For Current News and Happenings
//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.
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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.
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About 35 million years ago, an asteroid or comet nucleus collided with Earth at the present mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The product of this environmental catastrophe, known as the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, is now concealed beneath sediments on the Atlantic continental margin. This 53-mile-wide feature is one of Earth’s largest and best-preserved examples of an impact crater that formed in a near-shore marine environment. It has profound influence on modern ground-water quality, notably salinity, in one of the fastest growing urban centers on the east coast. Drilling a mile-deep core hole and studies in geology, hydrology, geophysical imaging, computer modeling, and deep-biosphere microbiology provide insight into this catastrophic event, its consequences for life, ground-water resources, hazard implications, and significance for other planetary bodies.
This was the synopsis of the presentation made by Dr. Wright Horton, who graduated from Furman in 1972 and later earned a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has spent most of his career as a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). His interests include geology of the Appalachian Piedmont and Mountains, rocks buried under the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and meteorite impact craters. In connection with this talk, he served as project chief of the USGS Chesapeake Bay impact crater project and co-principal investigator of a related international deep drilling project.
This event was sponsored by Bartram Society and the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
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Students and faculty from Furman University attended the annual meeting of the Southeastern Geological Society of America held in Wilmington, NC. Nine students presented their research work in the form of posters. Students in attendance at the conference were: Virginia Batts, Rhonda Chan Soo, Ruthanne Coffey, Elizabeth Johnston, Brittany Lins, Molly McGee, Hannah Pearcy, Alyssa Wickard, and Summer Arrowood.
Click on the photo or here to see additional photos.
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Bartram Society, a student organization within the Earth and Environmental Sciences held their spring hike and dinner on Saturday, 19th March. A hike in the woods at the nearby Paris Mountain State Park with a thunder shower accompanying the students on their descent was not even the highlight of the day because we were expecting a visual treat from the “super” moon. However cloudy conditions didn’t help much at moonrise. Dinner was held at Dr. Muthukrishnan’s resident and was well attended by a large group of Bartram members, faculty, and friends. Bartram leaders Jay Bridgeman, Andrea Tripplit, and Ruthanne Coffey made announcements on the upcoming elections and urged the members to take part in future activities.
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The department congratulates our very own TJ Fleming (Class of 2010) for the publication of his first book – The Good House. This book is TJ’s reflections on the topics of nature, conservation, design principles, green culture, environmental movement, public perceptions, challenges ahead, and some solutions to current problems. TJ also has an art studio where he creates custom artwork for people on demand.
Take a moment to visit his virtual workspace/gallery – www.tjfleming.com
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The Surficial Processes class went to Kentucky before the spring break for a weekend field trip to study the Karst processes and landscapes in and around the Mammoth Cave National Park area. The focus of this field trip was to understand the geological, hydrological, and environmental conditions that lead to formation of more than 400 miles of interconnected cave passages making this the world’s longest cave system. We also learnt about the environmental issues that are unique to karst terrains such as groundwater pollution, sinkholes, etc. This field trip was lead by Dr. Suresh Muthukrishnan.
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The 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
//Environmental Policy offered by Dr. Angela Halfacre (Director of Shi Center for Sustainability and Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Political Science departments) attracts students interested in sustainability, environmental policy, environmental law, earth and environmental sciences, and political science. This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how environmental policy can address problems relating to consumption, development, environmental risk, and environmental justice. An important part of this course are student research projects. These projects examine policy, including perceptions and behaviors, on the Furman campus or in the Greater Upcountry region (Greater Greenville, South Carolina). Connections to and considerations of environmental policy approaches related to preservation, conservation, protection and sustainability are emphasized and examined through the student research. A central theme of the course is the policy and politics of sustainability strategies by scale (campus to community).
The students in the Fall 2010 section of the course shared the results of their semester research through a poster session held on December 1 at the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability located at Cliffs Cottage. Over 70 participants attended the event, and students shared a short overview of their projects and participants then talked one on one with the students about their research in greater detail. Representatives from several community partners attended including Greenville Forward, the City of Greenville, Spartanburg County, and Upstate Forever. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students from several departments and divisions also participated, and shared ideas, fellowship, and conversation about the research while also enjoying seasonal sweets (warm apple cider, apple fritters, and sweet potato bread supplied by Aramark). Several of the research projects will be continued by the students in their future individual research efforts as well as through "legacy projects" with students enrolling in future offerings of the Environmental Policy course.
More details regarding individual research projects or further enquiries about the center should be sent to Brittany DeKnight at the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability, Furman University.
//We are working hard to find as many ways as possible to connect and keep in touch with our students, alumni, and friends. Over the years, our collection of videos and photographs from field trips and study away trips have been growing, and we have launched our own video streaming channel on YouTube to share those with you. This collection will be growing over the weeks and months to come as we slowly sort and upload the videos. We hope these are helpful not only for alumni to reminisce your days at Furman but also for any one else in the world that want to see the places of geologic interest that we have been to and learn more about our student research projects. So go on, explore them.
Click on the following link to visit the channel with a lot more videos.
