Geohog Times Newsletter of the Department of Geosciences Summer 2019

GeoHog Times Newsletter of the Department of Geosciences Summer 2019

Rebecca Hunt-Foster Dinosaur National Monument Paleontologist and Museum Director BS Earth Science 2003 Software Donations UA Geosciences Projects

UA Geosciences Research Grants FY19 Q1-Q3

Grants Awarded Principal Investigators 7 6 Total Awarded Dept Rank in College

Data Donations $1.03M 5/19

UA Geosciences Publications Jun 2018 - Jul 2019

Peer Review Papers Non-Peer �eview Papers 67 18 Books Conference Abstracts 3 80

2 Geosciences Department Overview Christopher Liner, Chair in Slovenia. Two of our faculty re- The department received a major ceived competitive Cambridge Faculty software donation from Ikon Sciences This has been a year of changes. In Fellowships to spend time in England. (market value $2.4M). RocDoc is used spring Ralph Davis announced his re- Ted Holland was awarded a full year to analyze well and seismic data, de- tirement from UA and his moving on fellowship at Wolfson College and Ce- termine value and apply quantitative to be VP of Research at the South Da- lina Suarez will spend the spring se- methods to predict rock, fluid and kota School of Mines. Davis was on the mester at Lucy Cavendish College. In pressure properties. Thank you ikon faculty from 1994-2019, and served as all off campus duty assignments, the for supporting our students. Geosciences Department Chair 2008- faculty submits a teaching and ad- As always, the faculty and stu- 2016, a period during which the PhD vising plan explaining how their nor- dents of our department are very program began and the Maurice F. mal duties will be covered. It follows grateful for the financial donations Storm Endowed Chair of Petroleum that on-campus faculty this year are of our generous alumni. These funds Geology was established. He further stretched thin. often come into named scholarship served as Associate Vice �rovost of Assistant Professor Glennn Shar- accounts, such as Manger, Zachry or �esearch at UA from 2017-19. Ralph man has formed the first industry Jackson. Over the last few years we was a steady and wise voice in the de- consortium in the long history of our have had a campaign aimed at PhD partment whose absence will be long department: The Detrital Geochronol- fellowships and can report that those felt. ogy Laboratory Consortium at the Uni- efforts, along with a match from the In late summer Lisa Milligan an- versity Of Arkansas. Founding mem- Walton Foundation, have allowed the nounced she would leave the GEOS bers include Chevron and California department to pick up two PhD lines staff to work with the large and grow- Resources Corporation. Great work that were previously centrally funding industrial engineering online de- Glenn. ed. Overall, our named scholarship gree program. For 12 years she was Congratulations are in order for accounts generate over $100k/yr to the daily contact between our depart- several faculty receiving major re- support students. ment and students/alumni. Lisa, too, search awards, including Steve Boss, It has long been noted, however, will be sorely missed. Jack Cothren, Song Feng, Fred Limp, that giving restrictions on the named Turning the other direction, we John Shaw and Celina Suarez. accounts make these funds uneven- have two new faculty. Dan Sui joins Full �xternal �dvisory �oard �eet- ly available to students. Certainly UA from Ohio State as Vice Chancel- ings were held on November 16 and we continue to encourage giving to lor of Research and Innovation at the April 2, and six new members were named accounts, but we are also be- rank of distinguished professor and added: Drew Kremen (OKC), Dawn ginning a new campaign - GeoVision he is tenured into the geosciences Warrick (�ulsa), Randy Lawson (Ben- - to raise unrestricted student funds. department. Assistant �rofessor Katia tonville), Garrett Clemens (Denver), GeoVision is needed because avail- Fernandes studies climate and envi- Robert Liner (Ft. Smith), and Mark able named scholarship funds allow ronmental change, joining us from Cooper (Fayetteville). Changes to the us to raise compensation for some TAs Columbia University. board leadership structure were pro- on par with peer schools, but others As the Geosciences Department posed that would have Mark Cooper remain far below, and there are no has grown, the need for more staff as Chair Elect, Heath Wallis as Chair, remaining funds to help MS students became clear. We are very grateful and Bill Coffee as Past Chair. The Board here on their own money, or under- to the Fulbright College of Arts and continues to be a primary driver for graduates not attending field camp. Sciences for supporting our request change and progress in the depart- I hope you will consider contributing to add a third staff member. Ashley ment. Special shout out to Bill Coffey to GeoVision. Contributions in any Chua joined our staff as fiscal sup- who provided cash prizes at the annu- amount are welcome and your gen- port specialist and has made a signif- al fall GeoHog research conference. erosity just might change a student's icant difference by dealing with post- Thank you �ill! life. award management for our research-active faculty. This year saw three GEOS faculty promoted from assistant to associate professor and granted tenure; Mohamed Aly, Adriana Potra, and John Dhaw (who went up a year early). Con- gratulations to all our promoted faculty! Four of our faculty will spend at least part of the up- coming academic year off campus. Fred Limp will take sabbat- ical staying local in Fayetteville. Matt Covington will take a sab- batical living and doing research 3 2019-20 Faculty ADRIANA POTRA MOHAMED ALY Ore Geology, Radiogenic Isotope ERIK POLLOCK InSAR, GPS, GIS, Geochemistry Isotope Geochemistry Crustal Deformation Modeling, GLENN SHARMAN BARRY SHAULIS Geohazard Assessment Stratigraphy Isotope Geochemistry STEPHEN BOSS JOHN B. SHAW SETH WARN Geophysics, Marine Geology, Sedimentology Geoinformatics Lacustrine Geology, Earth Systems, DAVID STAHLE Sustainability Studies Global Change, Dendrochronology, INSTRUCTORS LINYIN CHENG Paleoclimatology PAULA ANDERSON Hydrologic, Climatic Studies General Geology, JACKSON COTHREN Sustaining Earth Director CAST The University of Arkansas RASHAUNA HINTZ Geospatial Methods Department of Geosciences Human Geography MATT COVINGTON presents HENRY TURNER III Hydrogeology, Geomorphology, General Geology Karst, Glacial Hydrology FIONA DAVIDSON GeoHog EMERITUS Department Vice Chair J. VAN BRAHANA Political Geography, Hydrogeology European Studies, MALCOLM CLEAVELAND Urban Morphology Planning Research Dendrochronology GREG DUMOND JOHN DIXON Structural Geology, Tectonics Geomorphology, SONG FENG Conference Weathering and Soils, Climate Change, Paleoclimates Geoarcheology, KÁTIA FERNANDES Alpine Geography Climate Variability, Tropical 2019 THOMAS GRAFF Environmental Change Political Geography EDWARD HOLLAND Saturday MARGARET GUCCIONE Political/Cultural/Religion Novermber 16 8AM-2PM Geomorphology Geography, International Studies, Pryor Center Atrium JOHN G. HEHR Conflict and Political Violence, 1 E Center St., Fayettevile, AR 72701 Meteorology, Europe and Asia RSVP: Jessica Eckberg ([email protected]) Climatology, ANDREW LAMB Paleoclimatology, Geophysics Global Change FRED LIMP CELINA SUAREZ WALTER MANGER Leica Endowed Chair Stable Isotope, Stratigraphy Computer Applications, Low-�emperature Geochemistry, RICHARD SMITH Economic Anthropology, Paleontology Geography Midwestern Archeology DANIEL SUI DOY ZACHRY CHRISTOPHER LINER Vice Chancellor for Stratigraphy Department Chair Research and Innovation Maurice F. Storm Endowed Chair Geoinformatics ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS Geophysics, Petroleum Geology JASON TULLIS MAC McGILVERY JILL MARSHALL Remote Sensing, GIS, Petroleum Geology Geomorphology Ecosystem Services STEVE MILLIGAN THOMAS PARADISE Petroleum Geophysics Hazards, Historic Preservation, RESEARCH FACULTY JAMIE WOOLSEY Cartography, Middle East, PHILLIP HAYS Petroleum Geology Mediterranean Geography US Geological Survey SEAN YOUNG Isotope Geochemistry Geospatial and GIS

4 Department Overview Fall Total Enrollment Degrees Awarded

Fall Undergraduate Enrollment Fall Graduate Enrollment

Student Gender Student Underepresented Groups

5 2018-9 Graduate Thesis Titles

6 Distinguished Scholar of the Year; Presentation at Oxford Summit on University-Industry Partnerships Distinguished Scholar. Daniel Sui, �is- universities can be used for the good his appointment at UA, he served as tinguished �rofessor of �eosciences of the economy and society, primarily division director for social and eco- and �ice �hancellor for �esearch and through technology transfer and col- nomic sciences at the National Sci- �nnovation, received the 2019 Distin- laboration with business. ence Foundation. He is an internation- guished Scholar Award by the Inter- Sui's presentation focused on ally renowned researcher in the area national Association of Chinese Pro- three broad topics: of GIS-based spatial analysis and mod- fessionals in Geographic Information • Why academic social scientis need eling for urban, environmental and Sciences. The award is given each year to work with industry. public health applications. for outstanding research contribu- • Why businesses and industry need tions to the field of geographic infor- social sciences. mation science. • Overcoming barriers Xinyue Ye, director of the Urban that block engage- Informatics & Spatial Computing Lab ment between social and a core faculty member of data sciences and industry. science at the New Jersey Institute of "Each year, indus- Technology, noted Sui’s 25 years of re- try-sponsored R&D far search, mentoring, teaching and lead- exceeds government ership in the field. funding for research," “Dr. Sui has sustained an excep- Sui said. "In 2016 alone tionally strong portfolio in research, industry collectively teaching, mentoring and leadership spent $365 billion on that sets him clearly apart from most research and develop- in our community,” said Ye, who nom- ment. These companies Left to right: Sui and Paradise inated Sui for the award. “His creative have a massive amount mixture of cutting-edge techniques of big data, which aca- with a wide range of substantive ques- demic social scientists should try to New Course tions is truly unique.” access through new partnerships. In- Sui has authored or co-authored dustry, on the other hand, needs the Tom Paradise, Professor of Geoscienc- ten books and approximately 240 rigor and neutral data-driven methods es, will be offering a unique class on journal articles and book chapters to of academic research to enhance and Wednesday evenings this fall on the his name, Ye noted, and has made improve traditional business practic- Geology of Gemstones. Coming from important contributions to the field es." backgrounds in geology, geography, including debunking the myth that and gemology, Paradise is distinctively e-commerce is green and always con- Overcoming barriers. Sui discussed suited to offer a class that will include tributes to sustainable development, cultural change and new research aspects of gemstone formation, iden- crowd sourcing as a means of produc- models at universities, as well as the tification, market trends, synthesis, ing geographic knowledge, and lead- role of government funding agencies and uses. ing efforts toward open science and in promoting partnerships between It will be a hands-on course with open-source urbanism. He has also academic research and industry. He various mineral, gemstone, synthet- worked to promote geography and will also discuss the future of work ic, and simulant specimens. Students GIS to audiences at all levels, been an and industry, how businesses can ori- will have the rare opportunity to learn influential teacher and mentor, and ent themselves toward fulfilling hu- about a wide variety of gemstones and served as the editor-in-chief of the man social, aesthetic, intellectual and gem materials in this class. Paradise is GeoJournal. spiritual needs. a certified gemologist and registered Sui received the award at the 27th While in England, Sui gave a public jeweler with the Gemological Institute International Conference on Geoinfor- lecture at University College London, of America (GIA: GG), the Gemological matics in Sydney, Australia. where he discussed smart cites and Association of Great Britain (GemA: the future of geographic inforimation FGA), and the American Gem Society Oxford Summit. Sui gave a presenta- science. He visited the British Acade- (CGA, RJ). He was also the Former tion in July 2019, at the Oxford UIDP my of Sciences and UK Research and Director of Summit at the University of Oxford in Innovation, an organization that pro- Gems & Jew- England. motes partnerships between universi- els at But- The UIDP Summit is a transatlan- ties, businesses and government. terfields and tic conference for senior-level univer- At the UA, Sui oversees research Bonhams sity and industry professionals and administration, research compliance, Auction government policymakers. The event the planning and optimization of re- houses. convenes global business leaders, search space and shared instrumen- top university administrators and re- tation, interdisciplinary research cen- searchers and government officials to ters, undergraduate research and the explore how knowledge generated by University of Arkansas Press. Prior to

7 affects summer heat waves in the con- drome that is decimating bat popula- Warming Climate and tiguous United States. The study was tions in many US caves. Cave access is US Summer Drought published in the Journal of Climate. highly restricted due to the spread of The researchers found that in the fungus from cave to cave,” Hoover Climate change is amplifying the in- places with low moisture in the soil, adds. Through permit issuance from tensity and likelihood of heat waves such as the southern plains and south- the CRF, the group was able to access during severe droughts in the southwest, climate change brought about the cave. ern plains and southwest United higher temperatures and increased To support the CRF cave monitor- States, according to a new study by a “coupling” of land and atmosphere, ing effort during their monthly work University of Arkansas researcher. further increasing the severity of heat weekend, the group completed a bio- Linyin Cheng, Assistant Profes- waves. In places with more moisture inventory while spending time under- sor of Geosciences, used data from in the soil, such as the northeast, they ground. The process included counts the National Center for Atmospheric found no appreciable coupling and of various species such as bats and Research’s Community Earth System therefore no contribution to heat- salamanders. Model to study summer droughts wave intensification. that occurred both before and after “Our analysis of climate simulation Keeling/Hansen Climate the Industrial Revolution. Cheng and finds that summertime drought-heat- colleagues from the National Oceanic wave relationships change significant- Science Award ly over the southern and southwest- ern US due to man-made climate "We are delighted to select associ- change since the late 19th centu- ate professor Celina Suarez as the ry,” said Cheng. “By contrast, the 2019 OMNI Keeling/Hansen Climate drought-heatwave relationship over Science Awardee," said Peter Ungar, northern US regions undergoes little distinguished professor in the Depart- change in the warmed climate.” ment of Anthropology and director The findings raise the idea of a of the Environmental Dynamics Pro- self-reinforcing climate loop: as a re- gram. "Dr. Suarez is a paleontologist gion’s climate becomes more arid due who studies impact of climate change to climate change, droughts become on life over very long time scales. hotter, further reducing soil moisture. She's had great success in funding her “Overall, these results indicate research of late, and her research has that strengthened land-atmosphere been published in both the best jour- feedback is a significant physical nals in her discipline, and in high-im- driver for increasing occurrences of pact general interest venues." drought-related extreme heat waves, Suarez's research focuses on us- particularly over the semi-arid and ing trace element and stable isotope arid regions of the United States,” the geochemistry of fossil vertebrates and report states. invertebrates to understand paleo- ecology, paleoclimatology, and tapho- nomy of ancient terrestrial ecosys- What Lies Beneath: tems. She is particularly interested in Exploring a Local Cave past greenhouse climates and major climate shifts such as the mid-Creta- with Undergrads ceous thermal maximum and the end Triassic extinction. University Recreation (UREC) -Out Suarez also uses carbon isotope doors, in partnership with Geoscienc- chemostratigraphy to identify major es Associate Professor Matt Covington global C-cycle shifts in Earth's deep- and the Cave Research Foundation time history. Her research has taken (CRF), completed a caving trip on her to locations such as the Creta- March 9 on the Buffalo National River. ceous Cedar Mountain Formation of The adventure combined cave explo- Utah, the Xinminpu Group of Gansu ration with a bioinventory cave mon- Province, China, the Prince Creek For- itoring project. Covington and UREC mation off the North Slope of Alaska, Outdoors offered the day caving trip and the Triassic-Jurassic Moenave students and UREC members. Formation of southern Utah. Recent- The trip underground included ly, a new Utah dinosaur, Geminiraptor From top: Cheng, Covington, eight undergraduate students, three Suarezarum, was named after Suarez Suarez faculty and staff, and one member and her twin sister, Marina, for their from the CRF. “Caving access on the principal role in the discovery. and Atmospheric Administration and buffalo river is a unique opportuni- universities in China and Colorado ran ty,” says Mike Hoover, assistant direc- simulations to assess how, and by how tor for UREC Outdoors. “Buffalo Riv- much, human-induced climate change er caves have been closed for many years due to the White Nose Syn- 8 Rare Maps Discovered in NYC Explorers Club When TOM PARADISE was asked by Vyvyan Holt, and Henry Field. moned to Cairo to work at the newly the Explorers Club of New York to ex- Bell (1868-1926) was celebrated created Arab Bureau, however, pre- amine the eminent map collection of for her travels and work with British viously she had traveled extensively the international Explorers Club, he Intelligence and T. E. Lawrence (Law- through this region and these newly was honored and curious. rence of Arabia). She was recently discovered maps represent the only Paradise has extensive profession- characterized by film actress Nicole known depiction of her travel routes. al cartographic, and historic cartogra- Kidman in Werner Herzog’s, Queen of In the maps, wadis, buttes, peaks, phy experience and training, having the Desert (2015). Musil (1868-1944) plains, and archaeological sites were published five atlases and more than was a Moravian explorer, theologian represented by Milne to such an accu- 3,000 maps, in addition to having and priest who wrote widely of his racy that these same tracks could be taught cartography since 1992 in the travels throughout the Arab world. retraced today. US, Jordan, Morocco, and Italy. In October 2018 he visited the Explorers Club with geosciences and cartography graduate student, Casey Goodman, where they spent a week examining this unique collection. “It was really amazing to find three ‘lost gems’ after only a week,” Para- dise said. “The collection was incredible, and very historically significant – especially the Gertrude Bell maps.” They first examined a number of rare maps that were pre- Holt (1896-1960) worked as the Brit- The elaborate tracing papers viously inventoried. These included ish representative to the Mandates found with these maps represent the original maps by Alexis-Hubert Jail- Commission of the League of Nations, conventional layers used by cartogra- lot (1632-1712) and Nicolas Sanson and the Oriental Secretary at the Brit- phers (then paper, now digital) of hy- (1600-1667). Maps by Louis Maurice ish embassy in Baghdad until 1944. drographic, hypsometric (elevations), Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds, the Field (1902-1986) was an American nominal (place names), sites of inter- chief engineer of the Suez Canal, cre- archaeologist and a member of the est and routes. ated in 1855 as the initial survey plans Field Family (e.g. Marshall Fields, Field “The accuracy of the locations, for the canal that would open in 1869. Museum), who joined the Field Muse- features, names, elevations and lati- In addition, linen maps with um and University of Oxford archaeo- tude-longitude is remarkable for the hand-written notes (1868-1870), logical teams excavating in Kish, Iraq period and indicates that these maps were examined that represented the (1923-1933). were being readied for publication at epic journey of Sir Richard Burton and The maps illustrate routes across the time they were obtained or given John Hanning-Speke traveling across Jordan’s Badia and Hauran (Black to the Explorers Club,” Paradise said. eastern-central Africa to identify Lake Rock Desert) with the dated routes “[These discoveries] are nothing Victoria (Lake Nyanza) as the source of Bell (1913, 1914), Musil (1898, short of transformative for our exten- of the Nile, and the maps of the early 1904, 1908), Holt (1922), and Field sive and unique map collection,” said Thule (Western Greenland) Expedi- (1927, 1928). Handwritten notes and Lacey Flint, the Explorers Club’s chief tions led by the Danish Arctic explor- research indicate that the maps were archivist. “This work uncovered hid- ers, Peter Freuchen and Lauge Koch drawn by H. F. Milne – the chief car- den gems that hadn’t been seen or (c.1912). tographer, and former Secretary of handled in nearly a century.” Of greatest significance, how- Great Britain’s Royal Geographic Soci- Paradise contacted the carto- ever, was the discovery of original ety (RGS) – with Bell, and completed graphic specialists at Christie's and hand-inked and sketched maps, with following her death. Sotheby’s auction houses in New York matching tracing paper overlays cre- Milne’s world-renowned cartog- and London for appraisals of the maps’ ated by Gertrude Bell with the Royal raphy overlapped with Bell’s time in value. He said these experts described Geographic Society (RGS). The large London with the RGS; Bell and Milne the maps as unique and representing map set (48" by 36") represents a were well acquainted, and her early the ‘holy grail’ to map collectors. The unique compilation of routes across travels – through the Levant and West- experts told Paradise that auction bid- the Transjordan from 1912-1925 by ern Asia – were accurately mapped by ding could easily fetch values exceed- Bell and three of the greatest explor- Milne. ing six digits in a specialized map sale. ing cohorts of their time: Alois Musil, In November 1915, Bell was sum- 9 Chancellor's Innovation and Collaboration Funds

Song Feng and Stephen Boss will re- were assigned to each proposal prior tensive discussion by the entire panel ceive the Chancellor’s Innovation and to a panel review and discussion. The on how to best interpret the priorities Collaboration Funds panel was chaired by the Vice Chan- to make the difficult decision of - rec Feng and Boss are collaborators cellor for Research and Innovation ommending just 11 projects out of so on the proposal How To Make Sense and was comprised of many fundable propos- Of Climate Change?: Understanding faculty members across als. In general, the pan- Climate Change Risk Perceptions And campus. el focused on proposals Crafting Climate Changes Stories In Ar- Each reviewer used that supported either a kansas. PI on this two-year $104,660 the following criteria to new collaboration, or proposal is Geoboo Song (Political Sci- rank proposals 1) the an existing collabora- ence). quality and potential tion, where a need for Boss is also collaborator on the transformative nature seed funding to pursue two-year $110,931 proposal Reduc- of the project in advanc- a new idea that has ing Food Waste And Food Insecurity ing a university guiding high impact and could Through Increased Global Access To priority, 2) quality and be transformative was Broken Rice. Project PI is Lanier Nalley intensity of the pro- clearly demonstrated. (Agricultural Economics). posed collaboration, They also focused on The committee felt that these and the likelihood that projects that they felt proposals support the Chancellor’s the project, and col- were high risk/high re- objective of fostering bold thinking laboration, would not ward where the pro- and risk taking that can launch discov- have occurred as quick- posal project seemed ery and creativity-based initiatives to ly, fully or at all without like a true start to an advance the university’s strategic pri- this seed funding, 3) interesting idea, that if orities and signature research areas. the probability that a were successful, had a These increase the competitiveness of successful project can high probability of lead- the university and faculty for external leverage future sources ing to external sources funding and raise the recognition and of support, and 4) the of funding. distinction of the University of Arkan- potential of a success- The Chancellor’s fund sas’ discovery, innovation, creative -ac ful project might have is an extremely import- tivities and scholarly programs. in raising the recogni- From top: Song and Boss ant initiative in the Uni- The projects were part of 11 tion and distinction of versity’s strategic plan proposals selected for funding this the university. to help build a collab- year, for a total of approximately There were many strong pro- orative and innovative campus and to $1,000,000. Over 40 proposals were posals submitted to the competition enhance the UA research and discov- submitted. An NSF-style review was that reviewed very well in some or all ery mission. conducted where three reviewers these categories. Thus, there was ex- New Faculty Books

10 Oldest Known Trees in Eastern North America; Amazon Research David Stahle and collaborators report- even from the bordering glaciers, or Brazilians and the Amazon: develop- ed in the May 2019 Journal Environ- from speleothems, cave formations, ment, deforestation, and potentially mental Research in Communications etc. There is some pollen and lacus- anthropogenic environmental change, their discovery of a Bald Cypress tree trine data, but for the high-frequency, but still vast areas are intact, tri- that is at least 2,674 years old. This inter annual variability of precipita- ple-canopy tropical rivers. The main tree is on the Black River in southeast- tion and temperature or stream flow, objective is to study climate change. ern North Carolina, the oldest docu- there is nothing prior to the modern The Amazon suffered a tremendous mented in eastern North America and instrumental record for all of Amazo- drought in 1925; it was the worst year has extended the paleoclimate record nia, which is one of the global centers of drought in the instrumental record. by 900 years. of deep convection in the atmosphere, The precipitation data exhibit Bald Cypress is the oldest-known wetland species of tree in the world. In 1988 Science magazine published Stahle’s discovery of one that was at least 1,700 years old; the Nature Conservancy then gained protection of 19,000 acres in the Black River Basin study area. These trees had probably been spared excessive logging because of their worn and weathered condi- tion, however they could have been harvested for their biomass and mulch Left to right: Stahle, an ancient Cypress tree, and an overcut oak. potential if not for this Below: Millenia-old trees along Black River. acquisition by the Nature Conservancy. Amazon. Dendrochronology, of- affecting climate over tropical South some decadal variability as well as ten called tree-time or tree-ring dat- America and more broadly globally. multi-decadal variability. In the last ing, is the most accurate and precise The Amazon is the largest river on 30 years the precipitation and dis- dating method in geochronology, to earth, dwarfing all others. charge data showed increasing sea- determine the age of ancient archaeo- One of the tree species that is use- sonal amplitude, the greater differ- logical sites, or early historic buildings, ful for dendroclimatology is cedrella ence between the dry season versus or living trees. With dendrochronolo- odorata, a commercially valuable tree wet season totals letting us see vari- gy the actual imprint of climate vari- species in Amazonia. It doesn’t always ability in the modern record. ability is seen in the annual growth form really high-quality annual rings, Stahle’s work in the Amazon is rings. The most biodiverse forests in but along the Rio Peru in the eastern funded by the National Science Foun- the world are in the tropical rain for- Amazon there are forests that do form dation. The goal is to study 2,000 trees ests of Amazonia. Annual ring forma- excellent annual rings from which two in a network of exactly dated Amazo- tion is extremely rare in these tropical exactly dated tree-ring chronologies nian tree-ring chronologies that can forests, since tree rings are a mid-lati- have been built. They are correlated be used to reconstruct the temporal tude temperate climate phenomenon with wet season precipitation totals, history of rainfall and stream flow, but which have distinct seasons where and weakly correlated with the dis- also spatial variability. trees will go dormant in the winter. charge of the Amazon River. There’s no distinct seasonality of tem- Many challenges confront the perature in Amazonia or most tropical forests, and most of these forests have about 16,000 native tree species that do not form reliable annual tree rings. There is some precipitation seasonality in parts of the tropics that can be pronounced enough to be associated with annual ring formation in a small subset of some native tree species. High-frequency, inter annual climate data in the Amazon is rare, and no paleo-environmental records exist, 11 Q&A with Geosciences Department Chair Andra Liwag | Dean’s Corner, Faces of Fulbright Q: [Christopher Liner] tell us a little ber judging and voting on which is read; that seems to be my only rule. about your research, academic pas- ‘best’ (of course, grading is strictly in To mention a few particularly in- sions and/or role within the college. my hands). The winner gets an award teresting items: a 1345 MS leaf, New- What excites you about this? memento, usually some form of an ton's Arithmetic (1769), Darwin's The owl to signify wisdom. Origin of Species (1876), Bibles from Much of my time these days is spent Also, the top student in each class 1603 and 1636, and a 1659 History of on all the issues related with being de- is declared to be the Senior Wrangler, the World that can be found in only partment chair. which is a term used at Cambridge three North American public collec- It is a challenging job, but also a University since about 1750 for the tions: Columbia, NY Public Library, and rewarding one that allows me to facil- top mathematics student each year. Yale. itate and help implement all the great Finally, whenever possible we In the last few years, I have collect- ideas that come from our faculty and have a class party to finish off the ed modern first editions, including Ian students. Just not getting in the way semester at a local pizza place to an- Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell and not shutting down good ideas is a nounce class awards. Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and lit- very important leadership function. Somewhere in all this activity, the erary giants including Faulkner, Hem- I also work closely with our Geo- students learn geophysics, presenta- ingway and Steinbeck. Also great sci- sciences External Advisory Board who tion skills and how to build a social ence fiction authors including Asimov, have had a dramatic impact on the de- network. Bradbury, Clarke and Heinlein. partment, including development of a PhD program and establishment of Q: What’s up next on the horizon for endowments for the Maurice F. Storm you? Chair and Ph.D. fellowships. Mac McGilvery and I have a new book Q: How long have you been at Fulbright The Art and Science of Seismic Inter- College? What have you enjoyed most pretation published by Springer in about your time here? February 2019. Going forward, I have another I joined the Fulbright College in book project in mind and am inter- 2012 after a long career at other uni- ested in continuing seismic interpre- versities in Tulsa and Houston, and at tation research through the honors, private companies including Conoco master’s and PhD students I advise. and Saudi Aramco. As an undergraduate alumnus of Q: Is there anything else you’d like to University of Arkansas, my greatest add or let readers know? pleasure has been to interact with the current generation of students and The only reason I was able to amass help advise them based on my expe- this collection was a career built on rience. my University of Arkansas education. On becoming department chair in To acknowledge that fact, my wife 2016, I enjoyed the wider circle of uni- Dolores and I are working with Mullins versity faculty and staff that I came in Title page from Francis Bacon’s Sylva Library to ultimately donate our books contact with. Sylvarum 1639, printed three years be- to Special Collections as a benefit to It did not take long to realize that fore Isaac Newton was born. all students. any problem could be solved by pick- Finally, returning to the University ing up the phone and talking to the of Arkansas as a faculty member and right people. Most problems are pret- now department chair has been the ty easy to fix when you ask, “What is Q: What do you like to do during your greatest honor of my life. the course of action that most bene- time outside of the university? fits the students of the University of Arkansas?” My great interest away from the university is collecting rare books. This Q: What do you most hope your stu- started back in the late 1970s right dents remember from their classes here in Fayetteville but jumped up a and/or interactions with you? notch when I worked in London in the early 1980s. I teach Petroleum Geophysics and 3D From travels and living abroad, Seismic Interpretation, and work to we now have about 300 books. My ini- make the classroom experience chal- tial interests were 17th century books, lenging, interesting and fun. Greek history, mathematics and natu- We always have students make ral sciences, but it has broadened over presentations with each class- mem the years. I aquire books that I want to

12 2019-20 Fulbright Scholar Award Matt Covington has received a 2019- terrain, karst also introduces particu- a dramatic shift as he decided to pur- 20 Fulbright US Scholar Award to con- lar water quality problems and natural sue research in geoscience, combining tinue his research in Slovenia on the hazards,” Covington said. “Difficulties his passion for caves with his skill set impact of cave ventilation on the rates for water quality management arise in mathematical modeling. and patterns of cave development. because caves can carry pollutants “I realized that I could pursue a sci- While there, he will be developing rapidly through the subsurface with entific career that combined both,” models for cave airflow to better un- little time for degradation or- filtra Covington said. “This was in part derstand how the exchange of CO2 tion.” inspired by discovering that Dr. Ga- impacts the development of caves. Covington said other challenges in- brovšek, and several other leading “As a Fulbright Scholar, I’ll be trav- clude how difficult it is to determine cave and karst scientists, also had eling to Slovenia to work with my col- the direction and speed of transport backgrounds in physics.” league Franci Gabrovšek at the Karst of these contaminants, and that infra- Upon completion of his PhD- Cov Research Institute on this project,” structure within karst terrains is also ington began his first postdoc study- Covington said. “We hope to synthe- subject to hazards like sinkhole col- ing karst hydrology at the University of

Covington emerging from a cave entrance high in the Julian Alps after a 5-day trip to dive in the bottom of the cave, which is over 1000 meters deep (photo by Primoz Rup- nik). size a new model to study the rela- lapses and flooding. Minnesota supported by an NSF Earth tionships among CO2 dynamics, cave “The more we know about the Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship. He ventilation and cave evolution.” structure of caves systems that will also spent two years as an NSF Inter- Covington said that this new model develop in a karst setting, the better national Research Fellow working at could ultimately help researchers bet- we can manage water quality and nat- the Karst Research Institute in Slove- ter understand how pollutants move ural hazards,” Covington said. nia before returning to the University through the subsurface in karst aqui- Covington’s background has unique- of Arkansas in 2012 as an assistant fers which contain caves. ly prepared him for this opportunity. professor in the Department of Geo- Roughly 20 percent of the world’s He has a PhD in theoretical astrophys- sciences. population depends on water from ics from the University of California While much of Covington’s work karst aquifers, Covington said. Karst – Santa Cruz, and undergraduate de- involves mathematical modeling of is a type of terrain and hydrogeolog- grees in both physics and philosophy. geological processes, he also spends ic setting that develops in locations While pursuing these studies, he lived substantial time in the field. where the bedrock is easily dissolved, a parallel life as an expedition caver, “This project, like most of my work, like in parts of Arkansas and especially exploring and mapping in some of the combines elements of mathematical in Slovenia. deepest caves in the world. modeling and analysis of field data,” In fact, the term karst itself de- These expeditions took him to Covington said. “We’re very excited rives from the Kras region of Slovenia, Mexico, Peru, Sumatra, Alaska, China, about it and the implications our find- which is known as the “classical karst.” Slovenia, Croatia and other far-flung ings could have.” “While spectacular land- places. Then, in the final year of his scapes and caves often form on karst Ph.D. studies, Covington’s career took 13 Fulbright Awards to Geosciences Students GEOS students Sara Kouchehbagh and and innovative’ by using modern Geo- raphy and his adviser for his thesis on Christopher Cowan have been award- graphic Sciences of cartography, GIS, the Kyrgyz Republic. Cowan will be an ed Fulbright US Student Program remote sensing, and spatial analysis in English teaching assistant in Uzbeki- awards for 2019-2020. These stu- her work. Her work is conducted with stan. dents join over 2,100 US citizens who her advisor, Associate Professor Fiona Cowan graduated from the U of will conduct research, teach English Davidson. A summa cum laude in the spring of and provide expertise abroad for the Kouchehbagh obtained her bach- 2017 with a degree in international re- 2019-2020 academic year. Recipients elor’s in international relations and lations and Middle East studies with a of Fulbright awards are selected on Middle East studies in 2015. She was minor in Arabic and was inducted into the basis of academic and profession- a graduate teaching associate for Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate, al achievement, as well as their record the King Fahd Center for Middle East he was heavily involved with the King of service and leadership potential in Studies. She has previously worked Fahd Center for Middle East Studies, their respective fields. and volunteered as an ESL teacher, was an officer in Gamma Theta Upsi-

From left: Kouchehbagh, Davidson, Cowan, Holland

The Fulbright Program is the US both through the Paper Airplanes lon Geography Honor Society, partic- government’s flagship international organization and the Ozark Literacy ipated in Students for Refugees and educational exchange program and is Council. Before beginning her grad- interned at the British Consulate-Gen- designed to build lasting connections uate studies Kouchehbagh held mul- eral of Houston in the summer of between the people of the United tiple internships with the United Na- 2015. Cowan was recently named an States and the people of other coun- tions in Vienna, Austria, both with alternate for the Boren Graduate Fel- tries. It is funded through an annual the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban lowship, and he received a Foreign appropriation made by the US Con- Treaty Organization and the Office for Language Area Studies Fellowship gress to the US Department of State. Disarmament Affairs. She also held a that will allow him to study Persian at Participating governments and host research and media internship with Indiana University, Bloomington, this institutions, corporations and foun- Al Jazeera English in New York. After summer. He plans to complete a doc- dations around the world also pro- completing her Fulbright assistant- torate and enter academia following a vide direct and indirect support to the ship, she plans a career in internation- federal career. program, which operates in over 160 al public service. “I am both thrilled and deeply countries. “Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship humbled by the opportunity to rep- Kouchehbagh, a recent MS grad in is both an honor and a life-chang- resent the University of Arkansas and the Geography Program in the Geosci- ing opportunity, and I look forward the United States as a Fulbright ETA ences Department was awarded a Ful- to spending the following academic and citizen-diplomat in Uzbekistan,” bright to continue her PhD research at year in Azerbaijan as a Fulbright ETA,” Cowan said. “Having previously trav- the School of Oriental and Asian Stud- Kouchehbagh said. “I am eager to par- eled and studied in the Middle East ies (SOAS) at the University of London. ticipate in the Fulbright program, as and Central Asia, I observed firsthand Her thesis is on the fiscal effects of it prides itself on building mutual un- the power of public and citizen diplo- changing migration policy in Germany derstanding and cultural interchange, macy and cross-cultural exchange. I due to mass Syrian migration. She will and I know this opportunity will open am honored to continue Senator Ful- serve as an English teaching assistant many doors in the future.” bright’s legacy of ‘peace through ed- in Azerbaijan. Christopher Cowan has complet- ucation,’ and likewise look forward to Her proposed research on nation- ed a master’s degree in geography. His enriching the lives of my students and al-scale conflict resolution and nucle- graduate research mentor is Eward community in Uzbekistan.” ar disarmament was called ‘crucial Holland, assistant professor of geog-

14 Photogrammetric and Remote Sensing in Emerging Session of IPCC in Kyoto, Japan. The effort in this process (2016- Geospatial UAS 2019, now complete) focused on the expanding role of geospatial method- Jackson Cothren and Jason Tullis were and computer vision applied to over- ologies in national inventories. Given guests for the Department of Crop, head images. that 280 experts from 47 countries Soil and Environmental Sciences semi- were involved in this report, deciding whether and how to incorporate new technologies (which are themselves undergoing rapid changes) is nontrivi- al. While the report has been formally adopted by IPCC, the work still needs to be presented to governments for consideration. The process included several stages of both expert and government reviews, and all comments (as well as replies by lead authors) will be published. Cambridge Fellowship

Assistant Professor Edward Holldand has been chosen to receive the Ar- From left: Cothren, Tullis kansas Visiting Fellowship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge in nar series on 22 April 2019. As director of CAST, Cothren’s inter- England for the 2019-2020 academic Their presentation was "Photo- ests have broadened to the gener- year. grammetric and remote sensing in al application of spatial data science While at Wolfson College Holland emerging geospatial unmanned -air to a wide variety of environmental will be affiliated with the Mongolia craft systems (UAS)." The presenta- and social problems. and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU), tion focused on drones as a means a leading center globally for the study for “personal remote sensing” as Tullis earned his bachelor's degree of Inner Asia, which includes contem- well as airspace and several modal- in geographic information systems porary Mongolia and extends to Kal- ities for drone-based observation. (GIS), remote sensing and botany mykia, a region of Russia, in the west. These include LiDAR, thermal infra- from Brigham Young University, and Holland will be working to complete red (temperature), hyperspectral, his master's degree (2001) and PhD a book on the topic of Kalmyk Bud- and magnetometry. The presentation (2003) from the University of South dhism, tentatively titledTo the Golden also discussed replicability and repro- Carolina. His research focuses on re- Abode: Kalmyk Buddhism in History, ducibility in UAS. The presentation mote sensing and GIS-assisted deci- Minority, and Diaspora. This book will on drones involved the Crop Soil and sion support for ecosystem services integrate the varieties of religious ex- Environmental Sciences Department and on the application of provenance perience for Kalmyks through a con- and collaboration with Andrew Lamb information in geographic problem sideration of the importance of Bud- and Glenn Sharman among others in solving. dhism in distinct historical periods the department. and geographical contexts: during the Cothren, who has been director of Intergovernmental Panel Soviet period, in the republic today, the Center for Advanced Spatial Tech- on Climate Change Guide- and in diaspora in the United States. nologies since 2003, has also been The visiting fellow program gives director of the Arkansas High Perfor- lines faculty the opportunity to join the mance Computing Center since 2015. vibrant academic community at the He earned his bachelor's degree in JASON TULLIS was a member of the University of Cambridge, which is cel- applied mathematics from the US Air Task Force on National Greenhouse ebrating its 810th anniversary in 2019. Force Academy in 1985, and a mas- Gas Inventories (TFI) which prepared Visiting scholars are typically engaged ter's degree (2000) and PhD (2004) in a report in accordance with the deci- in teaching and/or research at the geodetic science and surveying from sion taken at the 44th Session of the university or in a recognized research Ohio State University. His research Intergovernmental Panel on Climate establishment while in Cambridge. focuses on geodetic and photogram- Change (IPCC) in Bangkok, Thailand, in Visiting fellowships are awarded on a metric adjustment computations, un- October 2016. The 2019 Refinement competitive basis. certainty propagation in sensing sys- was presented for adoption and - ac tems, nontraditional sensor modeling ceptance in May 2019 during the 49th

15 Reappointment To The Preservation Technology and Training Federal Advisory Board Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt location data. He served as president Student News has reappointed Fred Limp, Universi- of the Society for American Archaeol- ty Professor of Geosciences and Lei- ogy, the largest scholarly and profes- Bradley Wilson, a 4th year Geoscienc- ca Chair, to a second four-year term sional society for archaeology. Limp es PhD student, has been awarded to the Preservation and Technology has been with the University of Arkan- further research funding through the Training Federal Advisory Board. The sas since 1979 and has been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF). Board advises the DOI's National Cen- more than $39 million dollars in ex- These research internships fund ad- ter for Preservation Technology and tramural grants and contracts in that vanced graduate students to augment Training (NCPTT). NCPTT helps preser- time. their research projects with non-ac- vationists find better tools, materials, ademic research opportunities. Wil- and approaches to conserving build- son will be working with the Nation- ings, landscapes, sites, and collec- Arkansaurus Fridayi al Earthquake Information Center at the US Geological Survey’s Geologic Has Arrived! Hazards Science Center in Golden, Colorado. Wilson's focus involves the Rebecca Hunt-Foster (front cover, BS geospatial analysis of infrastructure 2003) has published A New Ornitho- damage and transportation network mimosaur from the Lower Cretaceous disruptions in the context of USGS Trinity Group of Arkansas and cited near real-time global earthquake haz- James H. Quinn, (faculty member here ard products. Wilson is working with from 1959-1971). A cast of the 18" tall University Professor Tom Paradise. foot (below) arrived in our department office on 8 April 2019. EMMA MENIO, a graduate student will be attending an international permafrost and periglacial processes institute in Svalbard, an Arctic Norwe- gian island archipelago and the home Limp of Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Menio will be blogging about tions. It conducts research and testing her experiences while in the far north in its own laboratories, provides cut- (77°N). She writes a blog about Sval- ting edge training around the US, and bard's culture and science. Stay warm supports research and training proj- Emma! ects at universities and nonprofits. NCPTT pushes the envelope of current preservation practice by exploring Graduate student Tia Francis was advances in science and technology been awarded a prestigious NASA in- in other fields and applying them to ternship through the DEVELOP pro- issues in cultural resources manage- gram. Francis worked with a team of ment. There are 13 members of the NASA staff and Idaho State University Board representing archaeology, - ar faculty in Pocatello, Idaho for a ten- chitecture, conservation, engineering, week position from June to August historic preservation, landscape archi- 2019. With her coursework and back- tecture and planning. ground in geo-informatics, biogeogra- Limp has had a distinguished ca- phy, geomorphology, and cartography, reer in the application of a range of She implemented satellite imagery state-of-the-art methods to the dis- and other geospatial tools to monitor covery, analysis and preservation of forest regrowth for the Monongahela archaeological and global heritage National Forest in West Virginia. resources. He has been involved in heritage preservation projects on six continents involving the application of geographic information systems, global navigation satellite systems, remote sensing, laser scanning, and photo- grammetry. He was one of the founding directors of the Open Geospatial Consortium - the global organization setting standards for geographic and

16 What do River Deltas and Bacteria Have in Common? John Shaw, Associate Professor tribution of a key quantity outside of extension, which was based on the the network itself. The bacteria grow complex equations for how sediment River deltas are giant landforms that as a function of the food concentra- is eroded, exerted remarkable control display a wide array of channel net- tion. Lightning (and Lichtenburg struc- on the eventual shape of the network. work shapes. Our study demonstrates tures) depends on the voltage field, For erosion functions that mimicked the close similarities in growth laws water injection depends on a pressure muddy sediments, the model pro- between river deltas over hundreds field. duced fewer, narrower channels. For of square miles and bacterial colonies Are branching river deltas another functions that mimicked sand, the that grow across a petri dish. member of this family of branching model produced fatter channels with processes? This was the motivating more branches. The shape of this question of a group of researchers structure, including the shape of the at the University of Arkansas. They channels and the angle at which they hypothesized that the water surface branched corresponded well to a pro- elevation outside the channel- net totype delta from coastal Louisiana. work (a kind of pressure field) would We were able to conclude that serve as the key variable in the evolv- distributary channel networks are in- ing network, and would be sufficient deed a member of the broad family of to produce a reasonable branching branching processes. This is an excit- structure observed on river deltas in ing advance for two reasons. First, the nature. This justification was based fundamental processes that influence on previous work that revealed that a river delta’s channel structure have the unchannelized water surface ele- become clearer. For example, the Shaw vation field could be important in -de growth of channels at concave areas termining branching angle of a pair of could mean that a dominant channel When viewed from space, the channels. in a growing sediment diversion could shapes of river deltas are defined by They tested this hypothesis by be initiated with very little work ear- their channel networks. In addition building a model of channel network ly on in the development of a costly to water and sediment, these chan- growth that depended only on the wa- sediment diversion. Second, it opens nels also form transportation corri- ter surface elevation field outside the the door for growth models used in dors for millions of tons of amounts of network. As with the previously stud- other fields of physics to be applied to cargo annually, and cities from Cairo ied models of bacterial growth or fluid river deltas. In other parts of physics, to Rotterdam to New Orleans have injection, the model spontaneously the growth history, conditions for in- grown on their banks. In some parts produced a series of channels that dividual branches, and trajectories of of large deltas such as the Mississippi branched and extended (see figure). future channels are being estimated. Delta, the flow through channel net- Channels generally extended the most Perhaps these properties could be de- works, diversions, and spillways are rapidly where they were had the most duced for river deltas in the future intensely managed. In order to im- concave tip and were furthest from The research paper, “Distributary prove Louisiana’s resiliency, large sed- the network source. The function that Channel Networks as Moving Bound- iment diversion projects are planned related water surface slope to channel aries: Causes and Morphodynamic that will build new coastal Effects” was published in land. Predicting such land the Journal of Geophysical growth requires under- Research: Earth Surface. standing how channel net- The study was written by works work. Wun-Tao Ke, John Shaw, River deltas are not the Robert Mahon and Chris only systems that exhibit Cathcart. branching networks. Bac- Shaw’s research pro- terial colonies tend to form gram investigates modern branches as they grow out- and ancient river deltas, ward in into a petri dish of with emphasis on the del- nutrients. Lightning, as it tas surrounding the Gulf of moves through air, branch- Mexico. This project was es depending on the elec- funded by a Department trical charge of the air. Wa- of Energy grant to under- ter, when injected into oil, stand the growth of chan- also produces branching nel networks on river del- fingers. Bacteria, lightning, tas. and water injection cases have been studied for de- cades as a family of similar growth process that de- Satellite image of the branching network of Wax Lake Delta pend primarily on the dis- in Louisiana 17 Research at Savoy

Graduate students Chelsea Amaral and David Baylor, and undergraduate Khalil Buckmeier, joined Dr. Andrew Lamb, and collected data at Savoy Research Station outside of Fayetteville using a magnetometer and drilling cores to learn more about paleomagne- tism.

Structural Geology Loses Key Site

These images document the demise of one of GREG DUMOND’s favorite outcrops in Arkansas - asymmetric folds in the Benton Uplift along 369 south of Albert Pike and the headwaters of the Little Missouri. The GEOS 3514 Structural Geology students got to these exposures in Spring 2019. The exposure has plenty of excellent examples, but this lost one was dear to his heart. The students in the left picture, RACHEL KENG and JUSTIN PALMER, were his first students as a faculty member when he joined the department in Fall 2010 (the time of the top photo). The photo on the bottom from Saturday, February 23, 2019, documents its supremely sad demise!

18 Geology Summer Field Course

19 Spring Break Trip to Big Bend, Texas

MARCH 16-23, 2019 - Starting in Tucson, AZ, ADRIANA POTRA and JILL MARSHALL introduced fifteen students to the Chiraca- hua Mountains, Hoodoos, the Organ Mountains, then three days of lessons from EDDIE VALEK (MS GEOL 1999) on the Boquillas Limestone, Government Spring Lacolith, the Chisos-Penn Anticline, the Bee Mountain Fault, and the Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Texas, a float trip on the Rio Grand, and the Ghost Town of Terlingua, Texas. Thank you Eddie! On the way back to Fayetteville we visited Dinosaur Valley State Park, Texas. Whew!

20 ous hike along the Buffalo River. Walt Alumni News Manger led a hike that, due to the con- Terri Phelan was an invited speaker at ditions at Mt. Kessler State Park, was the 2019 Horticulture Industries Show moved north to road cuts in Missouri. - People, Plants & Pollinators, that The Alumni weekend was capped by was held January 4 at The Chancellor lunch at Penguin Ed’s Barbecue. Thank Hotel in Fayetteville AR. Her presen- you to everyone who participated! tation was to the section for Master Planning. The USAID Transformation- Gardener & Public al Leadership Program (TLP) - Citizens Gardens and was Corps component held its third-annu- titled Specialty al “Volunteer of the Year” event on Gardens: Funding April 25, 2019. The “Volunteer of the Source Identifi- Year” event recognizes TLP graduates cation & Grants- who have made tremendously pos- manship. Phelan itive impacts on their communities, has a MA and BA and further promotes civic engage- in Geography (em- ment and participation among Koso- phasis on physical geography and GIS) vo’s youth. with an undergraduate minor in geology. After graduate school she was a GIS Coordinator at a local engineering The Geosciences Department held an company and then a senior systems alumni weekend on May 3-4. Events administrator for GIS software and in- included a tour of UA museum collec- house projects at a Fortune 500 com- tions led by Laurel Lamb. Jason Tulis pany. She returned to the University and Rich Hamm, assisted by graduate in 2006 and is currently the Grants Co- students Timmera Whaley and Angel- ordinator for four departments in the ica Otting, demonstrated three un- Division of Agriculture. manned aerial systems (drones) after giving a tour of their equipment and describing current research in the department. Matt Covington led a vigor-

Mac (MS Geology 1982) and Karen McGilvery (BS Anthropology 1982) were honored at the Towers of Old Main Donor’s Banquet in May. They are pictured here with Don Bobbitt, President of the University of Arkan- sas System, and Joe Steinmetz, Chan- cellor. They join other Towers of Old Main GEOS members Randy and Val- orie Lawson, Shane and Wendy Mat- son, Maurice and Leah Stoem, Eddie and Michelle Valek, and Alex and Sar- ah Warmath. Congratulations to Korab Vranovci, MS Geography 2018, Volunteer of the Year who was honored for his work on land use policy and GIS application in coordination with the Municipality of North Mitrovica (Kosovo) and the Ministry of Environment and Spatial

21 2019 Spring Awards Banquet The Department of Geosciences 2019 Spring Awards Banquet was held on May 2nd at the Garden Room on Dickson Street. A record 120 guests attended. The Brawl Group was recognized for financial contributions, with Robert Liner accepting the award. (photos courtesy Fiona Davidson)

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