TheGeologic RecordDepartment of Geology and Environmental Science

Winter 2006

ALISON MACDONALD Doherty (’80) made a difference in the Depart- ment of Geology. As a student in the late 1970s, her faculty mentor Lance Kearns recalls, she conducted research on Karst formations in the Shenandoah Valley. “Alison was so enthusiastic and so committed. She raised the bar for student scholarship at JMU,” he says.

A f ter g raduat ion, Doher t y worked as a hydrogeologist for sev-eral nationally recognized environ-mental f irms. She also worked on Superfund sites and for the Depart-ment of Defense and the Depart-ment of Energy. She often returned to the geology department to share her experiences and enthusiasm with the faculty and students.

On March 20, 2005, Alison died from liver and kidney failure after

battling liver problems for several years and undergoing a liver trans-plant in 2003. Through her hus-band of 21 years and her family, Ali-son left a legacy for the department. Army Col. Michael C. Doherty and family have established a generously endowed scholarship fund to sup-port student research in Geology and Environmental Science.

“We were so sorry to lose Ali-son,” Kearns says. “We have been so proud of her career success and to benef it from her contin-ued friendship and personal com-mitment to the department. Ali-son’s professionalism will live on through the fund’s research oppor-tunities for our students to achieve just as she did.”

Col. Doherty and their daugh-ter, Catherine, attended the depart-

ment homecoming celebration in October. During the gathering, the College of Science and Mathe-matics conducted a brief ceremony. Dean David Brakke and Lance Kearns welcomed the Dohertys. “Their generous and thought-ful gift means so much to the col-lege and the department,” Brakke said. “Because the research fund is endowed, it will serve a multitude of students. It truly is one of the legacies Alison has left the world.”

Doherty family endowment funds student research, leaves legacy

Continued on Page 2

THE DEPARTMENT of Geol-ogy and Environmental Science will re-establish a field course beginning in summer 2006. The new six-credit field course is par-ticularly noteworthy as it based in the Connemara region of western Ireland, near Galway. The Ireland field camp, formerly administered by Boston University, has a well-established reputation within the geologic community.

The 2006 faculty will include JMU profe ssors Scot t Eaton, Mike Harris and Steve Whit-meyer. Other faculty members who will continue to be involved

with the Ireland program include Dr. Declan De Paor, Worchester Polytechnic Institute; Dr. Adam Lewis, Ohio State University; and Dr. Martin Feely and Dr. Kathryn Moore, both at the National Uni-versity of Ireland, Galway.

The f ield course, JMU’s cap-stone geologic experience, synthe-sizes the full breadth of classroom experiences within a challeng-ing field environment. Important components of the course include glacial geomorphology, bedrock field mapping, digital f ield map-ping and environmental mapping and assessment.

Visit the f ield course Web site at http://www.jmu.edu/geology/fieldcourse for continually updated information and pictures of stu-dents at work and play.

JMU offers summer field course in Ireland

After a three-year hiatus, the department will take its field course to western Ireland in summer 2006 for an in-depth study of the region’s geology and environment.

Alison MacDonald Doherty (’80) with her daughter Catherine (left)

Inside this issue

0 Message from the dean / 2

0 Great Lakes research / 3

0 Field course photo album / 4

0 Geology research fund / 5

0 Faculty updates / 6

0 Alumni news / 7

0 Move to Memorial Hall / 12

TheGeologic Record

2 3

AS DR. ULANSKI has described, the geology department is quite lit-erally on the move. The December move to Memorial Hall technically may have been in preparation for renovations to Miller Hall, but it is truly symptomatic of a department with a 45-year history of excellence that continues to advance.

I fully expect that geology will be located near JMU’s other sci-ences in the future. The new phys-ics and chemistry building opened last May in the Skyline Area of campus, where there are already opportunit ies for geology stu-dents to use the instrumentation and imaging systems. A second new building has been proposed for the Skyline Area and will be considered by the legislature dur-ing its upcoming session. We are hoping that building will be under construction within the next two years. In the meantime, geology can benef it from close proxim-ity to the College of Education, which will also move to Memo-rial Hall, for its developing work in earth science education.

Methodically over the last six years, meanwhile, we have been concentrating resources on the people who comprise the faculty and staff of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sci-ences. Together, these individ-uals are responsible for the high quality of our instruction, schol-a rly achievement and mentor-ing of future geologists and teach-ers. To assist them in their work we have been increasing salaries; adding several positions; convert-ing renewable-term appointments to tenure track; hiring several fac-ulty members at advanced rank; converting some positions to 12-months; funding summer research and teaching awards; and sending professors to research and profes-sional conferences.

An addit iona l a rea of major investment in our faculty has been in equipment to support instruc-tion and research. Lance Kearns has been involved in two major research instrumentation grants from the National Science Foun-dation that have enabled us to obtain a new scanning electron microscope/ECD and a new X-ray diffraction system. These grants totaled roughly $600,000, and the university contributed significant matching funds. The college also developed an immersive visual-ization center (videowall) with 72 nodes that can be used for com-putational purposes or for visu-alization of geospatial data. The purchase of new ground penetrat-ing radar hardware and software, a cesium vapor magnetometer, a seismograph, lock-in amplifer, magnetic susceptibility meter, and resistivity and IP meter furthers geophysics work, while the pur-chase of a Dionex ion chromato-graph supports work in geochem-istry. I should also mention new research-grade microscopes and all-new, high-end computers for the department’s computer lab, the most advanced lab on campus.

Please read about the many other wonderful things happening in the geology department. We welcome the return of Dr. Ulanski, who was on educational leave over the fall semester to complete a draft of his second book, which will focus on the Gulf Stream. Dr. Judy Dilts, associate dean of the college, has been interim head of the depart-ment. She has done a superb job and one that is much appreciated.

As the geology department con-tinues to grow and evolve, we appre-ciate your support — emotional, moral and f inancial. Your words and gifts make a difference.

Sincerely,Dean David F. Brakke

Dear alumni and friends geology of the department:THIS HAS BEEN an interesting year for the geology department, characterized by periods of uncer-tainty and yet marked by signif-icant individual achievements. The uncertainty has stemmed from defining the “new home” for the geology program. After a number of missteps the depart-ment will find itself in the reno-vated Harrisonburg High School, now called Memorial Hall, start-ing the spring 2006 semester. This bittersweet move was pre-cipitated by the university’s need to renovate Miller Hall. While Miller Hall has many fond mem-ories, the faculty, staff and stu-dents are committed to continue striving for excellence in geolog-ical education in their new set-ting. At this stage, we are unsure of how long we will be at Memo-rial Hall since there have been discussions about moving geology to Burruss Hall and maybe ulti-mately into a new facility across the interstate. But regardless of our location, I hope you will con-tinue to stop by and visit.

As some of you are aware, Drs. Kristen St. John and Eric Pyle were hired at the beginning of the year to kick-start the earth science education initiative at James Madison University. I am extremely pleased to announce that they have had major suc-cesses in the short period that

they have been in the depart-ment. In addition to receiv-ing funding for an earth science summer workshop for teach-ers, they have taken the lead in developing the curriculum for a new B.A. degree in earth sci-ence education. Hopefully, these and other initiatives will help to address the critical teacher short-age in earth science.

Dr. Steve Whitmeyer came on board for the fa l l 2005 semester. A structural geolo-gist by training, he has literally hit the ground running, assum-ing teaching responsibilities in structural geology and collabo-rating with Scott Eaton in devel-oping a field camp in Ireland.

Though we a l l c an t a ke pride in the accomplishments of these new faculty members, I would be remiss not to men-tion the recent recognition of two of the department’s more seasoned members. Drs. Lynn Fichter and Cullen Sherwood have received the college’s Dis-tinguished Teaching and Ser-vice Awards respectively.

As we begin a new year and new challenges for the depart-ment, I encourage all of you to contribute to and support the department in any manner possi-ble. At the very least, please stop by our new location and visit with new and old friends alike.

Stan Ulanski, department head

Greetings from the department head

FOR OVER A DECADE, Dr. Steve Baedke and his colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey and Indiana Geological Survey have researched prehistoric lake-level changes in the Great Lakes. Their work has shed new light into paleoclimate con-ditions, isostatic rebound and the region’s shoreline behavior during the past 4,700 years.

T h i s p a s t summer Baedke received addi-tional funding from the USGS to support stu-dent research in the Great Lakes. JMU geolog y students Joseph Bell and Rachel Po s n e r w e r e selected to par-ticipate in the research team. They spent the ea rly summer with Baedke col-

lecting water samples from piezome-ters they installed in a series of mid-to-late Holocene beach ridges to elucidate past and current trends in ground water chemistry.

In October, Baedke, Bell and Posner presented “Aqueous geo-chemistry as an indicator of sub-surface geology and hydrology of a beach-ridge/wetland complex in Negwegon State Park, Michigan” at the National Geological Soci-ety of America meeting in Salt Lake City. Their presentation was very well received, and they were invited to submit their research for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. A statement made by the USGS grants off icer that the stu-dents had “one of the finest papers in the symposium” speaks volumes of the hard work and dedication of Baedke, Bell and Posner. Well done, Geo Dukes!

Great faculty-student research in the upper Great Lakes

Steve Baedke with his favorite field assistant (daughter Paige) doing field work near Alpena, Mich.

Joe Bell, Rachel Posner and Paige Baedke purge a water well before taking a water sample for chemical and isotopic analysis.

The geology faculty will place a commemorative portrait of Ali-son in the department, along with a plaque to which the names of future recipients of the scholarship will be added. The fund continues to accept contributions in honor of Alison. The department will notify the family of gifts to the fund.

At the end of her life, Alison resided in Germantown, Md. The Army inurned her remains in the A rl ing ton Nat iona l Cemeter y columbarium on April 1, 2005.

If you would like to contribute to the research fund, please contact Karen Guntharp (540) 568-6605.

Doherty family endowment continued from Page 1

Geology department proposes much needed earth science degreeVIRGINIA IS FACING a severe shortage of earth science teachers in its middle and high schools at a time when the need to understand Earth events has been dramati-cally demonstrated. In the span of less than a year, the world has wit-nessed a devastating earthquake in Pakistan, the wrath of Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami, and scientific evidence of shrink-ing polar ice caps and links to global warming.

A proposal to restructure James Madison University’s bachelor of arts degree in geology and reclas-sify it as a B.A. in earth science could ease the teacher shortage and train students interested in

other earth and environmental science-related careers.

Under consideration since April, the restructuring is being led by associate professors Eric Pyle and Kristen St. John, both hired in January for their expertise in geo-science education. Their intent is to make JMU’s Department of Geology and Environmental Sci-ence “the place” in Virginia to study earth science.

In addition to preparing earth science teachers to meet certif i-cation standards required by the state’s Standards of Learning, the new program would also benefit students interested in such fields as environmental law, public pol-icy and emergency management

— careers that require communi-cating scientific understanding of earth systems to nonscientists.

Currently, JMU students who want to become earth science teachers must meet requirements for a B.A. in geology and take courses in meteorology, astronomy and oceanography. The proposed earth science degree would fold those courses into one program and replace or condense several of the courses presently required for the B.A. with f ive new courses. A comment period for the new courses — “History and Philoso-phy of Geosciences,” “Earth Sur-face Processes,” “Genesis of Solid Earth Materials,” “Stratigraphy, Structure and Tectonics” and

“Contemporary Issues in the Geo-sciences” has been completed.

Through the revised program, students can select minors such as secondary education, environmen-tal and natural resources econom-ics, and urban and regional stud-ies, which prepare them for service careers where they draw on their training as earth scientists.

The course proposals and com-ments are being reviewed by the College Curriculum and Instruc-tion Committee. Pending ful l approval, the revised B.A. program in earth science could begin enroll-ing students as early as fall 2006.

Message from the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics

TheGeologic Record

4 5

Bottom left: Dueling Soils Augers — JMU geology students auger inceptisols on the fall Piedmont soils trip; bottom right: Erica Ramsey searches for soil structure and hidden Civil War bullets in the soil profile.

Top left: JMU geology students carefully measure stream discharge on the South River near Port Republic.

Left page counterclockwise from top left: Bubba Beasley takes advantage of the high ground during a field map-ping project in northern New Mex-ico; Clark Weigel maps rotated blocks of columnar basalt in the Rio Grande Rift Zone in northern New Mexico; JMU geology students prepare to rap-idly descend the mega sand dune via cardboard boxes at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo; geology students stop to catch their breath at 8,000 feet while mapping metamorphosed terrain in the southern Rockies in northern New Mexico.

Field course photo album

Karen Ahrens Gun-tharp (’80), director of development for college and university programsReconnecting alumni with JMU

“When I was studying finance and economics at Madison, my professors had an incredible impact on me and my future,” Guntharp says. “And I see on a daily basis how much faculty and scholarship support is appre-ciated. I work with alumni to reconnect them with JMU by encouraging them to attend Madison events, visit cam-pus, speak to classes in their discipline, mentor students and make charitable gifts.”

Guntharp is available to discuss the possibilities. You can reach her by calling (540) 568-6605 or e-mailing her at gunthaka@jmu.edu.

AS THE FAMILY and friends of Ali-son MacDonald Doherty (’80) have demonstrated with their memorial gift, an endowment truly is a gift for a lifetime. Col. Michael C. Doherty honors his wife’s memory with the Alison MacDonald Doherty (’80) Endowment for Geology Student Research Scholarships.

“His decision to honor his wife was a very personal, very thought-ful gesture that will have a lasting impact on Madison geology stu-dents,” says Karen Ahrens Gun-tharp (’80), director of development for college and university programs.

The geology department would like to continue adding to the Doherty scholarship fund. Another major focus of the department is to fully endow the Geology Research Fund to provide travel funds for stu-dents conducting research and pre-senting findings. It requires another $16,000 to reach the minimum endowment level.

In the geology department, there’s a strong need for endowments for scholarships, research and seminar programming, Guntharp says.

At JMU, donors can establish an endowment for $25,000 and struc-ture their gifts over a period of five years so they give, for example, $5,000 a year until they reach the minimum endowment level.

“That makes a signif icant gift manageable for families who want to honor their loved ones or a special faculty member and make a sub-

stantial impact for the future,” Gun-tharp says.

Endowed gifts are important because they give in perpetuity. The JMU Foundation invests the gift or “principal,” with 4 percent of the endowment’s market value being the anticipated amount for use each year. Any additional return on the endowment is reinvested to increase its value. The original principal will always remain invested.

Endowments at JMU primar-ily take the form of student schol-

arships and support for professors. “During their careers, professors have a far-reaching impact on hun-dreds of Madison students,” Gun-tharp says. “The best professors impart lessons their pupils will carry with them for the rest of their lives, and endowments pro-vide essential support for profes-sors. That’s how Madison achieves its full promise as an institution of higher education.”

Endowments also fund scholar-ships that assist deserving students who might not otherwise be able to attend college due to financial con-straints. “They enable the univer-sity to recruit students of the high-est caliber academically,” Guntharp says. “These scholarships also help students leave JMU with less debt.

Endowed funds a lso provide basic support and program enrich-ment when state appropriations are simply unavailable.

Endowment — the gift of a lifetime Geology’s top needs: scholarships, research/seminar programming support Have undergraduate research project, will travel

$16,000 will ensure continued funding for students to present findingsEndowments to support professors and students start at $25,000 and can be built in installments over five years.Geology needs and priorities

• Scholarships• Research funds• Seminar programming support

See how $25,000 can help• Teaching Excellence Endowment• Merit scholarships

• Need-based scholarships• Summer Research Scholarship• Undergraduate and graduate

student awardsOr give to these already established funds

• The Geology Research Fund• Alison MacDonald Doherty (’80)

Endowment for Geology Student Research Scholarships

Endowment opportunities in geologyTHE UNDERGRADUATE research project is perhaps the defining experience in the education of geology majors, according to Roddy Amenta, who speaks from the experience of many years of collaborating with students in his research area, petrology.

“Many geolog y students engage in research projects of professional quality and some have presented papers and post-ers at regional and national meetings,” he says. “Past stu-dents have reported that this experience was a positive, trans-forming force that shaped their career aspirations in geology.”

For the most part, Amenta adds, these students have paid their own way to travel for

these research opportunities. “More of our students deserve the chance to pursue th i s opportunity. University funds are rarely available for student travel, so we initiated the Geol-ogy Research Fund in 2001 at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Department of Geology.”

The purpose of the fund is to provide f inancia l sup-port for undergraduates trav-el ing to professiona l meet-ings to present their research f indings. Contributions from a lumni, parents of a lumni, companies and friends of the department have been most generous; and now the fund has about $9,000. The inter-est on this fund will be used to

support the students, but the fund must first reach a sum of $25,000 to become endowed in the JMU Foundation and accrue interest.

“To achieve this amount we need your help,” Amenta says. “Please consider making a gift designated for the Geology Research Fund.” You may wish to contribute to the memory of a loved one, and we will acknowl-edge your gift to the individu-al’s family. If your company has a gift-matching program, please take advantage of this charita-ble option to provide leverage to your contribution.

If you would like to contrib-ute to the research fund, please contact Karen Guntharp at (540) 568-6605

6

TheGeologic Record

7

RODDY AMENTA received a $49,600 grant from the Petroleum Research Fund to investigate the kinetics of crys-tallization that produce textures in poly-crystalline solids.

Amenta’s research students are con-tinuing to do great things. Sarah Rob-erts and Paxton Wertz were supported by the Petroleum Research Fund for 10 weeks this summer on projects related to computational crystallization in igne-ous petrology. They plan to present their work at the Geological Society of Amer-ica’s Northeastern Section Meeting in March 2006.

Amy Jensen (’05), Michele Summa and Mark Bascopé worked on similar research during the summer of 2004 supported by the Petroleum Research Fund and the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. They presented their results at a research conference in the College of Science and Mathematics in August and at the Ameri-can Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco in December 2004.

Anna Ewing (’04) and Krista Ste-vens (’04) received support during the summer of 2003, and they presented at GSA’s Northeastern Section meeting at Tysons Corner in March 2004.

The work of all these students explores the boundaries between petrology, mate-rials science and computer science. And it combines all aspects of modern geo-logical inquiry: field work, microscope study, differential equations and com-puter modeling.

Former “Hardrock” students have evolved and f lourished. Stephanie Weaver (’03) has begun Ph.D. studies in petrology and volcanology at the Univer-sity of Oregon. Rebecca Rodgers (’02) finished her master’s degree in petrology at Rutgers; Brian Sherrod (’86) has his Ph.D. from the University of Washing-ton and is studying active faulting in the Seattle area (and making news in the Seattle paper) with the U.S. Geologi-cal Survey; Brian Rusk (’96) earned his Ph.D. in petrology at the University of Oregon and is a Mendenhall postdoc-toral fellow with the USGS in Denver; and Caleb Holyoke (’94) has earned his Ph.D. in mantle petrology at Brown University and is doing postdoctoral study at the University of Wisconsin.

MICHAEL J. HARRIS has enjoyed his first year at JMU. Harris says, “I spent most of the first 16 years of my career at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Can-ada, so a move south of the Mason-Dixon Line was quite dramatic. However, and not surprisingly, my new friends in the department and the many students I have been teaching have made my transition an extremely welcomed and enjoyable one.” Harris was hired as a new instructor in August 2004 to teach some of the GSCI courses but due to the untimely passing of Dr. Frangos, ensured that last year’s geo-physics class finished. He is teaching that course again this semester and an equiva-lent of GEOL 110 where the department

has doubled the number of labs, increas-ing the number of students from 125 to 250, in attempt to increase the number of majors. This spring he will be offering for the second time a GIS course designed for geology students, giving our graduates another hand in the career world.

STEVE BAEDKE reports that right now he is swamped with academic, admin-istrative and faculty duties but promises to include a full account of his activities in the next newsletter. He will assist in the administration of the Interdisciplin-ary Liberal Studies program by chairing a steering committee and serving as area director of math/science/technology.

L. SCOTT EATON reports that the U.S. Geological Survey continues to be a good friend to the department. In the past two years, they have provided technical and financial support for six of geology’s seniors conducting research. Five of these students presented their work at the spring 2004 Southeastern Geological Society of America meeting in Tysons Corner.

Kristin Felker (’04), Meredith Bene-dict (’04) and Melissa Orndorff (’04) gave posters on the sedimentology and geomorphic processes of block fields in the Shenandoah National Park. Their work suggests that these landforms are relict features of late Pleistocene climates, similar to present day northern Canada.

Eric Turner (’04) and Erin Peebles (’04) presented their work on Meadow Run, a gravel bed stream in the western Blue Ridge that continues to avulse and undermine alluvial bluffs, creating head-aches for landowners downstream of the destruction. This spring semester Jackie Hess (’05) f inished her research on a similar project at Meadow Run and Bob Sas presented his work on recent debris flow activity near Buena Vista.

This past summer, Daniel Bosner and Clark Weigel conducted surficial and bedrock mapping in the Shenandoah National Park as part of a larger USGS project under the direction of JMU alumnus Scott Southworth.

The Virginia Division of Mineral Resources is also supporting field work in surficial processes for a senior research student, thanks to the help of alumnus Matt Heller (’92), who was instrumental in securing the funding.

Finally, the National Park Service has awarded the department a $10,000 grant for assistance in delineating the park’s geologic resources. For more details and to see what our Dukes are accomplish-ing in their research, visit our Web site, www.jmu.edu/geology.

In the summer of 2004, Eaton and Lynn Fichter each spent a rotation at the North Carolina-Virginia f ield course held in northern New Mexico, and Eaton returned for a second round in 2005. In past years, a number of the department’s students have attended this camp, which draws together fac-ulty and resources from nearly a dozen institutions in the region. Eaton says, “I enjoyed working with the Dukes in a new geologic environment where there

are more rock outcrops than vegetation, and carbonates are ridge makers!”

This May, the geology department will resurrect the f ield course with updated technology and a new location … Ireland! The course will run for six weeks, and Eaton will be instructing the glacial geology part. Visit geology’s Web site for updates on the excursions.

Since geology’s last newsletter, Eaton spent a number of weekends visiting northern California conducting research … and convincing a young lady to marry him. He married Christine on March 5 in southern Oregon on the Applegate River. Eaton says, “Being that we are both geomorphology geeks, the wed-ding location could not have been bet-ter. When you have the potential threat of landslides, f loods, f ire, earthquake and volcanic eruptions lurking in the environment, it makes for some pretty interesting wedding vows! Recently we received the good news that we have our first child on the way, and we are both greatly looking forward to parenthood.”

LYNN FICHTER is celebrating his 60th semester and the end of his 30th year at JMU. “What I reflect on is how wonderful these 30 years have been, in no small measure because of all of you. Although I have always loved studying the Earth, it has been the pleasure of seeing other people enjoying the study of the Earth that has made it so much fun for me. So, a deep bow of apprecia-tion and thanks to all of you who have worked with me over the years; I have enjoyed you, and the learning and chal-lenges. I walk on smiling about the good times; and if there were bad times, I can’t remember them,” Fichter says.

Fichter took Geology 230: Evolu-tion of the Earth apart and put it back together again. He removed the philoso-phy portion of the course and replaced it with discussions of complex systems theory and what it means to say, “The Earth is a system.” These ideas were worked into a systems theory workshop at the Earth Systems Processes II meet-ing in Calgary, Canada, in August 2005.

He comments that new faculty mem-bers, Kristen St. John, Eric Pyle and Steve Whitmeyer, have brought a host of ideas and opportunities across a spec-trum of subjects.

Fichter also reports that the depart-ment spent three semesters def ining a vision for the future — work that brought the department together in new and dynamic ways. One reflection of this new mien is the “Declaration of Geol-ogy,” a manifesto on the importance of a solid understanding for everyone of this planet that it is our home. Read the dec-laration and feel proud for having studied geology: http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/Fichter/Declaration.html.

Fichter says he is not thinking about retirement — there are still too many important and fun things to do, he just has to figure out how to fit it all into a normal day.

LANCE KEARNS sponsored the Feb-ruary meeting of the combined Roanoke

Gem and Mineral Club and the Lynch-burg Gem and Mineral Club last winter. He also held a heavily attended workshop at JMU for the Micromineralogists of the National Capitol Area in February.

In April 2004 and 2005, he and Cindy Kearns attended the four-day International Rochester Mineralogical Symposium in Rochester, New York. They took 10 to 15 geology majors with them each time and led the students on a glacial geology field trip into the Niag-ara Falls area of Canada and along the Lake Erie escarpment.

In May 2004 and October 2005, he was the invited guest lecturer for the meetings of the Richmond Mineralogi-cal Society and the Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society in Waynes-boro. He presented “An Unusual Na-Ti-Zr-REE mineral assemblage from the Buck Hill intrusion, Augusta County, Va.” Several students contributed to this work, which has been completed and submitted for publication.

During the summer of 2004, he was involved with the Chemistry/Physics Research Experiences for Undergradu-ates program working at the Scanning Electron Microscope Lab. The Kearns were also involved with the Earth Sci-ence Academy held at JMU, which was sponsored by the Virginia State Depart-ment of Education. During the summer of 2005, they were again involved with Department of Education sponsored Earth Science Teacher Content Acad-emy. In addition, he also taught a large section of GSCI 101 during the 2005 summer. After all this was completed, the Kearns spent two weeks enjoying the beaches of St. Martin.

In September 2004, the Kearns and Mike Harris led a three-day field trip for 11 geology majors to the world’s most unique mineral deposit at Franklin and Sterling Hill, N.J., the Franklin- Ogdensburg Mineral Show, and the Ster-ling Hill mine. There they collected rare fluorescent minerals at night with ultra-violet lights — an exceptional opportu-nity that very few people ever have.

During the 2004–05 academic year, he served as a member of the faculty search committee for the department’s new structural geologist, Dr. Steve Whitmeyer. This year, he is chairing the search committee to fill a new faculty position in geophysics, working with committee members Drs. Baedke, Eaton and St. John.

Another of his ongoing responsibilities is the JMU Scanning Electron Micro-scope Regional Facility, which requires maintenance and upkeep several times a week. He has also spent considerable time over the past few semesters using the SEM to assist with various student/faculty research projects and doing some imaging work for local industry.

ERIC PYLE reports that he is pleased to have joined JMU’s geology faculty, and it is clear that there are some interesting challenges ahead. For the last ten years, Pyle was a faculty member of the Col-lege of Human Resources and Educa-

tion at West Virginia University where he worked with prospective and current science teachers. He observed that most teachers, particularly at the middle and secondary levels, have an impoverished education in the earth sciences, unless that is what they studied prior to becom-ing a teacher. He provided professional development to these teachers, developing and evaluating their instructional materi-als and working to support students with special needs in science classes.

At JMU, his work has become even more targeted on the earth sciences with the award of a major subcontract as a part of the Virginia Earth Science Col-laborative (http://virginiaearthscience.info), a statewide math-science part-nership funded through the Virginia Department of Education.

He is also involved in the close exami-nation of the curriculum faced by pro-spective earth science teachers at JMU, including both earth science content and science teaching curricula. Through information provided by current stu-dents and alumni, as well as an exami-nation of current Virginia and JMU program expectations, he is helping to draft a curriculum framework that will allow JMU to provide a substan-tial number of geologists each year and to increase the number of students that wish to teach earth science in middle and high schools.

These ef for ts complement work that Pyle has begun with two col-leagues at Queen’s University, Belfast. Their research examines the function and design of science visualizations in both public media as well as school instructional materials with a particular emphasis on the earth sciences. Pyle will continue to report on these efforts as they develop and begin to bear fruit.

W. CULLEN SHERWOOD reports that his interests in archaeological geol-ogy continue to expand, and he has made presentations at Monticello and James Madison’s home, Montpelier. In addition to working with Dr. Clarence Geier at the Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park, Sherwood is involved in efforts at Montpelier, cooperating with Dr. Mathew Reeves, head of archaeol-ogy. Over the past two years Ian Sullivan (’04), Scott Ikard (’05) and Ray Decker (’05) completed senior research projects utilizing soils investigations to interpret archaeological findings at Mt. Pleasant, home of James Madison’s grandparents; the Brick Clamp slave quarters; and the Montpelier mansion, now undergoing major renovations. Additional studies are underway on the composition, grain morphology and sources of the sand con-tained in the mortar used in the various stages of the mansion’s construction. The department received a $500 equipment grant from Montpelier and a paid stu-dent internship to aid in this work. This year a new project involving the geologi-cal and soils context at the Tobacco Barn archaeological site is underway.

Additional student research projects this year involve the soils and recent

geologic history at Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park, and a soils sand fraction investigation of changes along an east-west traverse across the Virginia Piedmont.

In other developments, the Virginia state geologist has invited Sherwood to serve on the Division of Mineral Resources’ Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee. The committee reports directly to the state geologist, which gives JMU’s geology department a pipe-line to the division’s plans and activities and some input into policy. One of the division’s high priority programs will be revising and digitizing a large num-ber of 7.5 min. geologic map quads in the Shenandoah Valley and Richmond areas. Harry Hibbits (’03) and Julia Reis (’04) have been employed by DMR in this effort, which promises to create additional opportunities for our majors and graduates in the future.

KRISTEN ST. JOHN grew up in a rural area of New Jersey and received her B.S. geology degree from Furman. After receiving her M.S. and Ph.D. in geology (sedimentology) from Ohio State, she was an associate professor at Appalachian State’s geology department where she became involved with teacher education. She advised geology majors in the teaching track and served as a liaison to the College of Education. She also taught several earth science work-shops for teachers, including field-based oceanography short courses.

St. John will facilitate professional development opportunities in earth sci-ence for teachers at JMU. To begin the work, St. John and Eric Pyle have collab-orated with educators at several Virginia universities and centers on a Math Sci-ence Partnership Grant funded through the Virginia Department of Education. To meet the program’s goal (see virgini-aearthscience.info/) of certifying more earth science teachers in the state, a series of graduate-level short courses are offered primarily in the summer months to inservice teachers. St. John led the efforts in developing the oceanography course for this program and reports that it was both fun and exciting to teach. The course highlight was a field trip to the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences on the Eastern Shore to collect shore-based and sea-based oceanographic data.

St. John is also active in geology’s revision of its B.A. degree. As a result of the department’s curriculum reform, this degree should well support service careers such as earth science second-ary education, public policy and envi-ronmental law. Keep an eye on the department’s Web site for a reformed and reinvigorated B.A. in earth science as early as next fall.

In addition to geoscience education, St. John’s main areas of basic research are the interdisciplinary and related f ields of marine sedimentology and paleooceanography. She has partici-pated on two international Ocean Drill-ing Program legs, southeast Greenland and the Iberian Margin, as a sedimen-

tologist. Most recently, she served as an onshore sedimentologist in Germany for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Pro-gram Artic Coring Expedition. Her participation in the Artic expedition will continue at JMU where she will be responsible for developing the first long term (from Holocene back to late Eocene) ice-rafted debris record from the Artic Ocean. Three JMU students, Kristen Mullen, Brendan Quirk and Michelle Summa, are assisting St. John on this grant funded (Joint Oceano-graphic Institutions-U.S. Science Advi-sory Committee) project, as well as conducting their senior research projects on the Artic sediments.

This fall, St. John was selected for USAC, which is a steering committee of sorts for U.S. interests in deep sea drilling (see http://www.usssp-iodp.org/Advisory_Committees/default.html). She was also elected second vice chair for the Geological Society of America Geo-science Education Division. And she will be merging her research and educational interests when she sails on the JOI’s School of Rock in November, where she will be one of two scientist instruc-tors who will teach teachers about scien-tific ocean drilling (see http://www.joi learning.org/schoolofrock).

St. John’s husband, Larry, is an elec-tronics technician at the University of Virginia’s chemistry department and a chief in the Navy reserves. She describes their daughter, Helen, 5, as a kindergar-ten ringleader, violinist and part-time princess, and son, Will, 1, as a charmer, comedian and champion eater.

STEVE WHITMEYER, geology’s new-est faculty member, thanks the students, faculty and staff for making him feel very welcome. His expertise is broadly within the area of structural geology and tectonics, complemented by forays into metamorphic petrology and geochro-nology. Most of Whitmeyer’s research begins with f ield work, and this f ield focus extends to teaching as well (see the newsletter’s announcement of the re- establishment of the JMU field camp). His current research projects include col-laboration with international geoscien-tists on the soon-to-be issued geodynamic map of the Rodinia supercontinent, field mapping and structural analyses in New Mexico and the Southern Appala-chians, and a collaborative project with Drs. Fichter and Pyle to establish a Web resource of 3-D and 4-D visualization tools for educators at secondary and col-lege levels. More on this in the future!

Faculty updates

Alumni news 1970s

Marvin Gwin (’74) is the owner of GwnMar Geology and Soil Services in Stuarts Draft.

Kevin Alston (’75) is coordinator of middle school education for Suffolk Public Schools. Previously, he was prin-cipal of Forest Glen Middle School.

Mike Slivinski (’76) is president of Analytical Services Inc. in Columbia, Md. His Web sites include: www.asincorp

.com; www.asfuelingsystems.com; www.asgroundwaterservices.com.

Pamela Kempton (’77) is science and innovation manager at the Natural Environmental Research Council, head of terrestrial and freshwater sciences. She is responsible for research in hydrol-ogy, hydrogeology, ecology, biodiversity, environment and health, environmental genomics and proteomics, and sustain-able water management. Kempton says this is a big change from her personal research area of igneous petrology.

Janet Snyder Douglas (’78), a con-servation scientist with the Smithson-

ian Institution, contributed the chapter “Exploring issues of geological source for jade worked by ancient Chinese cul-tures with the aid of x-ray f luorescence spectroscopy” for the book Scientif ic Research in the Field of Asian Art, Pro-ceedings of the First Forbes Symposium at the Freer Gallery of Art.

John Spaid (’78) and wife Katy cel-ebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 2003. Their son John Jr. graduated from Coppell High School and went to St. Paul, Minn., to train for one year of ministry work with the Catho-lic Church. Matt, 15, is a sophomore at Coppell and learning to drive a car (“he already knows how to drive us crazy”). Spaid has been at Petro-Hunt for more than f ive years and has just f inished shooting and interpreting a 3-D survey on Spindletop Dome, where the first oil in Texas was found in 1901. They have plans to drill several wells in the hopes of establishing new production in this old giant field.

Donald Kirkland (’79) is enjoying being a high school science teacher with

Continued on Page 8

ON NOV. 9, College of Science and Mathematics’ Dean David Brakke announced the annual fac-ulty awards for the college. Of the four awards, geology department members won or shared in two.

Lynn Fichter received the Dis-tinguished Teacher Award and

Cullen Sherwood shared the Dis-tingished Service Award with Dr. Robert Hanson of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

We are pleased and proud that members of our department have earned these prestigious awards.

Geology faculty members recognized by college

8

TheGeologic Record

9

the Marion School District in Marion, S.C. After 14 years of teaching eighth-grade earth science at Johnakin Middle School in Marion, he transferred to Marion High School where he teaches three classes of physical science (9th graders), one Tech Prep Biology 1 class (10th graders) and one Tech Prep Biol-ogy 2 class (11th and 12th graders).

Lenny Rexrode (’79) is the president/ owner of Aquifer Drilling and Testing Inc., a 15-year-old company with 85 employees in New York City; Albany, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; and Tampa, Fla. The company specializes in envi-ronmental, geotechnical and geother-mal drilling; and most of their work is for geologists conducting geotechnical investigations.

Jeff Rinker (’79) continues to face challenging opportunities at Coors Brewing Company. He is still living in, and loving, the Shenandoah Valley.

Jeff Sonafelt (’79) will lead the congregation at Reformation Lutheran Church in New Market starting in Jan-uary. After graduating with honors from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., he served congregations in Pearisburg, New Mar-ket, Shenandoah and Newport News. He has been very active in synod youth ministry, serving as the synod coordi-nator for the National Youth Gathering and on the Virginia Synod’s Candidacy and Examining Committee. Sonafelt is married to Tracy Lastor of Chesapeake, an accomplished National Board Certi-f ied Teacher who taught English and debate for 12 years at Harrisonburg High School. She is currently teaching English and theory of knowledge in the International Baccalaureate Pro-gramme at Warwick High School in Newport News. They enjoy going to movies, plays and concerts, and reading and traveling.

Scott Southworth (’79), a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, was quoted in the May 9 Washington Post arti-cle, “The River View? Frequently Gorges.” The article about the Potomac Gorge appeared in the Post’s style section.

1980sWade Pence (’80) is an engineering

geologist in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Salem District.

Andrew Gardner (’81) and fellow classmates Robert Stetekluh, Jack Graf, Mike High, Kevin O’Hare, Tom Rob-inson, Tom Taschler and James White formed the band, Debris, in Spotswood Hall in 1979. Band members performed last May for a 25-year reunion concert in Vienna.

Edwin “Randy” McFarland (’81) is nearing completion of a comprehen-sive U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper on the groundwater framework of the Virginia Coastal Plain. The work will include recent findings on the lower Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater area. Formed some 35 million years ago, the

impact crater has had a profound effect on the region’s groundwater resources. For more information regarding the impact crater, see McFarland’s letter to the editor in the fall 2003 Montpelier, Page 4, or visit http://www.jmu.edu/montpelier/2003Fall/FP_22807.shtml.

Gordon Cruickshank (’82) contin-ues to manage his company, Property Environmental Services, in northern Virginia. In addition to the company’s consulting and due diligence surveys, this past year he formed Property Waste Solutions to help organizations improve their solid waste and recycling efficiency. In April, he and Ruth traveled to Cura-cao to dive and explore before traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico, to visit family. They spent vacation in July at the fam-ily summer home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The couple continues to enjoy painting and glass sculpture when time allows. They are expecting life to become a bit more complicated with the arrival of their first child in mid-November. Con-tact Cruickshank at gscruick@cox.net.

Dineen Lenz Fender (’82) is the Vir-ginia representative on a project spon-sored by NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute that is studying the effects of microgravity on the human body. The project involved two weeks of workshops last summer in Houston, a follow-up this past Novem-ber and a presentation at the National Science Teachers Association conference in Atlanta this spring. Fender will have completed the final project for her fel-lowship by the middle of May. Fender has enjoyed the fantastic science and learning experience and the opportunity to work with the more than 70 people from the United States and Puerto Rico involved in the project. She and fellow representatives recently gave a sales talk to acquire the additional funding needed to continue the project.

Paul DeMarsh (’83) is a storm-water compliance specialist with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Shereen Sullivan Hughes (’83) is a homemaker, retired hydrogeologist and semi-retired landscape designer. She and Terry have two boys, ages 11 and 5. Now that both boys are in school, she is looking forward to exploring all her interests that have been sidelined for the past several years. They moved to Williamsburg two years ago and love it

— Hughes says, “Life is good!”Craig Moore (’83) and his wife

Roberta, who live on a farm in Sing-ers Glen, own and operate Valley View Hospitality, a corporate meeting and retreat center about 15 minutes north of Harrisonburg. He has also started a new information security company, Servare — the name is a Latin verb that means “save, keep and protect.” Servare will provide remote backup and recovery services for home and business comput-ers. The five-person company is highly automated and will never have a large workforce, but he is working on a deal with a national firm with 1,000 offices in the mid-Atlantic region. Moore

says, “People are beginning to under-stand the importance of protecting the information on their computers. This is an insurance policy and gives peace of mind.” Moore’s former restaurant, the Joshua Wilton House, was one of three inns recently featured on the Food Network’s FoodNation with Bobby Flay. Moore credits the quality of the staff for attracting the network’s attention. He has since sold the Joshua Wilton House to a trio of employees, two of whom are JMU graduates.

Scott Myers (’83) is district sales manager for Industrial Scientific Corp.

Ellen Andrievich Quirk (’83) is a stay-at-home mom.

Vince Ruark (’83) was back in the Caribbean leading a new team of JMU alumni on another Community Service- Learning/Alumni Service Break trip to Dominica in November. To learn more about this experience, visit http://www.jmu.edu/csl/alumni/. The Web site also has trip photos of Ruark from 2001 through 2004 (soon 2005), Dan Jack-son (’84) from 2000 through 2002 and Tom Taylor (’83) from 2001.

James Wulff (’83) has been working for Tetra Tech Inc. for most of the last 15 years. The firm provides a full range of environmental services on national and local contracts and is actively push-ing into other areas such as homeland security and energy management.

Paula Brentlinger Nystrom (’84) and her family will be stationed in the Boston area until summer 2006 when her husband Scott will be retiring after 28 years in the Coast Guard. Then they will be moving outside of Portland, Maine, where they will build a log home. Chris, 14, will be starting high school next year; and Heather, 11, will be start-ing fifth grade. Nystrom says they are excited to be starting a new phase in their lives and a second career.

Gil Dunn (’85) is living in Boulder, Colo.

Bob Lamon (’85) is a cartographer with the National Imagery and Map-ping Agency in Bethesda, Md. He and his wife have three children, ages 13, 10 and 5 — “What a work load!” The Lamons just returned from a 4-year post in Germany.

Keith Ryan (’85) continues to work on environmental projects in the New York metropolitan area. He is in his sec-ond year with a church band and serves as commissioner with the local utility authority. His wife, Julie, had a busy year as her “low stress” position in mar-keting research morphed into an account management position in competitive intelligence, which has required her to travel to the West Coast three times in the past year. When not traveling and working, she coaches cheerleading and works on a church education ministry team. The couple took a week to climb, hike and play geology above 10,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. Their daugh-ter Casey, a 4th-grader, is involved in cheerleading, piano and Girl Scouts and enjoys doing girl things like getting

her hair and nails done with her mom. Their son Liam is in first grade, plays soccer and piano, and has an artistic bent that has progressed from animals to spacemen, Power Rangers and Bion-icles. Ryan’s family hiked and skated in the Adirondacks during the Christmas-New Year holiday season.

Maureen Tabasko Ruhlman (’86) married and moved to her husband’s native Kansas. They have a 6-year-old daughter, Elise. She is working for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Environmen-tal Remediation, Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment. Ruhl-man says she misses Virginia and would like to be back.

Brian Sherrod (’86) a research geol-ogist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s department of Earth and Space Sciences was featured in the Seattle Times last fall for his work and research of the Seattle Fault zone. He and other research-ers have studied 10 trenches along the fault zone and found evidence of four earthquake events from 10,000 to about 1,000 years ago. Researchers hope their work will lead to a better understanding of the Seattle Fault’s workings and to improve building codes and other mea-sures to protect fault-zone residents and infrastructures.

Carl Drummond (’88) is associ-ate vice chancellor for research in the Office of Research and External Sup-port and a professor of geology at Indi-ana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jon Pruess (’88) is a science teacher with Loudoun County Public Schools. After teaching physics for two years at the University of California San Diego’s Preuss School, he decided to move back to Virginia to be near his family. It was a fortuitous move as his father died in March 2003. Pruess adopted a school in southern Philippines in 2001 and gath-ered and delivered a series of texts to the school in 2002, where he met and mar-ried his wife who is also a teacher. She and Pruess now work at the same school.

John Neebe (’89) stopped by the geolog y depar tment recent ly and reported that he and his family have moved to Missouri. He has retired from the plumbing business and has his own company, China Unlimited, that buys and sells fine china.

Melanie Schales Roberti (’89) and Steven (’89) bought an old lakefront home in Keystone Heights, Fla. She teaches part time in the local com-munity college and is a stay-at-home mom to Maria, 10, Sam, 7, and Lily, 4. He is a water resource engineer with CH2M Hill.

1990sMelanie Richards Copeland (’90)

and her husband, Ron, were included in the summer 2003 Montpelier article

“Madison’s Waterin’ Holes.” The Cope-lands have been one of JMU’s alumni owners of The Little Grill on North Main Street in Harrisonburg. Although it had been in business for about 70

years, it was not until the ’80s that stu-dents discovered the establishment’s poetry readings, social outreach, velvet Bob Dylan and veggie dishes. Alumni-owned since 1985, it recently became an employee-owned cooperative.

Christie Wright (’90) is a stay-at-home mom.

Matt Heller (’92) heads the Geo-logic Mapping Section of the Virginia Division of Mineral Resources in Char-lottesville, a position second in impor-tance to the state geologist.

Terri Horton-Jones (’92) is a senior geologist with Secor Inc. She works and lives in Arizona and is presently dealing with extended drought conditions. Her monitoring wells show a water table depressed by 20 to 30 feet. The com-pany is presently hiring new staff geolo-gists if anyone is interested in living in Arizona!

Amy Waddell Mathie (’92) is with the U.S. Geological Survey Western Geographic Science Center in Califor-nia. She is proud to announce that she and her husband, Arthur, are the parents of a son, Kieran, born on Aug. 6.

Roger Decker (’93) jokes that the geology in Sarasota, Fla., is really bor-ing — all sand! He points out that actually there are some neat limestone formations toward the state’s interior and a lot of phosphate mines in the central part of the state. He was sur-prised to learn the average PH of undis-turbed natural soil ranges between 4 to 5.5, very low. Decker was part owner of a Re/Max real estate f irm; he f igured that if he couldn’t make money study-ing the earth, he’d sell it! He recently moved back to Virginia, just ahead of the hurricanes.

Aaron Sherwood (’93) is an envi-ronmental specialist with the Virginia Department of Health in Staunton along with JMU geology grads, Becky Wood (’81) and Bobby Marshall. Sons Jack, 5, and Nate, 1, keep him hopping in his off hours.

Jennifer Ayers (’94) is now a con-sulting geoscientist with Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. She has been busy settling in and getting used to her new job in Dallas. Formerly, she was a stratigrapher with Chevron Texaco’s stratigraphy and geostatistics team based in San Ramon, Calif. The team was part of the Chevron Texaco Explo-ration and Production Technology Company. She has bought a 1903 house with a wraparound porch that is mostly restored but still needs a little bit of work, and her dogs have a yard for the first time and are loving it. Ayers was invited to speak at the geology depart-ment’s 40th anniversary celebration.

Jennifer Eigenbrode (’94) recently completed her Ph.D. at Penn State University. She is continuing her stud-ies of Precambrian microbial ecology and organic geochemistry. She is also participating in a few collaborative projects focused on understanding carbon cycling in the mantle, testing life-detection techniques for the next two NASA Mars landers, and differ-

entiating carbon signatures of modern life, ancient life and non-biological pro-cesses in sedimentary and crystalline rocks. Eigenbrode says she is enjoying her postdoc at the Carnegie Institute in Washington — the people and research are great. Science is fun!

Karen Rowe Dorrell (’95) moved to Maine last November and is now working for the Maine Department of Transportation as an environmen-tal coordinator in their environmental department. Dorrell works out of the western region office, which she loves because of all the mountains and lakes. She is learning new things about stream dynamics and erosion control in her new position. She moved to Maine with her fiancé who received a promotion with Plum Creek Timber Co. They married on Sept. 17. She has been quite busy with getting married, the move and a new job. Dorrell says, “To say I was stressed out would be an understatement!” Although Maine is a beautiful state, Virginia will always be home to them.

Kathy Kieffer Forbes (’95) is now back in the area after living in several states since graduation. She remarried in August 2003.

Lee Hopkins (’95) lives and works in Albuquerque, N.M. He works for Vinyard and Associates Inc. a very successful geo-technical/environmental/construction testing firm. Hopkins reports that busi-ness has been good! The company aver-aged nearly 500 combined geotechnical and environmental projects per year since 2000, and their testing/inspection divi-sion makes them look slow. Nearly 500 projects a year have been completed by an amazingly small staff of three to four people. He is currently running all of the geotechnical field operations by himself and is booked through the rest of the year. The company is looking for a Civil PE (geotechnical or environmental expe-rience) and a new field geologist/field engineer, with or without experience. Any alumni looking for an outdoors job that involves playing with dirt, rock, drill rigs, aerial photographs, maps, etc. and would be willing to relocate to the beau-tiful Rio Grande Valley, should contact Hopkins at leehoplins.vinyard@comcast.net. More seasoned JMU veterans that might be qualified for the PE position are invited too! Check out www.vinyard.org or e-mail Hopkins at the above address.

Jennifer Kucinskis Marts (’95) is a hydrogeologist with the New Hamp-shire Department of Environmental Services. She is married to geologist, Jeff Marts (June 21, 2003). Marts says all is great up in the Granite State!

Pete Nichols (’95) is a distributor of environmentally friendly flooring mate-rials. In 2003, after five years of working in the environmentally friendly building industry, he started his own company Sustainable Flooring (www.sustain-ableflooring.com). Things are progress-ing well, and he is in the final stages of co-authoring a book on green building/ remodeling with one of the nation’s most prominent “green” consultants. He married about one-and-a-half years ago

and enjoys the mountain living in the foothills of Boulder, Colo.

James (’96) and Lisa Miller Baldini (’95) are both doing well and very busy. She is one year into her Ph.D. project tracing the North Atlantic Oscillation back through time using stable isotopes within stalagmites. She’s enjoying it, but the sheer amount of literature research involved in such a broad topic is mind-boggling. He is working on a postdoc researching microbiological involvement in creating geochemical cyclicities in stalagmites. The learning curve is quite steep since he has to essentially teach himself microbiology. He says that Dub-lin is still a good place to be, though the introduction of the Euro has literally doubled the price of everything, includ-ing Guinness, which is more expensive in Dublin than in Geneva!

Mike Coffey (’96) is construction services group manager with ECS Mid-Atlantic LLC based in Fredericksburg.

Sandra Talarovich Mueller (’96) and Frank “Aric” (’97) are the proud parents of a daughter, Afton Elizabeth, born July 2, 2003. They live in Richmond.

Brian Rusk (’96) has co-authored the article “Compositions of magmatic volatiles trapped in f luid inclusions in the Butte, Montana porphyry copper deposit.” He is completing a Menden-hall postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, which is a continuation of his Ph.D. work on understanding hydrothermal processes in the porphyry copper deposit at Butte, Mont. He spent last year in Sendai, Japan, at Tohoku University carrying out experiments attempting to produce hydrothermal quartz veins in experimen-tal autoclaves. He says that was fun, and the food was great. Rusk got married this summer. His e-mail is bgrusk@usgs.gov.

Mike Censurato (’97) is a senior con-sultant with Enterprism Solutions. He is working with a group doing software design instead of just installing software and says design is much more fun.

Brent Bauman (’98) is ready to write and defend for his master’s degree. He moved to Pennsylvania and is now working at Marshall Miller & Associ-ates in Camp Hill, Harrisburg, Pa. His e-mail address has not changed.

Karen Doran (’98) received her master’s degree and is with the Depart-ment of Environmental Quality in South Carolina.

David Fitt (’98) is a senior hydro-geologist with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Valley Regional Office in Harrisonburg.

Brent Johnson (’98) is a senior environ- mental geologist with Townes Site Engi-neering in Prince George County.

Chris Lyles (’98) has been stationed in Iraq to locate the weapons that Iraq supposedly has. According to Lyles, the job has been tedious and frustrating. He works with various detection equipment including mass spectrometry and laser devices. He reads spectral peaks daily; and although it is not identical to X-ray diffraction, it is similar in theory. He credits JMU classes for preparing him

for this work. He says that Dr. Kearns introduced him to scientif ic equip-ment. Dr. Amenta’s materials science class sparked an interest that led to an advanced lab equipment course that has been very benef icial. He did his senior research project with Amenta in computer modeling and discovered that although it is great to know equipment, it is even better to know the theory behind it. Since equipment changes constantly, knowing the theory ensures that you know which results to trust.

Eric Meyn (’98) is an environmental geologist/project manager at American Environmental Assessment Corp. He just finished his fifth year with AEAC and currently conducts QMRS and oversees tank removal, MW installations, drywell and cesspool remediation, and subsurface investigations by Geoprobe. Additionally he performs the occasional Phase I ESA, coordinates all Phase II work and devel-ops Phase III strategies. Meyn says he runs these projects from soup to nuts (i.e. client contact, through sampling, report generation and follow-up with regulatory agency) — “and I’m loving it!”

Mark Tinsley (’98) has just returned from an overseas tour in support of the war on terrorism. He and his family are currently living in Lynchburg.

George Bagnall (’99) says he can’t believe it has been six years since he graduated from JMU. He received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in May and is currently a law clerk to the U.S. Circuit Judge Alfred T. Goodwin for the Ninth Cir-cuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif. After finishing his clerkship next year, he will be starting as an associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Ange-les. Bagnall says that Orange County is beautiful and that he went to Dana Point and Laguna Nigel before and never wanted to leave. He remarked on how similar it is to the ‘Burg.

Jay Dickerson (’99) taught high school earth science after graduating. Since 2003 he has been attending Vir-ginia Tech for graduate work. He has just found out he can bypass the M.S., so he is now officially a Ph.D. student, which should speed up his time in Blacksburg. He is in the Department of Crop and Soils Environmental Sciences but is actually studying environmental microbiology. He works in a newer field of microbiology called source tracking (Bruce Wiggins at JMU does the same thing and works closely with Dr. Hage-dorn, Dickerson’s adviser.) Dickerson analyzes enteric bacteria found in natu-ral waters to determine their animal ori-gins. He has been working all summer with the Virginia health department analyzing samples of water from beaches, particularly those that have been closed due to high bacterial levels. He was mar-ried in April 2003 to a University of Vir-ginia history grad. She is attending Tech working on her master’s in communica-tion. He is trying to finish his degree the same time she does hers. The couple bought a small house in Montgomery

Alumni news continued from Page 7

Continued on Page 10

TheGeologic Record

10 11

County and are trying to survive on their graduate stipends.

Kelly Durst (’99) recently received her master’s degree.

Jennifer Nottonson (’99) is the donor development manager at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in New York. She fell into fundraising after col-lege and has been in the field for about four years. This is her second science- related fundraising job. She has also worked at Columbia Nanotechnol-og y Center, Brook lyn Center for Urban Environment and the American Museum of Natural History. Nottonson says that although she has not stayed officially in the hard sciences she has stayed very close to them.

Josh Sneideman (’99) is a math teacher in Boston.

Mike Wil l inger ( ’99) is now a project geologist with Resource Interna-tional Ltd. in Ashland.

2000sNelson Brooks (’00) and his f ian-

cée are currently living in Baltimore and plan to marry in June. They met in summer 2003 kayaking at the Inner Harbor, and he kept in touch while see-ing her around Fells Point. After they began dating, they discovered that their fathers are acquainted and have been working with each other in Pittsburgh for most of the last eight years. “Weird, huh?” Brooks purchased a rundown row house just around the corner from hers; since she moved into his home in late spring, she plans to rent her house. She teaches middle school with a back-ground in marine biology and wetland ecology. He has recently made a lateral move within the environmental consult-ing industry to EA Engineering, Science and Technology located in Sparks, Md., about 15 miles north of Baltimore and an easy commute. Brooks enjoys the work he is doing and still uses some of the knowledge he gained at JMU. His company is current ly seek ing entry-level and mid-level geologists for several newly acquired contracts with the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies. Work typically consists of 70/30 fieldwork/office work for entry level staff and could entail significant periods of travel around the United States. Mid-level staff can expect more off ice time. Anyone interested in more details should e-mail him at nbrooks@easet.com Brooks says he has discovered that geologists are hard to come by in industry. He is always sur-prised when he tells people that he is a geologist, and they say, “Huh, what does that mean? Do you look for oil?”

Michele Butcynski (’00) is currently living in a little town, Tega Cay, S.C. She is teaching eighth grade earth sci-ence at Crestdale Middle School in Mat-thews, N.C., and loves it. She says the kids are fun and make her laugh every day, and she is having a lot of fun try-ing to turn them into little geologists. In

order to teach, she is taking education classes online and during the summer

— only four more to go in order to be fully licensed. Not only is she getting paid, but she is also being reimbursed for the education classes she is taking.

Jason Ericson (’00) has earned his M.S. in hydrology with Charlie Vorosmarty at the University of New Hampshire. He studied the global impact of sediment retention by reser-voirs on sediment f lux to coastal areas. He presented a poster in November 2003 at the Global Water System Proj-ect conference in Portsmouth, N.H. Ericson says the topic was a bit of a departure for him, but he has enjoyed the work and has certainly learned interesting skills. He does miss f ield-work though. He says that New Hamp-shire is a great state, and he especially loves skiing but his friends and family are drawing him back south. He is also eager to get back into the working world (although he says he never thought he would say that). During the fall 2003 semester he was a teaching assistant for a geomorphology course and took the class to Cape Cod for a coastal trip. Although he is not sure that UNH is the place for an undergrad, it suits masters’ students well. He highly recommends the UNH program to any interested JMU students since there is a wealth of varied research going on there.

Matt Neuner (’00) has decided to attend grad school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He will be studying hydrogeology and will get involved in a project dealing with hydrogeology associated with waste rock piles at a large diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada. He is excited to get back into the classroom again and to learn what has been done, explore the unknowns and test the ideas in the real world.

Jon Olin (’00) is married and living in North Carolina. He is currently tak-ing classes toward an M.B.A. at the Uni-versity of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Todd Waldrop (’00) received his master’s degree in environmental engi-neering from Northwestern University. He is an engineer in Reston.

Stephanie Brightwell (’01) finished her M.S. in geology at Northern Ari-zona University in July and started a Ph.D. program in geology at the Univer-sity of Kentucky, Lexington, in the fall. She finished up her work with the south polar cap on Mars at Northern Arizona to start a new exciting geologic life in isotope and trace element geochemistry at Kentucky. On the home front, or as she puts it “the zoo,” all critters are well. Kitty, Asia, has her own pet, a little Sibe-rian dwarf hamster called Ham. Bright-well says Asia watches Ham like TV. Her ferrets, Sierra and Mocha, are doing well as is her newest pet, Molly, a cocker spaniel mutt. She is looking forward to moving back east but will miss temper-ate Flagstaff and the wonderful dry west. Brightwell was listed in the July 2005 GSA Today as receiving a 2005 Geologi-cal Society of America Research Grant.

Jason Carty (’01) was married in June 2002 and resides in Harrisonburg.

A my Edwa rds ( ’01) ha s been accepted to graduate school at Western Kentucky University. She has regis-tered for two GIS classes and a graduate research class and hopes to do her thesis on karst hydrology. She is 20 minutes from Mammoth Cave National Park and not too far from Tennessee where she’s done most of her caving lately. She says that a bonus is that Stephanie Brightwell is only three hours away in Lexington! She started a new job with Hoffman Environmental Institute, in the geography/geology building on campus, working 20 hours a week on EPA-funded projects involving dye trac-ing ground water and using GIS. She also has settled on her research topic

— using Bowling Green to develop a methodology to study urban karst envi-ronments. A cave under the city will be used for a case study. Edwards says that Bowling Green is not the most exotic location to do research but since she is living there it will be more convenient and less expensive — besides she prefers to travel for leisure and not school work. She was listed in the July 2005 GSA Today as receiving a 2005 Geological Society of America Research Grant.

Steve Flora (’01) is looking for a job in Kentucky as a consultant in the hydrogeology f ield. He defended his theses at the University of Northern Ari-zona in hydrogeology during the spring semester after which he made the final edits to print out. He graduated at the end of the spring session.

Craig Kennedy (’01) is revisions manager for Region IX, Ariz., with Michael Baker Jr. Inc in Alexandria.

Becky Rodgers ( ’01) is a 2004 graduate student at Rutgers State Uni-versity in New Jersey. She successfully defended her thesis in mid April, sub-mitted her written thesis to the grad school in late April and graduated the first of May. Rodgers says that graduate school went so fast! She is working for the aggregate/asphalt company where she interned in the summer as the assistant manager of quality control in New Jersey. She is happy to be in a posi-tion with great opportunity for growth and advancement and, even better, to be using her degrees every day.

Nikki West (’01) is living and work-ing in the D.C. area. She is in a band,

“The Carlsonics,” that traveled to New York City in fall 2003 to participate in CMJ Music Marathon, a festival that showcases nearly 1,000 bands, as well as play at some smaller venues. The band toured during spring 2004 and has pro-duced a disc of their music. The band was featured in the Washington Post Style section last October in an article about the festival and the band members.

Rodney Whittaker (’01) and his wife, Stephanie, are the proud parents of a little girl, Sydney Marie, born the mid-dle of May 2004, and they are enjoying watching her grow up. They sold their house near Lake Anna and moved into a house built in 1850 that is in the cen-

ter of the old part of Ashland. They are renovating the old house while build-ing a new one. Between his job for the state and renovating the house he says that he feels like he is working nonstop. However, Whittaker says that he enjoys the renovation even more than geology

— or at least any geology job he has had up to this point — and hopes he might be able to make this a full-time profes-sion after work is done and the house has sold. His biggest obstacle in selling the house might be his wife — she loves it and has always wanted to live on the street where it is located.

Kevin Hagie (’02) is living in Char-lottesville and working as an exploration geophysicist with NEAVA Geophysics Inc. After graduation he moved to Port-land, Ore., in search of new experiences filled with learning and adventure. His luck at finding a job within the geology field didn’t work out; and after working a number of odd jobs to make ends meet and sending out numerous resumes, he answered a random e-mail asking if he was still looking for work. Turned out the job was in Charlottesville. He inter-viewed with NEAVA Geophysics while he was in Harrisonburg attending a wed-ding in June and within two weeks was offered a job. He moved back in July and immediately began working. He says the job keeps him outdoors and in the field, sending him all over the country, wher-ever the work is needed. He has been able to see a lot that he hadn’t seen before and is constantly learning with each new day.

Lindsay Majer (’02) is an environ-mental planning assistant with Equinox Environmental Consultation & Design Inc in Asheville, N.C. She says when she made the decision to move to North Carolina she landed in a job in a mineral museum doing hands-on work teaching aspects related to minerals.

Russ Pace (’02) is a staff geologist with Environmental Resolutions Inc. in Lake Forest, Calif. ERI does site characterization and remediation for gas stations. So far, he has done some groundwater sampling from monitoring wells, but mainly he has been in charge of borehole clearance procedures. ERI subcontracts out to several drilling com-panies and some have an airknife tool, which is simply a high pressure hose that removes soil between 5’– 8’ bgs. He has been accompanying his project manager to drillings for well installations and has collected some soil samples. Pace says it is pretty cool to see all of the drilling equipment in action. There is a lot of work involved in contacting various state agencies to obtain the correct permits as well as having them perform utility mark-outs. According to Pace, it is nice living in Newport Beach, Calif., but it is definitely pricey. Fortunately, his job pays well for a starting salary, and he says he actually applies a whole bunch of geology knowledge to his work.

Colin Deschamps (’03) started working in Pennsylvania over the sum-mer after graduation. He then traveled through Egypt, Jordan and Syria after which he headed for Lebanon, Turkey

and Iran. He says there is so much SS and carbonate and that he crossed a big basalt plain (the Havran, southern Syria) that is about 80 km. by 60 km. He has become fascinated with the humanitarian water crisis that looms ahead in the region. He and Megan will be making plans when he returns. He is now a graduate student at Vir-ginia Polytechnic Institute.

Jonathan LaR iviere ( ’03) was working for the Friends of the Rappa-hannock in Fredericksburg. He started his master’s at Southern Illinois Uni-versity in August 2004. School is paid for, and he gets a stipend to be a teach-ing assistant. He and his adviser at SIU went to Chile in August to collect marine seds from the southern hemi-sphere to complement the research that he started as an undergraduate.

Joe Meiburger (’03) is a field geolo-gist with ECS Ltd. in Chantilly.

Cheryl Pruiett (’03) is an environ-mental scientist/geologist with Applied Environmental in Reston.

Matt Stump (’03) took some time after graduation to travel to East Africa and then drive out west to a l l the national parks. He says, “It was unbe-lievable!” He is now in Roanoke work-ing with ECS Limited.

Mary Sutherland (’03) has been busy attending graduate school at Montana University, and she says the time has really flown by. She took two geochemis-try classes, and mineralogy has been a hot topic. She wowed them with her knowl-edge of minerals. Sutherland says she is fascinated by Montana’s beauty and loved watching the first snowfall. She has been on field trips to canyons that put the Grand Canyon to shame, has seen

fantastic waterfalls and even had a three-day trip to Yellowstone to look at the gey-sers. She reports she has done really well so far in her grad program.

Kristin Felker (’04) says that she is still getting used to the idea of not hav-ing summer vacation or internships and is not sure she likes this “real world, real job” stuff — but the paychecks are nice. She is living in Arlington and has a job that is interesting at times, but she misses real geology. She knows she doesn’t like the environmental science and policy work. So, it has helped her realize that geology really is for her, even if she hasn’t decided yet what branch she likes best.

Jason Keener (’04) was accepted to the University of Connecticut for graduate school starting in fall 2004. He completed an internship with MACTEC Engineering and Consulting Inc. dur-ing the summer. He says he has been playing in the dirt (soil!) all day. While most of his time is in the lab weighing samples, he says his older co-workers are beginning to realize that he is capable of doing more than weighing stuff. Keener is settled in at U.Conn. taking 15 hours, mostly refresher courses. “Lots of math,” he says.

Jamie Mackie (’04) has his own com-pany, MacTec. He has been hiring JMU students to work part time doing coring, concrete screening and sampling soil.

Larry Moller (’04) has found a job and says that apparently it is not impos-sible to get a job in the environmental science f ield. He is living in sunny Florida and works for an environmen-tal engineering company in Port Saint Lucie as a field technician. The company has equipped him with a fully stocked office space, including a laptop, a Nex-

tel walkie-talkie so he can keep in touch with the office when he is in the field, and a truck. He will be doing soil/water sampling, geologic mapping, site recon-naissance, bridge stability tests and a lot of other things. He says to pass the word that there is definitely potential and that if he can do it you can too.

Erin Peebles (’04) has been busy as an earth science teacher and head coach of girls’ volleyball at Clover Hill High School in Chesterfield County. She hopes to try for grad school in another year.

Erin Raiter (’04) is really excited to be teaching earth science in Prince Wil-liam County at a new environmental high school. She will be helping write the physical geology curriculum for next year, which she will also be teaching.

Ian Sullivan (’04) had his grand-father Robert Thomas Sullivan, a World War II veteran, administer the second lieutenant commissioning oath at the ROTC commissioning ceremony after graduation. Sullivan has chosen the engi-neering branch of the army and wants to try combat engineering. He has been sta-tioned in Iraq for the last six months. His e-mail address is isull@hotmail.com.

Ben Draper (’04) is working at Joyce Engineering.

Sarah Burton (’05) started out the fall semester at graduate school at the Univer-sity of New Orleans. She was a teaching assistant for the physical geology lab and had two classes a week with about 25–30 students in each class. She was scheduled to take physical chemistry, an SEM semi-nar, a microprobe seminar, a graduate seminar and an independent study on pegmatites with Skip. Burton made it out of New Orleans before the hurricanes hit, evacuated to Houston first, and is now

safe in Richmond. She had to leave every-thing except several changes of clothing and is sure it is all gone by now. She is hoping her renter’s insurance will cover any damage and looting to her apart-ment. Her professors, Skip, Karen, Jim and Al, are all okay. Burton says she can’t believe that Al stayed at UNO and kept the looters out of the school! The big con-cern was the damage to the school since the geology department was on the first f loor along with the SEM, microprobe and X-ray defractometer — probably all underwater. She has taken two jobs in Richmond, one with St. Mary’s Hospital doing data entry work and the other one answering phones and such for her dad. Arrangements are being made for her to try to continue her graduate studies at the Smithsonian Institute under Dr. Mike Wise while waiting for UNO to reopen.

Jackie Hess (’05) is doing well at the University of Delaware. She says all her fellow graduate students are really nice. They all eat lunch together everyday away from the department building. She is starting her research; and although it is outside of f luvial work, and more geochemical, her adviser seems to think it would be something of value to look at. Her adviser has been doing a huge project on the South River that has been funded by DuPont trying to locate where mer-cury is lodged since it hasn’t been used at the plant in a long time. He is also writing a proposal to get funding for a study in New Zealand, which would be really awesome. She is hoping it will hap-pen before spring since she isn’t sure she wants to wait that long to get started.

Dan Girdner ( ’05) is l iving in Greensboro, N.C., and working for Joyce Engineering as an environmentalist.

Alumni news continued from Page 9

is the official newsletter of James Madison University’s Department of Geology and Environmental Science. It is published by the College of Science and Mathematics.

Dr. David Brakke, dean

Dr. Stanley Ulanski, department head

Drs. Cullen Sherwood and Scott Eaton, co-editors

James Madison University does not discrimi-nate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation or disability (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act) with respect to employment or admissions, or in connection with its programs or activities. Inquiries or requests for reasonable accom-modation may be directed to the activity coor-dinator, the appropriate university office, or the Office of Affirmative Action, JMU, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, (540) 568–6991.

Geologic Record The

Geology Gift CardPlease consider making a gift to JMU. Your gift enhances academics, provides support for scholarships, and helps attract and retain top-quality students and faculty members.

Name ________________________________________

Spouse _______________________________________

❑ Parents ❑ Alumnus/na, Class of ______________

❑ Friend ❑ JMU Faculty/Staff ❑ Business

Address ______________________________________

City _________________________________________

State __________________________ ZIP __________

Telephone ( _________ ) ________________________

E-mail _________________________________________

Enclosed is my gift of $ _________________________

(Please make check payable to: JMU Foundation.)

Use my gift in the following area:

❑ Alison MacDonald Doherty Memorial Scholarship

❑ Catherine King-Frazier Scholarship

❑ Harnsberger Field Scholarship

❑ Department of Geology Research Fund

❑ Department of Geology and Environmental Science

Please charge my gift of ___________________ to:

❑ Discover ❑ American Express

❑ Visa ❑ Master Card

Acct. No. ___________________ Exp. Date _________

Signature _____________________________________

❑ I would like someone to call me regarding my gift to JMU.

❑ My employer has a matching gift program. I have enclosed the completed company form.

Employer _____________________________________

Job Title ______________________________________

Gifts to the JMU Foundation are tax deductible. Please complete this gift card and return it with your gift to: James Madison University

MSC 2603, Office of Advancement Gift and Records Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Thank you for thinking of Geology!

TheGeologic Record

THE DEPARTMENT of Geology and Environmental Science moved to new quarters at the end of fall semester, vacating its longtime home in Miller Hall. The department moved to newly renovated Memorial Hall, formerly Harrisonburg High School, at 395 South High St., three blocks west of Miller Hall.

As a bit of history, in 1975 the rapidly expanding Department of Geology vacated its home in Bur-russ Hall and moved into newly completed Miller Hall. The greatly expanded space and state-of-the-art facilities were a real shot in the arm to geology’s rapidly growing pro-gram. During its stay in Miller Hall, the department saw tremendous growth and change. At the time of the move, geology had seven faculty

members — Chairman Bill Harns-berger and Roddy Amenta, Howard Campbell, Tom Farmer, Lynn Fich-ter, Bill Roberts and Cullen Sher-wood. Four of the original seven faculty members have been with the department during the entire 30-year occupation of Miller Hall. Sadly, Harnsberger who was the department’s founder died in 1977.

Roberts then assumed the chair-manship and held the office until he left JMU to assume the chair of the Department of Geology at Ste-ven F. Austin University in Nacog-doches, Texas. Farmer resigned in 1979 to pursue other opportunities. All other members of the present faculty have been added during the department’s tenure in Miller Hall.

MSC 7703Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Department of geology and

environmental science

News from the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences

First Class MailU.S. Postage PaidHarrisonburg, VA

22807Permit No. 4

Memorial Hall will be the new home for the Department of Geology and Environmental Science in 2006

TheGeologic Record

Doherty family endowment fund

Inside

Ireland summer field course

Research in the upper Great Lakes

The big news Goodbye to Miller Hall, hello to Memorial Hall