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Department of Geological Sciences Newsletter No. 19, October 1970

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Department of Geological Sciences Newsletter No. 19, October 1970 Departmental News Two new members will be added to the teaching staff this Dr. Ted H. Foss,Manned SpacecraftCenter,Houston. "Caul- year, Rolland B. Bartholomew and John C. Maxwell. Mr. dron Subsidence in Trans-Pecos Texas." Bartholomew will be employed as Assistant Professor half- Dr. D. P. Gold, Pennsylvania State University, University time in our Department and half-time in Science Education. Park. "Kimberlites and Carbonatites" and "Craters, Ter- He received his B.A.degree in 1948 from the University of restrialandLunar,andTheir Origins." Colorado and a Master's degreeinEducation from that school Dr. 0.T. Hayward,Department of Geology, Baylor Univer- in1950.In 1960,hereceived hisM.A. degree inGeology from sity, Waco. "Urban Geology: AGeological Obligation." the University of New Mexico and is currently completing Dr. Leo Horvitz, Horvitz Research Laboratories, Houston. his Ph.D. inScienceEducation at the Universityof Maryland. "GeochemicalProspecting for Petroleum." He had additional training at Stanford and extensive teach- Dr. Ralph Johnson, Department of Geophysical Sciences, ing experience at the secondary and college level, and hehas University of Chicago. "Variations inDiversity inBenthic been associated with the Earth Science Curriculum Project. Marine Communities." Dr.Maxwell joinsthe staff as William Stamps Farish Profes- Mr. RufusLeßlanc, Shell Development Company, Houston. sor; a special story on him will be found elsewhere in the "Significant Studies of Clastic Sediments." Newsletter. He willbe teachinga graduate courseinstructural Dr. Richard J. Moiola,Field Research Laboratory, Mobil geology and regional tectonics.Dr.SimonM. F.Sheppardhas Oil Corporation, Dallas. "Environmental Analysis of Mod- resigned to accept the Directorship of the United Kingdom's ern and Ancient Sand Bodies with Emphasis on Discrimi- StableIsotopeLaboratory inScotland. nant Analysis." AAPG Distinguished Lecturers to the Department during Dr.Tom Nelson,Humble Oil &RefiningCompany,Houston. the year wereDr.Peter Lehner,Dr.James 0.Lewis,Mr.John "Mainstream Mantle Convection." C. Rudolph and Dr. Robert B. Stevenson. Dr. Lehner, from Mr. Edgar W. Owen, Consulting Geologist, San Antonio. Shell Development Company in Houston, lectured on "Salt "Consulting Practices." Tectonics and Pleistocene Stratigraphy on the Continental Dr. Dietrich Roeder, Humble Oil & Refining Company, Slope of the Northern Gulf of Mexico." Dr. Lewis spoke on Houston. "Fossil Subdivision Zones." "Practical Computer Usages for Subsurface Geologists." Mr. Dr. Robert J. Stanton,Jr., Department of Geology, Texas Rudolph, President of Banff Oil Ltd. of Calgary, Canada, A &M University,College Station. "Communities in Pale- talked on "Middle DevonianReef Production,Rainbow Area, oecology." Alberta." Dr.Stevenson. Assistant LaboratoryDirectorof the Mr.Clement B.Thames, Jr., Geologist-Attorney,Bismarck, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in Galveston, lectured on NorthDakota. "GeologistsinLitigation." "Gross Transport of Suspended Sediments Over Continental Mr.David B. Wenner,Division of Geological Sciences, Cali- Shelves as Analyzed from Gemini and Apollo Space Photog- fornia Instituteof Technology,Pasadena. "Hydrogen,Oxy- raphy." gen Isotope Studies of Serpentinization of Ultramafic The Department was again host to a number of other na- Rocks." tionally and internationally known geologists and prominent lecturers during the year. Since the topics are timely and of interest, we arelisting, for the first time, the paperspresented Dr. H. A. Lowenstam, Division of Geological Sciences, by these lecturers. California Institute of Technology, participated in our teach- ing program by giving a series of lectures in the graduate Mr.Bob Armstrong,Member of the TexasHouse of Repre- course in sedimentary geochemistry in the spring. His lec- sentatives, Austin. "A State RepresentativeLooks at Con- tures were entitled "Skeletal Mineralogy and Its Relation to servationLegislation." Environmental Parameters," '"Community Aspects of Reefs, Dr.Peter R.Bell,NASA,Houston."What WeKnow About StressingSilurianand Jurassic andRecentExamples,""Skele- the Surface of the Moon." tal Mineralogy and Its Bearing on Evolution," and "Non- Mr. James M. Cole,Humble Oil & Refining Company, Los pathologic Minerals Precipitated by Marine Organisms." Angeles, California. "Geology of the Ventura Basin as an Dr.YoshikazuTakaya arrived oncampusduringthe spring Approach toExploration of the ContinentalMargin." semester to begin a postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Takaya,with Dr.A. Gordon Everett, Department of the—Interior, Wash- the Institute for Southeast AsianStudies of Koyoto University ington,D.C."EnvironmentalManagement A Challenge to inKoyoto, Japan is on a year'sleaveof absence tostudy deltas Geologists." of the world and willbe workingwithAl Scott and others.He October, 1970 3 is particularly interested in coastal geomorphie processesand SpecialLecturer (Donatinghis services) sedimentation. Edgar W.Owen The faculty for the academic year 1970-71 will be as fol- Recent Faculty Activity Dan Barker is still talking (literally!) about his trip to Professors the African Rift Valley System last summer. Hehas been in- VirgilE.Barnes,Bureau of Economic Geology vited to givemany lectures on the tour. Althoughhis travels W. Charles Bell duringthe 1969-70 school year werenotin the samecategory RobertE. Boyer,Professor of Geologyand Education,As- as the one to Africa,Dan did take time out to attend GSA in sistant Chairman Atlantic City where he served as co-chairman of an experi- Fred M.Bullard mental petrology session andparticipated in a field trip to the Newark Basin. In the spring he made a field reconnaissance StephenE. Clabaugh trip to West Texas with Leon Long and graduate students Ronald K.DeFord Charles Groat and FloydHodges tomake plans for a studyof Samuel P. Ellison,Jr., AdInterim Dean,College of Arts alkalic igneousrocks inHudspethCounty.They visitedseveral & Sciences intrusivebodies in the vicinity of Sierra Prieta and collected William L. Fisher, Acting Director, Bureau of Economic samples for isotopic, geochemical and petrologic studies. Geology Danhas published three papersthisyear:"NorthAmerican Peter T.Flawn,AdInterim Vice-President for Academic Feldspathoidal Rocks in Space and Time," in GSA Bulletin Affairs, UTAustin 80; "Leaching of Quartz from Precambrian Hypabyssal Rhyolite Porphyry, Llano County, Texas," with R. F. Bur- Robert L. Folk mester, in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology; and Claude W.Horton,Professor of Physicsand Geology "A Low-MeltingBinary Eutectic System for Student Experi- F. Earl Ingerson mentation,"in the Journalof GeologicalEducation. Edward C. Jonas,Graduate Advisor During the year Dan taught the freshman physical geology ErnestL.Lundelius,Jr. (onleave inthe fall) course, petrology, and a new sophomore course in igneous John C.Maxwell,William Stamps FarishProfessor rocks. This year he will teach, in addition to the freshman course,undergraduate and graduate courses onigneous rocks Earle F.Mcßride and a graduate course in thermodynamics of geologic proc- Muehlberger, in William R. Chairman (on leave the esses.Dan serves onthe departmental Awards Committee and spring) theUniversity's Committee on Travel to Meetingsof Learned AlanJ. Scott Societies. He is continuing his research on genesis of alkalic John A. Wilson rocks, sponsored by NSF, and spent the summer in Austin KeithP. Young withoccasional field trips to West Texas for work onTertiary alkalic rocks. Associate Professors Bill Behrens, who teaches marine geology and does re- Daniel S.Barker search in marine science at the newly-named Institute of Marine Science Engineering and Resources at Port Aransas, Ralph 0.Kehle has completed his studies on the ecology of serpulid worms Leon E. Long and has several manuscripts inpreparation from the results. PeterU.Rodda,Bureau of Economic Geology Bill received anew grant from the National Science Founda- tion in June 1970 for research onHolocene stratigraphy and AssistantProfessors carbonate sedimentation inSouth Texas.At the GSA meeting in Atlantic City last November, Bill gave a paper on "Preser- Rolland B. Bartholomew,Science Education Center vation of the Organic Components of a Recent Blue-Green Behrens,Institute of Marine Science E. William AlgalMat Sequence." He also presented papers at the Texas Lynton S. Land Academy of science meetings in San Angelo inMarch and at Leland Jan Turk the GSA sectional meetingin College Station inApril. Bill and Barbara are the proud parents of a son, Mikael Lecturers Aric— their first child— who was born on May 26, 1970. (According to reports we've received as this issue goes to Leonard F.Brown,Jr.,Bureau of Economic Geology just press, theBehrens' "talk-of-the-Island" home is just that now; WarmLangston,Jr.,TexasMemorial Museum it came through Hurricane Celia smelling like a rose. While Fred McDowell manyhouses around it werepartially or totally destroyed, it W.M.Rust,Jr. sustainedonly slight damage.) 4 October, 1970 Charlie Belltaught the stratigraphy course requiredfor dating series! Fred also initiated a study of the Fillmore Vol- upper level geology majors and asectionof freshman histori- canic Field in westernUtah under a grant from the Univer- cal geology during the fall semester.Healso worked withgrad- sity's Research Institute. uatestudents onpaleontologicandstratigraphic problems,and He taught courses in physical geology, volcanology and heaattended the 1969 North AmericanPaleontologic Conven- Latin-American geology last year and
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