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Year in Review 2017–2018

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Year in Review 2017–2018 Year in Review 2017–2018 Depa rtment of Geology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Earth, Society, and Environment An Extraordinary String of Awards for Grad Students and Faculty! hat is the connection between proposals with international WAlaskan volcanoes, the River colleagues and how to create a Waal in Holland, and a catchment research plan that benefits both my basin in a remote French Alsatian research and the current research village? The answer—four Geology taking place in the River Waal,” doctoral students are conducting said Cisneros. groundbreaking research in these far- “Julia’s GRFP and GROW flung locations, thanks in part to grants have enabled her to reach prestigious National Science Founda - out across the globe to study some tion (NSF) graduate fellowships and of the world’s biggest rivers, and other prestigious awards. rivers with some of the most Within the past three years, pressing issues of anthropogenic Nicole Fernandez-Franzen, Julia change. This funding has also al - Cisneros, Robby Goldman, and Jack lowed her to interact with leading interna - Albright have been selected among The department’s four NSF Graduate Research tional groups, access unique datsets and Fellowship recipients. From left: Robby Goldman, Julia make links that will be of immense benefit thousands of applicants for the NSF’s Cisneros, Jack Albright, and Nicole Fernandez-Franzen. Graduate Research Fellowship Program to her current research and future career (GRFP). GRFP fellows receive full stipends able to develop unique and transformative aspirations,” said Prof. Best. for a three-year period, paving the way new datasets indicating the extent to Robby Goldman joined Prof. Trish for travel, data collection, and collabora - which isotopic signatures of minerals are Gregg’s lab in January of 2017, after a tive research opportunities. reset by fluids. I am delighted to see her Fulbright Fellowship in New Zealand, Nicole Fernandez-Franzen received her flourish as she pursues exciting new where he investigated the Akoroa Volcano. NSF fellowship in Fall 2016. Her research developments,” said Prof. Druhan. His work examines how the stress state in examines the role of chemical weathering Julia Cisneros was awarded her NSF volcanic host rock affects magma propaga - in the production and transport of solutes fellowship in Fall 2017, for her research tion during an eruption. Through NSF, from the continents to the oceans. Nicole, concerning “Dune morphology and Robby has applied for Graduate Research advised by Prof. Jenny Druhan, has spent dynamics in fluvial channels.” Dunes are a Internship Program (GRIP) funding to the past year at the Institut de Physique du key element in controlling river dynamics visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Globe de Paris (IPGP), conducting research across many scales, and her doctoral re - summer 2019. There, he can collaborate with their collaborator and renowned search with Prof. Jim Best aims to investi - with other volcanologists to study Kilauea. chemical weathering expert, Prof. Jérôme gate dune formation and dynamics in “The trip to Hawaii will help me de - Gaillardet. fine-grained sediments, and the nature of velop models of magma migration through “The NSF award gives me so much dune response to changing flow conditions. Kilauea's summit and flanks, to improve flexibility and independence, and it has Cisneros has also been awarded an eruption forecasts and hazard assess - been great to deepen the collaboration NSF Graduate Research Opportunities ments. This is an especially meaningful between Prof. Druhan’s lab at Illinois and Worldwide (GROW) grant, which allowed opportunity for me since I am part Native IPGP. Prof. Gaillardet’s group has so much her to spend Summer 2018 at Delft Hawaiian and have always wanted to visit field experience and knowledge of global University of Technology, and the nearby and observe Hawaii's volcanoes,” said weathering, and their unique global data research institute Deltares. Together, Goldman. sets are allowing us to test and apply our Cisneros and her Dutch colleagues will “Robby’s work has excellent potential models to what we observe in the real investigate the effects of bedform-flow for helping scientists understand the world,” said Fernandez-Franzen. hysteresis in the River Waal, Holland. interplay between host rock stress evolu - “Nicole’s NSF Fellowship has opened “This fellowship has given me the op - tion and eruption timing and location. the door to new opportunities, including portunity to really focus on my research, Thanks to support from NSF GRFP, he her collaboration with IPGP and a and build my career as a scientist. Specifi - is beginning work to better understand Chateaubriand Fellowship. She has been cally, I have learned how to write research the interaction of earthquakes and dike (continued on page 4) Many of the UIUC Geology alumni who were on hand for the NHB Grand Opening celebration on November 4th, 2017 gathered near the rebuilt grand staircase in the north end. Over 50 Geology alumni from across the country attended the various festivities that day. Letter from the Head his year has been full of great success head, then as Director of the School of • Graduate fellowships funded by gener - Tand a few major transitions. The depart - Earth, Society and Environment. We will ous gifts over the past 25 years have ment is truly on a roll, with a wave of miss his energetic and caring leadership. greatly enhanced our grad program; awards and honors bestowed on students The department is extremely grateful we use them mostly to recruit our and faculty in recent years (see article, for the many donations from alumni and top applicants. We aim to build up page 1), and with renewed visibility in friends over the past year. Many of you the endowments further, to increase our impressive, reborn NHB home on the donated generously to the NHB campaign. the number offered each year and quad. We were elated to see so many of We are wrapping up that effort, though enhance that success. you at the NHB grand opening celebration opportunities for named spaces are still To see a list of current high-priority on November 4th, 2017. One of the most available. Our fundraising focus is shifting giving opportunities and/or to make an rewarding aspects of my role as depart - to other urgent needs: online gift, please visit the department ment head is interacting with alumni from • Support for field trips is much needed web page (www.geology.illinois.edu) and all eras, and showing you all the great right now, as some sources of support click on the “GIVE” link in the upper right things that are happening here. have declined and costs continue to corner. Alternatively, please use the dona - With the work related to the NHB climb for course field trips (e.g., tion envelope inside this newsletter. If you project fading away, we are turning our Baraboo and the Saint Francois need help with any method of donation, focus to strengthening our education and Mtns.), the spring GEOL 415/515 field feel free to call the department at research programs, and serving a larger course, and the summer field camp. (217) 333-3540. number of students in more ways. And, We believe field experiences are more Please drop in whenever you are in the as Steve Marshak has just retired (or important than ever, and we don’t area—we love to catch up with our alumni “graduated” as we prefer to say), we are want students to be deterred by field and friends! Our LinkedIn group, “UIUC transitioning from some 18 years (!) of his trip fees that must be added to Geol - Geology Alumni” has over 160 members leadership, first as Geology department ogy courses, or by the cost of our rig - and is increasingly helpful as a way for our orous, six-week summer field camp. alumni to connect, and to recruit or search • Undergraduate scholarships are in - for job opportunities—if you’re not a mem - Year in Review is published once a year by the Department of creasingly important these days. ber already, please join. And as always, we Geology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to highlight Higher tuition and fees are a daunting love to hear from you when you send your the activities and accomplishments within our department challenge for many families and we news to us at [email protected]. and feature news from our alumni and friends. Department Head: Tom Johnson ([email protected]) hope to greatly increase scholarship Cheers, Co-editors: Matt Cohn and Lana Holben opportunities specifically for Geology Graphic Design: Pat Mayer majors. 2 www.geology.illinois.edu Tom JJohohnnsoson n Paleontologist Max Christie Settles into Department r. Max Christie joined the department Please share a few teaching highlights disparate geological data to make sense of Das a lecturer in August, 2017, weeks since joining the Geology faculty. a geologic scene is extremely rewarding. after completing his Ph.D. in Geology One of my favorite things is taking How did you begin using drones in the from Penn State. He has already become a students out to the field. There’s no field, and how it has supplemented your key figure in our educational programs. substitute to getting on the rocks if you teaching? We asked Max to describe his interests: want to learn about geology. I took my I got into flying UAVs (drones) because Sed-Strat students to Indiana to look at a What is your academic background, it’s fun, but I quickly realized their poten - Carboniferous fluvial channel and oxbow and what are your current research tial for research and teaching. Bird’s eye lake, and we tried to fit the outcrop into interests? views of an outcrop are a huge advantage a depositional model.
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