with Unimin Corporation as a Geologist doing core logging and sampling in Wisconsin, Minnesota and a few other Midwest states, primarily with their silica division.

For more information on Jay Bridgeman’s work with USGS, visit the Scientific American blog.

Prof. Angela Halfacre Publishes Her Book “A Delicate Balance: Constructing a Conservation Culture in the South Carolina Lowcountry”

smuthukrishnan / / Career, Earthscience News, Faculty News, Furman, Publication, Shi Center, Sustainability

halfacre-book-cover1

Description from the University of South Carolina Press: Sustainability of the natural environment and of our society has become one of the most urgent challenges facing modern Americans. Communities across the country are seeking a viable pattern of growth that promotes prosperity, protects the environment, and preserves the distinctive quality of life and cultural heritage of their regions. The coastal zone of South Carolina is one of the most endangered, culturally complex regions in the state and perhaps in all of the American South. A Delicate Balance examines how a multilayered culture of environmental conservation and sustainable development has emerged in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Angela C. Halfacre, a political scientist, describes how sprawl shock, natural disaster, climate change, and other factors spawned and sustain—but at times also threaten and hinder—the culture of conservation.

Since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the coastal region of South Carolina has experienced unprecedented increases in residential and commercial development. A Delicate Balance uses interdisciplinary literature and ethnographic, historical, and spatial methods to show how growing numbers of lowcountry residents, bolstered by substantial political, corporate, and media support, have sought to maintain the region’s distinctive sense of place as well as its fragile ecology.

A Delicate Balance deftly illustrates that a resilient culture of conservation that wields growing influence in the lowcountry has become an important regional model for conservation efforts across the nation.

Congratulations Dr. Halfacre! 

Dr. Halfacre can be reached at: angela.halfacre@furman.edu

Students receive grant from Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation

smuthukrishnan / / Awards, Furman, Shi Center, Sustainability

Patrick Starr (Earth and Environmental Science and Political Science Major) and Wes Floyd (Sustainability Science Major) are among six students from three Universities that received fellowship from Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation to support and pursue real-world problem solving projects in collaboration with local communities and non-profit and government agencies. 

Floyd will work with Greenville officials to help implement a Sustainability Action Plan for the city.  He will research implementation strategies used by other cities and provide support to the city’s Green Ribbon Advisory Committee, which advises City Council, the City Manager, and other city staff on the development of programs and initiatives regarding sustainability. Floyd, based on his research, will craft a manual for other municipalities about the process of developing a Climate Action and Sustainability Plan.

Starr will work with the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, a Greenville-based foundation committed to advancing sustainable forestry and vibrant rural communities across America. His work will include creating a database of U.S. watershed protection programs and developing a database of all protected forestlands in the 13 Southern states.  He may also work with bioenergy projects.

Furman’s Shi Center for Sustainability is coordinating this grant with Duke and Vanderbilt Universities.

Welcome Dr. Betsy Beymer-Farris, Assistant Professor of Sustainability Science

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Faculty News, Furman, Sustainability

IMG_4343Dr. Beymer-Farris comes to Furman from the University of Illinois, Urbana Chanpaign where she completed her Ph.D. in Geography. As the new Sustainability Science hire in the EES Department, she will teach Principles of Sustainability Science (SUS 120) and Social Systems (SUS 241) courses this year. In teaching these courses, her role will be to motivate students to critically examine the dynamic social-ecological processes underlying the formation and change of place and space, and how they hold the potential to affect change.

The integration of ecology with environmental politics and global economic development lies at the core of Dr. Beymer-Farris’s research interests. Dr. Beymer-Farris is a political ecologist who draws heavily from the literatures of social-ecological resilience, environmental history, and political economy. She has spent over ten years in Tanzania researching human-environmental dynamics of development issues related to global climate change, biodiversity conservation, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture. She is interested in “sustainably utilized” landscapes, carbon forestry (e.g. Reduced Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation or "REDD+"), marine protected areas, alternative food networks, and in (re)conceptualizing social-ecological resilience. 

Dr. Beymer-Farris’s office is within the EES Office Suit (Room 119A) in Plyler Hall.  She can be reached by phone at 294-2505 or by email at Betsy.Beymer-Farris@furman.edu.  Please join us in welcoming Betsy to Furman and Greenville.

Virginia Batts Receives 2011 Compton Mentor Fellowship

smuthukrishnan / / Awards, Department, Furman, Student News

pictureVirginia Batts, a graduating senior (May, 2011) at the Earth and Environmental Sciences department has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Compton Mentor Fellowship.  This fellowship promotes innovative project development and implementation in areas of environment and sustainability, and climate change and energy policy among others.  This will take Virginia to the western part of India for a year-long project in collaboration with Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR) involving 1) research and implementation of water harvesting infrastructure, 2) installing weather stations and start collecting long-term climate data, and 3) develop a community oriented water resources management plan.

Virginia says: “The Compton Mentor Fellowship is a rare and unique opportunity for young graduates to apply their educational experience to some of the greatest challenges of a globalized world. While the project is the focal point of the fellowship, the Compton Foundation is also interested in providing eye-opening experiences that will shape each fellow into a catalyst for positive change. I am eternally grateful for having been honored with this opportunity, and especially for the support from friends and faculty who have encouraged me through and through. Wherever this flight takes me, it will always be the Furman years that served as my launching pad.”

Compton Web Page: http://www.comptonmentorfellowship.org/

Watershed Organization Trust: http://www.wotr.org/

It should be noted that Virginia Batts recently won the Fallow Outstanding Senior Award in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Furman.

If you like us, you will Like Us on Facebook too!

smuthukrishnan / / Alumni News, Department, Faculty News, Field Trip, Furman, Photos, Student News, Travel

The department of Earth and Environmental sciences is excited to announce that we are now on Facebook.  If this doesn’t excite you, then hear this – Dr. Garihan now has a Facebook page too.  If you don’t believe me, go and search.  Well, we have posted lots of photos from the good old days out there for your pleasure.  We hope you will like us and keep in touch.  Post images and update us on your status.

As always, we would love to see you here – come any time.

facebook-logo

Earth and Environmental Sciences Facebook Page

2011 EES Award Winners Announced

smuthukrishnan / / Awards, Department, Furman, Student News

The much awaited annual awards ceremony was held last week at Furman University.  The following are the EES award winners for the year 2011.  Congratulations seniors – keep up the good work.  We are proud of all your accomplishments.

Alyssa Wickard – Winner of Earth and Environmental Sciences Research Award, that is given to a senior who shows exceptional promise as a scientist by producing an outstanding senior thesis

Virginia Batts – Winner of Fallaw Outstanding Senior Award, that is given to a student who exhibits great professional potential and that has shown leadership in the department

Reece Lyerly – Winner of Earth and Environmental Sciences Scholar Award, that is given to the senior that shows the greatest scholarly ability

Steven Hovdesven – Winner of George C. Marshall Excellence in Military Science and Leadership Award, presented annually to the top senior cadet in each of Cadet Command’s programs whose outstanding accomplishments in military studies best exemplifies the private life and public career of General of the Army George C. Marshal.

2011 Awards Ceremony Photos

Sustainability Science Curriculum

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Earthscience News, Furman, Sustainability

Sustainability_Science_Brochure_P1The EES department has released a brochure that contains all necessary information regarding the new degree program in Sustainability Science.  Students interested in pursuing B.S. degree in Sustainability Science are advised to meet with one of the faculty advisors in the EES department at the earliest convenient time.  Depending on the individual’s interest, the faculty advisor can provide critical advice on course selection and long-term career plans of the students.   Click on the link below to download the brochure.

PDF Brochure: Bachelor of Science in Sustainability Science

For more details, please visit the department web page: http://ees.furman.edu