2007 Year in Review Department of Geology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Students Explore Coral Reefs, Shear Cliffs New Textbook Uses During Overseas Field Trips Google Earth n the middle of a stark Illinois winter, IProfessor Bruce Fouke and 35 students hopped a plane and headed for the southernmost part of the Caribbean. Another example of “timing is every- thing.” The trip was the culmination of a semester’s worth of lectures and labora- tory preparations in Geology 415/515, Field Geology, co-taught in 2007 by Fouke and Ed Morford, assistant director of campus recreation for aquatics. Students were also required to attend class sessions at Freer Pool where they Sand dunes in Namibia as seen from demonstrated their swimming capabili- Google Earth. ties, learned first aid, and practiced n the course of an introductory snorkel-based research techniques that Igeology class, students can fly to they then applied on the coral reefs. the Amazon rainforest, the deserts From January 4 to January 11, 2007, of Namibia, or the tundra of Siberia students studied modern and ancient courtesy of the latest edition of coral reefs surrounding the island of Just after snorkeling at the Water Plant dive site Earth: Portrait of a Planet, a text- Curaçao, located in the Caribbean Sea on Curaçao, Fouke shows the students how a book written by Geology near the northern coast of Venezuela. spiny sea urchin moves its spines using internal Department Head and Professor Approximately half of the course was water pressure, called a hydrostatic skeleton. Steve Marshak. taught in the shallow, near shore envi- The third edition of Earth: ronments using snorkel techniques, trip to help Fouke teach techniques fun- Portrait of a Planet, published in while the other half was based on land. damental to hydrocarbon exploration, as late 2007, includes over 200 virtual The students experienced a highly well as meet students and further field trips called “Geotours.” Each integrative educational experience, which strengthen long-standing recruiting ties Geotour utilizes Google Earth to fly included dynamic sedimentary processes, with the Department. students to spectacular examples of geomicrobiology, large-scale tectonics In May 2008, Professor Jim Best will geologic features. Google Earth, a and groundwater hydrology. “Curaçao is be teaching Field Geology on the west free computer tool that provides a a unique natural laboratory in which to coast of Ireland. Best will be accompa- navigable mosaic of satellite teach students the complex interactions nied by a mixture of undergraduate and imagery, allows students to examine between life and earth, and allow them graduate students—39 in all—and five structures and landscapes in amaz- to tangibly track these physical, chemi- faculty and staff who will visit the mag- ing detail. cal, and biological feedback interactions nificent cliffs of County Clare. They will “Instead of just seeing a static through geological time,” said Fouke. stay in the small country village of image of Mount St. Helens, students Tom Schickel (MS ’06), a recent Kilfenora. Best explains that the cliffs are can fly around the volcano, can graduate of the Fouke research group at a spectacular example of a range of zoom in and zoom out of the crater, Illinois who now works full-time as an ancient sedimentary environments, some and can tour the damage that exploration geologist at Shell, joined the (continued on page 3) (continued on page 3) Greetings Letter From The Head If the only constant in life is change, then 2007 is truly a year of constant change… hile we con- In addition to research time at the On this note, you have probably Wgratulate Jay Woods Hole Institution of Oceanography noticed that the job market for geoscien- Bass and Craig in Massachusetts, Steve is traveling to tists has been booming. The growth is Bethke as new Brazil and France to collaborate with col- not just in the energy sector. Mining, Ralph E. Grim leagues and conduct fieldwork. So far land management, environmental, and Professors of Steve has managed to stay away from geotechnical consulting all have large, Geology (with for- administrative matters that may distract unmet demands for qualified geoscien- mal investitures held on February 28, him from the privileges of being on sab- tists. This trend is expected to continue 2008), R. James Kirkpatrick, a Ralph E. batical. in the near future. This background Grim Professor of Geology and former Over the past summer, the plays into the long-term planning of the head of the department, has resigned his Department officially became a member Department and will be the subject of post of senior executive associate dean of the School of Earth, Society, and careful consideration in 2008 and of the College of Liberal Arts and Environment. Don Wuebbles, a professor beyond. Meanwhile, some of our majors Sciences to become the dean of the of Atmospheric Sciences, is serving as are working with graduate students to College of Natural Science at the executive coordinator of the School while organize the very first student chapter of Michigan State University. We wish you an international search for a permanent the American Association of Petroleum all the best, Jim and Carol. director is underway. In the short time Geologists on this campus. Meanwhile, we welcome Marilyn since I served as acting head, it is quite With research and teaching going Whalen, the new administrative secre- apparent that the long tradition of strong strong across the board in the tary to the Department as Barb Elmore, support from our alumni distinguishes us Department, I have focused my energy who served in this position for decades, from Atmospheric Sciences and as acting head in seeking direct support has retired. I have no doubt she will Geography, the other two Departments from industry. In recent years, with the keep busy in her retirement! Throughout in the School. exception of support for individual pro- this issue of the newsletter, you will find To this end, the newly formed grams or field trips, support of the related reports on these important mile- GeoThrust Graduate Fellowship exempli- Department from industry is largely in stones in the Department and more. fies the spirit and the tradition of giving the form of matching funds. We are in Speaking of which, you’ll notice that we back, bringing our total number of grad- the process of developing a close work- have a new editor, Kim Schmidt, who uate fellowships to six (others include ing relationship with some major petro- has instigated some new features in this the Bluestem, the Evergreen, the leum companies, seeking their support issue. Texas/Louisiana Geology Alumni, the in the form of graduate fellowships and The fact that I am writing this letter Harold R. Wanless, and the Harold W. undergraduate scholarships in Geology. means Steve Marshak, who has served Scott Fellowships). Over the years, the So stay tuned. the Department as head for almost a GeoThrust Committee, comprised of all Indeed, we love to hear from all of decade, is taking a well-deserved sabbat- alumni volunteers, has worked diligently you—about your activities, your ideas, ical for the entire 2007-08 academic year. and creatively with all of you to support your vision and above all, your passion; the Department in many ways. The story your passion for the future of the (p. 7) behind the new Fellowship is Department, the University, the geo- intriguing and we are so proud of the sciences, and the society at large. Please Year in Review is published once a year by the dedication and the entrepreneurship of enjoy reading this issue and stay in Department of Geology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to highlight the activities our alumni and friends! Indeed, the touch. and accomplishments within our department and insight to recognize opportunities, the feature news from our alumni and friends. ability to assemble resources and the Best wishes, Acting Department Head: Wang-Ping Chen ([email protected]) perseverance to achieve goals are what Wang-Ping Chen Administrative Secretary: Marilyn Whalen makes our students, alumni, friends, and ([email protected]) faculty shine in so many different Editor: Kim Schmidt ([email protected]) endeavors. www.geology.uiuc.edu 2 Students Explore Coral Reefs, Shear Cliffs (continued from page 1) New Textbook (continued from page 1) of the best in the world. “These sedi- an archeologist from the National resulted from the cataclysmic 1980 ments are 325 million years old and University of Ireland at Galway, who will explosion. Students can also measure show past surface environments, from take the group to some of Ireland’s most distances and elevations right on shallow water corals and reefs, deltas spectacular and beautifully preserved screen. I think that such active with vegetation and swamps, through Neolithic remains, including burial cham- imagery achieves a much better job shallow seas with a whole range of dif- bers. “This is an area that was populated of conveying the context of geology, ferent beasts swimming around in them, from about 7,000 years B.C. onwards and than can any static image,” said to the dark, deep seas. So what we can there are many remains of early habita- Marshak. do is go and look at essentially a slice tion as these cultures farmed the hills, To help instructors use Geotours through all these environments and changed the landscape, and left their bur- for classes, M. Scott Wilkerson (PhD work out how this area formed geologi- ial grounds and different marks on the ’91), now chair of the geology cally,” Best said. geography of the area. The trip is meant department at DePauw University, Many of the sediments the students to be principally geological in focus, but I and Marshak produced a new work- will be studying are similar to those also want to discuss recent geomorpholo- book, as an ancillary to Earth: found subsurface in Illinois and gy, including how the landscape has been Portrait of a Planet.