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• News from the Chair • Special Announcements • Faculty • Alumni

TheThe NewsletterNewsletter of of the Geological Sciences Dept. Geological Sciences Dept. Calif. State Polytechnic University Calif. State PolytechnicPomona, University Calif. Pomona, Calif.Issue 14 NovemberIssue 11 2006 The Mylonite November 2003

NEWS FROM THE CHAIR

Here it is fall of 2006. This has been a very fast year. program and participate in an important university commit- There is soooo much to tee. She was making a THIRTY YEARS OF SERVICE write about. I will be as meaningful contribution brief as possible. But, it Another chapter in the history of the Geological Sciences Department to the Department. Un- certainly has been a busy has closed. Rosalie Giroux (Thompson for you fortunately, the declin- older alumni), our administrative coordinator, year full of change, great SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ing health of both sets of accomplishments, chal- has retired after thirty extraordinary years of parents and the high cost lenge and hardship. service to the College of Science and the Geo- of living in southern logical Sciences Department. California necessitated Another original has left. Her long tenure in the Department, Brook to request a As you will read in sev- 29 years, by default, permeated all aspects of year’s leave of absence. eral articles in this My- the Program. Her service and contribution to Thus, we will be with- the Department goes beyond what words can lonite, Rosalie Giroux FACULTY out her field and sedi- convey: thirteen Mylonites, twelve alumni re- retired in August of 2006. mentary geology exper- unions, countless alumni correspondences, Rosalie was the original tise during the 06-07 faculty manuscripts, proposals, tests, etc. administrative coordina- Rosalie Giroux & academic year. We sin- tor for the Geological John Klasik Rosalie is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Margaret Claire Van cerely hope she is able Sciences Department. to return in the fall of Suffice it to say here, Buskirk Memorial Scholarship Fund. She was the first person people met as they entered the Office. Her pleasant personality quickly con- 2007. Rosalie’s 30 years of ALUMNI veyed a friendly, accepting atmosphere. In 2003, Rosalie was recog- dedicated service to the nized by her peers as the recipient of the College of Science’s Quar- On the positive side of Department has impacted change, the Department terly Staff Recognition Award. thousands of students in a August 4th was Rosalie’s last day of work at Cal Poly faculty ranks will be positive, constructive and Pomona. We have shared a lot and been through many difficult times. increasing! Geology pleasant way. She is Her efforts have been much appreciated. We all sincerely wish that has been given permis- missed! The tradition of Rosalie has a wonderful, rich, productive and long retirement. Rosalie sion to search for an fine administrative assis- applied geophysicist. If Giroux’s support, service, dedication and commitment to the students tants now falls to Ms. and faculty of the Geological Sciences Department has made a pro- the search is successful, Monica Giannini. found contribution to the success of the educational program, develop- in the fall of 2007, the ment activities, and wellbeing of the Department. Department will have Our faculty ranks took an seven tenured or tenure unexpected turn. Dr. Brook Riley came to Cal Poly in track faculty members. This will be a major milestone. the fall of 2005. Her reduced teaching load allowed her This will be the first increase in the academic size of the to get used to academia, make several new course prepa- Department since Klasik came on board in the fall of 1977! (Continued on page 2)

Page 1 As of this writing, we are in the advertising phase of the San Francisco earthquake. Dr. Marshall lead the four search. The search for an applied geophysicist is a direct day central and northern California excursion. Starting result of comments from alumni and External Program in Santa Cruz and ending at Point Reyes, those in at- Reviewer reports. We do listen to you all! This position tendance got to see the central, creeping section, of the will add a new dimension to the Department. It will bet- San Andreas, visited the epicenter of the ’89 Loma ter prepare our majors for graduate school and geotechni- Prieta quake, toured key historic sites in downtown cal employment. San Francisco and finished on the northern segment of the rupture at Point Reyes. The generosity and loyalty of our alumni played a big role in Department activities in 2005 – 2006. Under the Two major important institutional initiatives consumed leadership of the Geology Club the Department hosted much of the Department’s “free” time. Two Learning two Career Symposia. The Department wanted its geo- Outcomes Assessment projects kept the Department science majors to get a more thorough, first hand under- occupied for much of the academic year. The Univer- standing and a flavor the work of practicing geologists. sity’s Prioritization and Recovery initiative consumed Our winter quarter ’06 symposium dealt with the realm the spring quarter. of hydrogeology. Our spring quarter ’06 symposium was in the field of engineering geology. Each symposia Assessment of General Education classes and assess- had three invited alumni representing different aspects of ment of our geoscience program involved the entire the profession. Each alumnus gave a short talk as to faculty. The Academic Senate has asked to have what their job entailed and the training / expertise needed courses in the various areas of Gen. Ed. to determine, to be successful at their job. At the conclusion of the assess, how they meet the broad general ideals of the presentations, the alumni gave practical, candid advice area. In Geology’s case, the Physical Sciences. Dr. regarding how to prepare for jobs and what employers Marshall served as chair of the Physical Science As- are looking for in applicants. The Department thanks all sessment Committee. Dr. Klasik joined faculty from six dedicated alumni for their time and effort. Environ- Physics, Chemistry and Geography & Anthropology to mental geology will be this fall’s Career Symposium assist Dr. Marshall formulate a method of assessing discipline. In the coming quarters careers in academia how well the disparate courses met the Gen. Ed. ideals. and mining will be explored. So, alumni in these three Dr. Nourse is chair of the Department Program As- fields get ready to be tapped for assistance! The sympo- sessment Committee. Dr. Nourse lead the faculty in sia have been well attended by our undergraduates and formulating a five year plan to assess how well our their success is due to the dedication of our alumni to the courses meet the goals and objectives of an under- Geology Department. Through these symposia, geo- graduate geoscience program. Part of formulating this science majors will be better informed regarding possible Department Assessment Plan was to have external career paths as well as making valuable contacts with our experts, Drs. Joan Fryxell of Cal State San Bernardino alumni. and Steven Semken of Arizona State, visit campus and discuss the Plan with various administrative officials We need to also recognize Mr. Peter Valles (’83). This and the faculty. Drs. Semken and Fryxell were quite was quite a year for Peter and the Department. Peter positive about the Plan and the Department. They returned to Cal Poly Pomona in February to participate offered several good suggestions as to how to make in the Alumni Professor for a Day Program. Then, in the Plan succeed. This Department Assessment Plan late April of 2006, Peter came back to Cal Poly Pomona. will be a significant undertaking. But, with consulta- This time Peter was honored by being the 2006 College tion with alumni and studying what we teach versus of Science Distinguished Alumnus. More about Peter what students actually learn and being sensitive to and his accomplishments in other Mylonite articles. changing career expectations, we will wind up with a better undergraduate program which is constantly In a similar vein to our previously mentioned Career evolving to assure we produce the very best under- Symposia, Drs. Jessey and Riley, hosted a session titled graduate geoscience majors. “Pathways to Graduate School”. This spring quarter event gave our undergraduates sage, experienced advice Prioritization and Recovery challenged the Depart- and guidance regarding how to apply, how to select and ment. The process engulfed and consumed the entire what to expect in graduate school. spring quarter of 2006. I have mentioned prioritization in a previous Mylonite. The process turned out to be Under the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Marshall, the Geol- all consuming, draining, fraught with delays, uncom- th ogy Club, “celebrated” the 100 anniversary of the promising deadlines (Continued on page 3)

Page 2 and in a couple of words, extremely frustrating. The pursuing a Masters degree at Cal State Northridge. bulk of the entire spring quarter was taken up by prepara- tion of Department reports. Two significant reports had Hardship struck the Department in the form of accident. to be prepared; one for the Geology Program; and, one In early March 2006, the field vehicle got into an acci- for the Integrated Earth Studies Program. Virtually all of dent. The vehicle was returning from Death Valley via the narrative which delved into program history, value to Highway 395. While passing a truck, it became neces- the university, development activities, etc. had to be pre- sary to swerve to avoid an unexpectedly close oncoming pared prior to receiving numerical data from various vehicle. That caused the field vehicle, still under control, campus sources. It was sort of like writing the publica- to rebound tion before doing the experiment. Those dedicated per- and slam into sonnel in the College of Science Office did remarkable the side of work, extracting and providing much of the sought after the trailer data. In the end enough information was generated and truck it was submitted by all degree programs on campus to be exam- attempting to ined and digested for years to come. Thus, we have only pass. This completed the first phase of the Prioritization and Recov- thoroughly ery initiative. Time will tell how all this plays out. But, destroyed the the narrative and numerical data will be linked to fund- entire length ing. In the end, there will be a recommendation to either of the pas- increase funding, have funding remain unchanged, de- senger side crease funding or eliminate a program. of the 2001 Suburban. Look at the Grants and Publications section of this news- Thankfully letter! Faculty and student professional accomplish- no one in the field vehicle was injured. The truck contin- ments this year have been remarkable! Twenty-one total ued on its way. We are now in the very long process of publications / presentations. Fifty-two percent of them replacing the vehicle. have our geoscience majors as co-authors. Twelve dif- ferent students (some now alumni) were involved in this In late April 2006, the whole Department was deeply amazing effort! Collaborative research covering the saddened and impacted by the untimely passing of Adair spectrum from environmental studies to tectonics and Satterfield. Adair was the husband of near-graduating continental reconstructions is listed. Student involve- senior Terri Satterfield. His passing in April shocked us ment is at every segment of the publication list. Rigor- all. Terri persevered and completed her spring quarter ous, meaningful, professional, faculty-mentored student studies. Fulfilling her dream, she walked in the June research that epitomizes the Cal Poly Pomona’s learn by graduation ceremonies and will graduate in December doing philosophy is alive and well within the Geological 2006. Sciences Department. Enrollments in our courses and the numbers of geo- The high caliber of our geoscience majors continues to science majors are looking up. This fall, seven incoming be a bright spot for the Department. Randal Burns (’06) freshmen and / or transfer students joined the ranks of must be congratulated for doing such a fine job as an the Department. This is on top of three or four students intern (he did a remarkable job defending his senior the- from other majors switching to Geology. We are pleased sis based on his internship) that he was offered a full- that our efforts and reputation is attracting fine, qualified, time permanent position with Quadra Mining Company’s eager students. Overall, enrollments in all our course Robinson Mine in Nevada. During the summer of 2006, offerings remained strong in 2005 – 2006. We continued undergraduate Lauren Carey, President’s Honor List to excel and meet our enrollment targets. student for 05-06, took Randal’s intern position at the So, like so many years and like life in general, we have Robinson Mine. Senior Allison Routolo (you have seen experienced both excellent high points and a few low her name before) was the 2006 recipient of the Margaret points. The Department will continue to be staffed by Van Buskirk Memorial Scholarship Award. Matthew new persons and will grow with new faculty and new Lusk, another 05-06 President’s Honor List student, re- majors. It has been a remarkable year! ceived the 2006 Henderson – Valles Geoscience Scholar- ship. Eli LaFromboise (’06), for his studies of active tectonics in Costa Rica, was the recipient of the 2006 Ernest Prete, Jr. Geological Sciences award. Eli is now

Page 3 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

THE 2006 ALUMNI REUNION 2004 transit of Venus. Faculty similarly expressed gratitude This year the Alumni Reunion, our 13th, was held, ap- for all the work she has done propriately, on May 13th at for the instructional mission. Bonelli Regional County Park. The Reunion was well Appreciation Awards are his- attended by alumni (of torically, only given to people course), faculty, staff and not affiliated with Cal Poly many of Rosalie Giroux’s Pomona Geology, yet who in family and relatives. The some way have performed weather cooperated and a exceptional service to the Pro- good time was had by all. It gram. This year, we broke is always nice to renew ac- with tradition and gave Rosa- quaintances, see the new ba- Rosalie receiving Transit of lie a well deserved Apprecia- Venus photograph from tion Award plaque expressing bies, and, this year, meet Harold Katzman (‘77) many of Rosalie’s extended the Department’s heart-felt gratitude for so many years of service. family (they supplied most of Time to cut the cake! the photographs of Rosalie Rosalie cutting her See all the great things that go on at reunions. You can’t that you see in this Mylonite). Happy Retirement cake afford to miss another reunion. Start planning now! Go

The faculty did the grocery shopping and grilled ham- out and buy a 2007 calendar and on it put, as your first event of 2007, our Reunion! It is scheduled for May burgers and hot th dogs. All at- 12 , that’s the day before Mother’s Day so you can’t tending were forget. asked to pro- vide either a PETER K. VALLES, COLLEGE OF SCIENCE side dish or a 2006 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS salad. There AND ALUMNI PROFESSOR FOR A DAY

were too many Peter Valles (’83) has been re-occurring name in the My- great-looking, lonite. Peter’s stature in the profession, his long, strong wonderful items relationship with the Department and his (and Shell to sample. A Oil’s) generous support of our huge chocolate Rosalie & Raymond and their family geoscience majors places him in retirement cake an elite class of Cal Poly Pomona provided by Rosalie’s family was the principal dessert. alumni. The awarding of the 2006 scholarships (see separate arti- In February Peter returned to Cal cle) and recognizing Rosalie for 30 years of dedicated Poly Pomona to participate in the service fell between the main course and the dessert – it Alumni Professor for a Day Pro- was a great chocolate cake. This year’s scholarship re- gram. This campus-wide pro- cipients encapsulated all the good things about our geo- gram invites alumni back to science majors. speak in a class-like setting about The May 2006 alumni reunion was, in part, dedicated to their professional activities and Peter Valles (‘83) Rosalie. Alumni in attendance, in person and via numer- the importance of a Cal Poly ous emails, expressed their appreciation for what she has Pomona education. Peter spoke done and how she has become part of their fond Cal Poly to a large group of faculty, geoscience majors and guests Pomona and Department memories. Harold Katzman about the “Path to Professionalism”. Recounting signifi- (’77), excellent photographer and solar eclipse aficio- cant experiences at Cal Poly Pomona and events during nado, gave Rosalie a mounted photograph of the June (Continued on page 5) Page 4 his career with Shell Oil, Peter provided guidance as to support the undergraduates in our program. As a result, how to succeed in the corporate world. the Alice Lane Student Support Fund has been estab- lished. The fund will assist geoscience students as they On April 28, 2006, Peter and alumni from eight other progress through the Geological Sciences Department colleges, programs, etc. were honored as their program’s degree program. Distinguished Alumnus. The ceremony was held at Cal Poly Pomona’s Collins School of Hotel and Restaurant The faculty, in consultation with the students, have de- Management. The event was attended by a hundred or cided to focus attention on the freshmen and sophomore more members of the campus community, faculty, fam- majors and those that are nearing the completion of their ily and well-wishers. undergraduate careers. The faculty decided to outfit new undergraduates enrolled in Field Methods with necessary Peter is the Learning and Development Manager for field equipment: rock hammer, hand lens, field note- Shell International Exploration and Production. He was book, acid bottle, etc. They believe this gesture is im- recognized as the College of Science’s 2006 Distin- portant to stress the significance of field experiences and guished Alumnus for his professional successes, his readies our new majors for life-long experience as an strong support of the Geological Sciences Department Earth Scientist. Similarly as an undergraduate ap- and, for his generosity in creating and maintaining two proaches graduation they become involved in faculty geoscience scholarships which support the students in mentored research. The Alice Lane Student Support the Program. Fund will help with costs of research, participation in all In Peter’s Distinguished Alumnus acceptance speech, he important professional convocations, travel to field sites, recounted how immediately his Cal Poly Pomona learn- etc. An award from the Alice Lane Student Support by-doing, hands-on experience, was put to the test well Fund could just be enough to assure retention in the pro- sitting on Alaska’s north slope. He mentioned how im- gram and academic success. portant the mentoring he received in Cal Poly Pomona’s In 1998, Sally established a Living Trust. As a result, Geological Sciences Department was to learning the key, the Bernard O. Lane Paleontology Lab was established fundamentals of Geology. The environment fostered as, probably, the first named lab in the College of Sci- learning and independent thinking. Peter acknowledged ence. Through the Lane Lab, and the funds derived from the importance of family and faculty support as an un- the Living Trust, paleontology will forever be a part of derpinning of academic and professional success. an undergraduate Geology curriculum at Cal Poly Peter’s Distinguished Alumni Award is the second for Pomona. The proceeds from the fund are being used to the Geological Sciences Department. Dr. David Rogers support the Lab and maintain the collection.

(‘76) was recognized as the College’s Distinguished So, once again, the Geological Sciences Department Alumnus in 2001. thanks Mrs. Alice Lane for her continued trust and sup- port in what we do at Cal Poly Pomona.

Oh, by the way, she also enjoys receiving the Mylonite each fall! Hope Sally can attend the 2007 alumni reun- ion!

2006 SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

Ernest Prete, Jr. Geological Sciences Award:

Eli LaFromboise (’06) was the 2006 recipient of the $1,000 Ernest Prete, Jr. Geological Sciences Award. The L-R: Larry & Lucy Herber, Peter & Laura Valles, Peter’s Prete Foundation established the scholarship at Cal Poly Mom, and Jerry & John Klasik Pomona in 1998. Mr. Prete had a very deep interest in Earth’s physical environment and a desire to better un- derstand our surroundings. The Scholarship is intended NEW SCHOLARSHIP ESTABLISHED to recognize academic excellence and, through directed research, gain a better understanding of Earth’s physical The generosity of Mrs. Alice (Sally) Lane has come to environment. the fore again. This past September, Alice Lane made a significant donation. Mrs. Lane wanted some way to (Continued on page 6) Page 5 Eli is working under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Mar- son Ruotolo is entering her senior year at Cal Poly shall. Eli’s senior thesis examines the upper crustal re- Pomona. She will make a great “ambassador” and is a sponse to a subducting slab of rough oceanic crust under role model for all geoscience majors. the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. His geomorphic study contributes to the understanding of how the penin- Henderson – Valles Geosciences Award: sula is actively deforming. This is of great importance to The Henderson – Valles Geosciences Scholarship was the wellbeing of its citizens and the economy of the re- established two years ago. Peter Valles (’83) has given gion. This is so because there has been no major earth- the faculty great latitude in how to disburse the funds. quake in 50 years; yet, history suggests the area is capa- The faculty want to recognize a major(s) for scholastic ble of receiving a magnitude 7.5 quake. achievement, contribution to the Department, diligence, Eli has made several trips with Dr. Marshall to Costa help with faculty research or their own senior thesis stud- Rica. Eli’s work with Dr. Marshall resulted in four co- ies. Somehow the recipient has authored publications. He will defend his senior thesis in forwarded the mission of the the fall of 2006. Mr. LaFromboise is enrolled in the Ge- Geological Sciences Program. ology Master’s program at Cal State Northridge. At Mr. Matthew Lusk was selected Northridge he will continue his study of the tectonics of as the 2006 recipient of the $750 Central America and Costa Rica. award. Matt was recognized for

Margaret Claire Van Buskirk Memorial Scholarship: his high academic achievement and the many ways he has made Rosalie Grioux had the honor of presenting the 2006 a contribution to the Department. Margaret Claire Van Buskirk Memorial Scholarship Matt made the President’s Honor award to Ms. Allison Ruotolo. The $750 Award, estab- List for 05 – 06. Matt is the 2006 lished in 1997, honors Margaret Van Buskirk’s hard College of Science’s President’s work and commitment to her undergraduate studies in Council Scholar. Matt’s decision Geology. The recipient is an undergraduate who has to devote full-time to his studies achieved the most through application and personal ef- was a major turning point in his fort. The memory of Margaret lives on through this life. Faculty feel he should be Scholarship. soundly commended for this de- cision. Matt has interest in pur- Allison Ruotolo was suing an advanced degree in the 2005 – 2006 geophysics and perhaps, enter Matthew Lusk Acceps Geology Club Presi- the teaching profession. Matt The $750 Henderson- Valles Award dent. Under her was the Geology Club’s Sci- leadership and or- ence Council Representative. ganizational skills, The Club and the students benefited greatly from Matt’s the first two Career Science Council efforts. More than $800 was given to Symposia were pre- the Club in 2006 to fund the San Andreas fault centen- sented. She worked nial field trip. Matt’s quiet assistance of his fellow stu- closely with Dr. dents has been gratifying to Matt and a benefit to the Marshall to plan students. Matt is a all around fine individual and well and assure the San From L-R: Rosalie Giroux, Allison M. deserving of the Henderson – Valles Award. Ruotolo, and John Klasik Andreas fault cen- Valles AGI Glossary of Geology Award: tennial field trip was a success. Allison is a student as- sistant / grader for the Department. Her diligence, atten- Six years ago Peter Valles(’83) started a tradition of tion to detail and timely turn around of materials greatly sending us an AGI Glossary of Geology. Mr. Valles aided geoscience faculty and was most appreciated by requested that the faculty give it to a deserving student. the students. Allison presented research on Quaternary Each year we have followed Peter’s desire and given the alluvial fan deposition and active faulting in the central Glossary to an undergraduate who shows promise to San Gabriel Mountains at the May 2006 GSA meeting in make an excellent Geologist. This year John Utick was Anchorage. She was the 2004 recipient of the California selected as the recipient of the Glossary. John is nearing Federation of Mineralogical Societies scholarship. Alli- completion of his Geology degree. Mr. Utick’s senior

Page 6 thesis, like Eli’s, is part of Dr. Marshall’s Costa Rica, Nicoya Peninsula active tectonics / deformation research. John Utick was the co-recipient (with Eli) of the 2005 TELL US YOUR NEWS! Puente Hills Gem and Mineral Scholarship. John’s work with Dr. Marshall resulted in four co-authored publica- tions. The faculty feel John Utick has great potential in NEW JOB? graduate school or employment in the geotechnical in- dustry. John is an excellent selection for the Valles AGI Glossary of Geology Award.

2006-07 GEOLOGY CLUB TRONA GEM-O-RAMA

RETIRED?

TAKE A TRIP?

EXOTIC VACATION?

SPECIAL HONOR? Geology Club members scouting for the elusive Pink Halite at the Gem-O-Rama in Trona, CA, Oct. 14-15, 2006 From L-R: Travis Avant, Shawn Morrish, Kayla Kroll, and Allison Ruotolo GET MARRIED?

NEW BABY?

NEW HOME?

JUST WANT ATTENTION?

(A jpg photo, or any updates or news via e-mail would be perfect! Please send any photos, updates or L-R: Andrew , Allison Ruotolo, Julie Brown and Shawn information to Morrish [email protected])

Page 7 NEWS FROM THE FACULTY

David R. Berry We never were in any serious danger on our hikes into the bush, but the soccer ball size droppings of elephants My Mylonite activity for the year 2006 essentially was a and rhinos, fresh and wet, always reminded us that pow- carbon copy of my report erful, large, and likely hostile, animals were in the for 2005 with one signifi- neighborhood. As a result, we speculated on the ques- cant exception. I spent vari- tion of how our tiny ancestors survived in this primeval ous parts of the year in my environment. usual humdrum activities such as teaching the usual On one field trip through the savanna we encountered set of high enrollment lower low broad structures about two meters across that resem- division classes, two sum- bled remarkably a scale model of a Hawaiian shield vol- mer courses, and following cano. The caldera-like summit of the mound was filled the spoor of the Black Rhi- with a viscous liquid. Our guide (who was armed!) iden- noceros through the thorn tified these shield-like structures as rhinoceros latrines. forest of South Africa. All around them were recently made footprints, fresh feces, and broken acacia bushes all of which indicated In August, I accompanied that the great beasts had passed by the site recently. As several Cal Poly biology we examined this spoor, we were watched over (from professors and students about 100 meters away) by a pair of doe-eyed giraffes (along with Dr. Steve apparently concerned with our intrusion of their back- McCauley from the Physics yard. Department) on a gun-less safari to South Africa. I The real highlight of the trip, however, was our coming upon a family of feeding lions on a pitch black road at attended as the token geolo- Dave Berry gist although my contribu- night as we returned from another field trip. Dr. tions were eclipsed by the general lack of good rock ex- McCauley was the first to spot the great cats (two males, posures on the grassy plains and in the acacia forest. five females) at the edge of our headlights. The males Also, the busy itinerary of the bird watchers left little slunk away into the acacias, but the females held their time for visiting the chromite mines, the exposures of ground, snarling and spitting at us as they munched up a Gondwana coal at the on-site generating plants, or the recent buffalo kill by the side of the road. The sight of Bushveldt mining district. Nonetheless, I did see some these big cats, snarling, and telling us to get our own outcrops of the Ecca Series shales (without Mesosaurus) buffalo (don’t bother us, we’re eating!) particularly im- and some immense basalt flows of the Drakensberg pressed us since we were on an open truck, about 3 me- Mountains that originated from fissures which accompa- ters from the beasts! I was thankful for the electrified nied the breakup of Gondwanaland. fence that surrounded our compound!

Despite the lack of close-up observation of South Afri- Back home at Cal Poly, I have been involved in another can rocks, the trip was extremely satisfying because each project studying wild mammals, but at the other end of day in the African parks we observed what is, in effect, a the size range. I have been examining washed concen- surviving Pleistocene megafauna living and breathing trates of Miocene paralic and continental sediments from almost in our faces! Within a few days the elephants, several construction sites in Orange County. The sam- various rhinos, giraffes, all sorts of antelopes, even hye- ples essentially are barren of fossils except for astonish- nas that had intrigued us when we first arrived became a ingly large numbers of rodent teeth. One envisions thou- nuisance as they blocked our roads and trails. sands of mouse carcasses on the strand line of a Miocene (Continued on page 9) Page 8 beach. Why were so many dead rodents deposited at those of my son and daughter. My daughter graduated essentially the same moment in geologic time in this from UC-Irvine (drama) last year and my son is pres- region? Flood? Epidemic? Lair? This will be an inter- ently a sophomore at UCLA (undeclared). Monica is esting taphonomic problem for a future student investi- working full time for the Inland Valley Humane Society gator. and Mark is playing video games!

Early in 2006, I participated in removal of sediments and My research has centered on geochemistry of volcanic bone fragments from the Victorville mammoth site. The rocks of the Mojave and Owens Valley. This past spring larger remains of the Pleistocene elephant previously had Suzanne Baltzer and I presented the results of our recent been taken to the museum in Barstow for preparation and research on volcanism in the Central Mojave at the ultimate display. The enclosing sediment must be stud- Southern California Academy of Sciences. The presen- ied for plant and animal microfossils which will yield tation went well; in fact it won the outstanding poster information on paleoenvironmental conditions at the spot award. It was so well received I was strongly encour- where the great beast died. aged to present the research at GSA (see below). I also coauthored a presentation with Ashley Varnell on the Also during 2006, I continued my examination of surviv- basalts of the Big Pine field at the Southern California ing paleontological resources in Riverside and San Diego Academy of Sciences. Counties. I had hoped to find field trip localities and also potential research sites (senior thesis fodder) within I will be attending the GSA in spring 2007. Not the reasonable distance from Cal Poly. Sadly, many of the usual Cordilleran Section Meeting in Washington, but sites which were accessible only a few years ago, now rather the Rocky Mountain Meeting in St. George, Utah. are under a veneer of asphalt and concrete. They are I will be presenting the aforementioned research but will essentially reburied! Construction projects constantly also be coauthoring two student poster sessions with expose new fossil beds, particularly in the coastal region Leianna Michalka and Matt Lusk. The former will pre- of San Diego, but such exposures are ephemeral and sent her work on the basalts of the Mammoth Lakes/ must be studied immediately; hence, my many short- Mono Basin and the latter his work on the Darwin pla- term field trips to the region of southern California. teau. I hope to sign up for the GSA field trip to Zion National Park, it would be a nice addition to my knowl- In February, I traveled to UC Berkeley for a three day edge of that area. conference on Bay Area earthquakes and the teaching of seismology to middle school students. The symposium/ With the upturn in commodity prices the mining industry workshop was hosted by the Museum of Paleontology as has seen a rebirth. Randal Burns (’06) is now employed part of a series of Bay Area events commemorating the as a mine geologist for Quarda Resources in Ely, Nevada San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. and Lauren Carey spent a summer interning at the Rob- inson Mine. The rekindled interest has led me to offer Again this March I served as “Event Captain” for the Ore Deposits this coming winter quarter (2007). We will visiting Science Olympiad. This year I concentrated on be making a field trip to the porphyry copper mines of minerals and rocks rather than fossils. eastern Arizona in early February in conjunction with the

On campus, I continue to lecture on human paleopathol- class. Of course we will take in the Tucson Gem and ogy in Dave Lord’s course on forensic anthropology, and Mineral Show while we are there! I also have the annual I also discuss fossil fuels in Dr. Mirales’ physics class trek to Mammoth to look forward to in the spring; could- (Energy and Society). n't go last year because of the heavy snow and schedule conflicts. It has been an intellectually stimulating year! Jeff Marshall David Jessey Greetings GeoBroncos! The harvest moon is upon us and It doesn't seem like a year has passed already. In the its time once again for our annual Mylonite babble. The spring I managed to total the field vehicle on a field trip big news for me this year is my promotion to Associate to Death Valley. The vehicle was packed with students, Professor with tenure [insert joyful whooping sound but no one was injured. We are presently attempting to here]. After five years of pre-tenure intensity, I’m now acquire a new vehicle to replace the remnants of the old enjoying a much-needed break, with a Fall quarter sab- one. I spent the remainder of the year concentrating on batical and a slightly bigger paycheck. The past year was making money to pay off college loans. Not mine, but (Continued on page 10)

Page 9 indeed eventful, brimming with many adventures in During fall, I also traveled to Denver to participate in the teaching, research, and geo-travel (including some great Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native trips to the far corners of our hemisphere). The following Americans in Science (SACNAS) national conference. ramblings recount the year’s highlights. This year, I staffed an information booth for the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), and served as a Last fall, I taught Geomorphology and Natural Disasters. judge and session chair for the SACNAS Geosciences For the third year, I led the Geomorph students on a Division student research talks and posters. I also partici- mini-research project investigating uplifted Pleistocene pated as a geology mentor in the “Conversations with alluvial fan remnants along the San Gabriel Mountain Scientists” roundtable discussions. This was my second front. This year, we focused on gravel sequences along year at the SACNAS conference, and I was again im- lower San Dimas Canyon, Claremont Wilderness Park, pressed by the quality and diversity of student research and San Antonio Canyon. Again, the students did a fan- presented at these meetings. The new national president tastic job on these projects. Allison Ruotolo (‘07) and of SACNAS, Dr. Aaron Velasco, is a seismologist and Rob Ellis (’08) enjoyed their project so much, that they an old friend of mine from graduate school. Due in part decided to present their results at the GSA Cordilleran to his efforts, the SACNAS Geosciences Division is meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Both have also decided to strong and is making great strides in diversifying the do their senior thesis projects with me on this topic. ranks of professional geologists. I hope to get our own

The Natural Disasters class continues to be one of my students involved in this great organization in coming years. favorites. Two years ago, I taught this class right on the heels of the Indian Ocean tsunami. I turned to the Inter- In November, I turned my efforts toward writing a col- net to learn everything I could about that disaster as laborative NSF proposal for Costa Rica tectonics re- quickly as possible. This year, it was Hurricane Katrina. search with colleagues at Penn State and University of Again, I had to learn a lot, in a very short time frame. I Texas El Paso (including the SACNAS president men- never cease to be amazed at the fantastic geosciences tioned above). This 3-year, $610,000 proposal included a information and imagery that is now available through Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) de- the Web. Our “smart classrooms” allow for Internet pro- signed to bring Cal Poly, UTEP, and PSU students into jection, bringing real-time data and images to life for our the field in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, the proposal was students. It was really cool to show them recent USGS not funded during this round. We hope to resubmit a air photos and computer models of flooded New Orleans revised version soon. or of barrier islands ripped asunder along the Gulf Coast. We now can bring geologic events directly into the class- December began with a great trip to San Francisco to room as they happen. participate in the American Geophysical Union confer- ence. In my role as a CUR geosciences councilor, I had Research activities during the Fall included working with organized an AGU session on cutting-edge trends in Eli LaFromboise (’06) and John Utick (’07) to prepare a Earth Science student research. This session was co- poster on our Costa Rica fieldwork for the GSA annual chaired by Aaron Velasco (SACNAS president). I gave a meeting in Salt Lake City. This poster presented our pre- PowerPoint talk on my undergraduate student research liminary results on Quaternary marine terrace correla- projects investigating active tectonics and earthquake tions, and variable coastal uplift rates along the Nicoya hazards of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. This year, I Peninsula seismic gap. I also prepared my first ever stayed in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, one of the grand PowerPoint talk for a major conference (I must say, it is old gems of Union Square. While in “the City”, I en- sad to see slide projectors going the way of the dino- joyed yet another evening with geo-colleagues at the saur!). This talk focused on Costa Rica as a prime inter- Fillmore, rockin’ to Robert Earl Keen. Following the national destination for geology field trips and fieldwork meeting, I spent several days exploring San Francisco’s with students. Both presentations were successful. Eli, 1906 Earthquake history, and doing reconnaissance for John, and I enjoyed a great meeting, and I think I con- the upcoming spring 2006 Geology Club Field Trip vinced them that QG&G is the best division in GSA! along the San Andreas Fault. Later in Fall quarter, John and Eli presented a talk on their Costa Rica projects for the Puente Hills Gem and In winter quarter, my attention shifted to the College’s Mineral Society. The society provided them with a gen- science education efforts, with a course release paid for erous scholarship that helped defray the cost of radiocar- by the Teacher Quality Enhancement grant (TQE). bon dating of their Holocene beach rock samples. Throughout the year, Brook Riley and I represented the (Continued on page 11)

Page 10 Geology Department in a series of TQE workshops and rupture-zone along the San Andreas Fault, from San Juan planning meetings. This project involves significant Bautista to Pt. Reyes. We camped two nights at New overhaul of our Earth Science Education course (SCI Brighton State Beach near Santa Cruz, and one night at 212), in an effort to train future teachers with hands-on, Samuel Taylor Redwoods State Park in Marin County. inquiry-based pedagogy. My SCI 212 students also par- Highlights of the trip included fault-creep road cracks in ticipated for the fifth year in a Service Learning Practical Hollister, sag ponds at Aromas, quake-induced landslides Teaching Experience in the classroom of 6th grade on Loma Prieta, uplifted marine terraces at Santa Cruz, teacher Ann Marie Katze (Geology minor, ’99). Once G.K. Gilbert’s offset fence at Olema, windy outcrops on again, we thank Ann Marie for supporting this activity! Pt. Reyes, a walking tour of San Francisco quake sites, and a fantastic carne asada feast on our last night in In spring quarter, I taught the Earth Science Education camp. course again, plus a series of three workshops for in- service middle school teachers. These workshops on Shortly after the Geology Club field trip, I traveled to Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Thermal Energy were Anchorage, Alaska to attend the GSA Cordilleran Sec- conducted through the state sponsored Math and Science tion meeting with four of our students (Eli LaFromboise, Partnership (MSP) with the Hacienda La Puente school John Utick, Allison Ruotolo, and Rob Ellis). At this district. With many projects like TQE, MSP, and meeting, I chaired the Council on Undergraduate Re- Teacher Service Learning, Cal Poly Pomona is rapidly search (CUR) student poster session, which featured four becoming a regional center for Science Education. excellent posters by our students. We also made day trips to the 1964 earthquake park at Turnagain Heights Also during spring quarter, I introduced a new Field (striking liquefaction and lateral spreading features still Module on Tectonic Geomorphology. This Field Module visible) and out the Seward Highway along Cook Inlet involved a comparative study of uplifted Quaternary and Turnagain Arm (spectacular glacial geomorphol- marine terraces at Crystal Cove State Park in Orange ogy). This was yet another great trip (and I wasn’t even County, and Wilder Ranch State Park near Santa Cruz. on sabbatical yet!). It also completed my month-long The students mapped terrace flights, surveyed topog- “geo-trek” from one end of the American Cordillera to raphic profiles, and conducted sea-level curve correla- the other (Argentina to Alaska). tions to determine terrace ages and uplift rates. Results from both sites were compared and evaluated with re- The summer began with official news of my tenure, pro- spect to the tectonic mechanisms driving deformation motion, and sabbatical. It also brought more travel along (San Joaquin Hills blind thrust at Crystal Cove, and SAF the “Backbone of the Americas”. In June, I headed to restraining bend at Wilder Ranch). Costa Rica for fieldwork on the Nicoya Peninsula and to serve as the token Geology faculty on the Biology De- In addition to spring quarter teaching, I also traveled partment’s Tropical Field Studies course. This two-week, from one end of the American Cordillera to the other project-based study trip visited four different ecological (and several sites in between). In April, I flew to Men- zones (a.k.a. geomorphic provinces). I learned more doza, Argentina to present a Costa Rica research poster about birds, frogs, and trees than I ever thought possible. at the GSA Backbone of the Americas conference. Wow! Despite incessant rain, this trip was great fun, and I think What a trip! Mendoza is a colorful old town situated on I managed to convince the biology students that geology an alluvial fan at the base of the Andean Pre-Cordillera. and tectonics set the stage for the ecological systems This is the center of Argentina’s prime wine country, and they were studying. gateway to the high Andes, including Aconcagua Peak National Park. As you might imagine, the meeting was Since the Costa Rica trip, I’ve switched into sabbatical fantastic, including a field trip to the crest of the Andes mode, spending quality time with my family, and focus- along the famous route taken by geologist Charles Dar- ing on writing papers and developing a new web site. win in the 1800’s. It was great fun to share perspectives When you get a chance, check out my web page, as well on Cordilleran tectonics with geologists from throughout as the new web sites for the Geology Department and the the western hemisphere (especially while enjoying a fine Geology Club. Note that there is now an Alumni Link on Tira de Asado and glass of Malbec at one of Mendoza’s the department web site. Until next time, I wish you all renowned sidewalk parillas). happy holidays and a peaceful New Year!

After returning from Argentina, I led the Geology Club on a 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Centennial Field Trip. We spent three fun-filled days following the 1906 (Continued on page 12)

Page 11 Dr. Jon Nourse way down to Mexico. During the 1½ days needed for repair, students remained in good spirits by mapping It’s hard to believe October is here again. I’m taking a foliation, dikes and veins in the Cargo Muchacho Moun- break from the baseball playoffs (my only TV-sports tains, using GPS units with no base map (just a sheet of vice) to write this Mylonite article. paper for plotting the data locations). Eventually we

Last year was another busy one, especially spring quar- made it to Sierra Los Alacranes for another productive ter, during which I designed and taught a new course mapping session. Currently the Department is waiting (GSC 310--GIS Applications for Earth and Environ- for a replacement field vehicle to be approved and deliv- mental Scientists) in between editing senior theses, dash- ered. If everything works out as planned, we should own ing from one committee meeting to another, and manag- a new 4-wheel drive Ford F-250 crewcab pickup some- ing two large sections of Engineering Geology. The GIS time next winter quarter. course utilized fresh digital data acquired by my winter I am currently writing an article with USGS colleagues quarter Field Module students to draft new geologic and describing geochronology and radiogenic isotopes of the structure maps. For another project, students used GPS Proterozoic “San Gabriel” basement terrane. We have receivers to map washed out and damaged segments of now analyzed 18 samples dispersed between Yuma and the Mt. Baldy road and SCE hydroelectric diversion sys- Mt. Pinos along various strands of the San Andreas Fault tem in San Antonio Canyon. Seniors Jessica Strand, system. Recently acquired U-Pb zircon ages include a Pablo Cortez, and Miguel Espinoza presented their thesis 1770 Ma crystallization age for granite gneiss of Cobal results to students and faculty in May. Jessica compared Canyon, located directly north of Claremont. This is the historical runoff in San Dimas Canyon to the data set she second oldest plutonic rock known in California. The measured after the heavy rains of ’05, and analyzed vari- Cobal Canyon granite is overlain by Neoproterozoic ous factors that affect base-flow recession. Pablo de- quartzite of Potato Mountain, which contains a detrital scribed new structural data from Brown’s Flat in the San zircon population very similar to a quartzite that overlies Gabriel Mountains, and argued that this geomorphic Baldwin Gneiss in the San Bernardino Mountains. We anomaly originated as a landslide. Miguel summarized may also have located the bedrock source of 1404 Ma the geology, structure, and geochronology of Sierra Hor- granite boulders in the Mystic Canyon conglomerate naday and Cerro El Aguila, (described in Mylonite’04). remote ranges in Sonora that he has been studying In case you haven’t heard, business is booming in the for the past three years. mining industry, due to big jumps in the price gold, sil- ver, and base metals. There is also renewed interest in Last summer I taught Engi- the Late Jurassic Mojave-Sonora megashear as a funda- neering Geology to an en- mental structure that may have guided emplacement of thusiastic group of civil ore bodies. A later history of plutonism, thrust faulting, engineers plus two Geol- and detachment faulting has remobilized many of these ogy majors. All managed ore bodies. Consequently, my interests in Sonora geol- to weather the long, hot ogy have attracted the attention of a Canadian mining spell in July and still per- company and resulted in a $50,000 grant to Cal Poly. form quality field work in Instead of teaching next winter quarter ‘07, I will be San Antonio Canyon. Sev- evaluating three properties located in historical mining eral students conducted site districts between Caborca and Hermosillo. All have ex- investigations along the perienced complex structural histories that need to be creek where conditions unraveled to locate the subsurface projections of existing were cooler but a fair ore bodies. This project offers a great opportunity for amount of hiking was nec- me to spend quality field time in Sonora during the sea- essary. Others chose sites Jon Nourse & Jeff Marshall son it is most comfortable to work. along the Mt. Baldy Road at the 2006 Alumni Reunion and Glendora Ridge Road, I hope all of you have a fine holiday season. Please con- which fortunately cooled off during August mornings tinue to keep the Department posted about your recent when the main phase of work was performed. endeavors and experiences. It is always good to hear from our past students. Last December the Department Suburban broke down (again) from fuel pump failure (again), this time on the (Continued on page 13)

Page 12 I am happy to say that Geology’s new Administrative STAFF NEWS Coordinator, Monica Giannini, is a very capable geology enthusiast! Her past experience at Cal Poly has enabled Monica Giannini her to step right into the department with ease, and she loves geology and is a rock collector. Greetings and Salutations! I am the “new kid on the block” as the Administrative I will be sending along my updates in the next Mylonite. Coordinator for the Geological Sciences Department. My new email address is [email protected] should I’m very excited and happy for this opportunity! I am you like to keep in touch. not new to Cal Poly however; I’ve been on this campus All the Best for your continued success. doing administrative work since November 2001. My first assignment was in University Housing, and then I moved over to the Interdisciplinary General Education Department (College of Education and Integrative Stud- ies aka CEIS). I was with IGE approximately 4 years before I saw the opportunity open up here, and I’m glad that Dr. Klasik, Rosalie, and the faculty took a chance on me. I hope to do as great a job as Rosalie, but I know Larry & Lucy Herber those are some tough shoes to fill! (And yes as Rosalie stated in her updates, I am a Geology enthusiast, basi- Hello good alums. We’re grateful for another good year cally a rock hound – thank you Geology Club for letting – including the increasing frequency of attending golden me crash your festivities and become a member – Trona wedding anniversaries, retirement celebrations, and even was a smelly blast!!) funerals.

Our daughter Margie’s safe recovery from another bout EMERITI NEWS of cancer was the highlight of the past Mylonite year. Also we finally made a trip to Israel last November ‘05 – another but smaller highlight. An island of freedom, its Rosalie Giroux climate, hydrology, and to some extent geography and Hi to All, geology made us Southern Californians feel right at I finally have arrived at the “officially retired” status for home, except for the unexpected and pervasive Sabbath the Cal Poly Geological Sciences Department! The de- stillness. Treading where Abraham, Moses, Joshua and partment had a really nice retirement celebration for me Jesus trod (for example Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem, at Bonelli Park along with the annual Geology Alumni the Golan and Dead Sea) drove home the ancient reli- Reunion. I received many wonderful gifts and thor- gious heritage that founded and preserves the miracle oughly enjoyed seeing everyone there. It was very hard that is our United States of America. to say good-bye to all my colleagues at work and every- My “continuing education” consists of writing articles one associated with the Geology Department. I am opposing unrestricted abortion and human embryonic happy to say though, that I have retained my Margaret stem cell research, favoring capital punishment where VanBuskirk Scholarship Board Member status. So I appropriate, and opposing the “victicrat” mentality of will be able to come back for the annual board scholar- some of our African American leaders, though I’m ship selection committee meeting every year. Also, I somewhat unaccustomed to be under the sharp end of the hope to be able to attend the annual Geology alumni re- editor’s pen! Geology talks to primary and college stu- unions, and see some wonderful Geology alumni. You dents, as well as treks with Jon Nourse into the mighty can see many pics of the Alumni Picnic and my retire- and mysterious San Gabriels also add spice to life, but ment on the Cal Poly Geology web site. those dang slopes seem higher and steeper now that the Raymond and I are in the process of moving next week mountains and I are achieving “maturity”. (September, 2006) to Sun City, CA which is about 45 Lucy maintains our little family, and also our extended minutes south from Cal Poly in the Lake Elsinore area. family with her apostolic and parish work, and appar- It will be nice to have my grandkids close by so we can ently thereby brings Gods blessings to us. pester them more often, or maybe it will be vice-versa?!? This is a retirement community with a club house and Hope this finds you well and paying taxes. Thanks for activities, so we can stay active in many things. your support, and that includes as our pastor might say “your $$ support”. Page 13 PUBLICATIONS AND GRANTS 2006

GRANTS schuh, J. and Alvarado, G., eds., Central America: Geol- ogy, Hazards, and Resources, Lisse, The Netherlands, Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: $700, Faculty Center for Profes- Balkema Publishers, 60 p. sional Development. In support of Dr. Marshall being a program chair and invited speaker at the December 2005, Sak, P.B., Fisher, D.M., Gardner, T.W., Marshall, J.S., American Geophysical Union’s Annual Meeting. and Protti, M., 2006 (submitted), Fore arc kinematics and landscape evolution along a segmented convergent Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: $400, International Center. In margin, Costa Rica, Central America: Tectonics. support of Dr. Marshall’s travel and invited participation in a GSA special convocation “Backbone of the Ameri- Montero, W. and Marshall, J.S., 2006 (in prep.), Neo- cas”, held in Argentina. tectonics and seismotectonics of the Central Costa Rica deformed belt: Western boundary of the Panama Mi- Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: National Science Foundation croplate: Tectonics. Tectonics Program: Stress transfer in subduction zones (StraInSz): Integrated geological and geophysical ex- Grove, M., Kimbrough, D.L., Nourse, J.A., Jacobson, periment in Costa Rica, with A. Velasco & J. Hurtado, C.E., Abbott, P. L., Lovera, O.M., Geological Science Dept., Univ. of Texas, El Paso, and Axen, G.J., Mahoney, B.J., Gehrels, G.E., 2006 (in sub- C. Ammon, Geosciences Dept., Penn State University mission), Late Cretaceous-Eocene denudation of the (3-year, $609,000 collaborative proposal submitted to Northern Peninsular Ranges batholith and progradation NSF, December 1, 2005) (not funded). of extraregional river systems: Tectonics

Drs. Jonathan Nourse and Philip Armstrong (CSU Full- Nourse, J.A., Premo, W.R., Iriondo, A., and Stahl, erton): National Science Foundation: Analysis of an E.R.*, 2005, Contrasting Proterozoic basement prov- Eocene(?) River Channel Displaced by Late Cenozoic inces near the truncated margin of Laurentia, northwest- Right-Lateral Faults in Northwestern Sonora, Mexico (3- ern Sonora-Arizona border region, in Anderson, T. H., year, $247,632 collaborative proposal submitted to NSF, Nourse, J. A., McKee, J., and Steiner, M (eds.), Geologi- June 1, 2006). cal Society of America Special Paper #393, p. 123-182. (* Student Co-author) Dr. Jonathan Nourse: $700, Faculty Center for Profes- sional Development. In support of Dr. Nourse’s continu- Anderson, T.H. and Nourse, J.A., 2005, Pull-apart ba- ing study and use of Stanford’s SHRIMP instrumentation sins at releasing bends of the sinistral Late Jurassic Mo- in the age dating of San Gabriel and Sonoran rocks. jave-Sonora fault system: Principal structures within the southwestern North America borderland, in Anderson, Dr. Brook Riley: ~$4,000, Research, Scholarship and T.H., Nourse, J.A., McKee, J., and Steiner, M (eds.), Creative Activity Grant. In support of “Defining Con- Geological Society of America Special Paper #393, p. trols on the Behavior of Minerals in Response to Burial 97-122. in Sedimentary Basins”. PEER REVIEWED CONFERENCE TEXTBOOKS PRESENTATIONS

Nourse, J. A., Marshall, J. S., and Berry, D. R., 2005, Marshall, J.S., 2005, Costa Rica, Central America: A Practical Earth Science Exercises, 2nd Edition, Revised prime destination for international Earth science field Printing, Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., 120 p. (a moder- experience: Geological Society of America, Abstracts ate revision of laboratory manual used in Natural Disas- with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 191, Abs. 80-81. ters, Engineering Geology, Earth Science Education courses). Marshall, J.S., LaFromboise, E.J. *, Utick, J.D. *, Khaw, F. *, Annis, L.K. *, Parra, J.G. *, and Protti, M., 2005, PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES Variations in Quaternary coastal emergence along the

Marshall, J.S., 2006 (in press), Geomorphology and Nicoya Peninsula seismic gap, Costa Rica: Geological Physiographic Provinces of Central America: in Bund- (Continued on page 15)

Page 14 Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. Cortez, Pablo*, and Nourse, Jonathan A., 2006, Hypo- 7, p. 560, Abs. 256-12. thetical landslide origin for Brown’s Flat, eastern San (* Five Student co-authors) Gabriel Mountains: Evidence form structural data, Cali- fornia, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Marshall, J.S., Gardner, T.W., and Protti, M., 2005, Programs, v. 38, no. 5, p. 8, Abs. 6-4. International field research with undergraduate stu- (* Student co-author) dents: Investigating active tectonics of the Nicoya Penin- sula, Costa Rica: Eos, Transactions, American Geo- Lovera, Oscar M., Grove, Marty, Kimbrough, David L., physical Union, v. 86(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Mahoney, Brian J., Abbott, Pat L., Jacobson, Carl E., Abs. ED41B-03. Nourse, Jonathan A., and Gehrels, George, Late Creta-

* * ceous-Eocene Denudation of the Peninsular Ranges Ba- Marshall, J.S., LaFromboise, E.J. , Utick, J.D. , 2006, tholith of Southern and Baja California, Geological So- In the wake of flat subduction: Upper-plate tectonics ciety of America Abstract for Backbone of the Ameri- across a steep to flat slab transition, Pacific margin, cas—Patagonia to Alaska, Mendoza,Argentina (2–7 Costa Rica, Central America: Backbone of the Ameri- April 2006). cas, Patagonia to Alaska, 3-7 April 2006, Mendoza, Ar- gentina, GSA Specialty Meetings Abstracts with Pro- OTHER CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS * grams, No. 2, p. 38, Abs. 3-12. ( Two Student co- * authors) Baltzer , S.M., 2005, Landslides of Santa Anita Canyon, California Desert Studies Compendium Volume, Baker LaFromboise, E.J. *, Marshall, J.S., and Utick, J.D. *, CA. (* Student author)

2006, Differential upper plate deformation in response to * contrasts in subducting seafloor roughness, Nicoya Pen- Varnell , A.E. and Jessey, D.R., 2006, Petrology and insula, Costa Rica: Geological Society of America, Ab- Geochemistry of the Big Pine Volcanic Field, Inyo stracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 5, p. 8, Abs. 6-1. County, CA,, Southern California Academy of Sciences * Abstracts Volume, Pepperdine University, May 2006. ( Two Student co-authors) * ( Student co-author) * * Utick, J.D. , Marshall, J.S., and LaFromboise, E.J. , * 2006, Geomorphology and petrology of Holocene beach Baltzer , S.M. and Jessey, D.R., 2006, Late Cenozoic deposits and adjacent basaltic bedrock, Northern Nicoya Volcanism Near Baker, CA, Southern California Acad- Peninsula, Costa Rica: Geological Society of America, emy of Sciences Abstracts Volume, Pepperdine Univer- sity, May 2006. Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 5, p. 8, Abs. 6-2. * (* Two Student co-authors) ( Student co-author)

Ellis, R.A. *, Ruotolo, A.M. *, and Marshall, J.S., 2006, Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Invited geosciences faculty pre- Quaternary alluvial fan deposition and active faulting senter - Conversations with Scientists: Society for the along the San Gabriel Mountain front, San Dimas and Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Sci- Marshall Canyons, Los Angeles County, California: ence (SACNAS) National Conferences, Denver, CO, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Pro- Sep. 29, 2005 grams, v. 38, no. 5, p. 8, Abs. 6-3. Dr. Jonathan Nourse: An Overview of Metamorphism (* Two Student co-authors) and Metamorphic Rock Occurrences in the Mojave De- Gardner, T., Pezzia, C., Amborn, T. *, Tunnell, R., sert: Mineral Locality Symposium, sponsored by South- Flanagan, S., Merritts, D., Marshall, J., Webb, J., Fabel, ern California Chapter of Friends of Mineralogy, March D., Cupper, M., 2006, Intraplate deformation of late 18, 2006.

Neogene and Quternary marine terraces, Cape Liptrap, CREATIVE ACTIVITIES southeastern Victoria, Australia: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 5, Abs. 24- Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Grant proposal reviewer, Na- 11. (* Student co-author) tional Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for Inter- national Research and Education Program, June 2005. Singer, J., and Marshall, J., 2006, The Los Angeles and Buffalo Rivers: Restoration of urban river systems and Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Session co-chair and judge, Geo- opportunities for student learning: Geological Society of sciences Graduate Student Oral Presentations and Under- America, Abstracts with Programs, v.38, no.5, Abs. 88- graduate Student Posters, Society for the Advancement 87. (Continued on page 16)

Page 15 of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conferences, Denver, CO, Sep. 30, 2005.

Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Session convener, Undergradu- 14TH ANNUAL ate Research in the Earth and Environmental Sciences: Shaping the Cutting Edge of Our Discipline: Annual ALUMNI Conference of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 2005. REUNION

Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Session convener, Council on MAY 12, 2007 Undergraduate Research Student Poster Session, Meet- Save this date and ing of the Cordilleran Section, Geological Society of America, Anchorage, AK, May 2006. come join us! We look forward to seeing you at the reunion! Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Invited Talk - International field research with undergraduate students: Investigating active tectonics of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica: Cal State San Bernardino Geology Department Tectonics Seminar, May 30, 2006.

Dr. Jeffrey Marshall: Invited Talk - The active tecton- ics and landscape evolution of Costa Rica, Central America: Organization for Tropical Studies, Palo Verde Research Station, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, June 24, 2006.

Dr. Jonathan Nourse: Invited Talk - Proterozoic base- ment at the Rifted southwestern margin of Laurentia: Implications for Rodinia reconstructions, megashears, reactivated faults, and gold exploration: Cal State Fuller- ton Geology Club, March 8, 2006.

ASSIST NEW FACULTY HELP ESTABLISH Photo From Alumni Reunion 2006 RESEARCH PROGRAMS!

Page 16 NEWS FROM THE ALUMNI

Each year we are constantly amazed at the accomplish- Greg continue to enjoy fishing and hunting. The Bautzs ments, responsibilities and activities of our illustrious received one of a few coveted elk hunting permits. This Geological Sciences Alumni. This year we had a great will be Melissa’s first attempt at elk. Sooo, this fall, crop of correspondence. Below are summaries of what watch out elk!! we received. Please continue to keep us informed as to changes in address, new arrivals, job activities, wed- dings, or just life in general. Just drop us a line anytime. Since we have no lives of our own, we enjoy all the let- ters, photos, emails, post cards, etc. What a fine group of alumni we have!

Bigger Responsibilities

LOCKED IN CONCRETE: Leo Mercy (’78) has been promoted to Chief Geologist for California Portland Cement. Leo assumed his new The Band Marches on! post in August of 2006. Formerly, Leo was the Environ- Melissa Bautz (Pratt, ‘96) mental Manager / Quality Control Geologist at Cal Port- land’s Mojave plant. In his new position Leo will be responsible for maintaining and expanding the raw mate- MATH / SCIENCE TEACHING LIFE IS GOOD: rials base for the company. With this new position, Leo Terri Amborn (‘03) is a middle school science and will be working out of Cal Portland’s corporate head- math teacher at Orange Grove Middle School in Haci- quarters, just around the corner in Glendora. Congratula- enda Heights. Orange Grove is one of Terri’s alma ma- tions Leo! ters, so local girl makes good. Congratulations go out to Terri on her engagement to Eric Burgess (no relation to Life is good the famous Cambrian shale – we hope he is more than a flat piece of carbon). Eric, a member of the Professional LIFE IN WYOMING IS GOOD — EXCEPT Organization of English Majors (Prairie Home Compan- FOR THE ELK: ion), teaches at Rosemead High. Don’t ask us how, but Melissa Bautz (Pratt, ‘96) sends greetings from her we are curious, Terri and Eric managed to purchase a home (home state almost) of Wyoming. Melissa’s job as house in Arcadia. Life as teachers must be good. Con- the Senior Environmental Analyst for Wyoming’s De- gratulations Terri and Eric! partment of Environmental Quality continues diverse and interesting. She continues to travel the state inspecting PETROLEUM INDUSTRY LIFE IS GOOD: mine sites and, true to her Cal Poly Pomona background, This year Peter Valles (’83) has been very involved with continues to make mine-site maps. Melissa says because Cal Poly Pomona and the Geological Sciences Depart- of the upsurge in interest in Uranium, she is extremely ment (see Peter’s other article). Peter and family cele- busy evaluating drilling permits in the remote Red Desert brated their one year return-to-the-US anniversary in of Wyoming. August. Peter’s new position with Shell International Exploration and Production as the Learning and Devel- On the personal front, Melissa’s continues to compete in opment Manager has required lots of traveling – six trips bagpipe competitions throughout the Rockies. She says and 60,000 miles just to Royal Dutch Shell’s Headquar- she even received a few first places! Because of ter alone! In order to ensure Shell will continue to be at Melissa’s bagpipe fame, interest in the pipes continues to the forefront of energy production and delivery, Peter grow in her local community. She now has six local has been busy working on plans to “upgrade” the skills students in her bagpipe band. The photo shows Melissa and competencies of Shells staff. This includes five and the band marching in the 4th of July parade. Melissa, years on continued “training” for all new graduates (do husband Greg and their two children, Jennifer (004ka), we have to know this for the test? Did we do anything and Theresa (002ka) are all doing well. Melissa and important today?). Yes! and Yes! (Continued on page 18) Page 17 On the home front Peter and wife Laura celebrated their pleted his first year as a graduate student. Robert says, 21st wedding anniversary. Peter says they are “feeling after experiencing the semester system he really appreci- their age” because their oldest daughter is starting high ated the speed of the quarter system. Interesting. Even school (not to mention Peter’s “bike ride” from Houston though the semester system may seem slow to Robert, to Austin). Time really flies. Peter you will really know after his first semester, he has proposed a thesis topic “A you are old when one of your children, Hannah probably, Hydrologic Investigation of the San Jacinto River Basin, is working under you at Shell! It was great, this past Poppet Subbasin”. February and April, re-establishing old ties. Congratula- tions on your accomplishments and continue keeping in While doing his graduate studies, Robert is also working touch. in downtown LA at the Regional Water Quality Control Board. He says it is a lot of “office work”, but he has, on LIFE IN EUROPE IS GOOD: rare occasion, been out in the field. One field study was Gary Thompson (’91) apologized for not being able to in Santa Monica Bay where mussels and clams were make it to this past May’s Alumni Reunion. We sure collected to measure the level of domic acid (a biotoxin know how to make many people feel guilty. We appre- resulting from marine algae blooms) in their soft tissue. ciate how important the annual event is to many alumni. I guess we should know this before consuming them We hope the fever spreads! But, Gary appreciates re- otherwise our stomachs might dome a bit. ceiving the Mylonite. Robert keep up with your updates. Hope all is going Gary sent us a lengthy letter in October of 2005. So, if well with graduate school. Keep those term papers and you have not read it, it is new to you! How many of you, theses coming! besides Gary, knew that last year, 2005, was Admiral Nelson’s 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar? We are in Good Hands The 450th, of the Gunpowder Plot? How about the Un- MANNED SPACE FLIGHT IS IN GOOD CAL ion Jack? Not only, by reading the Mylonite, do you all POLY POMONA HANDS: learn about Department activities, but you get a history Dave Melendrez (’88) again apologized for not being lesson! Even though the Battle of Trafalgar occurred in able to make it to our May 2006 alumni reunion. But, he October, the Queen, having more pressing things to do in very much appreciates receiving this fascinating annual October, reviewed the Fleet in the summer of 2005. newsletter. Work at the Johnson Space Center keeps Gary, wife Felice and transportation crazy son Gian- taking precedence over our fantastic annual events. paolo, managed a two week excursion to Rome (they Dave is now, after almost fifteen years of trying, offi- saw the new Pope), Naples, and Sorrento. True to his cially a NASA worker. See, being a geologist by train- Geology background, Gary, even though it was a relax- ing Dave appreciates how slow natural processes can ing get-away, took a lengthy day trip where he climbed proceed! After ten and a half years working at the Space to the top of Mt. Vesuivius (small amounts of hydrother- Center for a subcontractor, Dave is now officially our mal activity was visible in the crater), saw Pompeii and civil servant! Herculaneum. Hard to avoid Geology – it seems to be everywhere. In last year’s Mylonite we reported Dave was the flight controller for the International Space Station and the Gary tells us that all the rain they received in southern Space Shuttle’s new Robotic Arms. The arms help thor- England, specifically the Devon area, has created numer- oughly inspect the Shuttle for launch debris damage. ous landslides and, for Dr. Berry, new exposures of Am- This year, Dave is affiliated with the Space Shuttle Pro- monites! Now that would be a wonderful strat / paleo gram Office where he helps manage the Image Integra- field trip! Where is William Smith when you need him? tion effort. This new position brings Dave more visibil- In 2006, Gary started a job with Marks and Spencer (an ity, higher responsibility and is closer to his University English environmental firm we think). Congratulations of Arizona remote sensing background. Assimilating to young son, Gianpaolo, on this third and, now fourth, and pulling together photographic data from ground birthdays. cameras, radar images, cameras on the Shuttle and the ISS, the state of the thermal protection system (aka the LIFE OF A GRADUATE STUDENT IS NOT SO all important tiles) is made into a coherent story that mis- BAD – JUST WAIT: sion managers can assess and make a decision for safe Robert Jones (’05) wrote to say hello and give us an re-entry. Being a permanent NASA person, Dave feels update on his life as a graduate student at Cal State Full- erton. Robert, an Environmental Studies major, com- (Continued on page 19) Page 18 he is well positioned for the working with the next gen- from her Master’s thesis. In the summer of 2004, she eration Space Shuttle and perhaps the manned lunar pro- taught a high school science research class in which the gram (Orion we now know). So, with a little help, Cal group designed a hydrogeology project (that’s not very Poly Pomona might have its own moon rock! Right! far a field – yet). Now, getting a slightly more away Congratulations on your 4th wedding anniversary. from Geology, in the fall of 2006 (remember that is after she defended her Master’s thesis, this is compli- Alumni reunions are great ways to celebrate weddings. cated), she started taking classes toward a doctorate.

OUR NATION’S SECURITY IS IN GOOD CAL She is utilizing her geologic experiences and scientific POLY POMONA HANDS: knowledge (both gained at Cal Poly Pomona Geology, We were pleased that this past spring of 2006, Jennifer of course), and is applying it to Natural Resource Pol- Beal and husband Michael Yamzon (’00) reestablished icy. Her advisor is in the Political Science Dept. at contact with the Department. Michael is an officer in the NAU (getting further away). Needless to say, this will Air Force. For four years he had been stationed outside involve a lot of writing – which Kristi really enjoys. of Cheyenne Wyoming at Warren Air Force Base. She already has written a chapter on global water issues There, to get away from the wind and frigid winters for a soon to be published book on globalization and the (Melissa not all people get into Wyoming), he was a environment. She has edited the fourth edition of The Environmental Policy Paradox. commander for an ICBM (aka nuclear missiles in silos) combat crew. Recently the Yamzons were re-assigned to While researching a study of wildfires and destructive much balmier climes at Vandenberg Air Force Base. mass wasting, Kristi was introduced to of all things, a Michael’s, I should say now promoted to Captain Mi- wildlands forest fire fighter. Right! Fires of a different chael, new assignment is an instructor teaching officers sort were kindled. As of her writing, she was engaged who are heading off to the cooler climate of Warren AFB to now Flagstaff fire engineer, Eric. Congratulations how to be “missileers”. We think that training is a great Kristi and Eric! Hope to see you and Eric as some fu- idea! ture Alumni Reunion – it is before fire season.

Jennifer and Michael enjoy reading and look forward to In a Category by Themselves receiving the Mylonite. In 2005 they became parents of a young son, Nathan. Nathan is now a year and a half CAL POLY POMONA GEOLOGY CLEANS-UP old. Congratulations. Jennifer is enjoying the mega-task IN NEW ORLEANS: of taking care of Nathan. Lawrence Browne (’05) has been working for Earth

Sorry we missed you at this year’s reunion. Do your best Resources Technology for many years. After finishing to make it to this coming May’s event. We would love his senior thesis – good for him – he received a substan- to see you all again! tial pay increase and more responsibility. In early April, 2006, he was sent to the heat and humidity of ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IS IN GOOD CAL Louisiana. (He wondered how Klasik put up with five POLY POMONA HANDS: summers in south Louisiana. Someday I will tell my In January ‘06, we received a great, detailed and wonder- cat-nip story.) Given the climate of Louisiana in late fully lengthy letter from Kristi Ross (‘01) (who, by the spring / and summer, Lawrence was really sorry he way, yes, also looks forward to receiving her copy of the could not attend the May Alumni Reunion. See how Mylonite). A lot of wonderful things have happened to attractive our Reunions are! Kristi since she last communicated. Kristi took time off This deployment to south Louisiana was right after from working on her Master’s thesis at Northern Arizona spending six months in east Texas working on cleaning State University to “explore new avenues”. However, up after Hurricane Rita. At the time of his April writ- she did return temporarily to the straight and narrow and ing, Lawrence was “twiddling his thumbs” (must be defended her Master’s thesis in February 2006. Con- important environmental FEMA technical jargon) in gratulations! She says her Cal Poly Pomona field experi- Baton Rouge (that’s Red Stick for us non-Cajons). He ences went a long way in preparing her for mapping het- was actually waiting in Baton Rouge for special clear- erogeneous, anisotropic, multiply deformed Proterozoic ance to work as a FEMA Technical Assistance Contrac- rocks (she takes after Dr. Nourse) (I think all that means tor. As of October, Lawrence has made much progress. rather complex terrane). He is the Division Manager of the FEMA Debris Group Oh yes, back to the “other avenues” and her hiatus (a in St. Bernard Parish. We think that is a good thing. sedimentary word to break the hard rock monotony) (Continued on page 20)

Page 19 He is “in charge” of cleaning up debris left by the Corp At birth, Vivian was small (4.4 lbs, 17.5") but mighty. of Engineers, demolishing and cleaning up ~5,000 com- Both baby Vivian and Mom Donna are doing fine. We mercial properties and over 8,000 homes. Lawrence says think Brent is also. Although, as Brent says, “it has he is learning a lot, but is not nearly getting paid enough! been a busy year”. The Norums went from zero chil- So true. So, true! dren in January to three children, all under two years old, by November! How is this possible? No, Donna is Dr. David Rogers (‘76), is a faculty member in the Geo- not a miracle woman. Since February, Brent and logical Engineering Department at the University of Mis- Donna, have been in the process of adopting a brother souri, Rolla. Dave was a member of a blue ribbon group and sister, Andrew (.002 ka) and Alexis (.00075 ka). of experts which traveled to New Orleans to study the Brent feels blessed with such a wonderful wife and failure of the levee system. privileged that his position as Cal Poly Pomona’s Col- lege of Science Information Technology guru afforded HIGHER HEIGHTS IN BOULDERING / TRUE him the opportunity to take six weeks of parental leave. GRIT: Congratulations to Alexis, Andrew and brand new Lisa Rands (‘99) has achieved new fame and glory in Vivian for having such great parents as Brent and the elite sport of bouldering. In April 2006 she partici- Donna. pated in the English Gritstone Classic, GAEA. Lisa be- came the first female to headpoint (whatever that means) the 50 foot “boulder” at England’s Black Rocks. To illustrate how difficult this task is, Lisa took a week and a half to master all the details and make the final ascent. We hope some of this makes sense. Trying to translate not only British English but technical climbing terms made this summary really difficult – but not nearly as difficult as Lisa’s accomplishment! Anyway, it was clear Lisa had “done good”.

A ROSE(ALIE) BY ANOTHER NAME? Luke Roebuck (‘92) is a staff geologist at Haley & Al- drich in Brea. Luke expressed is warm retirement wishes to Rosalie and pondered how we could possible replace her. He wondered if Klasik would now be called Rosa- lie?? !! No, Luke I already have too much to do with just Back Row: Donna & Brent (‘97) one job responsibility. Monica is doing quite well adapt- Front Row: Andrew, Vivian, and Alexis Norum ing to the program. We already congratulated Michael and Jennifer Miscellaneous: Yamzon on the birth of Nathan!

Valorie Plesha (Taylor, ‘86) sent us a great Christmas Jeremey Lancaster (‘00) is also a new father. note and wonderful Disneyesk photo montage of her and Finally special thanks to the six alumni that participated her family, husband Joe, and brilliant daughters Rachael in our winter and spring quarter ’06 Career Symposia. and Leia. They all had a great year. Mr. Douglas Cook (‘78), Manager, Geologic Congratulation go out to Andrew McLarty (‘00) and his Operations, Sladden Engineering wife Sarah. In early February, 2006 Maddison Emiko Thomas Deane (‘83), Consulting McLarty was born. Andrew thought so much of us that Groundwater Geologist he emailed the Department the very same day. After that Mr. Thomas Harder (‘90), Senior he has had no sleep for many months and we have not Geohydrologist, Geoscience Support been privy to updates. Good to see Drew and family at Services, Inc. this past year’s reunion. Ms. Marina Haydock-West (‘88), Chief of Operations, Joshua Basin Water District We have a baby girl! Congratulations to Brent Norum Mr. Jeremy Lancaster (‘00), Cal Trans (‘97) and wife Donna on the birth of their first child, Mr. Gary Wallace (‘78), Vice President, Vivian Josephine (oh yes the last name is Norum, too!). Geology, RMA Group Now two month old Vivian was born on September 29th. Page 20

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CELL NO. (OPTIONAL) 2006 GEOLOGY GRADUATES L-R Back Row: Jon Nourse, Jeff Marshall, John Klasik, Leianna Michalka, Jessica Strand Please send any updated information to L-R Front Row: Julie Parra, AshleyVarnell, Pablo Cortez, [email protected] John Utick, Eli LaFromboise David Jessey

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Rosalie, Raymond and Their Daughter

Edited and Prepared by Monica Giannini & John Klasik

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