Geology Newsletter 2002, Volume 4

Volume 2, 2002

Dear Geology types,

Welcome to Beloit--or back to Beloit! This is the first installment of the occasional Geology Newsletter. I send the newsletter to all Geology and Environmental Geology majors, as well as Geology minors. I'm also sending it to others who have an interest in geology, including first-year students who indicated (at some time or other) that they had a primary or secondary interest in geology. If you would rather not receive this newsletter, just hit reply with REMOVE in the subject line.

*** NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY, BELOIT COLLEGE

We're looking forward to a very busy term--lots of courses, activities, plans for the future.

First, please say hello to Jim Rougvie, who is our one-year full-time replacement in tectonics and igneous/metamorphic petrology. Jim earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas - Austin, and has just completed a post-doctoral position at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.). Jim resides in his newly painted office, 103 Chamberlin. He's jumping in with both feet--he had to give 3 hours of lecture on his first day! So be nice...

Cam Davidson, as most of you know, has taken a position at Carleton College. Cam will soon visit us--maybe late next week. I'll let you know when he's around.

Note that we now have three new high-end PC (IBM-based) computers in room 116! No, we're not giving up on Macs--we're just facing the fact that Sue Swanson and Jim Rougvie (and their nefarious colleagues) think that the PC platform has great things to offer... The three Macs (the ones unceremoniously displaced by the PCs) have migrated to the Geology student lounge (100 Chamberlin), which is currently being renovated. We hope to have that room ready for your use within the next two weeks. If you have any left-over materials in that room, please remove them within the next few days!! (You know who you are...)

Our intro courses are nearly full, and we seem to have a surge of interest in geology! Sue and I performed some subtle maneuvers (well, we threatened a bit of physical violence) and "convinced" Elise Pope-Obeda to take Mineralogy (and she's also taking Paleontology!); and first-year Adam Neiffer has found himself in Sue's Environmental Geology course!

Anyway, there are others out there and we hope to have a welcoming party, especially for the first-years and Jim Rougvie. With regard to the party referred to above...

We need a Chief Geologist to organize our social events, so be sure to turn in your ballot!!! (Ballots have gone out to all declared Environmental Geology and Geology majors, as well as to Geology minors.) Counting of the ballots, including any hanging chads, will take place late Friday (5:02 p.m.).

We have some national speakers coming to Beloit in September. More details will follow, but for now please mark your calendars for the 18th and 19th September (lectures in Wood Room of Mayer Hall; all geology lectures commence at 7:32 p.m.). On the 18th, we will host the Mineralogical Society of America Distinguished Lecturer, and on the 19th we will host the national Darcy Lecturer (hydrogeology). We sincerely hope you can attend both of these very important geology lectures. We wanted to space them better, but these were the dates we were offered---and since the lecturers have national stature, we happily accepted the dates we were assigned.

Oh, and KEYS! If you are in a 200-level geology course, you're entitled to check out keys for the labs and seminar room. I ordered the keys a few days ago, and they should have arrived (but they haven't). I'll send out an e-mail as soon as they are available... FLASH!! Mike (the key guy at Security) just came by and gave me our keys. So KEYS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!! Stop by my office soon to sign out your keys!

That's all for now! Have a productive semester, and please stop by and have lunch in the seminar room (111 Chamberlin) when you can. There is always stimulating conversation and pretty cool people there...

Carl

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