On the ROCKS Newsletter: Fall 2009 - Hartwick College

Newsletter Fall-Spring 2009-10
Crater Lake in October… we just
about blew our top!
Dr. Zsuzsanna Balogh-Brunstad
awarded a Marie-Curie Fellowship!
The GEOLOGY GANG at the rim of Crater Lake with
Wizard Island in the mid-ground. l-r back row: Brandt
Kayser, Max Hanusa Dr. Griffing , front row l-r : Patrick
Collins, Jeremy Weremeichik, Matt Caldwell, Brian Terbush (aka
The Terbush), Sierra Derby, Kimberly Negrich, Skylar Haas, Dr.
Balogh-Brunstad (aka Dr. Z), Sarah Timm, (standing), Justin
Allen, Andrew Parisi, and Dr. Johnson.
2009 Geological Society of
America Meeting, Portland
Oregon
Once again, Hartwick College students and
faculty traveled to the Geological Society of
America Meeting. This year’s meeting was held
in Portland, Oregon and Drs. Griffing, Johnson
and Balogh-Brunstad ran a fantastic premeeting
trip from southern Oregon to southern
Washington. Now known as the greatest hits
volcano gonzo extravaganza tour, the group
visited Crater Lake National Park, Newberry
Volcano National Monument, glimpsed Mt
Shasta to the south and Three Fingered Jack
to the North. The tour ended at Johnston
Ridge on the flanks of Mt St Helens in Wash.
State. Obsidian flows, and calderas, lahars and
dacitic tuffs…Yea Baby Yea! The water levels
in the Cascades, however, did seem a tad low.
Inside this Issue
Hartwick in the Field………………….2
What‟s on TAP ………………….………2
Student Research ……………………..3
Alumni News ……………………………3
Faculty News ……………………………3
G Goings-on ……………….…………4
The T-Shirt ………………………………4
Mudlogging with ZIA………………….4
Zsuzsanna pauses for a photo in Copenhagen Denmark where she will
be a fellow at the University of Copenhagen.
Congratulations Zsuzsanna for being awarded a
prestigious Marie-Curie Intra-European Fellowship
Her project: Rhizospheric biofilms at root-microbe
interfaces: A key to improved productivity,
sustainability and CO 2 balance in forests will be
carried out at the University of Copenhagen. This
research will provide opportunities for Hartwick
College students to be involved and use laboratory
equipment at the University of Copenhagen.
NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab:
Houston, TX.
During the Geology and Environmental Science
Department’s trip to the 2008 Geological Society of
America Meeting, the group was fortunate to get a
behind the scenes tour of the NBL. The group
witnessed NASA astronauts training to attach new
modules on the space station (see below). The 40
foot deep pool that is the core of the facility can
house full scale mock-ups of the Hubble Space
Telescope, and the Space Station. Hartwick Students
got a rare behind the scenes look at the facility
courtesy of Kurt Otten director of the pool facility.
At NASA’s neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Hartwick Geology students get
to watch space shuttle astronauts training for their upcoming mission to
the international SpaceStation. Right: The Saturn 5 lift vehicle…WOW!
Congratulations to our 2008 grads!
William French, Adrianne Partrick, Greg Wilding, Tim
“Mookie” Young, Alexandre Fowler.
Congratulations to our 2009-10 Saxton Scholar:
Kimberly Negrich.

Hartwick in the Field
Central Texas and Houston: During our 2008
fall trip to the GSA Meeting in Houston, Texas we
ran a post meeting field excursion through the
Llano Uplift. The Llano uplift occupies a portion of
the lovely Hill Country north and west of Austin.
Here one finds Precambrian rock belonging to the
Grenville Province (Adirondacks go to TX..Yee Haw
E.J.!). Back in Houston, the group visited the
Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory as well as NASA’s
Johnson Space Flight Center (sitting in Old Mission
Control Drs. G and J got a bit choked up!) We all
felt tiny when strolling around the Apollo Saturn 5
vehicle!
Geology Students and Professor Emeritus David Hutchinson
(Hutch) examine an outcrop of Llanite, a Precambrian granite
with sky blue quartz that is found in the Llano uplift. Group
from bottom right to top left: Skylar Haas, Matt Caldwell, Tim
“Mookie” Young (sporting the “GUNS”) Keith Brunstad (green
shirt), Hutch, Lexy Fowler (bandana) and Sarah Timm.
the focus of the Mineralogy class project . Our home away from
home was the now famous Jigger Johnson NFS site off of
Kankamagus highway along the Swift River.
Dr. J is discussing volcanic breccias with Matt Caldwell and Brian Terbush on the 2,400
foot vertical trail that leads to the summit of Kearsarge North in the White Mountains
National Forest. The Group collected samples for their GEOL 307 Petrology Class
research project. Photo Left: The mineralogy and petrology class at the summit of
Kearsarge North. From right (front row): Matt Caldwell, Emaly Leak, Brian Terbush,
Dr. G., Dr. J. William French, (second row) Sean Covert, Greg Wilding, Andy Parisi,
Justin Allen, Steve Laff, Kim Negrich, Kendrick Baldwin, Sarah Timm, Jeremy
Weremeichik,Brandt Kayser, Skylar Haas, Patrick Collins, Dr. Z, Keith Brunstad, Tim
“Mookie” Young, and Brian Avery.
Hawaii 2009!
Ahh Hawaii…The 2009 J-term trip was truly spectacular. During
the three week adventure, the group visited Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and
the Big Island of Hawai’i . The weather was terrific (would you
expect less), the scenery and geology spell-binding. One of many
highlights was a trip aboard the catamaran Lava Kai to see basaltic
lava flowing into the near boiling Pacific. The small boat plunged
into the plume of steam as floating volcanic bombs knocked at the
hull. In the words of Mookie...”this stuff is life-changing!”
White Mountains of New Hampshire So you
like volcanoes? You don’t have to go all the way
to Oregon…we have some right here in northern
New Hamphsire. The Petrology and Mineralogy
courses (led by Drs. J and G respectively) along
with Dr. Z and uber volcanologist Keith Brunstad
climbed Kearsarge North to collect samples of the
Moat Mtn. Volcanic Series (really volcanic?) . The
trip included a loop through Maine to visit the Lord
Hill Pegmatite, the mineralogy of which was
What‟s on TAP?
(L) Geology students gather at the summit of Diamond Head Hawaii. Front Row
(from left): Rebecca Nemchik, Sarah Holms, Eliza Mohlie, Skylar Haas, Eugenia Murillo,
Max Hanusa, Andrew Parisi, Second Row: Jeremy Weremichik, Elizabeth Lehmann,
Kim Negrich, Brandt Kayser, Patrick Collins Back Row: from left: William French, Sarah
Timm, Emaly Leak, Tim “Mookie” Young, Brian Terbush. Photo Right: Lava entry as
viewed from our fabulous boat tour aboard the Lava Kai.
HAWAII and Colorado Front Range.
January 2011 Drs. David Griffing and Johnson will fly off once again to paradise (aka: Hawaiian
Islands) to study the geology and the many environmental challenges facing our 50 th state. The
group will visit Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island on their adventure while the rest of us
shovel snow back in Oneonta. No hard feelings! We cannot wait to hear the stories of hiking in
Haleakala’s crater, stalking lava flows, and snowball fights at 13,700 feet! During the fall term
(2010) Hartwick College Geology will travel to Denver Colorado, to attend the annual meeting
of the Geological Society of America. Field trips to Garden of the Gods, Dinosaur Ridge, and
Great Sand Dunes National Park are in the works! As always we welcome alumni on our trips
and at our GSA alumni reunion events. Hope to see you in Colorado.
January 2011!
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1 2

Student Research
This year five seniors successfully defended their senior research
projects. William French presented the results of his research
on the potential for natural gas recovery from unconventional
reservoirs in West Virginia. Adrianne Partrick‟s thesis research
focused on faunal communities preserved Crown Point Reef
limestones at Goodsell Ridge on Isle La Motte. Lexy Fowler
presented the results of her thesis on the condition of coral reefs
in the Bahamas that have been dying at an alarming rate. She
completed a survey of reef health that can be compared with
previous surveys done in the 1990’s. Lexy presented her results
at the national GSA Meeting in Portland this fall (see below).
Gregory Wilding presented his research on relating tree-ring
data from the Oyaron Hill 2008 harvest to climate variations
since 1799.
Hartwick geology students presenting their research at the Geological
SOcienty of America Meeting in Portland Oregon. Left-right: Lexy Fowler
(2009) discusses her research on the health of Bahamian Reefs, Matt Caldwell
and Justin Allen at their poster on dissolved Aluminum concentrations in the
Swift River watershed and (far right) Sarah Timm discusses her research on
the intrusive character of the Moat Mountain Volcanic Series.
Timothy Young‟s senior thesis focused on how effectively
magmas are contaminated across contacts and along boundaries
of xenoliths. All of our seniors presented their research at the
2 nd Annual Scholars Day on Campus celebration (see below).
Geology Students presenting at the 2 nd Annual Scholar’s Day on Campus:
(Left to right) William French discusses natural gas exploration with Dr. Jim
Elting, Adrianne Partrick , Timothy “Mookie” Young, and far right, Sarah Timm
with Brian Terbush and Dr. Z at the Petrology Class Poster.
Alumni News
Jason Beach (2001) Jason Beach and wife Yan Yan became
parents for the second time on October 14 of this year with the
birth of their daughter, Lillian Mei-Li. Jason is beginning his
ninth year as projects manager with HRP
Associates in the Stratford, Conn. Office.
Kelly (Bryan) Melendez Loaiza („04)
After finishing up at UNH, Kelly was one of
3 Earth Science applicants nationwide to be
awarded the very prestigious Knowles
Science Teaching Fellowship. The award
provides up to $150,000 for Kelly to pursue Kelly Melenedez Loaiza
graduate work in education at Providence
College. Congratulations Kelly, way to go!!!!!!!!!!
On June 14 th Phil Martin („03) and Janelle (Poor) Martin (’03)
celebrated the birth of their son Jonas Justin Martin. Nichola
Thomas („07) and NJ Dutcher celebrated the birth of their son
Jaxon back on August Congratulations we will be looking for their
applications to Hartwick GEO in the near future. In other news,
Kristian DeLuccia („04) married Lisa Cousineau on July 4,
2009. Dr. J was in attendance. Kristian is currently teaching
earth science downstate. Lisa is a SUNY Binghamton Geo. grad.
Margaret Snyder (2007), William French (2009), David
Rotkowitz (2007) and Lexy Fowler (2008) joined us in
Portland for the GSA meeting. Thomas Mack (‟83) was
featured in the July Issue of Earth Magazine for his work with
the USGS in Afghanistan. Tom is currently with the water
resources division of USGS and works out of the Pembroke,
New Hampshire office. Kat Plourde (‟07) accepted a position
at Exxon Mobile after finishing her MS degree at UMass
Amherst. Jason Stouffer(‟06) moved to Houston TX along
with Kat…we miss you guys. David Rotkowitz (‟07) is
currently working as a hydrologist in Los Angeles, CA and lives
two blocks from the beach (tough life!) Lexy Fowler (‟09) is a
fully-funded graduate student at the University of Connecticut
and Matt Daigneault (‟08) is currently a graduate student at
Eastern Connecticut University working toward his earth science
education degree. Luke “Gluestick” Sattler („07) is
currently employed as a staff geologist at Malcome Pirnie
Engineering in NYC. Addie Partrick (‟09) is currently a
Interpretive Ranger for the National Park Service. For the past
two summers, Addie worked Glacier National Park and is
currently a ranger at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Faculty Research
Senior Full Professor Dr. Titus Sir is in the process of
turning out another book! Titus was awarded a Wanderslee
Award from the College to work on the text and complete his
field research for the book. Besides this new project Titus
has been quite active giving lectures throughout the region
and writing newspaper and magazine articles on the geology
of the Catskills. Bob also changed his title to Most Senior
Full Professor Dr. Titus Sir once he learned that he is now the
most senior member of the faculty. That is correct, Dr. Titus
now carries the College Mace at convocation and
graduation…and yes, he does have a new robe, a new hat
and a smaller tassel. He looks terrific!
Dr. Eric Johnson. Last April, E.J. turned the chair position
over to Dr. Griffing. It is a common site now to see Dr. J
smiling(chortling even) in the hallway and engaging in a bit of
gloating in front of poor Dr. G. E.J. still has some
administrative expectations as this year marks his second as
the coordinator of the international Friends of the Grenville
Organization. This year’s annual field conference was held in
Buckhorn, Ontario and was a smashing success. Last year,
Dr. J, Nichola Thomas (‟07), Lyal Harris and several of his
co-workers at the Institut National de la Recherche
Scientifique (INRS) in Quebec published a paper in Explore
Quebec. In addition, he presented two papers (one with Dr.
G) at the 2008 national meeting of the Geological Society of
America in Houston and again two papers (one with Dr. G) at
this year’s GSA Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Dr. J was elected
as a national CUR Councilor (Council on Undergraduate
Research) last spring and attended his first CUR business
meeting in Montana this past summer. In addition, one of Dr.
J’s thesis students (Sarah Timm) presented at the this
year’s GSA conference (see p. 3).
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Dr. Zsuzsanna Balogh-Brunstad sponsored, and hosted a
session at this year’s GSA Meeting in Portland, Oregon. In that
session, she presented a paper on her work concerning
forest hydrology and geo-biologic interactions. Just prior to GSA,
Dr. Balogh-Brunstad was invited to participate in a workshop at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. the results of which will
define future directions for geo-biological research. This is an
incredible honor! She also published three journal articles in 2008
and was co-author on a presentation at the 2008 Goldschmidt and
GSA conferences. OH…Did we mention that she also was awarded
a Maria Curie Intra-European Fellowship? (see page 1). Not a bad
first year! In addition, Zsuzsanna had two of her thesis students
(Justin Allen and Matt Caldwell) present at the Portland
meeting (see page 3).
Dr. David H. Griffing has received word that his collaborative
paper with Dr. Martha “Missy” Eppes entitled “Granular
disintegration of marble in nature: a thermal-mechanical origin for
a grus and corestone landscape” has been accepted for publication
in the journal Geomorphology. This research was supported by
Hartwick College Faculty research grants over the last three years.
Dr. G also presented two papers at the Houston Geological Society
of America conference in 2008 and two papers at the national GSA
conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2009. Houston saw the tagteam
of Johnson and Griffing expound upon “Experiential Learning”
in geosciences programs. Dr. G also presented an invited talk on
Ice Age paleogeographic reconstructions for the Bahamas. The
Portland GSA provided a venue for an abstract co-authored and
presented with Lexy Fowler (‟09), based on the results of her
senior thesis research on modern and ancient Bahamian reefs. Dr.
G also revealed some of the “super-secret” teaching philosophy
behind the Hawaii J-Term course in an abstract co-authored with
Dr. J at that meeting! Griff is already beginning the initial planning
for the Hawaii J-Term for 2011! He also plans to revisit the
Bahamas and present at the 15 th Symposium on the Geology of the
Bahamas and other Carbonate-producing Regions in the Summer of
2010.
G Corner
Once again this year the Geology Club will sponsor 40 hr OSHA
HAZWOPPER training. This year the training will be on campus.
G also organized the fifth annual crushing of the cell phones
festival which this year included an several i-Pods. The liquid
http://www.hartwick.edu/x6882.xml
Nitrogen was (as always) a nice touch. BIG NEWS: The
new DDG tee-shirt is here! The shirt may be a
bit bawdy but hey we are geologists after all. The shirts
are a fund-raiser for the club so order today. We also have
G Hartwick Geology Sweatshirts available for $30.00 (not
bawdy… rather classy actually).
Don‟t be the last G‟er on your block to get one! The G tee
shirt is here! Order yours today for $15.00 (includes
shipping). Please specify S, M, L ,XL. And make your check
payable to Geology Department, Hartwick College.
Special Thanks
Generous donations by Dave Hutchinson, Mr and Mrs
Jack Beach, Jason Beach, Cynthia Partrick and Dr.
Carl W. Stock are helping to keep our department
strong. As always a special thank you for Nancy
Heffernan who keeps the place running smoothly.
Mudlogging with Zia
This past summer, Zia Mudlogging in New Mexico had
the distinction of having a 100% Hartwick crew on oil
wells from Carlsbad to Lovington. Jeremy
Weremeichik (junior GESC major), Margaret Snyder
(07), and Robert Henry (‟07) all manned wells.
Glacier National Park
Skyar Haas (Junior GESC major) spent last summer
working as an interpretive ranger at Glacier National
Park. Addie Partrick („09) also worked at the park last
summer and Margaret Snyder (‟07) stopped in to say
Hey. The faculty all got junior ranger badges!
GO HARTWICK GEOLOGY!
THE FACULTY
Dr. Eric L. Johnson
Dr. Zsuzsanna
Balogh-Brunstad
Dr. Robert Titus
Dr. David H. Griffing
Chair
Department of Geology and Environmental Science
Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York 13820
Dr. David Hutchison
Professor Emeritus
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