Alumni News - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto
Alumni News - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto
Alumni News - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto
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Issue 18 February 2009<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong><br />
NEWS<br />
for <strong>Alumni</strong><br />
and Friends<br />
2008 Rockfest Fest winning photo<br />
The Wave (Coyote Buttes, Vermillion Cliffs,<br />
Utah Arizona Border) by Ulrich G. Wortmann<br />
Acting Chair, Dick Bailey<br />
A Message from the Chair<br />
The 2009 edition <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>News</strong>letter arrives in your hands in the middle <strong>of</strong> a rather<br />
atypical year for both the <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology and the world at large. Different for the<br />
<strong>Department</strong> because the Chair, Sandy Cruden, is taking a well deserved research leave for the<br />
2008-2009 academic year, to investigate the tectonics <strong>of</strong> crustal deformation in a number <strong>of</strong><br />
interesting locations around the world. I am writing this as Acting Chair, and hope to hand the<br />
helm back to Sandy in July, with the <strong>Department</strong> in at least as good condition as he left it. A<br />
different sort <strong>of</strong> year for the world out there, the world our students come from and our graduates<br />
go to, because <strong>of</strong> the striking economic events that have overtaken everyone. These events<br />
may look unnerving in the short term, but cannot be in the long term: people will always be<br />
curious about the planet they live on, and, more practically, they will always need the resources<br />
that it provides. So, looking to the interests <strong>of</strong> this longer future, I am pleased to report that<br />
the total number <strong>of</strong> students registered in the various geology programs at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> continues to rise, and is up about 30% over last year to about 130 (even without taking<br />
into account increases in cognate disciplines in other parts <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong>, such as the Lascontinued<br />
on page 2
Contents<br />
Message from the Chair 1<br />
Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame 3<br />
<strong>News</strong> Honours and Awards 4<br />
Explorers Fund Report 5<br />
2008 Grads and Award Winners 6<br />
Acknowledgements 7<br />
SMGRL <strong>News</strong><br />
Planetary Science<br />
7<br />
8<br />
In Memoriam 10<br />
Geochronology Lab <strong>News</strong> 12<br />
Joint Assembly Meeting 13<br />
<strong>News</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Alumni</strong> and Friends 13<br />
2<br />
Continued .... from the Chair<br />
sonde Program in Mineral Engineering, or the geophysics<br />
option <strong>of</strong> Engineering Science). Graduate student numbers<br />
are about the same as last year, perhaps because the voracious<br />
(at least until very recently) demands <strong>of</strong> industry for<br />
qualified people persuaded many B.Sc. graduates to enter<br />
the work force immediately upon graduation. Maintaining<br />
the quality <strong>of</strong> our programs as enrolments rise requires considerable<br />
work, and I am very ably assisted in meeting these<br />
challenges by our Associate Chairs, James Brenan (Undergraduate<br />
Affairs) and Russ Pysklywec (Graduate Affairs).<br />
Last year, Sandy noted a very important point, one which<br />
the economic events <strong>of</strong> the last few months have emphasized.<br />
The growth that we need to sustain to meet the longer<br />
term needs <strong>of</strong> our students, and <strong>of</strong> the country, requires<br />
resources both to support our students, and to maintain, and<br />
improve where possible, the quality <strong>of</strong> the infrastructure<br />
that makes their education here a truly rich experience, both<br />
intellectually and pr<strong>of</strong>essionally. We will need to rely on<br />
both existing and new ways for achieving this. An existing<br />
vehicle for this, you will remember, is the Explorer’s Fund,<br />
that we launched two years ago. Spearheaded by Laurie<br />
Curtis (Ph.D. 1975, Founder <strong>of</strong> Intrepid Mines) and guided<br />
by an outstanding Industry Steering Committee, the Explorers<br />
Fund is a way for alumni and friends to support students<br />
in the <strong>Department</strong> through the creation <strong>of</strong> Graduate and<br />
Undergraduate Scholarships. An Annual Fund contributes<br />
to the students’ costs <strong>of</strong> field education and supports other<br />
initiatives related to the quality <strong>of</strong> their experience in the<br />
<strong>Department</strong>. The Explorer’s fund endowment has now<br />
grown to $573,556 from donations and matching funds. In<br />
the past year alone, 7 new student awards have been created,<br />
including two by Industry Steering Committee member<br />
and 2008 U <strong>of</strong> T Arbor Award recipient Nick Tintor<br />
(B.Sc. 1980), who established the Nick and Marilyn Tintor<br />
Explorers Fund Graduate Scholarship and the Daniela and<br />
Alexander Tintor Undergraduate Scholarship. One area in<br />
which we would very much like to see growth is the Annual<br />
Fund, which would directly improve the field course education<br />
<strong>of</strong> our students. Please consider making a donation,<br />
<strong>of</strong> any size, to one <strong>of</strong> the Explorers Funds this year – these<br />
donations will help significantly improve the access <strong>of</strong> our<br />
students to the best training possible, not just this coming<br />
year, but for decades forward, in good times and bad.<br />
The Explorer’s fund specifically addresses one aspect <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Department</strong>’s life: the direct support <strong>of</strong> students and their<br />
lab and field experience. There is more to our task than this,<br />
however. Maintaining and improving effective delivery <strong>of</strong><br />
programs requires, over the long term, sustaining and augmenting<br />
the faculty we have to deliver our programs, and<br />
the infrastructure those programs depend on. The <strong>Department</strong>,<br />
with the collaboration <strong>of</strong> the Advancement Offices <strong>of</strong><br />
the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Arts and Science and the <strong>University</strong>, is preparing<br />
the groundwork for a more extensive and expansive<br />
fundraising effort to address these issues, which will see the<br />
number <strong>of</strong> faculty personnel increased through the creation<br />
<strong>of</strong> more endowed chairs and a critical investment in state<strong>of</strong>-the-art<br />
educational facilities and equipment. Because<br />
geology is a high-cost but small-enrolment program we see<br />
this planned external fundraising as essential to our ability<br />
to deliver informed and effective <strong>Earth</strong> Science graduates<br />
to meet Canada’s needs in future decades. We need act<br />
now to lay the ground for these initiatives, to anticipate the<br />
needs <strong>of</strong> the upswing in the economic conditions that the<br />
next cycle will bring.<br />
The <strong>Department</strong>’s regular addition <strong>of</strong> new faces to its<br />
faculty and staff rosters has slowed this year, briefly we<br />
hope, but its activities have not. You can read more about<br />
the activities and honours <strong>of</strong> its members in the following<br />
pages <strong>of</strong> the <strong>News</strong>letter. We take very special pride in the<br />
election <strong>of</strong> our colleague Emeritus Pr<strong>of</strong>essor D. H. (Digger)<br />
Gorman to the Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame (opposite<br />
page). You can also catch up with us and our activities at<br />
our annual reception at the PDAC on Tuesday, March 3<br />
from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. I look forward to meeting you there<br />
and catching up on your activities as well. I would also<br />
like to extend an invitation to all alumni and friends to visit<br />
the <strong>Department</strong> at any time. We will be happy to show you<br />
around, and do our best to arrange meetings with students<br />
and faculty, and are always willing to discuss ideas for the<br />
<strong>Department</strong> and provide updates on what we are doing.<br />
Dick Bailey
Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame<br />
Emeritus Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Donald H. Gorman (Digger to<br />
his many friends and colleagues) was inducted into the<br />
Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame on January 15, 2009 in<br />
recognition <strong>of</strong> his lifetime <strong>of</strong> service to the industry. The<br />
following notice is reprinted, with permission, from the<br />
Northern Miner, November 17-23, 2008.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Donald Gorman has served the Canadian mining<br />
industry with distinction for more than half a century as<br />
a renowned mineralogist and superbly talented educator.<br />
Born in Fredericton, he completed a BSc degree in<br />
his native New Brunswick in 1947, after his studies were<br />
interrupted by wartime service in the Canadian Navy.<br />
After spending 1948-1949 studying economic geology as<br />
a graduate student at the Royal School <strong>of</strong> Mines in London,<br />
England, he earned a PhD degree at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> in 1957 and launched his teaching career.<br />
“Digger” Gorman taught mineralogy with unflagging<br />
enthusiasm for the next 41 years, inspiring hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />
geology and engineering students to pursue careers in<br />
mining and mineral exploration. He commanded respect<br />
in the classroom by exemplifying the two sides <strong>of</strong> science:<br />
on the one side the rigorous analysis <strong>of</strong> minerals and<br />
their composition and significance; and on the other the<br />
pleasure that comes from solving geological puzzles and<br />
discovering mineral treasure. To those he taught, minerals<br />
were not chemical formulae and crystal structures, but living<br />
things that tell a timeless story, shape history and spur<br />
human progress. His incomparable mastery <strong>of</strong> the mineral<br />
kingdom was the foundation <strong>of</strong> his teaching success, and<br />
this rare ability combined with an engaging personality<br />
dominated his teaching and resulted in generations <strong>of</strong><br />
students emerging from the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> with<br />
a better grounding in mineral recognition than anywhere<br />
else in Canada.<br />
In addition to being a gifted educator, Gorman was a valued<br />
mentor to prospective mineralogists and geologists,<br />
a sought-after industry consultant and applied researcher,<br />
and an entertaining advocate for his science at popular<br />
public events. For decades he was the star attraction at<br />
mineral and gem shows, such as the Bancr<strong>of</strong>t Gemboree<br />
where novice rockhounds and experienced prospectors<br />
alike tried to stump the expert with countless obscure mineral<br />
specimens. He seldom failed to identify them, even<br />
those that weren’t naturally occurring substances at all. He<br />
was a popular lecturer at the Royal Ontario Museum and<br />
the Walker Mineralogical Club, the oldest mineral club<br />
in Canada, which named him its Honourary President in<br />
1981. His outreach activities included memorable presentations<br />
to youth and church groups, and radio and television<br />
appearances that entrenched his status as Canada’s<br />
ambassador for mineralogy and geological sciences.<br />
Gorman has received many awards for his outstanding<br />
teaching abilities and exemplary advancement <strong>of</strong> science,<br />
including the Peacock Prize for Mineralogy for 1975-76.<br />
In 1978, he was presented with the Ontario Confederation<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>University</strong> Faculty Association’s award for outstanding<br />
teaching. In 1981, the International Mineralogical Association<br />
approved the name gormanite for a newly discovered<br />
mineral. In 2004, he was included in the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>’s list <strong>of</strong> Great Teachers from the Past, a select<br />
group <strong>of</strong> only 96 former faculty members that includes<br />
only one other earth scientist.<br />
Photographs, courtesy <strong>of</strong> R. Mandel and the Northern<br />
Miner, show Jeff Fawcett making the presentation to<br />
Digger. David Harquail, 7T9, Geological Engineering<br />
and now CEO <strong>of</strong> FrancoNevada Inc. MC’d the evening<br />
and is shown on the left.<br />
3
<strong>News</strong>, Honours and Awards<br />
Emeritus Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Donald H Gorman (Digger to his<br />
many friends and colleagues) was inducted into the Canadian<br />
Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame on January 15, 2009 in recognition<br />
<strong>of</strong> his lifetime <strong>of</strong> service to the industry.<br />
Nick Tintor (B.Sc. 1980) was the recipient <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong>’s<br />
Arbor Award for his dedicated work on behalf <strong>of</strong> the<br />
department’s Industry Steering Committee for Advancement<br />
Initiatives. Nick is currently CEO <strong>of</strong> Homeland<br />
Uranium.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jim Mungall is on a two year leave <strong>of</strong> absence<br />
working full time as Chief Geologist for Noront Resources<br />
on the Ring <strong>of</strong> Fire project in the Ontario James Bay<br />
Lowlands. They are exploring an Archean suite <strong>of</strong> komatiitic<br />
intrusions where the targets are magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE<br />
sulfides and massive chromitite.<br />
Emeritus Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Tony Naldrett writes:<br />
My life has been dividing itself as usual between South<br />
Africa (where I am researching on the Merensky Reef and<br />
UG-2), the UK and a little in Canada. Perhaps the main<br />
item <strong>of</strong> interest to alumni is that I was chosen as the 2008<br />
Alex du Toit lecturer by the Geological Society <strong>of</strong> South<br />
Africa. So far I have lectured in Johannesburg, at UCT-Stellenbosch,<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> KwaZuluNatal in Durban, Bloemfontein,<br />
Fort Hare, Rhodes <strong>University</strong> in Grahamstown and<br />
the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Venda. I’ll be going back to South Africa<br />
on Nov 5 to complete the tour, speaking to geological societies<br />
in Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, and branches <strong>of</strong> the<br />
GSSA in Barberton, Pretoria and Rustenburg, so I’ll have<br />
seen much <strong>of</strong> Southern Africa by the time I finish!<br />
Maureen Jensen (B.Sc. 1979) – received the Distinguished<br />
Service Award <strong>of</strong> the Prospectors and Developers Association<br />
<strong>of</strong> Canada.<br />
another Festschrift to accompany the Gittins volume <strong>of</strong> the<br />
prestigious Journal <strong>of</strong> Petrology. The Canadian Mineralogist<br />
has issued the Gittins Volume on Carbonatites and Alkali<br />
Rocks as a tribute to John’s internationally recognized<br />
leadership in research on these enigmatic rocks.<br />
Martyn Beckett (B.Sc. 1984; M.Sc. 1987) has been appointment<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> Education for the Durham Region,<br />
Ontario.<br />
David Brace (B.Sc. 1975) has been appointed Chief Executive<br />
Officer <strong>of</strong> GlobeStar Mining Corporation, a company<br />
that also employs alumnus Sergio Gelcich<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Andrew Miall<br />
The long awaited book, “The Sedimentary Basins <strong>of</strong> the<br />
United States and Canada” has now been published by<br />
Elsevier. This project has been ten years in the making and<br />
the lengthy gestation reflects the extended period <strong>of</strong> time it<br />
took for some authors to complete their chapters.<br />
The book draws on the detailed syntheses <strong>of</strong> the continental<br />
geology assembled for the GSA-GSC “Decade <strong>of</strong> North<br />
American Geology” project <strong>of</strong> the 1980s and early 1990s,<br />
plus the discoveries <strong>of</strong> COCORP and Lithoprobe. The book<br />
is aimed at the general, educated geological audience, and<br />
should be useful for any individual who needs an introduction<br />
to the sedimentary geology and basin history <strong>of</strong> a<br />
specific area <strong>of</strong> the continent. Andrew served as General<br />
Chair and Technical Program Coordinator <strong>of</strong> The Gussow/<br />
Nuna conference on The Geoscience <strong>of</strong> Climate Change<br />
held at the Banff Centre, October 2008. The conference<br />
presentations are being prepared for publication as a series<br />
in Geoscience Canada.<br />
4<br />
Barbara Sherwood Lollar is the recipient <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong><br />
NSERC’s Accelerator Awards within the Discovery Grants<br />
Program.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Rebecca Ghent has been selected as a NASA<br />
Participating Scientist on the upcoming Lunar Reconnaissance<br />
Orbiter mission and will be working on data from the<br />
Diviner instrument.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Uli Wortmann co-edited a special volume<br />
Investigating Climates Environments and Biology for the<br />
Elsevier journal Paleogeography, Palaeoclimatology and<br />
Palaeoecology.<br />
Emeritus Pr<strong>of</strong>essor John Gittins has been honoured with<br />
Andrew Miall with Gordon Williams (President APEGGA)<br />
and Lisa Griffiths (President, CSPG) at the Banff<br />
conference on the Geoscience <strong>of</strong> Climate Change.
In addition Andrew has completed the first year <strong>of</strong> a twoyear<br />
term as President <strong>of</strong> the Academy <strong>of</strong> Science <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Royal Society <strong>of</strong> Canada. This is a largely administrative<br />
position, overseeing the selection and induction <strong>of</strong> new<br />
Fellows. The Society is also attempting to enlarge its role<br />
in Canada’s public life, and to this end has been engaged in<br />
fundraising activities and developing closer relations with<br />
Canada’s universities. He also found time to give two short<br />
courses to the petroleum geology community in Calgary.<br />
Andrew and Charlene Miall completed their online survey,<br />
and interviews <strong>of</strong> earth scientists across the country (71<br />
interviews, from Victoria to St. John’s) and have written up<br />
a summary <strong>of</strong> the results for Geoscience Canada. This may<br />
be accessed at http://www.gac.ca/publications/geoscience/<br />
data.php.<br />
Report on the Explorers Fund<br />
and Donor Initiatives<br />
The Explorer’s Fund has already begun to pay dividends to<br />
the <strong>Department</strong> and its students. Katrina van Drongelen is<br />
the first recipient <strong>of</strong> a graduate scholarship from the Fund.<br />
She received support from the Jeff Fawcett-John Gittins<br />
Fund for her M.Sc. research. Katrina is a first year graduate<br />
student supervised by Dr. Kim Tait, Curator <strong>of</strong> Mineralogy<br />
at the ROM, cross appointed to the Faculty. In addition,<br />
the Explorer’s Fund was able to provide an undergraduate<br />
scholarship to fourth year student Nicole DeBond<br />
In 2008 the Steering Committee for fundraising worked<br />
on expanding the initiative into the business community,<br />
particularly in <strong>Toronto</strong>. A luncheon hosted by Eric Sprott<br />
brought together members <strong>of</strong> the mining investment community<br />
as well as several alumni to discuss the need to fund<br />
teaching and ongoing research in the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong>.<br />
Geology Faculty Members present included Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jeff<br />
Fawcett, Chair Sandy Cruden and Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Ed Spooner.<br />
The take home message was that the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong> required<br />
support beyond the <strong>University</strong> domain particularly<br />
given the increased need for geoscientists in the exploration,<br />
mining and environmental sectors.<br />
Since that time the steering committee has continued to<br />
work with institutions as well as alumni managing junior<br />
and senior mining companies to publicize the Explorers<br />
Fund and the channels that are available for donating to the<br />
<strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>.<br />
A principal focus <strong>of</strong> the Steering Committee in 2008 was<br />
to develop and refine a five year stewardship progam to<br />
raise significant funds for the <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology. The<br />
program was developed by Faculty members, members <strong>of</strong><br />
Katrina van Drongelen<br />
the steering committee and Monica Lin, a representative<br />
for Advancement for the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Arts and Science. The<br />
pyramid <strong>of</strong> building blocks for the fund raising relies on a<br />
base <strong>of</strong> Endowed Chairs and Pr<strong>of</strong>essorships which would<br />
attract students and further funding. This higher level<br />
investment opportunity would be coupled with the more<br />
grassroots program <strong>of</strong> endowment and gifting through the<br />
Explorers Fund established in 2007.<br />
A copy <strong>of</strong> this program and its rationale as well as a prospectus<br />
style presentation will be mailed to all <strong>Alumni</strong>.<br />
While the dynamics <strong>of</strong> the stock market have changed dramatically<br />
over 2008, the steering committee is <strong>of</strong> the belief<br />
that there is substantial opportunity to have potential donors<br />
pledge shares or gifts based on future improvements in the<br />
value <strong>of</strong> such holdings.<br />
The program in 2009 will start with a meeting <strong>of</strong> <strong>Alumni</strong> at<br />
the Cordilleran round-Up in Vancouver in January, where<br />
the recently formulated funding document will be introduced.<br />
Laurie Curtis, January 1st, 2009.<br />
Steering Committee Chair.<br />
5
2008 Graduates and Award Winners<br />
Graduating Undergraduates and Award Winners<br />
B.Sc.<br />
Priyanka Chandan<br />
Melissa Chiang<br />
Neil Fernandes<br />
Gabrielle Hosein<br />
Gary Cheong Lim<br />
David Maglieri<br />
Alexandria Marcotte<br />
Naveed Rehman<br />
Laurent Roy<br />
The Coleman Gold Medal in Geology<br />
Laurent Roy<br />
The Roger E. Deane Memorial Scholarship<br />
in Geology<br />
Victoria McKenzie Mubeen Muhtar<br />
The H.V. Ellsworth Undergraduate Award<br />
in Mineralogy<br />
Nicole De Bond<br />
The Alexander MacLean Scholarship in Geology<br />
Victoria McKenzie<br />
The Garnet W. McKee-Lachlan Gilchrist<br />
Scholarship<br />
Andisheh Beiki<br />
NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards<br />
Adrienne Nicole De Bond Ronald Ng<br />
Katherine Kelly<br />
Carla Rose<br />
Jean Liu<br />
The Frederick W. Schumacher Scholarship<br />
Victoria McKenzie<br />
The Wesley Tate Scholarship in Geology<br />
Laurent Roy<br />
The Undergraduate Explorers Fund Award<br />
Nicole DeBond<br />
The Daniel Wilson Scholarship in <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong><br />
Victoria McKenzie<br />
Graduating Graduate Students and Award Winners<br />
M.Sc.<br />
Vishal Gupta<br />
Ida-Maria Jansson<br />
Laura Lee<br />
Jennifer McDonald<br />
Ph.D.<br />
Yongtai Yang<br />
Graduate Award Winners<br />
Malcolm Shaw<br />
Younglan Shin<br />
James Joseph Walker<br />
Matthew Williams<br />
The Margaret Amelia Miller Scholarship<br />
Allison Laidlow<br />
The Peacock Memorial Prize<br />
Adrian Van Rythoven<br />
Mary H. Beatty Scholarship<br />
Laura Karrei<br />
6<br />
The P.C. Finlay, Q.C. President’s Fellowship<br />
Abin Das<br />
The Dr. Norman Keevil President’s Fellowship in<br />
Geology<br />
Oguz Gogus<br />
The Griffis Memorial Scholarship<br />
Gerald Bryant<br />
The H.V. Ellsworth Graduate Award<br />
in Mineralogy<br />
Guillaume Barlet<br />
Antonia O’Dowd-Booth<br />
Laurent Roy<br />
NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship<br />
Shannon Carto Jennifer Kyle<br />
Kerry Evans-Tokaryk Adrian Van Rythoven<br />
Tiffany Johnson<br />
Ontario Graduate Scholarship<br />
Allison Laidlow Christoph Schrank<br />
Ontario Graduate Scholarships in Science and<br />
Technology<br />
Christopher Charles Duane Smythe<br />
John Eliades Lisa Tutty<br />
Mike Howlett James Walker<br />
Jennifer Macauley
Connaught Fellowship<br />
Neil Bennett Christoph Schrank<br />
Stephanie Tille<br />
Graduate Admission Awards<br />
Shannon Carto Carla Rose<br />
Tiffany Johnson Kerry Evans-Tokaryk<br />
Jennifer Kyle Adrian Van Rythoven<br />
Barbara Perez<br />
The Helen Sawyer Hogg Graduate Admissions<br />
Award<br />
Robert Gray Allison Laidlow<br />
Laurent Roy<br />
Jeff Fawcett and John Gittins Graduate Explorers<br />
Fund<br />
Katrina Van Drongelen<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
We acknowledge with thanks donations from the following:<br />
Nick and Marilyn Tintor for the establishment <strong>of</strong> an undergraduate and a graduate award in the Explorer’s Fund.<br />
Andrew F. Bau<br />
Richard Bedell<br />
Jennifer A. Clark<br />
Kathryn A. David<br />
J. Jeffrey and Sylvia Fawcett<br />
Ann Ehrlich Hersch<br />
Bruce Jago<br />
Debra R. Kendall<br />
Derek Lee<br />
J. Douglas and Sheila D. Macdougall<br />
Eric W. and Anita Mountjoy<br />
John and Mary Louise Riley<br />
Kevin A. Shaw<br />
Alar Soever<br />
Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory<br />
The SMGRL was established in 1989 with an “Excellence<br />
in Education Award” from the Bank <strong>of</strong> Nova Scotia, its first<br />
annual award <strong>of</strong> this type, to the lab’s Director, Steve Scott.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> Steve’s retirement to emeritus status in 2006,<br />
the SMGRL has fewer researchers but is nevertheless still<br />
very active. Since the 2008 newsletter, the lab’s research<br />
team has published 14 papers and presented 23 talks/posters<br />
at national and international conferences, most <strong>of</strong> which<br />
were invited.<br />
Postdoctoral Fellow Elitsa Hrischeva worked with Steve on<br />
metalliferous sediments at modern seafloor hydrothermal<br />
sites. Some <strong>of</strong> this was a contribution to the Environmental<br />
Impact Statement by <strong>Toronto</strong>-headquartered Nautilus Minerals<br />
Inc. on their Solwara 1 seafloor massive sulfide site in<br />
the Bismarck Sea <strong>of</strong>fshore eastern Papua New Guinea that<br />
the company expects to mine when the current international<br />
financial crisis is resolved and necessary permits are issued.<br />
In June, Elitsa took a position with Activation Laboratories<br />
in Ancaster, Ontario.<br />
Postdoctoral Fellow, Filipa Marques, is splitting her time<br />
between the SMGRL and the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Lisbon. She and<br />
Steve are using melt inclusions in phenocrysts <strong>of</strong> volcanic<br />
rocks to understand better the igneous and hydrothermal<br />
processes that are presently producing seafloor sulfides in<br />
the Azores region <strong>of</strong> the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and that in the<br />
geologic past produced giant massive sulfide deposits <strong>of</strong><br />
the Iberian Pyrite Belt <strong>of</strong> Portugal and Spain. Filipa spent<br />
several weeks at sea <strong>of</strong>f the Azores training to be a pilot <strong>of</strong><br />
a robotic submersible as Portugal solidifies its exclusive<br />
economic zone (EEZ) claim.<br />
Steve spent all or part <strong>of</strong> every month on the road in 2008,<br />
mostly giving invited, keynote and plenary talks in 8 countries.<br />
One trip with his wife, Joan, was a 2-month odyssey<br />
through France, China, Australia and Hawaii. In Kunming,<br />
SW China, and with the help <strong>of</strong> 8 internationally renowned<br />
geologists, they organized a 5-day short course on ore deposits<br />
for 325 enthusiastic participants. Steve conducted 21<br />
media interviews involving print, radio and television, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> which was the taping <strong>of</strong> an hour long @issue program<br />
for the digital broadcaster ichannel that will be aired on<br />
Ocean Day. He is a subject <strong>of</strong> interest in the ROM’s new<br />
Teck Suite <strong>of</strong> Galleries and also managed to fit in some<br />
outreach at a <strong>Toronto</strong> public school.<br />
S.D.S.<br />
7
Planetary Science<br />
In the Remote Sensing Laboratory<br />
By Rebecca Ghent, Assistant<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Geology<br />
Figure 1. 70-cm radar mosaic <strong>of</strong> the Northern Imbrium<br />
region <strong>of</strong> the lunar nearside. Regions with high radar<br />
returns appear bright; low returns appear dark.<br />
Radar-dark haloes are marked with black arrows.<br />
8<br />
Introduction<br />
Planetary science has long captured the imaginations <strong>of</strong><br />
the scientific community and the public. The past decade<br />
has seen an unprecedented acceleration in international<br />
collaboration in the design and operation <strong>of</strong> planetary<br />
exploration missions, and analysis <strong>of</strong> resulting data. There<br />
has rarely been a more exciting time for those interested in<br />
planetary science, with active missions at Mars, the Moon,<br />
Venus, Mercury, and Saturn numbering in the double digits,<br />
and with the revival <strong>of</strong> interest in the Moon rivaling the<br />
Apollo era. Research in the Geology <strong>Department</strong>’s Remote<br />
Sensing Laboratory focuses on problems in lunar geology,<br />
largely using <strong>Earth</strong>-based radar observations.<br />
<strong>Earth</strong>-based radar: how does it work?<br />
Together with colleagues from the Smithsonian Institution<br />
and Cornell <strong>University</strong>, we have used the NSF Arecibo<br />
Observatory (AO) radio telescope in Puerto Rico and the<br />
Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia to image the<br />
entire nearside <strong>of</strong> the Moon, providing both synoptic and<br />
high spatial resolution (up to 40 m / pixel) coverage. We<br />
use the Arecibo telescope to transmit pulsed radar signals<br />
at either 70-cm or 12.6-cm wavelengths; these signals are<br />
reflected from the Moon, and we receive and record them<br />
at GBT. We can associate a given reflected pulse with a<br />
particular location on the Moon by measuring the pulse’s<br />
delay (travel time to and from the Moon) and Doppler<br />
shift (caused by slight motions <strong>of</strong> the Moon relative to the<br />
receiver). The strength <strong>of</strong> a radar return is a function <strong>of</strong><br />
the roughness, attitude, and/or composition <strong>of</strong> the target.<br />
Using a series <strong>of</strong> geometrical transformations, we produce<br />
maps <strong>of</strong> the Moon in selenographic coordinates, with<br />
strong returns appearing bright and weak returns appearing<br />
dark (Fig. 1).<br />
Radar is a particularly useful tool for the study <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lunar regolith, which is the layer <strong>of</strong> pulverized debris that<br />
blankets the Moon’ surface. The particles that make up the<br />
regolith range from micron-sized glass spherules to housesize<br />
boulders ejected during large bolide impacts. Radar<br />
signals can penetrate the regolith to depths up to several<br />
tens <strong>of</strong> meters, with long-wavelength signals penetrating<br />
more deeply than short-wavelength ones. In addition, the<br />
polarization <strong>of</strong> the reflected waves yields information about<br />
the size and distribution <strong>of</strong> scatterers (blocks on the order<br />
<strong>of</strong> the radar wavelength) both on the surface and within the<br />
upper volume <strong>of</strong> regolith. Surface or subsurface blockiness<br />
causes the reflected pulses to contain some energy<br />
with the same sense <strong>of</strong> circular polarization as the transmitted<br />
signal, and some with the opposite sense. At GBT,<br />
we measure and record these two polarizations separately,<br />
allowing us to use them independently and in concert (e.g.,<br />
by calculating their ratio). By comparing radar returns<br />
with both polarizations and at multiple wavelengths, we<br />
gain information about the properties <strong>of</strong> regolith materials.<br />
A Few Current Results<br />
Work in the Geology <strong>Department</strong>’s Remote Sensing Laboratory<br />
has focused on understanding the physical properties
<strong>of</strong> impact ejecta (the material excavated from an impact<br />
crater and redeposited on the surface). This field <strong>of</strong> study is<br />
important to our understanding <strong>of</strong> lunar geological processes,<br />
because the characteristics <strong>of</strong> impact ejecta deposits<br />
– their spatial extent and continuity, the size distribution<br />
<strong>of</strong> their component particles, and their physical state at<br />
the time <strong>of</strong> emplacement – provide links to the physics <strong>of</strong><br />
the impact process. Furthermore, an understanding <strong>of</strong> the<br />
processes by which these materials are produced and then<br />
emplaced, and their effects on the surrounding landscape, is<br />
required to unravel the impact history <strong>of</strong> a given region on<br />
the Moon. Finally, a knowledge <strong>of</strong> the geotechnical properties<br />
<strong>of</strong> the regolith are vital to efforts to explore the Moon,<br />
and eventually, to establish a permanent lunar base.<br />
Using <strong>Earth</strong>-based radar, we have discovered that large<br />
lunar impacts (craters >10 km diameter) produce an ejecta<br />
facies characterized by an absence <strong>of</strong> particles or blocks 10<br />
cm or greater in size. These finegrained<br />
materials form low-radarreturn<br />
“haloes” around many<br />
nearside craters (Figs. 1, 2). The<br />
radar-dark haloes must be on the<br />
order <strong>of</strong> 10 meters thick at their<br />
outer edges to be detectable; thus,<br />
these block-poor deposits represent<br />
a large volume <strong>of</strong> material,<br />
and are significant contributors<br />
to the fine fraction <strong>of</strong> the lunar<br />
regolith.<br />
Thermal energy dissipated in a<br />
large impact commonly results<br />
in production <strong>of</strong> “impact melt,”<br />
which can line the interior <strong>of</strong> the<br />
cavity and/or flow across the surface,<br />
inside or outside the crater<br />
rim, until it cools and solidifies.<br />
Examination <strong>of</strong> the large multiringed<br />
impact basin Orientale,<br />
located at the Western limb <strong>of</strong><br />
the Moon (Fig. 2), showed that melt-rich ejecta from this<br />
impact are distributed over much <strong>of</strong> the lunar nearside.<br />
This material shows a radar signature indicative <strong>of</strong> high<br />
roughness on the wavelength (12.6- to 70-cm) scale, with<br />
the roughest signatures associated with small (hundreds<br />
<strong>of</strong> meters) impacts. This signature indicates a source <strong>of</strong><br />
competent material at shallow depths (tens <strong>of</strong> meters) that<br />
later, smaller impacts can excavate, producing abundant<br />
blocks. Distal Orientale melt-rich ejecta were deposited in<br />
dicontinuous linear streamers across the surface, reaching<br />
to the south pole and beyond, into the South Pole-Aitken<br />
(SPA) basin. This finding is significant because independent<br />
evidence suggests the possible presence <strong>of</strong> water ice in<br />
permanently shadowed regions near the pole; therefore, the<br />
SPA basin is a very likely target for near-future landed missions.<br />
Knowledge <strong>of</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> surface and near-surface<br />
materials in SPA is a key goal in current lunar science.<br />
Future work<br />
NASA plans to launch its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter<br />
(LRO) spacecraft in 2009. The Remote Sensing Laboratory<br />
will be involved in processing and analyzing data from the<br />
DIVINER thermal mapper on that spacecraft. DIVINER<br />
and the other LRO instruments will provide new opportunities<br />
to understand the lunar regolith.<br />
More information about the Geology <strong>Department</strong>’s Remote<br />
Sensing Laboratory is available at www.geology.utoronto.<br />
ca; information about LRO is available at http://lunar.gsfc.<br />
nasa.gov/.<br />
Figure 2. 70-cm radar mosaic <strong>of</strong> the southern hemisphere<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Moon; orthographic projection centered on<br />
the South pole. Ratio <strong>of</strong> same-sense to opposite-sense<br />
polarized signals overlain in color on opposite-sense<br />
image. Orientale is visible at lower left. Radar-dark<br />
haloes, accentuated in the ratio image, are marked with<br />
white dashed outlines. The margins <strong>of</strong> Orientale’s dark<br />
halo are marked with yellow arrows; here, it can be seen<br />
to partially obscure, or mute, the high polarization ratio<br />
streamers (yellow and green salt-and-pepper texture)<br />
that radiate outward from Orientale.<br />
9
In Memoriam<br />
10<br />
Alan Murray Goodwin (1924 – 2008)<br />
“One <strong>of</strong> the greatest geologists this country has ever been<br />
blessed to have, and a real gentleman to boot…” is how<br />
Alan M. Goodwin was described by one <strong>of</strong> his friends and<br />
colleagues. ‘Smiley Al’ – as he was affectionately nicknamed<br />
– passed away, peacefully but quite unexpectedly,<br />
while at his family cottage on the tenth <strong>of</strong> June, 2008. Al<br />
was just ten days short <strong>of</strong> his 84th birthday. Alan Goodwin<br />
had been pr<strong>of</strong>essor in our department for twenty years,<br />
retiring in 1989. In fact, Al stayed in the department until<br />
the very end, still visiting us every few weeks, describing<br />
the latest paper on Precambrian geology and ore deposits<br />
that had caught his attention, or recounting his most recent<br />
‘Wagnerian’ trip to Bayreuth or musical vacations in Paris<br />
with his wife Marion.<br />
After an undergraduate education at Queen’s <strong>University</strong>, Al<br />
Goodwin joined Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Stanley A. Tyler at the <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> Wisconsin. Stan Tyler was interested in then enigmatic<br />
Banded Iron Formations (BIF) and Al wrote a thesis<br />
on the Stratigraphy and origin <strong>of</strong> the Gunflint Iron Formation.<br />
Al was still in Madison when Stan Tyler and Harvard<br />
paleontologist Elso Bargoorn first convinced themselves<br />
– and later the world – that silicified stromatolites in the 2-<br />
billion-year-old Gunflint had retained a remarkable variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> organic-rich unicellular fossil organisms. Al Goodwin’s<br />
maps <strong>of</strong> the Gunflint Iron Formation, published by the<br />
Ontario <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Mines (now the Ontario Geological<br />
Survey) has stood the test <strong>of</strong> time and are still used today.<br />
After his Ph.D. graduation, Al Goodwin became Research<br />
Geologist with Algoma Steel, where he did more<br />
ground-breaking geochemical work on the Gunflint, with<br />
an early isotope study <strong>of</strong> the genesis <strong>of</strong> these BIFs. While<br />
at Algoma, Al also began to turn his attention to older<br />
rocks, namely the 2.9 to 2.7 billion-year-old Michipicoten<br />
Greenstone Belt. Using his expertise, Al recognized that<br />
some major BIFs existed there and could be used as marker<br />
horizons; in combination with younging information from<br />
basaltic pillow tops, Al was able to unravel the complex<br />
folding within that belt, a first in Archean geology. Studying<br />
the geology <strong>of</strong> Algoma’s New Helen Mine in Wawa,<br />
then Canada’s largest source <strong>of</strong> iron, Al also recognized<br />
carbonate-facies iron formations in what had been previously<br />
interpreted as replaced rhyolite flows, and described<br />
the intense exhalative processes active near volcanic<br />
centres that have since become common interpretations <strong>of</strong><br />
volcanogenic ore deposits.<br />
In 1961, Al Goodwin joined the Ontario <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Mines as Field Geologist and decidedly switched his focus<br />
to Archean volcanic rocks. He pioneered work on their<br />
stratigraphy and geochemistry and recognized that they<br />
generally could be classified into tholeiitic and calc-alkalic<br />
compositions, the two classes respectively resembling<br />
modern ocean-floor basalts and island arc assemblages. In<br />
collaboration with Roly Ridler, Al continued that work with<br />
the Geological Survey <strong>of</strong> Canada where he became Research<br />
Scientist in 1965.<br />
Alan Goodwin joined the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> in 1969.<br />
Soon after his arrival, Al began promoting what was then<br />
a novel concept in university-based geological research<br />
– a collaborative, field-based study focussed on a common<br />
large theme and knitted together by regular workshops<br />
where participants with differing expertise would help<br />
educate and stimulate each other. The result, in collaboration<br />
with Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Gordon West and others, was the<br />
“Western Superior Province Geotraverse”, a six-year study<br />
<strong>of</strong> Archean terrains that involved researchers and students<br />
(mainly) from Ontario universities and the Ontario Geological<br />
Survey. (It was hoped that the process would also assist
with procuring steady research funding, especially support<br />
for graduate students, but this dream was short-lived.) With<br />
Geotraverse, Al wanted to look at what lay underneath<br />
the greenstone belts and understand what processes were<br />
responsible for their formation. Starting ca. 1965, thanks in<br />
no small part to U <strong>of</strong> T Pr<strong>of</strong>essor John Tuzo Wilson, Plate<br />
Tectonics (PT) had quickly become the accepted model<br />
<strong>of</strong> terrestrial evolution by geophysicists, geochemists and<br />
many students <strong>of</strong> Phanerozoic geology but Precambrian<br />
geologists were still reluctant to embrace it in the early 70s.<br />
Al, however, did want to explore how PT applied to the earliest<br />
half <strong>of</strong> <strong>Earth</strong>’s history. Ten years later, Plate Tectonics<br />
in the Archean had gained the enthusiastic support <strong>of</strong> many<br />
Precambrian geologists, while Al, on the contrary, and as<br />
expressed in his landmark text book, “Principles <strong>of</strong> Precambrian<br />
Geology” (Academic Press, 1996), emphasized<br />
its limitations. It is only in the current decade that it has<br />
become quite accepted that <strong>Earth</strong>’s evolution from ‘magma<br />
ocean’ to the present tectonic style must have been gradual<br />
as its heat content was decreasing.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Goodwin was a wonderful teacher in the field. He<br />
took time to point things out but was always very careful<br />
to let students experience the thrill <strong>of</strong> their own discoveries.<br />
“Well,… what do you think?” was his famous phrase.<br />
Although generally easy going, loose terminology, and<br />
correspondingly loose thinking, did get to him. He once<br />
chided a graduate student who claimed that a certain terrain<br />
had been “stuffed up there”. Alan remonstrated in his most<br />
grandfatherly way, saying: “Mr. …., you can subduct it, or<br />
you can obduct it, but you most certainly cannot just stuff it<br />
up there. …”.<br />
While he was invited all over the world for his expertise,<br />
and was made honorary member <strong>of</strong> many national geological<br />
societies, Al Goodwin remained very modest in all his<br />
contacts with colleagues. He was always interested in them<br />
as people, as family members, and generally as human<br />
beings, rather than just as listeners or as sources <strong>of</strong> useful<br />
information.<br />
Alan was a great friend to many colleagues and they will<br />
miss him.<br />
Pierre-Yves Robin, with contributions from<br />
Roly Ridler, Gordon West, Phil Thurston,<br />
Jeff Fawcett and Fried Schwerdtner.<br />
Thomas Edvard Krogh (1936-2008)<br />
Tom Krogh was an internationally respected scientist who<br />
developed advanced techniques in uranium-lead dating<br />
<strong>of</strong> geological processes. Their application by Tom<br />
and numerous other researchers have revolutionized our<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>Earth</strong>’s geologic evolution through its 4.5<br />
billion-year history by placing geologic events in precise<br />
time sequence. After over three decades, his approach and<br />
methods are acknowledged to be unsurpassed and are still<br />
used in the best laboratories around the world today.<br />
Tom joined the <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> in 1975 and established the world-renowned Jack<br />
Satterly Geochronology Laboratory at the Royal Ontario<br />
Museum (ROM), which <strong>of</strong>ficially opened in 1977. He was<br />
born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, and received<br />
his M.Sc. in Geology from the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering at<br />
Queen’s <strong>University</strong> followed by his Ph.D. from the Massachussetts<br />
Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology. He then worked at<br />
the Carnegie Institution <strong>of</strong> Washington as a post-doctoral<br />
fellow and continued on as a Staff Scientist for 11 years<br />
before joining the ROM as a Curator. He retired from<br />
the ROM in 2001, but continued his work as a Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
Emeritus at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>.<br />
His innovative technical developments permitted the<br />
acquisition <strong>of</strong> age data with exceptional levels <strong>of</strong> precision<br />
and accuracy that had previously never been achieved. The<br />
11
12<br />
driving force behind Tom’s creative scientific achievements<br />
was his great passion for understanding complex<br />
geological processes. Dating rocks to unravel the history<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>Earth</strong>’s crust by Tom, his coworkers and collaborators,<br />
has contributed to the development <strong>of</strong> an astonishingly<br />
detailed understanding <strong>of</strong> Precambrian shield areas.<br />
In particular, he used these techniques to make several<br />
important breakthroughs in understanding how the ancient<br />
crust in the Superior and Grenville geologic provinces <strong>of</strong><br />
Ontario formed. His work on zircon crystals from Sudbury<br />
provided an age for its mineral deposits and demonstrated<br />
shock features that could only have been caused by meteorite<br />
impact. Tom identified similar features in zircon grains<br />
from the worldwide layer <strong>of</strong> dust that was laid down by the<br />
impact <strong>of</strong> another giant meteorite at the end <strong>of</strong> the age <strong>of</strong><br />
dinosaurs. By dating these crystals, he and his coworkers<br />
were able to show that they came from the Chicxulub crater<br />
in Mexico, the first unambiguous evidence for the location<br />
<strong>of</strong> this impact.<br />
Through Tom’s mentorship, many students and post-doctoral<br />
fellows developed the expertise to establish their own<br />
successful laboratories. Two <strong>of</strong> Tom`s seminal papers have<br />
been cited ~2900 times (total career citations: ~6205 so<br />
far), which is rarely achieved in geology. He was named<br />
a Fellow <strong>of</strong> the Royal Society <strong>of</strong> Canada, and received<br />
the Logan Medal, which is the Geological Association <strong>of</strong><br />
Canada’s highest award, the J. Tuzo Wilson Medal <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Canadian Geophysical Union, the Past President’s Medal <strong>of</strong><br />
the Mineralogical Association <strong>of</strong> Canada, and an Honorary<br />
Doctor <strong>of</strong> Science from Queen’s <strong>University</strong>. He was also<br />
named Fellow <strong>of</strong> the American Geophysical Union and was<br />
an elected Member <strong>of</strong> the Norwegian Academy <strong>of</strong> Science<br />
and Letters.<br />
Tom will be long remembered by his many friends and colleagues<br />
around the world for his contributions as a scientist,<br />
his great passion for geology and his generosity as a human<br />
being.<br />
Sandra Kamo<br />
We were saddened to learn <strong>of</strong> the death, on December<br />
23, 2008, <strong>of</strong> Mrs. Dorothy Deane, wife <strong>of</strong> the late<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Roger E Deane who died in a tragic boating<br />
accident in 1965. Mrs. Deane helped establish the Roger<br />
E Deane Prize (now the Roger E. Deane Memorial<br />
Scholarship) that is awarded annually to the top student<br />
at the third year field camp – reflecting Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Deane’s<br />
commitment to geological field work. She also kept in<br />
touch with the <strong>Department</strong> over the past 40 years and had<br />
a continuing interest in its faculty and students. She was a<br />
kind and thoughtful lady with a sharp memory right up to<br />
the time <strong>of</strong> her death, three days before her 95th birthday.<br />
Tom Krogh<br />
<strong>News</strong> from the Jack Satterly<br />
Geochronology Laboratory<br />
The Geochronology Lab has had another busy and exciting<br />
year. New and on-going student projects include isotopic<br />
work on the Tagish Lake meteorite by Chris Charles to<br />
better understand the origins <strong>of</strong> material in the outer solar<br />
system. Abin Das is undertaking a detailed geochronological<br />
study <strong>of</strong> the evolution <strong>of</strong> the Sudbury Impact Structure<br />
using a new high temperature Pb transfer technique that <strong>of</strong>fers<br />
the possibility <strong>of</strong> 100 Kyr age resolution. This method<br />
was published earlier this year by Don Davis in Geology<br />
(volume 36, p. 383-386). Ethan Rotenberg has nearly completed<br />
a re-determination <strong>of</strong> the rubidium decay constant,<br />
which is <strong>of</strong> fundamental importance to Rb isotopic studies.<br />
Sandra Kamo is applying ultra-high precision U-Pb dating<br />
to the stratigraphic record and meteorite impact-related<br />
materials in the Phanerozoic to explore the driving forces<br />
behind mass extinction events.<br />
Mike Hamilton organized a Special Session at the GAC-<br />
MAC in Quebec City in honour <strong>of</strong> the late Ronald Emslie<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Geological Survey <strong>of</strong> Canada for his career contributions<br />
to Canadian geoscience. In July, Mike journeyed to<br />
northwest Greenland to sample mafic dykes with Henry<br />
Halls for combined U-Pb dating and paleomagnetic studies.<br />
Their collaborative efforts will help to reconstruct<br />
Proterozoic supercontinents. Sandra and Mike attended the<br />
33rd International Geological Congress held in Oslo this<br />
past August. Sandra gave a keynote lecture on the career<br />
contributions <strong>of</strong> Tom Krogh and reported new data from an<br />
ultra-high pressure terrane formed during terminal collision<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Caledonian orogeny in Norway. Mike gave an<br />
invited talk on geochronological considerations in dating<br />
large igneous provinces and examined their implications for<br />
ancient continental reconstructions.<br />
In late April we were greatly saddened at the passing <strong>of</strong><br />
Tom Krogh, the legendary founder <strong>of</strong> the Jack Satterly<br />
Geochronology Laboratory, a true innovator, our valued<br />
colleague and mentor, and most especially our dear friend.<br />
Sandra Kamo
2009 JOINT ASSEMBLY<br />
The <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology is providing the main<br />
support for the local organization <strong>of</strong> the forthcoming<br />
Joint Assembly, to take place in the Metro <strong>Toronto</strong><br />
Convention Centre 24-27 May 2009. This is to be<br />
a combination <strong>of</strong> the annual GAC-MAC meeting<br />
together with the Spring Meeting <strong>of</strong> the American<br />
Geophysical Union, plus two other Canadian<br />
associations, the Canadian Geophysical Union, and<br />
the International Association <strong>of</strong> Hydrogeologists-<br />
Canadian National Committee.<br />
Chair <strong>of</strong> the Local Organizing Committee, and GAC<br />
representative, is Andrew D. Miall. The Co-Chair,<br />
who is also serving as MAC representative on the<br />
LOC, and Canadian coordinator <strong>of</strong> the Technical<br />
Program, is Grant Henderson. Other members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
LOC are Nick Eyles (Field Trips), Mike Hamilton<br />
(Short Courses), Pierre Robin and Kim Tait<br />
(social program), Nicole Januszczak (Exhibits and<br />
troubleshooter), Norah Allman (sponsorships), Riaz<br />
Ahmed (book-keeper), and Karyn Gorra (website<br />
designer and manager).<br />
We are hoping for upward <strong>of</strong> 3000 attendees, and<br />
have planned a wide range <strong>of</strong> local activities. A full<br />
technical program will have enough to satisfy any<br />
interests in the earth sciences. Registration for the<br />
conference will be on the AGU website, and is to<br />
open in mid-February.<br />
A.D.M.<br />
Five chairs at the Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame dinner; Jeff<br />
Fawcett (1995-2001),Ge<strong>of</strong>f Norris (1980-1990),Dick<br />
Bailey (2008-2009), Sandy Cruden ( 2005-?) and<br />
Steve Scott (2001-2005)<br />
<strong>News</strong> <strong>of</strong> Former Students<br />
1960’s and 70’s<br />
Alan Ruffman (B.Sc. 1964; M.Sc. Dalhousie 1966) is<br />
now following up his earlier research on the Lisbon (1755)<br />
and Grand Banks (1929) tsunamis. He is involved in an<br />
international project with colleagues at Dalhousie <strong>University</strong><br />
and the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Madras that seeks to unravel the<br />
tsunami history recorded in sediments bordering the Bay<br />
<strong>of</strong> Bengal. The project will also examine over 1500 Tamil<br />
language documents some <strong>of</strong> which contain reference to<br />
earlier tsunamis. The research group has been given seed<br />
funding by the Shastri Institute.<br />
Barrie Clarke (6T4 B.Sc.; 6T5 M.A.)<br />
A few critical moments determine the course <strong>of</strong> one’s<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional career, whether or not one recognizes them as<br />
pivotal at the time. The first such critical moment for me<br />
came in 1959, exactly 50 years ago, when I first set foot<br />
in the Mining Building. As an impressionable high school<br />
student, I had come for an interview with the <strong>Department</strong><br />
Head, G. B. Langford. I wanted to study geology in university,<br />
and he convinced me that <strong>Toronto</strong> was the place<br />
to do it. The next pivotal moment came in the Spring <strong>of</strong><br />
1963 when we took geophysics from Tuzo Wilson during<br />
the period that he was rapidly ascending to what became<br />
the plate tectonic paradigm a few years later. The contrast<br />
between Tuzo’s almost religious belief over in the Geophysics<br />
House and the utter disbelief back in most <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Mining Building (“don’t pay any attention to Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
Wilson, he’s crazy”) was interesting, to say the least, to<br />
unwashed undergraduates. But, in one memorable lecture,<br />
Tuzo mused that Greenland had probably “drifted” away<br />
from North America, and because there were early Tertiary<br />
basalts in West Greenland, there might be some equivalents<br />
on Baffin Island. One year later, I was on Baffin Island<br />
bashing basalts with Tuzo, and poised to embark on a<br />
graduate degree in igneous petrology with the venerable W.<br />
W. Moorhouse as my supervisor. But, when term began in<br />
September 1964, some <strong>of</strong> us were shocked and dismayed<br />
to learn that an Anonymous Arbitrary Decision-Maker had<br />
decided to shunt some <strong>of</strong> Moorhouse’s students <strong>of</strong>f to an<br />
unknown new guy, Jeff Fawcett. But that decision, too,<br />
was a major defining moment. It made all the difference<br />
between using the descriptive petrographic approach, or<br />
doing the exciting new chemical and phase equilibrium<br />
approach, to igneous petrology. Jeff’s crucial influence and<br />
support made it possible for me to go to Edinburgh next<br />
to continue work on the Baffin Island – West Greenland<br />
correlation. Coincidentally, during that time, the scientific<br />
world was just learning about how primitive oceanic basalts<br />
were, and the BI-WG basalts turned out to be even more<br />
primitive than MORBs. That geochemical coincidence, and<br />
13
14<br />
my newly acquired experience with such rocks, landed me<br />
a pr<strong>of</strong>essorial position at Dalhousie <strong>University</strong> in Halifax<br />
with a mandate to collaborate with the Bedford Institute <strong>of</strong><br />
Oceanography to explore the ocean floors. Thus, I dutifully<br />
set out to work on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Labrador Sea,<br />
and Davis Strait, but then again came an unexpected turning<br />
point. Sure, Halifax is on the Atlantic coast and naturally<br />
looks southeast towards the sea, but the largest granite<br />
batholith in the Appalachian system invades the city limits<br />
from the northwest. So, after less than two years <strong>of</strong> doing<br />
marine geology at Dalhousie, the last major pivotal moment<br />
came when a potential graduate student (Colin McKenzie)<br />
asked to work on what later became to be known as the<br />
South Mountain Batholith, and my long career in peraluminous<br />
granites began. After several dozen students producing<br />
theses and papers with me on granites, I retired from<br />
teaching and administration in 2007 to be able to work full<br />
time on research. My granite papers continue to intrude the<br />
literature, and even one final Baffin Island basalt paper will<br />
erupt this year. It’s been a great ride, but the timely and crucial<br />
influences at <strong>Toronto</strong> <strong>of</strong> Langford, Wilson, the Anonymous<br />
Arbitrary Decision-Maker, and Fawcett were keys to<br />
its success. Had any one <strong>of</strong> those four not done what they<br />
did when they did it, I would certainly not be writing this<br />
retrospective piece for this <strong>News</strong>letter.<br />
(clarke@dal.ca)<br />
Magaly (M.Sc. 1968 – Naldrett) and Victor Graterol (Ph.<br />
D. 1968 Geophysics) are both retired pr<strong>of</strong>esors from the<br />
Simon Bolivar <strong>University</strong>. Victor writes – ‘At present I do a<br />
lot <strong>of</strong> traveling doing GRAV-MAG interpretation for CAR-<br />
SON AEROGRAVITY and other oil companies, especially<br />
in Colombia, Peru and Argentina. I just finished the new<br />
BOUGUER and TMI maps <strong>of</strong> COLOMBIA-VENEZU-<br />
ELA including all existing land and airborne potential data.<br />
Magaly is fine helping me in every trip.<br />
Hope to visit <strong>Toronto</strong> one <strong>of</strong> these days to say hello to you<br />
and all the guys in the U <strong>of</strong> T.<br />
Al McOnie (M.Sc. 1972)<br />
Arriving in <strong>Toronto</strong> in September <strong>of</strong> 1970 was quite an experience<br />
after having spent a southern summer working in<br />
the Southern Alps <strong>of</strong> New Zealand then a northern summer<br />
in the Coast Ranges <strong>of</strong> northern British Columbia. It was<br />
dead flat and there was no ocean.<br />
With no real plan, no wheels and nobody I knew, what was<br />
this kiwi kid to do - obviously I was not going to sit around<br />
and wait for the winter to end before finding some rocks to<br />
study in northern Ontario - so there was no alternative - go<br />
and make some rocks <strong>of</strong> your own in Jeff Fawcett’s lab for<br />
the next couple <strong>of</strong> years.<br />
So it was. Following this I gained valuable exploration<br />
experience working out <strong>of</strong> a Vancouver base and travelled<br />
all across Canada from Labrador to Yellowknife, staying<br />
long enough to earn the prize <strong>of</strong> Canadian Citizen for myself,<br />
my wife Lynne and our first child Aaron who earned it<br />
automatically from being born there.<br />
Unlike some <strong>of</strong> my friends, I avoided further study and the<br />
lure <strong>of</strong> the treadmill to become a long time employee in<br />
some big time mining company - I preferred the freedom<br />
to work with the smaller companies or to pick and choose<br />
projects where there was some added dimension <strong>of</strong> adventure.<br />
We returned to live in New Zealand in the early<br />
1980’s, although I continued to commute to project work in<br />
Alaska, although subsequently most <strong>of</strong> my time has been<br />
spent in exploration in Australia and New Zealand.<br />
In the slow times, I developed side interests and worked in<br />
photography, have grown flowers on a commercial scale,<br />
mapped farms and orchards and even stooped so low as to<br />
work as a government geologist in Wellington.<br />
Today we live on the Tauranga harbour on the east coast <strong>of</strong><br />
New Zealand’s North Island, close to where Lynne continues<br />
her skills as a classroom teacher and I spent many years<br />
exploring the epithermal gold fields <strong>of</strong> the district. Recently<br />
new opportunities with appeal have been available in<br />
Mexico, China and currently I am in year 2 <strong>of</strong> a project in<br />
the Keno Hill silver district in the Yukon.<br />
Please drop a line if you are passing bye as a couple <strong>of</strong> you<br />
have from time to time - we have some very fine wines in<br />
this part <strong>of</strong> the world. almconie@xtra.co.nz<br />
Joel Grice (B.Sc. 1969; M.Sc. 1970 and Ph.D. 1973 U. <strong>of</strong><br />
Manitoba)<br />
Arriving at registration on the U <strong>of</strong> T campus in 1965 was<br />
a memorable event. Coming from a farming background,<br />
the city <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> and the university were rather intimidating.<br />
While I knew exactly what I wanted to do in my career,<br />
the path to get there was a total unknown. Teachers at my<br />
high school didn’t really think it was possible to take a<br />
university course that would prepare me for working with<br />
minerals in a museum. There was no ‘career pamphlet’ <strong>of</strong><br />
that description but there was one on becoming a geologist.<br />
This information sheet mentioned the magic word, mineralogy.<br />
The registrar’s <strong>of</strong>fice sent me to the Mining Building<br />
to see if I could find someone who might best explain how<br />
to get into geology. On arrival I was graciously greeted by<br />
the departmental secretary who ushered me into Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
Nuffield’s <strong>of</strong>fice. He immediately put me at ease and<br />
assured me that I was not only in the right place, and that I<br />
was making the right career decision.
The undergraduate geology program <strong>of</strong> that time was probably<br />
the best one could get anywhere. Les Nuffield had<br />
created a program that used to advantage the chemistry,<br />
physics, and mathematics departments. He was adding enthusiastic<br />
new staff at an unprecedented rate and the entire<br />
department hummed with productivity. Digger Gorman<br />
was pleased to find a student who could identify almost<br />
any mineral put in front <strong>of</strong> him. I confided in him my<br />
dream <strong>of</strong> working in a museum at which point he promptly<br />
introduced me to the two ROM curators, Bob Gait and Joe<br />
Mandarino. I worked for Bob the summer <strong>of</strong> my graduation<br />
and he arranged for me to meet my future thesis supervisor,<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Robert Ferguson. I spent three wonderful years<br />
at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Manitoba and have been an Adjunct<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor ever since. Graduate school was followed by a<br />
NATO Post Doc with Guy Perrault at Ecole Polytechnique.<br />
My first job was teaching at Acadia <strong>University</strong> in 1974. I<br />
then worked for a year at CANMET. This put me on the<br />
doorstep <strong>of</strong> the National Museum <strong>of</strong> Natural <strong>Sciences</strong> and<br />
I let it be known I was interested in working there. In 1976<br />
I was <strong>of</strong>fered a position with the Museum (now called the<br />
Canadian Museum <strong>of</strong> Nature), and have worked there ever<br />
since. My chosen-career beginnings were very meagre,<br />
sitting in an Ottawa East end warehouse basement with no<br />
equipment, little staff and a very rudimentary mineral collection.<br />
Things are very different now: good X-ray diffraction<br />
and electron microprobe labs, a world-class mineral<br />
collection and a new mineral gallery in the design stage.<br />
My research has resulted in over 200 publications in mineral<br />
systematics and crystal-structure hierarchies. I have<br />
described over 100 new minerals species and was voted as<br />
Chairman for the International Mineralogical Association,<br />
Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification<br />
(1995 – 2003). In 2006, I was honoured with the<br />
Mineralogical Association <strong>of</strong> Canada’s highest award, the<br />
Peacock Medal (formerly the Past Presidents Medal). I<br />
ranked in the top 10 most-cited authors in geosciences for<br />
the period 1996-2007 (Science Watch, Thomson Scientific<br />
Web <strong>of</strong> Science)<br />
My second book*, Beginners Guide to Minerals and Rocks,<br />
which I’ve just completed, will appear in 2009. Published<br />
by Fitzhenry and Whiteside, this book is an attempt to<br />
encourage and help the uninitiated into the world <strong>of</strong> mineralogy<br />
so they may enjoy it as much as I have.<br />
December 22, 2008<br />
1980’s<br />
Malcolm Back, (B.Sc. 1985; M.Sc. 1990)<br />
While I was in third year at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong> I had<br />
the good fortune to meet Dr. Joe Mandarino from the Royal<br />
Ontario Museum. This led to a summer research project<br />
under his supervision, and eventually part time work at the<br />
Museum. After completing my M. Sc. Degree under Joe’s<br />
supervision in 1990, I was <strong>of</strong>fered a full time position as<br />
the X-Ray technician in the Mineralogy <strong>Department</strong> at the<br />
Royal Ontario Museum. I have worked there ever since.<br />
While my duties there do not <strong>of</strong>ficially include self directed<br />
research, I have always been encouraged to do so when<br />
time permitted. I have been fortunate to work on a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> new mineral descriptions, and have a few more waiting<br />
to be completed.<br />
For the past five years we have been working on the new<br />
Teck Suite <strong>of</strong> Galleries: <strong>Earth</strong>’s Treasures which showcases<br />
the Royal Ontario Museum’s exceptional specimens <strong>of</strong><br />
minerals, gems, rocks and meteorites, a collection among<br />
the finest in North America. The 6,900 square-foot combined<br />
gallery space fills the length <strong>of</strong> the Weston Family<br />
Wing on Level 2 and is divided into the Vale Inco Limited<br />
Gallery <strong>of</strong> Minerals, the Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame<br />
Gallery and the Gallery <strong>of</strong> Gems and Gold. For those <strong>of</strong><br />
you that remember the circa 1970’s gallery, We are one<br />
floor up from the location <strong>of</strong> that gallery. The Vale Inco<br />
Limited Gallery <strong>of</strong> Minerals presents approximately 2,300<br />
minerals, rocks and meteorites, exploring such areas as the<br />
classification <strong>of</strong> minerals, their physical properties, causes<br />
<strong>of</strong> mineral colour and the geological environments necessary<br />
for spectacular mineral growth. This gallery features<br />
the ROM’s meteorite collection, including a 1.1 kilogram<br />
lunar specimen, one <strong>of</strong> the biggest lunar meteorites on display<br />
in the world. The Canadian Mining Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame Gallery<br />
showcases the biographies and personal stories <strong>of</strong> 130<br />
inductees through a fully bilingual, interactive video wall<br />
that explains how mining touches every part <strong>of</strong> our lives.<br />
The gallery opens to the public on December 20, 2008.<br />
At the same time we worked on a travelling exhibit, The<br />
Nature <strong>of</strong> Diamonds, an exhibit organized by the American<br />
Museum <strong>of</strong> Natural History, New York in collaboration<br />
with the Royal Ontario Museum, The Field Museum, Chicago,<br />
and the Houston Museum <strong>of</strong> Natural Science. This<br />
exhibit closes March 22, 2009.<br />
I have also been a member <strong>of</strong> the Walker Mineralogical<br />
Club since 1982, and have had the privilege <strong>of</strong> serving as<br />
President for two, three year terms, the second <strong>of</strong> which<br />
ends this December. This organization was started in 1937<br />
by Pr<strong>of</strong>essor A.L. Parsons T.L. Walker , Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Ellis<br />
Thompson, Mr. Len Berry and others, at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Toronto</strong>, to encourage Mineralogical, Crystallographical,<br />
and Petrographical Studies in connection with the minerals<br />
and rocks <strong>of</strong> Canada. Through the years the Walker Club<br />
has evolved into more <strong>of</strong> an amateur, mineral collector’s<br />
club, but we still meet every month in the department at the<br />
<strong>University</strong>. Dr. Digger Gorman is our Honourary President,<br />
and a few years ago I was honoured to receive the appointment<br />
as an Honourary Member <strong>of</strong> the club. We are grateful<br />
15
16<br />
to the Geology <strong>Department</strong> for the support we receive from<br />
them.<br />
Helen Lasthiotakas (B.Sc. 1989; M.Sc. 1993 – Scott<br />
Group)<br />
I have very fond memories <strong>of</strong> my time in the Geology <strong>Department</strong><br />
– both for my undergraduates and graduates years.<br />
When I think <strong>of</strong> my undergraduate years, the comfortable<br />
and creaky Mining Building comes to mind. Along with<br />
good times spent with fellow students – whether hanging<br />
out in the student lounge, going on enlightening field trips,<br />
late night lab assignments, and pr<strong>of</strong>essors that were both<br />
incredible scholars and entertaining pr<strong>of</strong>essors.<br />
There was a transition to the new <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong> Building<br />
along with a transition to graduate studies. I started attending<br />
(and participating) in Rockfests and was welcomed<br />
even more into the department community. Amazing field<br />
trips to Costa Rica stand out in my mind, as does the sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> accomplishment in completing my M.Sc. with Steve<br />
Scott, and the late night conversations and hanging out with<br />
fellow graduate students.<br />
After completing my M.Sc., I turned to the study <strong>of</strong> psychology<br />
for a while at U<strong>of</strong>T but it wasn’t long before I was<br />
back in geology working with Steve and Glenn Brown in<br />
the Canada ODP<strong>of</strong>fice. What a learning experience with<br />
visits to Halifax and Victoria to help conduct tours <strong>of</strong> the<br />
JOIDES Resolution for the Ocean Drilling Program.<br />
Just as I was considering leaving the <strong>University</strong> when the<br />
CanadaODP <strong>of</strong>fice moved to another university, I was <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
a terrific opportunity to be the program manager for<br />
the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications <strong>of</strong> the Faculty<br />
<strong>of</strong> Applied Science and Engineering. I was involved with<br />
NIT at an exciting time, with successful grant proposals<br />
and building <strong>of</strong> labs and cleanrooms in the new Bahen<br />
Centre at U<strong>of</strong>T.<br />
Later, I moved to my current position as director, policy<br />
and planning in the Office <strong>of</strong> the Vice-President and Provost<br />
at U<strong>of</strong>T. This has been a really fascinating experience<br />
as I’ve had the privilege <strong>of</strong> working with staff and faculty<br />
members from across the university. Mainly I work in the<br />
area <strong>of</strong> university-wide academic policies, planning and<br />
governance approvals related to academic programs, contracts<br />
and units, reviews, and decanal searches.<br />
During my grad years, I met my partner Joseph. He was<br />
a mathematics and computer science secondary school<br />
teacher that subsequently founded and developed his own<br />
company. He works with companies to develop web sites<br />
with online databases and secure services. We have three<br />
wonderful children that delight us and keep us on our toes.<br />
Our lives seem to be an exciting rollercoaster ride that<br />
energizes us.<br />
I have retained warm and lasting friendships with geology<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essors and staff and occasionally visit the department.<br />
I’d love to meet up with any geology classmates – just drop<br />
me a line at h.lasthiotakis@utoronto.ca<br />
Elaine Ellingham (B.Sc. 8T0; M.Sc. 8T5; MBA ’94<br />
PGeo)<br />
After starting at U <strong>of</strong> T in 1975 in Commerce I quickly<br />
realized my lifelong interest in geology. I was fortunate to<br />
meet Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Frank Beales who took me on as a summer<br />
research assistant in 1978 and encouraged me to take<br />
my first field job with Brinex in Newfoundland the next<br />
year. After graduating with a BSc in 1980 and working for<br />
Noranda, I returned to work on an MSc (1981-1985). My<br />
master’s thesis with Andrew Miall focused on depositional<br />
modeling the basal units <strong>of</strong> the Sverdrup basin and field<br />
work took me to Ellesmere Island, which is a surrealistic<br />
place. After completing my MSc, I worked as an exploration<br />
geologist with St. Joe Canada in Northern Ontario,<br />
including on the discovery <strong>of</strong> the Golden Patricia Mine.<br />
During the flow through era, I had the privilege <strong>of</strong> a great<br />
mentor with a very dynamic junior company.<br />
The market downturns for explorationists are always challenging<br />
-- exploration is the first to dry up and the last to<br />
recover. I was fortunate to always find work related to<br />
the mining industry -- I worked with a mining engineering<br />
firm, as a lab assistant to U <strong>of</strong> T’s geochemist Dr.<br />
Greg Anderson, and also for Ontario Ministry <strong>of</strong> Northern<br />
Development and Mines on the first Prospectors Assistance<br />
Program.<br />
Later, while working full-time at Rio Algom, I returned<br />
to U <strong>of</strong> T in the part-time MBA program (1990-1994).<br />
The MBA allowed me to work with people from a broad<br />
range <strong>of</strong> businesses. Upon completion I joined Campbell<br />
Resources as Manager, Investor Relations. In my years<br />
working for juniors, I learned the significant role the financial<br />
markets play in driving exploration and mining. In<br />
1997, a month after the Bre-X scandal, I joined the <strong>Toronto</strong><br />
Stock Exchange as Manager, Company Listings and later<br />
as National Leader, Mining. As the first geologist hired<br />
after Bre-X, it was a lot about explaining to people what<br />
the realities <strong>of</strong> the exploration business were and convincing<br />
them not to put too restrictive rules in place that would<br />
be prohibitive to good companies. It was great experience<br />
leading the introduction <strong>of</strong> the Exchange’s new mining<br />
listing requirements and a new suspension policy as well as<br />
sitting on the Exchange’s Stock List Committee.<br />
In 2001, I joined the TSX’s Business Development Group<br />
Continued on page 18
and led the international initiative to attract foreign mining<br />
companies to list in Canada. During this time, I had the<br />
opportunity to lead seminars to Australia, South America,<br />
South Africa and China on how to go public and list in<br />
Canada, increasing the pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> the Canadian markets as<br />
the dominant global resource market. One really exciting<br />
part was the opportunity to visit China several times<br />
and meet with a wide variety <strong>of</strong> Chinese companies, key<br />
government <strong>of</strong>ficials, the Chinese Stock Exchanges and<br />
Securities regulators during the time when China was just<br />
starting its strong emergence and very aggressively seeking<br />
overseas capital.<br />
After eight years, I left the Exchange to take advantage <strong>of</strong><br />
the mining supercycle that <strong>of</strong>fered an abundance <strong>of</strong> interesting<br />
international consulting opportunities. I worked with<br />
an Australian company to spin-out a new Canadian nickel<br />
company with a significant discovery in Tanzania. I also<br />
worked with a Johannesburg-based corporate finance group<br />
evaluating acquisition opportunities in Canada and Africa<br />
and held a number <strong>of</strong> directorships with public companies,<br />
a role that draws on all <strong>of</strong> your combined experience and<br />
knowledge.<br />
1990’s<br />
Werner Klemens ( Ph.D 1996 – Schwerdtner group)<br />
I have really fond memories <strong>of</strong> my time at our Geology<br />
<strong>Department</strong>, the U<strong>of</strong>T community and environment and<br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> in general. Though quite challenging at times<br />
looking back this episode certainly counts towards some<br />
<strong>of</strong> the best years <strong>of</strong> my life during which I made several<br />
very good friends. With Fried Schwerdtner as my Ph.D.<br />
supervisor I had an excellent teacher in structural geology,<br />
Fried not only taught me the intricacies <strong>of</strong> field mapping<br />
in the Canadian Shield but also introduced me to Canadian<br />
customs and the English language. I still feel quite a bit <strong>of</strong><br />
homecoming whenever I come back to <strong>Toronto</strong> on business<br />
and I always try to make it to the annual alumni reception<br />
during the PDAC to chat with former pr<strong>of</strong>essors, fellow<br />
students and friends.<br />
After my graduation in 1996 I started working in mineral<br />
exploration for a junior company in the Highland Valley<br />
copper district, Kamloops region, B.C., where Bruce Perry<br />
(Ph.D. 1994?) was the exploration manager at that time. In<br />
1998 I made my first move to Russia consulting for Barrick<br />
Gold which had just set up a small <strong>of</strong>fice under the<br />
leadership <strong>of</strong> Mirek Benes, also a U<strong>of</strong>T Geology graduate<br />
(Ph.D.1995 with Steve Scott). In these early years following<br />
the collapse <strong>of</strong> the Soviet Union we were looking to<br />
secure promising exploration properties for the company all<br />
over Russia, but Russia’s mining law at that time, logistics<br />
and infrastructure proved to be quite a challenge. During<br />
that time I was also involved in the pre-feasibility study at<br />
the famous Sukhoy Log gold deposit in eastern Siberia, a<br />
+30 Moz black-shale hosted supergiant gold deposit, still<br />
undeveloped to this date and now considered a state asset<br />
for Russia. At Sukhoy I set my personal cold temperature<br />
record at -48 centigrade. Following the Russian economic<br />
default in late 1998 we shifted our exploration efforts into<br />
Central Asia and for the next 4 years I worked mainly in<br />
the alpine environment <strong>of</strong> southern Kyrgyzstan, partially<br />
following the traces <strong>of</strong> ancient explorers like Genghis Khan<br />
and exploring in a setting <strong>of</strong> fantastic geology for a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> gold deposits including Carlin-type, intrusion-related<br />
and skarn-type gold mineralization. Then in 2001 I moved<br />
back to Russia and for the next three years I was mostly<br />
based in the Murmansk region, Russian Arctic, where I was<br />
project manager for exploration at the Fedorova deposit, a<br />
mafic layered intrusion with multi-million ounces <strong>of</strong> PGM<br />
mineralization, recently announced by the Russian press<br />
as the biggest find <strong>of</strong> PGM’s since Norilsk. Eventually in<br />
2005 I became Exploration Manager for Russia and Central<br />
Asia for Barrick, and since 2007, following Barrick’s<br />
consolidation <strong>of</strong> their Russian operation, I am head <strong>of</strong><br />
exploration <strong>of</strong> Highland Gold Mining, a London AIM-listed<br />
mining company in which Barrick and Millhouse, Roman<br />
Abramovich’s investment vehicle, are major shareholders.<br />
Highland has mining and exploration projects in the Russian<br />
Far East and Kyrgyzstan and I still enjoy working in<br />
the harsh Siberian wilderness or the sunny mountains <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Tien-Shan.<br />
On the personal side, I am based in Moscow, happily<br />
married to a Russian and we have 16 month old beautiful<br />
daughter. wklemens@russdragmet.ru.<br />
Sylvia Maria de Araujo (Ph.D. 1996) and Cesar Fonseco<br />
Ferrera Filho (Ph.D. 1995) are both pr<strong>of</strong>essors at the<br />
Institute <strong>of</strong> Geosciences, <strong>of</strong> the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Brasil; Sylvia<br />
specializing in mineral deposits and petrochemistry and<br />
Cesar in petrology and metallogenensis.<br />
Alex Borowik (B.Sc. 1993; M.Sc.1998)<br />
The family moved from India to Bath, England in the summer<br />
<strong>of</strong> 2006. My husband, John, is still working for Rio<br />
Tinto out <strong>of</strong> their London <strong>of</strong>fice. I am working part-time<br />
for Bristol <strong>University</strong> developing geology and related power-point<br />
presentations for eight year olds, available on the<br />
web for teachers to download and use in their classrooms.<br />
I keep in contact with Alison Rust, who is at the university<br />
as well. The rest <strong>of</strong> my time is spent looking after our son<br />
Peter, who is now seven, and daughter Hannah, aged four.<br />
Continued on page 18<br />
17
<strong>News</strong> <strong>of</strong> former students continued<br />
2000’s<br />
Penny Morrill (Ph.D. 2005 – Sherwood Lollar group)<br />
Penny has completed post doctoral work and been appointed<br />
as assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essor in the <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Earth</strong><br />
<strong>Sciences</strong>, Memorial <strong>University</strong><br />
Jacob Hanley (Ph.D. 2005 – Mungall group) has accepted<br />
an assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essorship at St. Mary’s <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Halifax ,N.S.<br />
Kevin Gostlin (Ph.D. 2005 – Miall group) is with the<br />
DeBeers Group in Yellowknife. He is working on a paper<br />
on the sedimentology <strong>of</strong> the Burgess Shale, representing a<br />
major portion <strong>of</strong> his Ph.D. thesis.<br />
Sarah Hirschorn (Ph.D.<br />
2007 – Sherwood Lollar group).<br />
Sarah has recently joined the Nuclear Waste Management<br />
Organization as Geoscience Technical Specialist in <strong>Toronto</strong>.<br />
Yongtai Yang (Ph.D. 2008 – Miall group) has taken up a<br />
post-doctoral position at Dublin, Ireland, to work with a<br />
group on Atlantic margin tectonics and sedimentation.<br />
The Explorers Fund<br />
As announced in 2007, this Fund has been established to<br />
support the recruitment and training <strong>of</strong> the next generation<br />
<strong>of</strong> geoscientists. Both undergraduate and graduate students<br />
will be supported by scholarships and by the enhancement<br />
<strong>of</strong> their academic experience through support for field<br />
training. A detailed description <strong>of</strong> the Fund, its objectives<br />
and its administration, is available from the <strong>Department</strong><br />
Chair, Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Sandy Cruden at 416 978 3021 or via<br />
e-mail at chair@geology.utoronto.ca<br />
What are the benefits to donors?<br />
In addition to making a major contribution to geoscience<br />
education at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>, donors can anticipate<br />
the following benefits and recognition:<br />
Tax benefits: A tax receipt will be issued for all donations.<br />
Donations <strong>of</strong> stock and securities, flow-through shares and<br />
pledges <strong>of</strong> stock options lever significant tax savings to<br />
the donor: the donor will not be subject to capital gains tax<br />
on donations <strong>of</strong> publicly listed stocks and securities when<br />
shares are donated to the Explorers Fund rather than sell-<br />
ing and donating the proceeds. The value <strong>of</strong> the tax receipt<br />
will be based on the market closing price on the day the<br />
<strong>University</strong> takes legal receipt <strong>of</strong> stock/securities into our<br />
brokerage account. Charitable donations can be claimed for<br />
up to 75% <strong>of</strong> net income. A five-year carry-forward on any<br />
unused donation amount is permitted.<br />
Recognition <strong>of</strong> donors: All donors to The Explorers Fund<br />
will be recognized in the department’s annual <strong>Alumni</strong><br />
<strong>News</strong>letter and on a virtual Donation Wall on the departmental<br />
website.<br />
Naming opportunities: Donors who contribute a minimum<br />
<strong>of</strong> $50,000 to the Graduate Explorers Fund or a minimum<br />
<strong>of</strong> $20,000 to the Undergraduate Explorers Fund will have<br />
the option to name an Explorers Scholarship (in accordance<br />
with U <strong>of</strong> T’s Policy on Naming). Naming opportunities are<br />
also available on multi-year pledges.<br />
18<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />
Volume 18, 2009<br />
Editor: Jeff Fawcett<br />
Contributors: Dick Bailey, Laurie Curtis, Pierre-Yves Robin,<br />
Steve Scott, Rebecca Ghent, Sandra Kamo, Andrew Miall<br />
and Nean Allman for the “<strong>Toronto</strong> ‘78” photos.<br />
Thanks to the alumni who sent letters and biographical<br />
notes.<br />
Layout & Design: Karyn Gorra<br />
Comments and contributions are most welcome –<br />
especially news <strong>of</strong> former students. Send your contribution<br />
by regular mail or e-mail: fawcett@geology.utoronto.ca<br />
The Editor, <strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>News</strong>,<br />
<strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Geology,<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>,<br />
22 Russell St.<br />
<strong>Toronto</strong> M5S 3B1.<br />
Phone: 416 978 3022<br />
Web: www.geology.utoronto.ca
The Explorers Fund has been established to support the recruitment and training <strong>of</strong> the next generation <strong>of</strong> geoscientists. Both undergraduate and graduate<br />
students will be supported by scholarships and by the enhancement <strong>of</strong> their academic experience through support for field training. This fund gives alumni and<br />
friends an opportunity to directly support the recruitment and training <strong>of</strong> the next generation <strong>of</strong> geoscientists.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
19
Memories from <strong>Toronto</strong> ‘78<br />
Join us at the annual<br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Toronto</strong>, Geology<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong> Reception in <strong>Toronto</strong><br />
Tuesday March 3rd, 2009<br />
at the Fairmont Royal York<br />
Library Room<br />
5:00pm to 7:30 pm<br />
Visit us at Booth # 538<br />
at the 2009 PDAC