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GLACIAL 

DEPOSITS 

Volume 37 

2008 - 2009

2008-2009 DISTINGUISHED GEOGRAPHER LECTURE 

A highlight in the Department each spring is the visit by the year’s Distinguished 

Geographer, who spends time with faculty and students for a couple of days, prior to 

delivering the namesake lecture. For 2008-2009 Dr. Geoffrey Martin, Professor Emeritus 

of Geography, Southern Connecticut State University, fulfilled this role. Earnings from a 

donation by E. Joan Miller fund the series. 

Though they did not know one 

another at the time, Geoffrey 

Martin and the Department’s Jo 

Miller, both natives of England, 

lived through the Great Depression 

and the Blitz; and both later 

migrated to the United States. 

Geoffrey has traveled the world in 

search of archival material to tell 

the story of the discipline of 

geography. 

After his lecture, “History of 

American Geography: 1870-1960,” 

Dagmar Budikova, who played a large 

role in bringing Geoffrey to campus, 

presented him with some tokens of our 

appreciation, including a Redbird cap, 

which he displayed in his left hand. 

The venue was the Circus Room of the 

Bone Center. 

Jo Miller (right) attends the annual 

lecture when possible. On this 

occasion, another departmental 

retiree, Jo Kimler (left), gave Dr. 

Miller a ride to and from the Bone 

Center and sat with her during the 

festivities.

GLACIAL DEPOSITS 

Volume 37 

2008-2009 

Department of Geography-Geology 

Illinois State University 

Campus Box 4400 

Normal IL 61790-4400 

Homepage: www.geo.ilstu.edu 

Editor 

Michael D. Sublett 

Graphics 

Jill Freund Thomas 

Associate Editor 

David H. Malone 

Cover: This Russell Osterloh creation has hung in the Editor’s living room since 1988. 

We were having dinner with family in Columbia, Missouri, one summer evening that 

year; and a similar map hanging behind the restaurant’s cash register caught my 

attention. Inquiry led me to the nearest outlet for Russell’s exquisite work, and I bought 

#48 in a series that now exceeds 600 maps and in which no two maps are identical. He 

provides an index (see page 29) as to what wood represents each state. Pieces for some 

states, like Illinois, come from readily available trees, while others, say Missouri, are 

from Latin America or other tropical latitudes. As Ellen Dietz learned in an interview for 

her article beginning on page 26, he likes to work with local trees that are coming down 

for reasons other than for a cartographic artwork or fine furniture.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

2008-2009 Distinguished Geographer Lecture Inside Front Cover 

From the Editor’s Desk 

Normal Renewal 

iii 

iv 

Some Urban Aspects of Petroleum Production/Ellen Dietz 1 

Exploring Alaska for Research Ideas/Johanna Haas 6 

Geography Interns: Class of 2008 10 

Wise Words from the Professoriate/Jay R. Harman 15 

Hall of Fame Induction 18 

Martha Cowart Means, 1915-2008/Robert G. Corbett 19 

Class Assesses the Felmley Environment/Johanna Haas 20 

Twentieth Annual Geography Career Fair 22 

Uptown Normal is Leeding the Way/Enid L. Cardinal 24 

The Art of Geography/Ellen Dietz 26 

GIS Day 2008 30 

Student Awards 32 

Majors and Graduate Students—May 2009 34 

Conference Presentations 36 

Faculty and Staff Sketches 40 

And Cake, Too 54 

Illinois versus Iowa/Indiana/Idaho/Adam Kastor 55 

Yesteryears/Michael D. Sublett 56 

2008-2009 Douglas Clay Ridgley Lecture Inside Back Cover

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK 

A 

s I examine the table of contents early each summer for the forthcoming issue of 

Glacial Deposits, I wonder just how this creation actually comes to be. Yes, some 

items are on the list because we have had them there before; and they continue 

to seem appropriate for a yearbook of an academic department such as ours. So we 

devote several pages to Geography internships, name the student award winners over 

the past year, list our majors and graduate students, recap presentations that faculty 

and students authored or coauthored, offer faculty and staff up to half a thousand words 

to recap their year, and (a fairly recent addition) give the editor a page for “Yesteryears.” 

But what led us to the core of the yearbook, the articles 

Here is a brief recap of how the articles came to be for Volume 37. The idea for our lead 

article, the one dealing with the impact of petroleum production on an urban area, 

occurred to me as I listened to Tom Schickel present his Homecoming lecture in 

October 2008. Who would write it The closest thing that we have to a staff writer is 

Ellen Dietz. Always game for a challenge, Ellen said she knew next to nothing about 

drilling for gas, but would give it a try. While Shell’s corporate approval process for 

Ellen’s draft of the article unfolded in the first few months of 2009, I began to wonder if 

the go ahead would actually occur and whether I ought to find something else for Ellen 

to research and write. That was when I contacted Russell Osterloh, the artist in Oregon 

from whose agent in 1988 I had purchased the beautiful wooden map of the United 

States that hangs on our living wall. Still busy in the woodworking art, Russell agreed to 

an interview; and Ellen finished the Osterloh article about the time that Shell finally 

signed off on her initial article. Johanna Haas has been a busy professor in her first 

three years at State, but she was not too busy to write (willingly) not just one but two 

articles about activities with her students over the past 12 months. When Jay Harman 

was on campus in April 2008 for his Distinguished Geographer Lecture, he and I got to 

talking about what he might be able to contribute to Volume 37. Sometimes veteran 

professors have topics that have not leant themselves to articles, book chapters, or 

books. Jay has been a dedicated field teacher and thought that he might be able to 

convey some of his passion and experience in a short article for us. The first time I met 

Enid Cardinal she impressed me with her knowledge of the LEED certification system. 

Since I have to confront LEED-rich Uptown Normal twice a day as I bike commute 

around the construction, I asked her to write something short and not too technical for 

us. Bob Corbett was the obvious choice to compose the tribute article about Martha 

Means. Finally, there is Adam Kastor, an undergraduate who was one of my Illinois 

(GEO 220) students in the spring of 2009. His rant about Iowa had me LOL as I scored 

their logbooks one winter evening. When asked if I could reprint it, he agreed. 

Thanks to all who contributed in other ways. Deb Lescher typed the articles and lots of 

other text stuff; Jill Thomas performed the graphical magic; Dave Malone found the 

funds to print (and also provided good advice); and several contributed photographs 

(Shell, Johanna Haas, Chenay McDaniel, Curtis Russell, Rich Frontz and Earl 

Hammond, Stephanie Bussan, Jay Harman, Lyndsie Schlink, Amy Bloom, Russell 

Osterloh, Jed Day) to supplement those that I claim. It was an interesting year. Now I 

begin seeking material with which to populate Volume 38. MDS 

iii

NORMAL RENEWAL 

In 2008, Illinois State University 

began razing dated dormitories 

between Main and University to 

make way for the Student Fitness 

and Kinesiology Recreation 

Building. Here demolition of 

Walker Hall had just begun (at its 

north end), as another dorm, 

Hamilton-Whitten, stood watch 

in the background. Dunn and 

Barton halls, formerly to the left 

(just east) of Walker, had already 

become history. 

On the east side of campus, 

in Uptown Normal, crews 

were busy early in 2009 

wrecking the building once 

occupied by University 

Christian Church, at the 

corner of North Street and 

Fell Avenue. In its place is 

to stand a $31 million 

structure that will have retail 

space on the first floor, 

offices on the second, and 

137 rental apartments on 

floors three, four, and five. 

North Street is getting a 

major makeover as part 

of the Uptown renewal, 

from the traffic circle or 

roundabout (in the 

distance), past the 

intersection with 

Broadway (beyond 

nearest excavator), to 

Fell Avenue. 

iv

SOME URBAN ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTION 

By Ellen Dietz 

O 

nce upon a time, we imagined petroleum drilling and extraction looked like something 

out of the movie Giant, and, once upon a time, well, it did. But as the decades have 

elapsed, Texas does not look like Giant, and the oil and gas operation are no longer 

something scripted out of Hollywood. Perhaps the biggest change is the vast expansion of 

population in Texas and all that goes with it: neighborhoods, strip malls, warehouses, sewer and 

water pipelines, highways, parking lots, and the like. Still, there is an abundance of oil and gas 

along the Gulf Coast yet to be tapped, beneath the urban development and agriculture. 

So, what happens when population and oil/gas operations collide We have come upon a 

special opportunity to find out. In October 2008, Thomas Schickel (B.S. in Geology 1993 and a 

M.S. in Geology from the University of Illinois in 2006) returned to Illinois State to speak to 

faculty and students during Homecoming. Tom is a geologist with Shell Exploration & 

Production Company in Texas and has a wealth of experience working on drilling sites in south 

Texas. In his presentation, Tom touched upon the intricacies involved in producing natural gas 

in a populated area. We wanted to know more. So, we asked what it was all about. 

Glacial Deposits: Surely, there is a large amount of work that must be done in advance of 

setting up a drill site, but we want to focus on the people aspects. What are the public relations 

considerations when the well site is in an urban area Is there a public comment period 

Shell Exploration & Production Company: Shell owns a natural gas field, McAllen Pharr, 

located underneath the cities of McAllen, Pharr, and San Juan, Texas. More than 700,000 

people live in this area, and another 300,000 in the greater Rio Grande Valley. It is important to 

Shell to be a good neighbor in this community. Thus, we do what we can to minimize the 

nuisance factor of our operations. One of the ways we have done this is to purchase land sites 

in the area that are 5 to 20 acres in size. These sites act as drilling pads and provide a buffer to 

our neighbors. We then drill our wells directionally to access the oil and gas reserves, and we 

can use these pads to drill multiple wells. This approach minimizes our overall footprint in the 

area and provides buffer zones to our neighbors, reducing noise and dust. 

Every well drilled in a city requires a city permit, in addition to the state permit. After the permit 

filing, a notice appears in the newspaper advising the citizens of a hearing before the city 

commission to consider the permit. During the meeting, citizens have the opportunity to 

comment on the record as to their views on our permit. Shell gets to state its case as well. Thus, 

it is not a public comment period per se, but the public is informed and involved. These city 

council meetings are televised locally and via the Internet. 

GD: People are concerned about the environment around them, and one way they express this 

concern is through environmental impact studies. Can you give a brief explanation of 

environmental impact studies and their role in drilling 

Shell: Shell takes a very proactive role in assisting with environmental impact studies and has a 

strong corporate culture of ensuring our operations are environmentally friendly. Though not in 

an urban area, a perfect example of this is in our Pinedale, Wyoming, operations. The Pinedale 

Anticline is a pristine setting in the Rocky Mountains with numerous protected plants and 

wildlife. Among these are sage grouse, deer, and elk. Shell led the effort to work with the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to develop plans for gaining access to the natural gas with 

minimal impact on the native species. We worked closely with many stakeholders to survey the

wildlife populations and develop seasonal drilling plans that minimize our footprint. All the wells 

are drilled from pads in an effort to minimize site disturbance. The objective of an Environmental 

Impact Study is to define the habitat and assess the impact of changes that would be caused to 

this habitat by oil and gas operations. 

GD: Few people know the difference between surface rights and mineral rights. Could you give 

a nutshell explanation From a landowner’s perspective, how does not owning mineral rights 

affect him/her when a deposit is discovered 

Shell: Surface rights entitle an individual to use the surface for their own purposes. As an 

example, when you buy a house, you own the house and all of the property it sits on and can 

use that property as you see fit, within whatever restrictions are in place. Mineral right 

ownership means that you own the rights for any hydrocarbons that lie beneath the surface. 

Because you own these rights, you can lease them to oil and gas companies; and, if they find oil 

or gas on your property, you will financially benefit from the revenues of that oil and gas. 

It is very rare these days that mineral owners and surface owners are the same. One of the 

largest mineral owners is the federal government, although it is rare where they still own the 

surface. Thus, if the BLM has leased the minerals to an oil company, and the company wants to 

access those hydrocarbons, it can do so, even if it means disturbing the surface owners’ land. 

The oil/gas company will pay the surface owners for any damage inflicted upon the land as a 

result of these operations, but that is generally the only revenue the surface owner will receive. 

Thus, the federal government and the oil company continue to make money while the well is 

producing; but the landowner receives no revenue from the well. In Texas, the mineral owner is 

considered the dominant estate over the surface owner. 

GD: Has public opinion about drilling and production changed over the years 

Shell: There continues to be less access available for hydrocarbon development. The general 

public has become more negative about drilling over time even as our drilling techniques have 

improved and have less impact on the environment and surface than 25 years ago. However, 

the oil and gas industry could do more to communicate its value. We employ hundreds of 

thousands of people and provide a commodity that is necessary for the nation to prosper. 

GD: What goes into physically preparing a drill site Reserve pits Access roads Water 

source Land-clearing or other changes for access, containment, environmental safeties How 

does being in an urban area affect preparation 

Shell: Once we identify a site, we clear and level the area and dig reserve pits and line them 

with material to ensure that the captured fluids cannot leak into the soil. If a road is necessary, 

then our construction crews will build the road and bring electricity to the site. Most access is via 

satellite for telephones and Internet connections. Water is usually trucked in to the location, as 

are drilling fluids and other services. In the city, we have access to local telephone and electric 

services. We will also employ people at the entrance to monitor personnel coming and going, 

and to ensure the security and the safety of those on location. 

GD: Let us turn our attention to the footprint of a drill site. To start, what do your drill rigs look 

like We would like to get a mental picture of the above-ground operation. In Illinois we have 

some strange-looking stand-alone rigs on the glaciated landscape, slowly, steadily bobbing up 

and down. Their profile is reminiscent of the glass drinking-bird toys we had as kids. Are those 

drill rigs Is there other machinery or housing that go along with the rig How big is the overall 

2

footprint when you set up a drilling site, and what are the considerations when that footprint is in 

an urban site What is the footprint once the well is established 

Shell: What you are describing is actually a pumping unit and not a drilling rig. A pumping unit is 

necessary to get oil out of the ground after the well is drilled. Pumping units are required when 

the well has insufficient pressure to flow to the surface on its own. The overall footprint during 

the drilling operation is about three to five acres, depending on the size of the rig. Once the well 

is drilled, we collapse the location to a very small area by returning most of the area to its native 

state. Our objective is to leave as small a footprint as possible, yet leave some footprint so we 

can get back to work on the well in the future. 

In the city, we drill on pads that are ours, so those typically stay the same and are not returned 

to native state. However, we do fence and landscape around the area to ensure our well sites 

are not eyesores. Our McAllen Pharr field has some beautiful bougainvillea blooming! 

GD: Once you get started there must be a lot of activity. What are the considerations for all the 

traffic that accompanies drilling, such as supplies, generators, and water 

Shell: Yes, there is a lot of activity; but it is what I call controlled chaos. Shell has many driving 

safety policies, and we require our contractors adhere to the same standards. An entire drilling 

location can be picked up and moved in five days. The moving is done during the daylight to 

minimize the extra safety exposure associated with night activity. This procedure is safer for our 

crews, the public, and any wildlife. For our in-town area, we try to stick to the lesser-traveled 

roads to minimize the disruption to the people in the city. 

GD: When we think about south Texas, we get a mental picture of grapefruit orchards and other 

agriculture, as well as open plains and scattered cities. What can you tell us about the 

difference between drilling under an agricultural field as opposed to an urban setting 

Shell: When drilling in urban areas, the main difference is noise containment. In an urban area, 

we, and our drilling contractor, stack freight containers around the rig to reduce the noise. This 

is not necessary in the wide-open areas. We also get fewer visitors to our non-urban locations. 

In general, the drilling rigs for an urban area are similarly equipped to those in the open plains. 

Sometimes it is necessary to disturb a farmer’s planted field so that we can build a drill site. We 

will usually juggle our rig schedule so that we wait until after harvest to disturb the field. We 

have also been known to delay wells to accommodate a hunting schedule or the holidays. We 

believe it is important to be a good neighbor both in the urban and rural areas that we operate. 

GD: In person or in the movies, most of us have seen the flares from wells. With the rising 

awareness of global warming and pollution, these flares are increasingly in the public 

consciousness. Any thoughts on what companies are doing about the flares, especially in urban 

areas where those flares are beacons in the darkness 

Shell: We have tried using combustors rather than flares, but the technology has not advanced 

as quickly as the public conscience. We abide by all state and federal laws in this area and are 

actively working on improved flaring methods. If we did not flare while we were drilling in south 

Texas, we would not be able to continue drilling in these old fields as it would be uneconomic to 

recover the gas. The technologies we use to drill wells in south Texas require “underbalanced 

drilling.” Underbalanced means that the well is constantly flowing gas while you are drilling as 

the pressure of the drilling fluids during the drilling operation is less than the pressure of the 

formations that you are drilling. 

3

GD: Drilling must be a noisy activity. What are the considerations when drilling in an urban 

area Are there restrictions on 24-hour activity 

Shell: The rigs are quieter than you would think. We have done some noise surveys in our 

urban areas, and the freeway traffic is twice as noisy as the drilling rig. Regardless, we minimize 

the impact on our neighborhoods by stacking freight containers, as noted above, around our 

locations and using electric generators on our rigs. We have even equipped our forklifts with 

backup lights rather than that noisy sound (the beep, beep) that occurs when you are backing 

up! One of the noisiest activities is cementing the steel casing strings in the ground so that we 

can produce the well. This occurs several times during the drilling operations as we cement 

surface casing, an intermediate casing string, and finally our production casing. We will usually 

wait for daylight before starting one of these operations. There are no formal restrictions; this is 

just a policy that Shell has to minimize the disruptions to people’s lives. 

GD: How do you get the gas from the underground formation to the storage site (or usage site) 

when those two areas are not one in the same Do you use above- or below-ground pipes, and 

how do you choose the routes What are the public comments about those routes, and what 

kinds of contingency plans do companies need in case changes must be made Have you ever 

had to transport through or under existing urban areas 

Shell: We move most of the gas from the well site to the customer via underground pipelines, 

although there are many aboveground pipelines also. It really depends on the area. We 

currently transport gas under an urban area, as do many other oil and gas and pipeline 

companies. Nearly everyone in an urban area gets his or her gas via an underground pipeline. It 

is critical to maintain the integrity of our pipelines to ensure they are safe to operate. To that 

end, we use chemicals to keep the pipes from eroding and check the condition of the pipelines 

via a process called “smart pigging.” Essentially, a smart pig can tell you how much, if any, 

corrosion is in the pipeline. When the corrosion gets to an unsafe condition, you can either 

reduce the operating pressure of the pipeline or replace the corroded segments. 

GD: If there were three things you would want people to know about drilling in urban areas, 

what would they be 

Shell: First, Shell does everything it can to operate in a safe, environmentally friendly, and 

neighborly way. The people that work on those rigs often live in those communities, so we all 

share a common goal to ensure minimal disruption to the area while providing employment 

opportunities and energy. Second, the drilling operation is a state-of-the-art, high-technology 

activity. What you see on TV is not how we operate. Oil and gas are more difficult to get to all 

the time, and the techniques we use today were not even invented 20 years ago. We all share 

our concern over the environment. Third, you should expect Shell to be an active member of the 

community. We provide aid during hurricanes and employ a lot of local people. We contribute to 

the economy of the area and take our responsibilities to the area very seriously. We are proud 

of our annual citrus bowl, an event where we harvested more than 20 tons of citrus and donated 

this citrus to the local food bank for needy families. 

GD: And so, our story comes full circle. Modern drilling, indeed, is nothing at all like Giant. 

Rather than the explosive black rain of oil, drilling is a tightly controlled, high-tech industry that 

must consider neighborhoods, utility rights-of-way, legal matters, crop and harvest scheduling, 

local ordinances, noise abatement, water supplies, and a host of other concerns in addition to 

geomorphology and structural geology to get gas and oil to the consumer. With the expertise of 

4

Thomas Schickel and geologists around the world, that continues to happen with environmental 

concern and good-neighbor practices. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: It take a team to drill a well, and it took a team to bring this article together. 

We thank Shell’s Thomas Schickel, Sandy Sodersten, and Kelly op de Weegh for their 

assistance and input. Without them, this article would not have been possible. Ellen Dietz has 

written several items for Glacial Deposits, including another article in this volume. 

(Left) Shell contracts with Nabors Drilling for well projects in the Rio Grande Valley, such as this one 

near Jackson Ridge Square, Pharr, Texas. (Right) Not much remains after the drill crew departs, except the 

wellhead. This image and that of the drill rig are courtesy of Shell. (Below) Tom Schickel, the inspiration 

for this article, posed on 17 October 2008, with two of his former professors, Skip Nelson (left) and David 

Malone (right), with Schroeder Hall in the background. 

5

EXPLORING ALASKA FOR RESEARCH IDEAS 

6 

By Johanna Haas 

A 

t around midnight, on June 15, 2008, Dawn Heckmann, Phil Ferguson, and I deplaned at 

Anchorage, Alaska. The sky was still lit with a dull twilight that, so far north and so close 

to the solstice, would not go away during our two-week visit. We managed (by accident) 

to time our visit to cover both the summer solstice and the 50 th Anniversary of Alaska’s 

achieving statehood. The solstice was a bit jarring, and more than one night we found ourselves 

sitting up in the common room of the inn playing cards, only to suddenly look at a watch to 

realize it was after 10 p.m., and still looked like daytime. Phil was the one who took most 

advantage of the sunny nights to go for late night runs; and, consequently, he took the least 

advantage of early morning planning in the coffee shop across the street from the inn. 

I went to Alaska in search of a research question. My prior research looked at law and property 

ownership and how they interacted with mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia and 

Kentucky. I still wanted to look at land that held energy resources and sat in a rural area–and 

the geologists in the Department had filled my head with many interesting stories of research in 

Alaska, so I decided to head north. I picked two undergraduates to come along as research 

assistants to help me flesh out a research agenda. Phil was interested in learning about Alaskan 

Natives and their interactions with the physical environment. Dawn was interested in learning 

about energy extraction and policy. This short essay recounts some of our adventures. 

On the first morning, Dawn and I engaged in those most basic of research techniques: going for 

a walk around the neighborhood, watching the local news, and buying a newspaper. That 

quickly led us to discover that public hearings about state support for a natural gas pipeline to 

run down from the North Slope were happening downtown. We spent two days attending those 

hearings, the first listening to scientific presentations by state regulators on the pipeline. The 

second day we listened to an often quite rowdy citizen response. Highlights included a trio 

singing a parody of “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” from the Sound of Music and a 

man who blamed all problems on the existence of the Federal Reserve. We also got to watch 

interactions between members of the Alaska Senate and House, and picked up some stray 

gossip that several of them are just as colorful as members of the public. The new gas pipeline 

made it to the list of items I may want to look into more as I build a research agenda. 

Our tiny team engaged in various types of research, both traditional and unusual. We found a 

meeting at a coffee shop about environmental construction and a service at a Unitarian Church 

about the history of Alaskan corruption. We visited the public library and the library at the 

University of Alaska-Anchorage, in order to find archival records of resource use in the 

Anchorage area. We stopped by government agencies including the U.S. public lands office and 

the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. We chatted with groups involved in mining and 

environmental issues: Alaskans Against the Mining Shutdown, The Nature Conservancy, The 

Cook Inlet Keeper, and the Renewable Resource Coalition. At the time, I thought my research 

might take me toward conflicts surrounding mining for coal and other resources. 

We road tripped outside of Anchorage to discover the area, travelling down the Kenai Peninsula 

to Seward, and seeing some Dall sheep along the way. One of the things that everyone should 

have on their bucket list is to see a glacier. On the trip to Seward we visited two. First, we 

stopped at Portage Glacier Park, outside of Anchorage. We soon saw a glacier, assumed that it 

was Portage; found a place to park the car; and began hiking toward the glacier. What I had

thought was a hiking trail ended up being a moose trail through a dense thicket of willows and 

soon gave out. We managed to emerge from the willows at a stream of glacial melt-water and 

follow that toward the glacier for a while. Phil managed to spot some bears on the hill above us– 

luckily at a very safe distance–and we watched them for a while. We had to turn back before 

reaching the glacier because we were not dressed to hike through the snow or water it would 

take to reach it. Eventually we made it to the visitor center, only to discover that we found Byron 

Glacier instead of Portage, and that there was indeed a trail on the other side of the stream. Our 

second glacier of the day was Exit, outside of Seward. Here, the park rangers had placed signs 

marking the glacier’s rapid retreat because of climate change. We did get close enough to touch 

it, and I have never felt so small in my life as standing next to that glacier. It was cold and so 

massive as to create its own wind, which soared through its cracks and crevasses making a soft 

singing sound, while it glowed blue as the light shone through its layers. 

Toward the end of our time in Alaska, the Supreme Court announced the final verdict about the 

Exxon Valdez oil spill. Since we were close enough (the drive from Anchorage to Valdez was 

supposed to be about six hours), we decided to drive to the port city and see if there was 

anything going on. We were able to view, but not approach, the facilities at the end of the oil 

pipeline, but were unable to find much going on in the town in reaction. However, on our drive 

back, we stopped at a roadhouse for breakfast. As I was teaching the students about the Valdez 

court case, a man at the table next to us said, “Excuse me, I can’t help but overhearing you talk, 

and I am one of the claimants from the oil spill.” It turns out he was a fisherman who was put out 

of business as a result of the damage caused by the spill. He spoke with us for a while about his 

difficult experiences making claims, and his frustration with the bureaucracy that was put in 

place to deal with claims. We learned about the difficulties of a fisher’s life in Alaska and the 

spatially differing application of the law between Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. That 

stroke of luck really added to our understandings of the issues. 

My favorite place, however, turned out to be nowhere near so far away. Just north of Anchorage 

lies the Matanuska Valley nestled between the Chugach and Talkeetna mountains along the 

Matanuska River, which melts from the Matanuska Glacier. This valley has a long history of 

mining, and holds a state park that was once the Independence Gold Mine. It also holds coal 

deposits between the towns of Palmer and Chickaloon, coals that had been mined by the U.S. 

Navy and by commercial operations in the past as underground mines. There is one surface 

mine still operating in the reclamation stage, the Jonesville Mine; and we hiked up to it, finding 

the entrance to the old Evan Jones underground mine up the mountain. Here I came to the 

realization that this coal was interesting. It was located along a major road close to Anchorage, 

and the seams contained every type of coal from lignite to bituminous and even some 

anthracite. Additionally, private entities own some of this land, while the state and federal 

governments owned other parts; and there was even a native village tribal corporation in 

Chickaloon that owned some of the coal. While the coal itself is not being developed today, the 

methane (natural gas) that it holds is of interest to many groups. One entity had tried to develop 

it in 2003, but was chased away by the locals. Another looked to be ready to drill a test well in 

2009 and was encountering little opposition. This would be the perfect place to look at resource 

extraction from the beginning and to help determine why the community welcomed the one 

developer and discouraged another. 

The Matanuska Valley is interesting for more than just coal and gas, however. During the Great 

Depression, one program settled it with farmers from the northern Great Plains in an effort to 

build a self-sustaining agricultural community in Alaska. While most of those settlers left to get 

oil jobs, there are still innovative farmers in the area including a musk ox farm, a reindeer farm, 

and several vegetable farms that sell to restaurants and the Anchorage farmers’ market. This 

7

area is largely rural, but exploding in population growth as Anchorage spreads. (This is the area 

from which Sarah Palin hails; and we got to hear the governor speak as part of Alaska’s 50 th 

Anniversary Celebration.) It pulls people who want the traditional Alaskan lifestyle of outdoor 

abundance and self-sufficiency, but who still wish to live close enough to a city to be able to 

access its amenities. As such, the valley is undergoing rapid change and should provide a host 

of issues to look into with students over time. 

One thing I learned is that there is nothing subtle about Alaska–both the landscape and people 

are larger-than-life. Photographing the landscape is impossible because the mountains, valleys, 

and waters simply cannot fit into a lens frame. The Alaskan people love their home, and 

treasure the environment, considering themselves to be very good stewards. They are naturally 

suspicious of anyone from the Lower 48 coming in to tell them what to do without building the 

deep understandings they have built up over the years. Still, many people seem to have an 

uneasy relationship with the energy resources that have brought such wealth to their state, but 

have also, as in the case of the Exxon Valdez disaster brought great harm. 

Phil gets the award for outstanding inter-human interaction. He would talk to anyone about 

anything. When we travelled west along the Glenn Highway toward some old coal mines, Phil 

was the one who chatted with the workers in small stores along the way to get information on 

the mines. He interviewed Alaskan Natives selling their goods at the Anchorage Farmers’ 

Market and at the Alaskan 50 th Anniversary of Statehood Celebration. Phil even used the 

occasion of a night of Irish dancing to interview participants about their feelings about mining 

and the environment. 

Dawn receives the award for indefatigability and attention to detail. She took on every grueling 

and difficult task without complaint–even becoming our full-time driver, which included the ninehour 

trip to Valdez. Dawn was the first to spot relevant events in the news and note that we may 

want to attend this or that, and was the only research assistant not to fall asleep in the public 

library looking over environmental agency public files. She also took on the task of cataloging all 

the field relics upon our return to Illinois. 

I am now set to embark on a new research agenda–and will take more students to Alaska. We 

will be looking at both coal-bed methane and general natural gas development in the Matanuska 

Valley in South-Central Alaska, north of Anchorage. I return May 2009 with Dawn and 

Environmental Studies minor Amanda Landers to look at property ownership records, and 

compare resource development on lands that are owned in different ways (by private people, by 

native corporations, or by the state or federal government.) Natural gas is frequently seen as a 

good transition fuel between our current fossil fuel economy and a new carbon-free renewable 

resource economy. Natural gas is abundant and lower in carbon than coal or oil. However, its 

extraction will have strong impacts, both positive and negative, on the (mostly) rural 

communities in which it is found. All these impacts are heightened by the climatic extremes and 

intense rurality of Alaska, which should provide research questions for many years to come. I 

hope to be able to finance return trips with more of our students in years to come. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Johanna Haas and other new departmental faculty receive start-up funding to 

assist them with their research agenda. She used some of her funds to make this 2008 trip with 

her students, in addition to resources provided by a University Research Grant and an Honors 

Summer Research Mentorship. 

8

(Upper Left) Dawn Heckmann (left) and Phil 

Ferguson were fording a stream in order to reach 

Byron Glacier on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. 

(Upper Right) Johanna Haas paused amid the 

snow at the entrance to Independence Mine, an 

old gold extraction site in Hatcher Pass, Alaska. 

(Left) The Exit Glacier, as recently as 1995, had 

its snout, or terminal face, at the point where 

(left to right) Johanna Haas, Dawn Heckmann, 

and Phil Ferguson stood in June 2008. By then 

the snout had retreated far up the valley, but was 

still visible. 

9

GEOGRAPHY INTERNS: CLASS OF 2008 

Florida was where Chenay McDaniel 

wanted to intern; and she found herself 

a nice slot at the St. Augustine, Ponte 

Vedra, and the Beaches Convention 

and Visitors Bureau, near St. 

Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos 

National Monument, where 

construction began in 1672. 

Casey Eberlin had the 

opportunity to spend the 

summer of 2008 working at 

Sanborn Map, in 

Chesterfield, Missouri, a far 

western suburb of St. Louis. 

With Casey, in front of the 

firm’s Piper Navaho Twin, 

which collected some of the 

aerial imagery that Casey 

manipulated for his 

internship, were General 

Manager Bob Williams (left) 

and Flight Operations 

Director Dale Berges. 

Working under the 

supervision of Tim Young 

at the Illinois State 

Geological Survey, Rocky 

Bundy became in a few 

short weeks quite 

competent in the operation 

of equipment used to 

collect downhole 

information from wells, 

such as this practice hole on 

the main campus of the 

University of Illinois. 

10

Mandli Communications, Madison, 

Wisconsin, contracts with state 

highway departments and then sends 

out road crews to collect data about 

conditions of highways, interchanges, 

etc. Among the several Mandli crews 

in the field during 2008 was the team 

of Rich Frontz (left) and Earl 

Hammond, shown here in Henderson, 

Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. 

Stephanie Bussan was our 

other Mandli Communications 

intern in 2008; and her main 

assignment was Tennessee, 

though she also got to work in 

several other eastern states. 

Here she was gassing up the 

company vehicle (The Grey 

Goose) in Indianapolis. 

Rich Sullivan (right) found an 

internship in his hometown of Lincoln, 

working for Geoff Ladd (left) and the 

Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of 

Logan County. The Bureau was 

assisting with the restoration of The 

Mill, on old Route 66, in Lincoln. 

11

More Interns 

We placed our first intern at the 

Chicago Transit Authority, 

Nick Puczkowskyj (center). His 

job entailed helping his 

supervisor, Todd Bapton (left), 

with the Bike and Ride 

Program. Farther up Nick’s 

chain of command was John 

Paquet (right), the CTA Vice 

President for Planning and 

Development. John is a 

Geography graduate from 

Illinois State. 

Nate Rock (left) worked with Mike 

Behary (right) at McLean County 

Building and Zoning, at their 

Bloomington office, primarily 

doing GIS mapping. Mike, a 

planner in Building and Zoning, is 

also a Geography graduate from 


DuPage County GIS, in 

Wheaton, is near the parental 

home of Jim Tompkins (right) 

and proved to be a fine choice 

for his required Geography 

internship. Supervising Jim was 

Bill Syversen (left). 

12

We had two interns in Rock Island. 

Daniel Heggen (left) worked for 

Thomas Ayers (right) at City Hall in 

Finance and Inspections. Daniel spent 

much time walking in an older area of 

the city assessing quality of housing. 

The other Rock Island intern, Todd 

Green (left), was in the field almost 

exclusively, using the Global 

Positioning System to find and mark 

utility sites owned by the city. His 

supervisor was Randall Tweet (right). 

Bloomington was the location for Nick 

Peters’s internship at McLean County 

Information Technology. Nick worked 

in the GIS section, under the 

supervision of Illinois State 

Geography graduate Leah Owens 

Sweeney. 

13

Curtis Russell went 

through the SCA 

(formerly Student 

Conservation 

Association) to obtain 

his internship at 

Curecanti National 

Recreation Area in 

Colorado. He got a 

chance during personal 

time to hike down into 

the Black Canyon of 

the Gunnison, which 

was to his immediate 

rear in this image. 

Even before there was a 

required Geography 

internship at Illinois State, 

our students were finding 

internships for credit at 

the McLean County 

Regional Planning 

Commission, in 

Bloomington. Sarah 

Tedrow (center) is the 

latest in that long lineup. 

Her supervisor was 

Jennifer Sicks (left), and 

her colleague was Melissa 

Dougherty-O’Hara (right), 

a 2007 graduate from our 

Geography program. 

Mike Maroon (right) 

interned at GIS Solutions, 

Springfield, back in 1994 

and has been there since 

then, except for some 

deployment time with the 

Army National Guard. In 

2008, Mike welcomed Chris 

Walker (left) as a GIS 

intern. 

14

WISE WORDS FROM THE PROFESSORIATE: 

REFLECTIONS ON A CAREER OF FIELD TEACHING 

By Jay R. Harman 

L 

ooking back on one’s teaching career is either a welcomed privilege or unpleasant 

obligation that we retired and retiring faculty types get asked to do a lot of. We are, of 

course, fortunate to have a career to look back from; and, by the time we reach this point 

in our lives, we sometimes have insight into just what worked and what did not that we wish we 

had had years earlier. One question I find personally intriguing is who or what experiences most 

influenced us faculty as we each developed our own instructional methods or research 

agendas. With me, as I complete my 41 st , and last, year of full-time employment at Michigan 

State University, such a retrospective has to have field experiences right at its center. 

I think the beginnings of that emphasis go all the way back to my freshman year in the 

Department of Geography at Illinois State Normal University in 1959-1960 (it had yet to change 

its name to Illinois State University); my first introduction to field instructional came in my spring 

semester Economic Geography course taught by none other than Dr. Arthur Watterson himself. 

While Professor Watterson had a warm and gentle charisma that drew students toward him and 

made the entire course a delight, one highlight of the semester was a field trip we took by bus 

to the Keystone Steel and Wire company near Peoria where, among other sights, we were 

treated to a peek through the steel oven peep hole at the molten metal within. That first collegelevel, 

and seemingly humble, field trip experience was the highlight of the course for me; and, 

looking back on it, little did I know that it helped cement what would later become a deep 

appreciation for the pedagogical value of field instruction in my own teaching. On that cool, gray 

Saturday, Professor Watterson had planted a seed in my head. 

Trips in other courses at ISNU followed, and gradually my love affair with them grew. On one 

particular trip, led by geologist Tom Searight, who later would become my graduate advisor in 

the Department, we examined exposures along the Illinois River and some of its tributaries. I 

confess to having forgotten most of what was said at those stops, but I will never forget sharing 

a lunch with him and other students on the grounds of Jubilee College State Park, taking in a 

panoramic view of a nearby valley and listening to a discussion of how that view could be 

woven into a complicated narrative of geologic and geomorphic history. I myself was always a 

lumper rather than a splitter as I tried to understand the world, and seeing that particular big 

picture all at once was something of a “Eureka moment” for me. 

When the time came for me to identify a thesis topic in my graduate program at (by now 

renamed) ISU, my preference that the research question involve field, rather than only 

laboratory or library, investigation was already set. My topic concerned the evolution of crosssectional 

asymmetry of small stream valleys in west-central Illinois and the influence slope 

aspect had on erosional processes that led to it. Although my data were scant (as was my 

thesis), my zeal for field interpretation was already strong. The most memorable part of it was 

the time I spent trying to unravel the problem in the field. 

I carried that developing love for field work with me when I next enrolled in my doctoral program 

at Illinois in 1964 and opted for a field-based term paper topic in one of my graduate geography 

15

courses during my first semester. But it was not until my second year in that program that, by 

chance, I became thoroughly sold. While shopping around for a course to fill an opening in my 

fall semester schedule, by coincidence, I quite literally bumped into a classmate of mine, who 

recommended that I consider taking a plant ecology course, which Professor L.C. Bliss in the 

Department of Botany then taught. Among his many strengths, Professor Bliss was an 

indefatigable field tripper. Each fall weekend, right up to November, all 60 or so of us, as a part 

of his plant ecology course, had to participate in field experiences ranging from half-day 

sessions to full-weekend events, visiting examples of varied plant communities or research 

plots. We saw sand prairies near Havana, Illinois; beech forests at Turkey Run State Park 

(Indiana); cypress-tupelo swamps in the Cache River Valley (Illinois); and bogs and sand dune 

communities in southwest Michigan. Once that course ended, we had other opportunities for 

trips with him over spring break each year to such destinations as the Sonoran Desert and 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We always camped on the adventures, we saw an 

incredible range of plant species and habitats, and I was hooked. What A. Watterson had first 

planted in my head L.C. Bliss had brought to full flower. He showed me not only how it could be 

done, but that it could be done with large numbers of students. 

As a result, when I was hired at Michigan State in 1968 to initiate a biogeography specialization 

within the Department of Geography, I knew my courses had to incorporate field instruction. But 

I was not confident taking students into the field myself until I had first gained more competency 

with field botany around the eastern United States (the region my courses emphasized), so I 

undertook a crash course to learn this material on my own by visiting many sites of reputed 

plant geographical significance and learning something about their local flora. Reconnaissance 

trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Southeast in 

general, and the Ozark Plateau followed. 

Gradually, as my confidence grew, I began working field instruction into my courses, with mixed 

success. My very first overnight field trip was to the eastern Upper Peninsula in May, 1970, on a 

day when Sault St. Marie, Michigan, set an all-time 24-hour rainfall record; and all the tents we 

took developed severe leaks (like my mentor, L.C. Bliss, I always camped on my field trips). On 

top of that, one of the students lost his money-laden wallet at a stop, throwing off our schedule 

by hours as we waited for him to go back and search for, and find it intact. Undaunted, in May 

1971, I took my first contingent of students to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (truly a 

treasure trove of plant geographical insights), and in May 2008, I took what will likely be my last 

trip back there. In between, other trips went to the Ozark Plateau and the Boston Mountains, 

the Upper Peninsula, and the Coastal Plain. 

It was to the Smokies, however, that I returned most often, taking hundreds of students in total 

through the years. As the largest expanse of old-growth forest in the East, and with some 

incomparable surviving stands, it contains some of the best examples of deciduous forest in 

North America. Although, with so many return visits, I saw many changes in the forests and had 

a wealth of experiences (ranging from heavy rains to mountain snowfall and including the loss 

of many of the individual monarch trees I had come to know), I was fortunate beyond measure 

never to have had an injury or accident through all those years. What we did do was marvel 

together at breathtaking views; share moments of beauty that sometimes even brought tears to 

our eyes; spin narratives over lunch or around campfires about species interactions, 

environmental controls, and site histories; and engage in the wildest speculation about how 

things all seem to fit together. Through it all, the inspiration I felt as a student that one fine 

spring day sitting on the bluff at Jubilee College State Park was never far from my mind. 

16

To me, there is no doubt that, of all the educational experiences (classes and scholarship) I 

have provided others in my professional career, none come close to touching so many lives so 

profoundly as the time I have spent with students in the field. I know this because I have been 

honored to see some of them incorporate field instruction in their own courses as they have 

become college faculty, or because they report revising their own academic career trajectories 

as a consequence of their experiences on my trips. 

But I take little credit for any of these outcomes. With a careful selection of sites and thorough 

preparation, a field trip almost runs itself in the hands of responsible students. What matters 

most is taking them into the field in the first place so that the chemistry can go to work. I like to 

challenge students in my environmental ethics class by asking them how we can hope to 

motivate more respectful behavior toward the environment. While rational argument about what 

we should do can change minds (and behavior), the view from Deep Ecology is that such 

change has to come more from the heart than from the head since, it is reasoned, we are more 

likely to take care of what we love. 

If so, as instructional enhancements, field trips work on more than one level. While they 

provide insight and understanding of things around us, they can also inspire. Looking back, I 

have learned that merely taking students into the field, however humble the experience may be, 

not only opens the door to new insights but also can help them develop a bond with the natural 

environment, providing them an affective reason to be better environmental stewards. As with 

so many things in life, I think there are more beneficial dimensions to field instruction than at 

first glance meet the eye. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jay Harman was a student in the Department in the late 1950s and early 

1960s, before earning his Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Illinois and taking a teaching 

position at Michigan State University. In the spring of 2008 he returned to Illinois State to deliver 

the Distinguished Geographer Lecture. 

Jay Harman (center) took one 

last instructional field trip to 

the Great Smoky, Mountains in 

May of 2008, along with an 

assortment of faculty members 

and graduate students from 

Michigan State. Here they 

were on the trail to Andrew’s 

Bald, in the higher reaches of 

the national park, trying to 

understand some facets of the 

boreal forest (its southern 

Appalachian version). 

17

HALL OF FAME INDUCTION 

Dr. E. Joan Miller, retired 

Professor of Geography, is the 

Department’s most recent 

inductee into the College of 

Arts and Sciences Hall of 

Fame. At her induction, in 

March 2009, she spoke about 

her journey from teacher in 

England to professor in the 

United States. 

Her long-time colleague and 

friend, Michael D. Sublett (left), 

introduced her to the large crowd 

in the Bone Center as a pioneer, a 

warrior, and a scholar. Interim 

Dean James E. Payne (right) 

presented her with a handsome 

plaque. 

Inductees gathered for a group 

photo. From the left, were 

President Al Bowman, Sarz 

Maxwell, Herman Brockman, 

State Senator Dan Rutherford, 

Dr. Miller, Stan Rives, Michael 

Miller, Warren Harden, and 

Dean Payne. Credit for all 

induction photos: Lyndsie 

Schlink/University 

Photographer 

18

MARTHA COWART MEANS, 1915-2008 

By Robert G. Corbett 

M 

ost faculty and students have seen the plaque on a Felmley second floor door 

designating the room as the George and Martha Means Seminar Room. This 

room honors two persons who have brought great honor to our Department. 

Martha Means was a gracious person, radiating the southern charm acquired at her 

birthplace, Birmingham, Alabama. Most recently, she lived in Greenwood, Indiana, 

where she and husband George moved in retirement in 1977. Martha passed away on 

November 20, 2008. 

Gail and I grew to know Martha through George, and their visits to campus and our visits 

to their home at Greenwood Village. She would fix us a light lunch and join with us in 

pleasantries and also in serious conversations about how their estate could strengthen 

our program. She outlived George by eight years, and kept in contact with us through 

mail and by phone. Each Christmas Gail would bake a stollen from an old family recipe 

and send it to Martha. She lived a wonderful life, attended Florida State and the 

University of Tampa, and graduated from Western Kentucky University. They resided in 

Evanston, and she served as his assistant in Rotary International. 

George joined the staff of Rotary in 1935 and remained active except for his service as 

Commander in the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Division of Navigation, in 

Washington. From 1953 through 1972, George served Rotary as General Secretary. 

Please see Glacial Deposits, 2000-2001, for more details on George. 

Martha was a Paul Harris Fellow (Founder of Rotary) and accompanied George on 

many of his world-wide travels. She became an avid photographer and active in 

gardening and flower arranging clubs. Her civic interests extended beyond Rotary. For 

example, she served as a board member of Northwestern University’s YWCA, the 

Northwestern Settlement House, and the Evanston Women’s Club. 

Their legacy to us is beyond significant accomplishments and lives of honor and 

integrity. They have provided funding to the Illinois State University Foundation to 

establish the Margaret Means Endowment Stipend, the Ridgley Visiting Professorship of 

Geography, and the George R. Means Geography Scholarship. Originally each fund was 

estimated to receive about $500,000. The Means also provided gifts to other programs 

on campus. Margaret Means stipends of $2000 are for Geography majors who have 

unpaid internships, student practice teaching, or travel to study geography in the field for 

an extended period. The George R. Means Geography Scholarship provides $5000 for a 

year’s assistance to a Geography major exemplifying high potential and outstanding 

personal characteristics. The Douglas Clay Ridgley Visiting Professorship was planned 

as a one semester appointment every four years. We decided to start the program with 

an alternate, the Ridgley Lecturer, until such time as funds became available. Our first 

Ridgley Lecturer was Gilbert M. Grosvenor of the National Geographic Society. 

As soon as funds are transferred to Illinois State, they can begin accumulating income to 

pay for the Visiting Professor. Until the endowments were available upon Martha’s 

passing, she provided funds annually to get these programs started. 

19

CLASS ASSESSES THE FELMLEY ENVIRONMENT 

By Johanna Haas 

T 

he human-environment relationship stands as one of the core elements of the discipline of 

geography. Some students at Illinois State spent the fall semester of 2008 closely 

examining their own environment, Felmley Hall of Science. The students in my Living in 

the Environment class (GEO 205) engaged in a self-designed analysis of Felmley Hall and 

Annex, which explored their environmental and energy impacts. Ideally, the resulting document 

will help the University with its facilities planning–and hopefully encourage decision makers to 

make green building and green renovation a permanent part of development and growth. This 

paper reviews the class project. 

Each student selected an issue about the building for which he or she could design a research 

problem, carry out fieldwork, and write up the results in report form. Students looked at such 

topics as water use, lighting, ventilation, heating systems, and other building functions. Others 

tied the building to the broader world: looking into laws, environmental certification programs, 

and impacts of classrooms on education. A final team of students took all of the disparate 

information from the class and turned it into a final report. 

Students found many ways to gather data. They interviewed and surveyed faculty, staff, and 

their fellow students. One team used the Internet site Facebook to gather opinions from their 

fellow students in innovative ways. Others sat down with several of the experts already working 

on campus to learn from them. Some students counted lights, windows, and faucets–creating 

graphs and tables to document their findings. Still others delved into the academic literature or 

learned to navigate laws and regulations. Every other Friday, they met to discuss their results 

and give each other aid on flagging parts of the project. 

The first thing that the class found is that there is too much information for one class to gather in 

one semester alone. Preliminary results include that many people love “Old Felmley” for its 

aesthetic and historic values–but people place less value on the Annex. Existing environmental 

programs in the University, while a great start, need expansion, particularly in the area of energy 

because building usage creates 50 percent of the carbon we release. Both buildings need 

renovation for energy and other environmental features. The least efficient part of the buildings 

are the heating and cooling systems, which could follow other University plans (like the new 

chillers) to be made more efficient. Felmley could benefit from a number of energy-saving 

features, such as double-paned windows, light and water sensors, and more attention paid to 

insulation. The University could improve environmental quality by adding devices like dusttrapping 

mats at the doors to improve indoor air quality. Another option is to look forward and 

build a new green state-of-the-art science facility, which could serve not only as a home for 

classrooms, office, and labs, but as a classroom and lab itself. Changes to Felmley can build on 

the University’s existing successes of the recycling program, Reggie Ride, and others. 

Next year’s GEO 205 class will finish the report, filling in gaps and looking for additional 

information, as well as providing additional analysis. Future students in 205 will engage in a 

similar type project–tying the environmental information that they learn in class to the 

community and the world. 

20

EDITOR’S NOTE: GEO 205 goes back many decades as a challenging upper-division course 

for Geography majors and others with an interest in how humans interact with their natural and 

built environments. For much of that time the course title was Conservation of Natural 

Resources. Johanna Haas has been a faculty member since the fall of 2006. 

From this vantage point, to the northwest of Felmley Hall of Science, the original 

portion of the building (closer to camera) and the Annex (stretching away to left) 

are quite evidently different. The Department occupies the entire second floor of 

the original structure and much of the fourth floor of the Annex plus portions of 

the fourth floor, first floor, and basement of original Felmley. 

Sarah Prociuk (standing) and Brian 

Birkholz, who were part of the 

Felmley assessment, examined 

blueprints of the building, in 

Felmley 214, the George R. and 

Martha C. Means Seminar Room. 

21

TWENTIETH ANNUAL GEOGRAPHY CAREER FAIR 

Since the first event, on 12 April 1990, the Geography Career Fair at Illinois State has brought in 181 

different guests; and the total would be over 200 if we included the multiple times that some individuals 

have appeared. The format from 1990 remains intact: panels in the morning, group lunch with guests, and 

a table for each guest in the afternoon. All 2009 guests were Illinois State Geography graduates. Jill 

Freund Thomas has served as local arrangements coordinator since the fair’s inception. 

As the fair’s program coordinator, 

Professor Michael D. Sublett (left) 

prefers to moderate the day’s first 

panel. For 2009 that panel dealt with 

transportation issues and featured 

Jayson Hagen (next to Dr. Sublett), 

Metro-St. Louis; Raymond Heitner, 

Chicago Transit Authority; and Ken 

Prchal (right), Navteq. 

Professor John Kostelnick (left) had 

the honor of moderating the second 

panel of the morning, a panel that 

brought back Geography interns from 

the summer of 2007 to discuss their 

internships and subsequent life events. 

Those former interns were Melissa 

Dougherty-O’Hara (next to Dr. 

Kostelnick), McLean County Regional 

Planning Commission; Laura 

Honigman, GeoEye; and Brian 

Hanson, Western Illinois University. 

Environmental issues were the focus 

for the third panel of the morning, and 

Professor Johanna Haas (left) was the 

obvious choice to moderate it. Joining 

her were Eric Layden, Layden 

Drainage; Lyla Lemke, Watseka 

Community High School; and Charlie 

King (right), Illinois Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

22

Charlie King is a 

Field 

Inspector/Investigator 

at the Illinois 

Environmental 

Protection Agency, in 

Springfield. 

Laura Honigman 

works in St. Louis as 

an Associate 

Geospatial Analyst at 

GeoEye. 

Eric Layden, Drainage Contractor for 

Layden Drainage, helps farm owners 

improve their land, as he works from 

his Hoopeston headquarters. 

Brian Hanson has been pursuing a 

Master’s in Geography at Western 

Illinois University since his summer 

2007 internship in California. 

23

UPTOWN NORMAL IS LEEDING THE WAY 

By Enid L. Cardinal 

N 

o matter when the last time was that you visited Normal, it is almost certainly looks 

different. There is construction activity everywhere. In the less than two years that I have 

lived here, things have changed dramatically. And if you ask me, it is really exciting. The 

Uptown Normal Renewal project is well on its way. 

In 1999, the Town of Normal contracted with Farr and Associates to create a redevelopment 

plan for the uptown area (formerly “Downtown Normal”). As a result of this process, Normal 

became the first municipality in the country to adopt a LEED ordinance for new private 

development. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is 

recognized as the standard in green building and sustainable design in the U.S. and 

increasingly around the globe. LEED is based on a credit-based point system. There are four 

levels of certification depending upon the number of credits a project earns: LEED, LEED Silver, 

LEED Gold, or LEED Platinum. Find more information about LEED requirements at 

www.usgbc.org–the United State Green Building Council. 

Opened in 2005, the Children’s Discovery Museum was the first LEED building in Uptown and 

received silver certification. With over 150,000 visitors in its first year alone, the museum has 

become an important destination in town. From the community room on the fourth floor of the 

new Bank of Illinois building, you can get a bird’s-eye view of Uptown Normal’s redevelopment 

projects. The new facility opened its doors in 2007 and is striving for LEED silver certification. 

And this fall, the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center will be opening. Although the hotel will 

not be LEED certified, the conference center will be seeking certification. 

Still in the planning or early construction phase are several mixed-use facilities that will offer 

retail, office, and residential space. A Multimodal Transportation Center will house the Amtrak 

station and the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System, with a parking garage connected to 

the facility. Each of these facilities will also seek LEED certification. 

In addition to the individual new construction projects, the Uptown Normal Renewal Project as a 

whole is one of the pilot locations for LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND), one of 

the newest rating systems. Other LEED rating systems look at an individual building’s footprint 

independent of its surroundings (though “sustainable sites” is one of the criteria that projects are 

evaluated on). LEED for Neighborhood Development combines smart growth principles with 

green building criteria. In other words, green construction practices are just one component of 

LEED ND. Also important is the availability of housing types for varying income levels, walkable 

and bikeable streets, preservation of habitat and open spaces, proximity to schools, etc. 

In order to make walking and biking real and viable transportation alternatives, the Town is 

changing parking practices and has begun a bike and pedestrian master planning process. 

Sidewalks are being expanded and the on-street parking configuration is shifting to parallel 

parking. As a result, fewer on-street spaces will be available and therefore parking decks are 

being constructed on the periphery of Uptown. The bike and pedestrian master plan looks 

beyond the Uptown area and seeks to make the entire town more bike and pedestrian friendly. 

At the heart of the Uptown Redevelopment Plan is a pedestrian-friendly circular intersection that 

will slow traffic at what was previously a challenging intersection. What makes this traffic circle 

unique is the water feature it contains. The water feature will treat Uptown Normal’s storm 

24

water. An underground cistern beneath the circle will catch and store water until it is pumped 

above ground and filtered through two rings. Hydrophilic plants will aid in the filtration process. 

The water will then be used to irrigate trees in the Uptown area. The circular water feature will 

surround a central lawn that can be used for outdoor performances. 

Normal is looking beyond the physical built environment and is in the beginning stages of 

developing a “Community Wide Sustainability Plan.” The town really is “redefining Normal,” and 

I am proud to call it home. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Enid Cardinal has been here since August of 2007, as the University 

Sustainability Coordinator. She holds the B.S. in History and Biology from Binghamton 

University and the M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College, both in New York State. 

Beyond the underconstruction 

traffic 

circle is the LEED 

Silver Children’s 

Discovery 

Museum, which has 

been a huge hit 

among area 

families since it 

opened in 2005. 

Up the hill in 

Uptown from the 

post office is the new 

Bank of Illinois 

building. Its 

proprietors are 

seeking LEED Silver 

status for this 

visually and 

environmentally 

impressive structure. 

25

THE ART OF GEOGRAPHY 

By Ellen Dietz 

W 

hat do you get when you cross architecture, forests, fine motor skills, color 

comprehension, and a love for Earth Why you get maps made of wood, of course. 

Russell Osterloh has been creating maps from wood for decades. And it all started because 

Russell loves wood and hates waste. In high school, Russell saw a roll-top desk and decided he 

wanted to make one. So he did. He took a good look at a desk at an Ethan Allen store, then 

went home and drew up plans for his own. He made the desk for his senior project and has 

been creating fine furniture from wood ever since. Russell started selling furniture at craft fairs. 

While making the pieces, there were always scraps left over from the cuts for larger pieces. 

Russell decided to put the scraps to use by making cutting boards, which he also sold at the 

fairs. Soon thereafter, he decided to turn the wood pieces into maps. To date, he has created 

600 U. S. maps and 66 world maps, all from wood, sold around the world. 

Much of Russell’s inspiration comes from his upbringing, which he says was in the horst-andgraben 

landscape of northeastern Oregon. For Russell, home was a wide open geology lab; 

and his mother was his primary teacher. She taught earth science, geology, botany, and 

astronomy at the local high school, and took her classes out to study the landscape and flora at 

Hell’s Canyon, the Wallowa Mountains, John Day Fossil Beds, and Grand Coulee. He was well 

versed in plate tectonics and basic mineralogy by the age of 10. 

It takes much more than a science background to create the wooden maps. At the heart of his 

craft is a love of wood, fused with training in architecture that taught him about design and 

precision. He rattles off the kinds of woods he has used in maps. It is not only the maple, cherry, 

walnut, and oak that we are so accustomed to; he seeks out locust, ash, ironwood, apple, 

monkeypod, plum, rosewood, poison sumac, elm, willow, and sycamore. He cites black walnut, 

fiddleback maple, pink ivory, and maple burl as particular favorites; but he truly loves 

purpleheart, Italian olive, Hawaiian koa, and myrtlewood. He is entranced by a koa’s reddishorange 

color, streaked with blacks and browns; the richness of Italian olive; and the striking 

color of purpleheart. Part of myrtlewood’s mystique comes from its rarity; it only grows along a 

50-mile stretch of the Oregon coast and in the Holy Land. The more exotic woods are not so 

easy to get, however. When he began working with koa in 1981, the price was $1.25 per board 

foot. In the following year the Hawaiians placed a moratorium on harvests, and the price of koa 

jumped to $25. Still, he manages to have some myrtlewood, koa, purpleheart, and olive on hand 

and continues to use remnants in his smaller works. 

Russell relies primarily on circumstances close to home to get his woods. He is proud of 

salvaging wood that would otherwise hit the burn pile, and has become well known in Oregon, 

so that friends, neighbors, and others call him when they need to remove a tree. They might 

have to replace a sewer line or widen a road. Rather than turn the tree into mulch or ashes, they 

call Russell, who comes with heavy equipment and enough manpower to salvage the trees. 

Once the trees fall, he mills them to 1” or 2” boards, and then lets them dry. 

So if you ask Russell how long it takes to make a map from wood, there are two answers. The 

long answer is a year or two. The general rule is to let wood dry for one year for every inch of 

thickness. When the boards are cut to 2-inch thickness, the drying time is two years. Most 

commercial wood is kiln dried, which means it is heated to drive out moisture; but, in doing so, it 

26

spreads the tree’s color out from the darker heartwood into the lighter sapwood. To Russell, this 

is a mistake. He loves the character of the wood, from beneath the bark and all across the tree’s 

diameter. He would rather use the wood in its most natural state, and he is willing to wait a year 

or more for it. The short answer to how long it takes to make a map of wood, which is after the 

wood is dried and ready, is an astounding 5-10 minutes per piece. With so much practice and 

so much innate skill, Russell is clearly a master who goes quickly and precisely to work. 

Color harmony is one of Russell’s innate talents. He does more than merely see color; he 

understands it. As he plans for a map of the U. S., he starts in the West, ensuring that the colors 

of the big states complement each other, juxtaposing light and dark woods. He says it is harder 

in the East; Kentucky has seven states that touch it, so it is much more than a matter of darklight-dark. 

Overall, the colors of all the pieces within the maps must flow, neither overwhelming 

nor fading into each other. 

For each map, Russell creates a template, drawing each part, planning each wood, and 

choosing the frame. The incredible variety of wood in storage presents a world of opportunities. 

He is most pleased when the product has sentimental value for the customer. One salvaged 

tree held a swing in its heyday, and is where a young fellow proposed to his soon-to-be-bride. 

Today, that old felled tree has become two hope chests for the couple’s granddaughters. As he 

says it, “Tomorrow’s heirlooms come from yesterday’s memories.” 

It would not be accurate to say that Russell’s maps are machine-made even when taking into 

account the amount of machinery needed. No, each Osterloh is an original, hand-crafted piece. 

He controls every aspect of the process; no drawings, no fitting, no cuts, no sanding are done 

by laser or programmed and guided by computer. He has an extensive wood shop, using a 

chain saw, several different band saws, joiners, planers, table saws, routers, sanders (including 

a 37” wide-belt sander), jig saws, and scroll saws. But he controls them all, guiding, shaping, 

finishing. To do the finest cuts he uses a blade no thicker than a sheet of paper and only 1/16” 

wide. With it, he can turn a perfect circle in ¼ inch. He says nothing less will do for something 

“like the outline of Maryland.” Russell faithfully follows the contours of the land, rather than 

smoothing out the intricate bays and coves of the Chesapeake, the Great Lakes, or anywhere 

else he is depicting. On the other end of the spectrum, he remarks that nothing is really square, 

either, like the outlines of Colorado or Wyoming. Because of Earth’s shape, and therefore the 

map’s projection, everything is curved. When he gets to higher latitudes, the curvature is 

pronounced, and some pieces inevitably snap as he encourages them to bend. These, of 

course, he discards; but since Russell does not like waste, these pieces go to the stove that 

heats the workshop. 

Once he has fitted the pieces together and glued them to the backing, he sands them so that 

every piece is perfectly flat and all are level with each other. He is not satisfied with the standard 

320- or 400-grit sandpaper that most of us would consider a fine sanding. Russell uses 600-grit; 

because, when the piece is finished, he wants to see the wood’s grain, its texture, its character, 

“not the marks left behind by sandpaper.” When he is so inclined, he will polish a piece with 

1,200-grit paper, creating an unparalleled finish. 

But there is still so much more that Russell must consider when creating maps from wood. He 

must honor the grain of the wood to prevent breakage and to create smooth curves, and he 

understands the strengths and quirks of myriad species. He can use “nearly any wood in either 

direction of the grain for Minnesota, which is nearly as wide as it is high,” but he must carefully 

align the grain in elongated states like Tennessee, or to bolster the panhandle of Oklahoma. He 

must allow for shrinkage, adding a degree of complexity to ensure that every piece fits snugly to 

27

every other piece. The U. S. and world maps are, in a sense, like puzzles, with the pieces fitting 

together to make a coherent picture of the whole. His most ambitious project was a 9-foot world 

map, complete will all the provinces of Canada, every U. S. state, and 170 countries in all. It 

took a mere four weeks to create. 

Russell must surely have one of the most complete wood shops in the West. He started his 

shop at home, outfitting it as he progressed in his skill. Then, disaster struck 14 years ago when 

a fire destroyed the entire business. It did not, however, destroy his spirit or his enthusiasm. To 

get the business running again, he had to find a temporary source of income. So, he opened a 

formalwear rental business to earn and save enough money to rebuild his entire shop. As he 

acquired the tools he needed, he began making furniture and maps again; and he has rebuilt 

the entire operation. When asked which is his favorite tool, he simply states, “My mind.” 

Russell’s artistic philosophy is much like Michelangelo’s. As the story is told, someone asked 

the sculptor how he created such perfect works from blocks of marble. He replied that the 

sculpture was in there all along, and he merely freed it from the rest of the stone. Russell, too, 

sees what is “in” the tree, such as a table and chairs, a vanity, a filing cabinet, or a bookcase. 

He knows where the wood will yield swirled or whorled patterns, how the grain will run, and 

where the richest colors lie. In the smaller remnants, Russell envisions the second generation 

products–maps and jewelry boxes. 

Russell uses a natural product to depict a vision of nature itself. His training in science and 

architecture balance with his innate ability as an artist, and his maps are the culmination of 

putting these disciplines together. So, what do you get when you fuse art, nature, architecture, 

and wood You get maps, of course. 

Sidebar: 

If you were to crosscut the trunk of a mature hardwood tree and remove the bark and outer 

cambium layer (which eventually becomes new bark), you would notice two distinct sections of 

the trunk. The outer, lighter colored wood is the sapwood. This is the working part of the tree, as 

water and sap will flow through the sapwood much like blood through your arteries. The inner, 

darker section of the trunk is the heartwood. Heartwood is formed from old, retired sapwood, 

and becomes the strong spine of the tree. Source: Chris Baylor, “Heartwood vs. Sapwood: 

Learn Which You Should Use for Your Projects,” About.com. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ellen Dietz, M.S. in Geography from Illinois State, has combined science 

training with a love of writing to spend nearly 20 years as a grant writer in Bloomington, Illinois. 

She is the daughter of a woodworker, and believes that fresh sawdust is one of Earth’s great 

aromas. Russell Osterloh lives in LaGrande, Oregon. Contact him at raosterloh@verizon.net. 

28

When an otherwise healthy mulberry tree 

had to fall in Hermiston, Oregon, some 80 

miles from his La Grande, Oregon, 

headquarters, Russell was there to bring it 

home for an appointment with his Wood- 

Mizer bandsaw. 

This is the index that Russell 

provided to identify the woods 

he used for the various parts of 

the cover map. 

Imagine the 

meetings that 

have occurred 

around this 

conference table 

since Russell 

built and 

delivered it. 

29

GIS DAY 2008 

Professor Dagmar Budikova 

welcomed the crowd for the displays 

and ceremonies associated with 

morning segment of GIS Day and the 

one-year anniversary of the 

Department’s GEOMAP, the Institute 

for Geospatial Analysis & Mapping. 

Cassidy Killian, Illinois State 

Geography graduate from 2001, is 

back in town as head of GIS for the 

Town of Normal. 

President Al Bowman (left) 

and Paul Russell, director of 

the McLean County 

Regional Planning 

Commission, were in the 

Bowling and Billiards 

Center for the reading and 

signing of the GIS Day 

proclamation. 

30

Among the displays was 

a prowl car from the 

McLean County 

Sheriff’s office. Lt. 

Brent Wick (left) was 

present to demonstrate 

the GIS system that 

patrol vehicles now use 

to locate, for instance, 

traffic accidents. Leah 

Sweeney (right), an 

Illinois State Geography 

graduate from 2003 and 

also a county employee, 

was instrumental in 

implementing the 

mobile GIS for deputies 

like Lt. Wick. 

As part of the GIS 

Day program, the 

Department hosted 

guests, students, and 

faculty at a catered 

luncheon in Felmley 

216. Geography 

Education major 

Natasha Rackauskas 

(front and center) was 

among the students 

taking a lunch break. 

Catching up with 

former students is a 

huge aspect of events 

such as GIS Day. 

Maria Contreras (left) 

is a science teacher in 

Will County and a 

2005 Geography 

Education graduate of 


Professor Amy Bloom 

was into the lunch 

scene as well. 

31

GEOGRAPHY-GEOLOGY STUDENT AWARDS 

FALL 2008 THROUGH SUMMER 2009 

Eunice Blackburn Geography Capstone Scholarship 

Illinois Geographical Society Outstanding Senior 

Harry O. Lathrop Memorial Award 

George R. Means Geography Scholarship 

Margaret Means Endowment Stipend 

Louis E. Miglio Geography-Geology Scholarship 

Arthur W. Watterson Award 

Andrew Nordstrom 

Sarah Prociuk 

Sarah Semple 

Lindsay Tuegel 

Bradley King 

Lindsay Tuegel 

Steve L. Fisher 

Nate Rock 

Sarah Prociuk 

David C. Reilly 

Brittany Caldwell 

Natasha Rackauskas 

Laura Wheeling 

Sarah Clark 

Phillip Ferguson 

Being Department Chair has some perks, among 

which are chances to recognize outstanding 

student achievement. Here Chair David Malone 

helped Lindsay Tuegel celebrate receipt of the 

Lathrop Award. 

Laura Wheeling, Miglio Scholarship. 

Bradley King, Lathrop Award. 

32

Natasha Rackauskas, Miglio Scholarship. 

Brittany Caldwell, Miglio Scholarship. 

Phillip Ferguson, Watterson Award. 

Sarah Clark, Watterson Award. 

33

GEOGRAPHY MAJORS—MAY 2009 

Nonteaching Geography 

Geography Education Sequence 

Alipour, John (S) Aumiller, Michael (S) 

Allen, Walter (S) Bonarek, Nicholas (J) 

Beckmann, Christopher (S) Bradley, Mark (S) 

Birkholz, Brian (J) Brase, Ryan (J) 

Bragiel, Nichole (So) Brouhard, Eli (S) 

Cahill, Denise (J) Clark, Tamara (S) 

Caldwell, Cindy (S) Collins, Chaas (S) 

Clementz, Michael (S) East, Nicole (So) 

Duff, Jamieson (S) Fisher, Steve (S) 

Ferguson, Phillip (S) Gawron, Julie (So) 

Ford, Trenton (J) Girton, Kristi (So) 

Funk, Jeffrey (S) Gorell, Kevin (S) 

Gillespie, Steven (So) Grothendieck, Matthew (F) 

Heckmann, Dawn (S) Haigh, Larry (S) 

Holt, Stephen (S) Horwitch, Daniel (J) 

Homenock, Peter (S) King, Brian (F) 

Hudak, Zack (S) Klausing, Joshua (S) 

Hutchins, Alex (S) Lafser, Daniel (S) 

Johnson, Michael (S) Longhini, Joseph (J) 

Kilcoyne, Patrick (J) Ly, Jimmy (J) 

Kirk, Nicholas (S) Marsh, Jeffrey (S) 

Kline, Matthew (S) McCleary, Mark (S) 

Koeppen, Emily (S) Mehon, Krista (J) 

Ladue, Bruce (S) Miskell, Mark (S) 

Lenhardt, Dan (J) Mroz, Chris (S) 

Lofrano, Mark (S) Obenland, Amanda (So) 

Miranda, Jose (J) Ott, April (F) 

Muller, Nichole (So) Padaoan, Justin (S) 

Nelson, Adam (So) Parker, Cory (J) 

Nordstrom, Andrew (S) Peterson, Jarrod (S) 

Pease, Rebecca (J) Philpott, David (So) 

Ponsot, Thomas (S) Rackauskas, Natasha (S) 

Prociuk, Sarah (S) Radosevic, Matthew (S) 

Reitz, Brittany (So) Reilly, David (S) 

Rogers, Jeremy (S) Richards, James (So) 

Schneider, Elizabeth (So) Scanlan, Eric (J) 

Semple, Sarah (S) Schroeder, Heather (S) 

Simanis, Joseph (J) Vinson, Jared (J) 

Steinbrecher, Robert (So) Wheeling, Laura (S) 

Theobald, Bernard (J) Wojtas, Joseph (S) 

Townley, Elizabeth (S) Yess, Macrae (S) 

Walker, Maxwell 

(J) 

Woloshyn, Christina (So) 

34

GEOLOGY MAJORS—MAY 2009 

Nonteaching Geology 

Nonteaching Geology (cont.) 

Block, Britany (S) Satorius, Seth (So) 

Breiner, Kenneth (S) Schroeder, Kathryn (So) 

Brooker, Benjamin (S) Schwab, Timothy (S) 

Calhoun, Justin (J) Sergeant, Andrew (S) 

Chott, Nathan (S) Smith, Stuart (J) 

Clark, John (So) Steichen, Joel (So) 

Clark, Sarah (S) Stieglitz, Troy (J) 

Cowan, Richard (So) Trela, Jarek (J) 

Danha, Aphrem (J) Watkins, Stephen (J) 

Dodd, Wesley (So) White, Steven (So) 

Geyer, Nicholas 

(So) 

Green, Nicholas (So) Earth & Space Science Education 

Guse, Paul 

(S) 

Hampton, Scott (J) Armour, Joseph (J) 

Hanna, Emily (So) Bohlin, Mark (F) 

Hanson, Erik (J) Caldwell, Brittany (S) 

Hardwick, Andrew (So) Dosier, John (F) 

Hartz, Matthew (S) Downs, Conner (F) 

Hatch, Charles (J) Fijalkiewicz, Anne (So) 

Hayden, Kelly (J) Fones, Jordan (S) 

Henrickson, Bennett (S) Happel, Audrey (J) 

Henry, Christian (S) Jordan, Jamal (S) 

Hinds, Amie (J) Kuecher, Ryan (S) 

Hoots, Ryan (S) Liner, John (J) 

Howe, Nicholas (So) Mills, Stephanie (S) 

Jones, Nicholas (So) Praught, Aisha (So) 

Kaufman, Matthew (So) Roome, Nicholas (So) 

Kelly, David (S) Tomaras, Anthony (F) 

Kimple, Darren (S) Vandenbroucke, Stephan (S) 

King, Bradley (S) Weiss, Alexander (S) 

King, Travis 

(S) 

Kittler, Adam (F) HYDROGEOLOGY MASTER’S 

Lant, Elizabeth 

(S) 

Ledoux, Gary (So) Ackerman, Jessica Kunkel, Donald 

Longton, Christopher (S) Angel, Julie Love, Jonathan 

McGrenera, James (S) Bastola, Hridaya Maas, Benjamin 

Munson, Erik (J) Becker, Joseph Oware, Erasmus 

Parish, Austin (So) Carlock, Drew Roche, Erin 

Reeves, Nicholas (S) Demay, Rebecca Simpson, Steven 

Roth, Christopher (J) Harlan, Lara Strope, Shane 

Runyon, Simone (J) Hughes, Kevin Vanhook, James 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Letters following the student names indicate the class: 

F (freshman), So (sophomore), J (junior), S (senior). 

35

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS BY 

GEOGRAPHERS AND GEOLOGISTS REPRESENTING 

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY 

(in alpha order by last name of first departmental author) 

“Investigating High Flouride Concentrations in Groundwater in the Bango-Bolgatanga Districts of 

Northern Ghana Using Isotrophic and Dating Techniques,” by Samuel Bansah and Stephen J. 

Van der Hoven; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“The Impact of Steambed Sediment Size on Hyporheic Temperature Profiles in a Low Gradient 

Third-Order Agricultural Stream,” by Vanessa Beach and Eric W. Peterson; Geological 

Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Distribution of Organic Carbon Availability in Modified Stream Sediments, Mackinaw River 

Basin McLean County, IL,” by Joe Becker and Eric W. Peterson; North-Central Section, 

Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“A Multi-proxy Reconstruction of Holocene Paleoclimate Conditions in the Great Basin, United 

States,” by Scott A. Reinemann, David F. Porinchu, and Amy M. Bloom; Pacific Climate 

Workshop (PACLIM) 2009; Pacific Grove, California. 

“Preliminary Diatom-based Reconstruction of Environmental Conditions at Lake Nicaragua, 

Central America, during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene,” by Amy M. Bloom, Jennifer E. 

Slate, Sabine W. Bowen, and Robert A. Dull; West Lakes Division; Association of American 

Geographers; Bloomington, Indiana. 

“Impact of the Arctic Oscillation on ENSO-precipitation Teleconnections across the Eastern 

USA,” by Dagmar Budikova; Conference on Climate Variability and Change, American 

Meteorological Society; Phoenix, Arizona. 

“The 2008 Summer Midwest Floods Part I: Geography, Evolution, and Hydroclimatology,” by 

Dagmar Budikova and J. Coleman; Association of American Geographers; Las Vegas, 

Nevada. 

“Atmospheric Characteristics of the 2008 Midwest Floods,” by Dagmar Budikova and J. 

Coleman; West Lakes Division; Association of American Geographers; Bloomington, Indiana. 

“The 2008 Summer Midwest Floods Part II: Synoptic Climatology and Teleconnections,” by J. 

Coleman and Dagmar Budikova; Association of American Geographers; Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“3-D Mapping of the Quaternary Glacial Deposits in the Hebron Quadrangle, McHenry County, 

Illinois,” by Drew Carlock, Jason Thomason, and David H. Malone; North-Central Section, 


“Using EARTHSCOPE to Determine Glacial Rebound in North America,” by Sarah Clark; 

Illinois State University Undergraduate Research Symposium; Normal, Illinois. 

36

“Astronomical Tuning of Integrated Upper Famennian-Early Carboniferous Faunal, Carbon 

Isotope and High Resolution Magnetic Susceptibility Records: Western Illinois Basin,” by Sarah 

Clark, James E. Day, H. Rowe, B. Ellwood, and J. Thompkin; Geological Society of America; 

Houston, Texas. 

“Predicting 1-April Snowpack in the Columbia River Basin Using Teleconnection Indices,” by 

Heather K. Conley and D.L. McGinnis; West Lakes Division, Association of American 

Geographers; Bloomington, Indiana. 

“Seasonal Snowpack Prediction in the Columbia River Basin,” by Heather K. Conley and D.L. 

McGinnis; Annual Conference on Applied Climatology; Whistler, British Columbia. 

“Central Illinois Remembers John Wesley Powell,” by Robert G. Corbett; Association of 

American Geographers; Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“Late Devonian Conodont Biostratigraphy Key to Understanding the Timing and Cause of Shelly 

Fossil Extinctions and Carbonate Platform Evolution in the Iowa and Western Illinois Basins,” by 

James E. Day; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Middle and Upper Givetian (Middle-Devonian) Record of Sea Level and Faunal Events in 

Eastern British Columbia, Western Canada,” by James E. Day, M.T. Whalen, and D.J. Over; 

North-Central Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Preliminary Results of High-Resolution Investigation of Upper Devonian (Late Frasnian- 

Famennian) Relative Sea Level and Climate Record from the Subsurface of the Iowa and 

Western Illinois Basins,” by James E. Day, B.J. Witzice, H. Rowe, and B. Ellwood; North- 

Central Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Really Cool High Resolution 3D Reconstruction of Internal Structures of Paleozoic and 

Mesozoic Brachiopods,” by M. Schemm-Gregory, D. Sutton, H.R. Feldmann, and James E. 

Day; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Record of Late Frasnian Kellwasser Extinction Bioevents, Terminal Frasnian Upper Kellwasser 

Crisis Fauna, and Early Famennian Post-Extinction Recovery: Alberta Rocky Mountains,” by 

James E. Day, M.T. Whalen, and D.J. Over; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Very Late Frasnian (Upper Devonian) Brachiopod Fauna of the Theodossia Scopulorum Zone 

in the Paleoequatorial Mackenzie Shelf (Northwest Territories-Canada), Western Laurussia,” by 

Nick Sullivan and James E. Day; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Comparison of Environmental Philosophy Between American Environmentalists and the Yup’ik 

People,” by Phil Ferguson; Illinois State University Undergraduate Research Symposium; 

Normal, Illinois. 

“Evaluating the Role of Sinuosity in Nitrate Removal from Little Kickapoo Creek,” by Carol 

Glennon and Eric W. Peterson; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“Energy, Extraction, and Conflict: Comparative Landownership in Energy Resource Land,” by 

Johanna Haas; Association of American Geographers; Las Vegas, Nevada. 

37

“Trying to Ride a Dead Horse: Dynamic Primitive Accumulation in the Appalachian Coalfields,” 

by Johanna Haas; West Lakes Division, Association of American Geographers; Bloomington, 

Indiana. 

“An Application of GIS to Karst Terrains: Stream Network Modeling (Carter Caves State Resort 

Park),” by Lara Harlan and Eric W. Peterson; North-Central Section, Geological Society of 

America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Recovery of Hyporheic Denitrification Potential Following Maintenance Events in Agriculturally 

Modified Streams,” by Joyce A. Harris and Stephen J. Van der Hoven; Geological Society of 

America; Houston, Texas. 

“Spatial and Temporal Changes in Hydraulic Conductivity in Cave Sediment from Berome 

Moore, Perry County, Missouri,” by Kevin Hughes and Eric W. Peterson; North-Central 

Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Standardization of Cartographic Symbolization for Hazards and Violence,” by John C. 

Kostelnick; Association of American Geographers; Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“GEOMAP and Illinois Natural History Survey Response to the Midwest Floods,” by John C. 

Kostelnick, Tari Tweddale, Dagmar Budikova, Gretchen E. Knapp, Janet Jarvis, and Dawn 

Heckmann; ILGISA; Lombard, Illinois. 

“Representing Cartographic Uncertainty with Speculative or Subjective Phenomena,” by Dave 

McDermott and John C. Kostelnick; AutoCarto; Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 

“A Geologic and Hydrogeologic Investigation of the Smithfield 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, Fulton 

County, Illinois, USA,” by Donald Kunkel; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

(Note: He gave same paper at the Illinois State University Graduate Research Symposium.) 

“Surficial Map of the Streator South 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, LaSalle/Livingston Counties, 

Illinois,” by Christopher Longton, Bradley D. King, and David H. Malone; North-Central 

Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Short Term Investigation of Spatial and Temporal Changes in Water Quality for the Area 

Around Nora, Illlinois,” by Benjamin Maas and Eric W. Peterson; North-Central Section, 


“Using Online Global Positioning System and Seismic Data for Classroom Exploration,” by 

Robert S. Nelson; North-Central Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“The Impact of Storm on Thermal Transport within the Hyporheic Zone of a Low Gradient Thirdorder 

Sand and Gravel Bedded Stream,” by Erasmus Oware and Eric W. Peterson; North- 

Central Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“Transport and Storage of Chloride in the Unsaturated Zone Following Deicing Applications,” by 

Eric W. Peterson and Samanta Lax; Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

“A Biogeographical Investigation of Frugivores on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica,” by Sarah L. 

Przybylski and Amy M. Bloom; Illinois State University Undergraduate Research Symposium; 

Normal, Illinois. 

38

“Comparison of Groundwater Flow Under Varying Hydrologic Conditions Using MODFLOW,” by 

Erin K. Roche, Ed Mehnert, Eric W. Peterson, and David H. Malone; North-Central Section, 


“Surficial Geology of Parts of the Forsyth, Argenta, Long Creek, and Decatur 7.5 Minute 

Quadrangles, Macon County, Illinois,” by Erin K. Roche, David H. Malone, and Andrew 

Stumpf; North-Central Section, Geological Society of America; Rockford, Illinois. 

“The Geography, Chronology, and Hydrology of the 2008 Midwest Flood Events,” by Shane 

Ann Strope, Gretchen E. Knapp, and Dagmar Budikova; West Lakes Division, Association of 

American Geographers; Bloomington, Indiana. 

“Map and Modern Landscape Evidence of Two Indian Treaty Boundaries in Southeastern 

Illinois,” by Michael D. Sublett; Conference on Illinois History; Springfield, Illinois. 

“Mapping the Class Hinterland,” by Michael D. Sublett; National Conference on Geography 

Education; Dearborn, Michigan. 

“Quantifying Excellence: Evaluating Geography Student Essays in Two Ways,” by Lindsay 

Tuegel; Illinois Geographical Society; Chicago, Illinois. 

“Field and Laboratory Investigations of Rapid Accumulation of 4 He in Groundwater: Applications 

for Dating Young Groundwater,” by Stephen J. Van der Hoven, J.E. Moran, and A.L. Sheldon; 

Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union; San Francisco, California. 

“Quantifying the Effects of Beaver Dams on Hyporheic Nitrogen Cycling,” by Stephen J. Van 

der Hoven and Dominic T. Strezo; North American Benthological Society; Salt Lake City, 

Utah. 

“Taming Urban Waters: A Chronology of Channelization in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois,” by 

Alexander Weiss; Illinois Geographical Society; Chicago, Illinois. 

“Examination of the Relationship Between Longitudinal Profile and Sediment Mobility within a 

Fluviokarst Stream System,” by John Woodside, Eric W. Peterson, and Toby Dogwiler; 

Geological Society of America; Houston, Texas. 

Many of the conference presentations 

on this page and the previous three 

pages are by our students. Representing 

the Department on the program of the 

2009 annual meeting of the Illinois 

Geographical Society, at Northeastern 

Illinois University, were Lindsay 

Tuegel (left) and Alex Weiss. 

39

FACULTY AND STAFF SKETCHES 

Amy M. Bloom, Assistant Professor of Geography. B.A. (Cum Laude), 1997, Geology, 

Augustana College; M.S., 2001, Geography, University of Utah; Ph.D., 2006, 

Geography, University of Utah. In addition to teaching GEO 303 (GIS) fall semester, 

Amy taught GEO 100 (Earth Systems Science). This 4-credit course has been 

significantly revised from earlier versions of GEO 100 (formerly known as Earth 

Science), which had not been taught for several years, and now includes a weekly 

hands-on lab. GEO 100 is now a required course for all Geography majors and minors, 

Geography Education majors, Earth and Space Science Education majors, Biology 

Education majors, Chemistry Education majors, Physics Education majors, and 

Environmental Studies minors. Amy was fortunate to have students from GEO 307 

(Teaching Geography/Earth Science) assist with the weekly lab exercises, which also 

allowed the GEO 307 students to gain practical experience in the classroom. Amy’s 

spring teaching load included GEO 207 (Natural Disasters) and GEO 344 

(Biogeography). As part of the Biogeography course, students worked on a semesterlong 

research project focused on Lake Bloomington, which everyone seemed to enjoy. 

This spring Amy also worked with three students on independent projects. Sarah 

Przybylski, a past Biogeography student, built her project around data she collected 

during a summer volunteer program in Costa Rica. She explored the role of frugivore 

(fruit feeder) monkeys in maintaining the biodiversity of vegetation on the Osa 

Peninsula, Costa Rica, and compared her data to similar tropical ecosystems in other 

regions. She presented her research at the ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium in 

April. Ryan Kuecher and Jordan Fones, both Earth and Space Science Education 

majors, worked with Amy to develop short in-class activities for the GEO 100 students. 

Amy continues to work on several research projects focused on reconstructing past 

climatic and environmental conditions as recorded in lake sediments. This past year she 

studied samples from the Sierra Nevada (California), Great Basin National Park 

(Nevada), and Lake Nicaragua (Central America). Amy is happy to report that her longawaited 

paper “Evidence of Temperature Depression and Hydrological Variations in the 

Eastern Sierra Nevada during the Younger Dryas Stage” was published in Quaternary 

Research. A photograph of one of her Sierra Nevada study lakes graced the cover of 

that issue. In November, she presented preliminary research from Lake Nicaragua at 

the Association of American Geographers (AAG) West Lakes Division meeting held at 

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, where she also co-organized and co-chaired a 

session on Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction and helped judge student papers. In 

January, Amy once again taught a hands-on workshop on GIS and making maps for 5 th - 

10 th grade girls from throughout Illinois for the “Expanding Your Horizons through 

Science and Mathematics” conference held at ISU. She was fortunate to have Tammy 

Clark and Natasha Rackauskas, both Geography Education majors, serve as her coteachers. 

Amy was elected to serve a two-year term as Director of the 

Paleoenvironmental Change Specialty Group of the AAG in April. She continues to 

enjoy serving as the advisor for the Minor in Environmental Studies, which includes 

supervising students participating in the optional internship for the minor. 

Email: ambloom@ilstu.edu 

Dagmar Budikova, Associate Professor of Geography. B.Sc. (Honors), 1988, Environmental 

Science and Mathematics, University of Toronto; Ph.D., 2001, Climatology, University of 

Calgary. Dr. Budikova joined the Department in fall of 2000. In the fall Dr. Budikova 

40

taught GEO 238, Quantitative Methods in Geography I, for the first time to a handful of 

Geography majors. The course is now a requirement in the new Geography major. This 

spring, Dr. Budikova taught GEO 341, Climate and Global Environmental Change. In 

2008-2009 Dr. Budikova spent some of her time in the office of the Dean of the College 

of Arts and Sciences as an Administrative Fellow. As expected, she found this 

experience to be exciting and rewarding. During the course of the year, she worked with 

the deans on various tasks such as program reviews, faculty research awards, 

budgeting, faculty mentoring, appointment of personnel, and fund raising and external 

relations. Dr. Budikova continued her role as the Director of GEOMAP, which in 

November celebrated its first anniversary and a very successful year. In the fall, 

GEOMAP launched its official website (see below) that provides an overview of its staff, 

students, training, and various research and outreach activities. Dr. Budikova 

encourages everyone to visit the site for more details. Over the past year, GEOMAP 

provided GIS training to about 50 members of our University and community, attracted 

five research and service contracts, provided out-of-class research training for several 

undergraduate and graduate students, and continued to build important relationships 

with various members of our local community. Over the past year, Dr. Budikova 

embarked on new hydroclimatological research by examining various climatological and 

hydrological aspects of the 2008 summer Midwest floods. Helping her in this effort has 

been Ms. Shane Strope, Dr. Budikova’s new graduate student in our Hydrogeology 

graduate program. Since the occurrence of the floods last summer, Dr. Budikova and 

Ms. Strope co-authored several manuscripts and abstracts related to this work. In 2008, 

Dr. Budikova had one manuscript of her research appear in print in Climate Research, 

an interdisciplinary international climate journal. The work examined the impact of the 

Arctic Oscillation on El Niño precipitation relationships across the eastern United States. 

Over the past year or so, Dr. Budikova’s research interests also have gradually been 

shifting from the tropics to the high latitudes. The first in a series of planned publications 

has appeared in print in Global and Planetary Change. This extensive article reviewed 

the state of science regarding the role of Arctic sea ice on global atmospheric 

circulation. Along with her colleague from Ball State University, Dr. Budikova also is 

currently revising a manuscript that examines the synoptic aspects of the 2008 Midwest 

floods. They anticipate that this work will appear in the International Journal of 

Climatology early next year. This summer will continue to be another busy one for Dr. 

Budikova with several planned teaching and research activities. 

Email: dbudiko@ilstu.edu Homepages: www.geo.ilstu.edu/Faculty_pages/Budikova 

and www.geomap.ilstu.edu. 

James R. Carter, Emeritus Professor of Geography. B.A., 1958, Geology, Indiana University; 

M.S., 1966, Geography, University of Maryland, College Park; Ph.D., 1973, Geography, 

University of Georgia. The retired professor had a different year. In July his mother-inlaw, 

who lives in town, had a stroke and went to the emergency room. While there he 

recognized one of the counselors in the hospital and in a brief conversation they 

reconnected; Beth was one of our Geography majors of a few years earlier. His motherin-law 

moved into a nursing home, and Dr. Carter visits there almost every day. Those 

frequent visits have introduced him to a new world, but it has crimped his travels. 

However, in January he joined two fellow Rotarians for a Friendship Exchange to India. 

They missed the worst of the snow and cold of Illinois and saw many parts of India over 

16 days. They stayed eight nights in the homes of Indian Rotarians and slept two nights 

on trains. It was a great experience, and your geographer stayed healthy throughout. He 

has some 800 photos if anyone is interested. When he got back, he found his two 

41

articles had appeared in print. “Unusual Ice Formations: Studying the Natural Growths of 

Ice from Soils, Stems, Branches, and Rocks” appeared in the January/February issue of 

Weatherwise. This full-color presentation featured photos by Dr. Carter and others who 

had sent him images of what they had found. This article is the first to integrate the 

growth of ice on these four media at the surface boundary layer. He has given talks 

about his ice findings to the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Meteorological 

Society, a St. Johns Lutheran group of seniors, Westminster Village, and a GGGEO 

seminar in the Department. His world of ice keeps growing, and he has added to his 

web pages and more pages are in the works. See more at www.ilstu.edu/~jrcarter/ice. 

Three years ago a Geography student, Charles Nuttall, commented that his 18-month 

old son knew what a map was because he watched Dora the Explorer. Dr. Carter 

followed up on that. “Dora the Explorer: Preschool Geographic Educator,” in Volume 

107 of the Journal of Geography, is the first article growing out of that comment. He 

plans to give a paper on the character Map in the Dora series at the International 

Cartographic Conference in Chile in November 2009. On the home front he continues to 

be active in swimming and Orienteering. He will coordinate the national Orienteering 

event at Comlara Park on Evergreen Lake in September. 

Email: jrcarter@ilstu.edu Homepage: www.ilstu.edu/~jrcarter 

Heather K. Conley, Assistant Professor of Geography. B.S., 1993, Geography, Northwest 

Missouri State University; M.S., 2001, Geography, University of Iowa; Ph.D., 2006, 

Geography, University of Iowa. After six weeks in the field in Idaho last summer, Dr. 

Conley returned to Illinois and attended several workshops offered by the Center for 

Teaching and Learning Technology to update some of her courses. Much of Dr. 

Conley’s teaching efforts this year focused on ways to use Blackboard to facilitate 

learning. She experimented with the use of discussion boards, electronic journals, and 

chat rooms to keep students engaged in classes. In addition to two sections of Natural 

Disasters and one section of Geographic Information Systems, Dr. Conley taught the 

United States course in the fall. Dr. Conley once again had a busy travel schedule this 

year, with trips to Whistler, in August for the Conference on Applied Climatology; 

Bloomington, for the West Lakes Division of the AAG in November; Phoenix, for the 

American Meteorological Society meeting in January; and Las Vegas, for the Annual 

Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in April. In between these trips, 

she managed to squeeze in a personal trip to Italy for Thanksgiving where she was 

blessed by the Pope, had a Stephen King moment on a train in rural Italy, and learned 

the difference between cacciucco (a tomato-based fish soup) and ciaccino (a type of 

white pizza with no tomatoes and more importantly no fish). Dr. Conley helped organize 

a session on Contemporary Climatology at the West Lakes Meeting of the AAG, along 

with Dr. Budikova from Illinois State University and Dr. Katherine Klink from the 

University of Minnesota. She organized two sessions on Climate and Infectious Disease 

at the Annual Meeting of the AAG in April, where she also did her best Bob Corbett 

imitation by presenting a paper he wrote about John Wesley Powell’s influence in central 

Illinois. She continued to serve the Department this year as the Honors Program 

Coordinator and GTU Sponsor, and chair of the Colloquium and Awards committees. 

This spring, the Awards Committee organized the first departmental awards banquet, 

where six new GTU members were honored and several scholarship winners were 

announced. Dr. Conley continues to research ways to integrate climate information into 

decision-making. Since 2006, she has been investigating a West Nile Virus outbreak 

that occurred in Idaho and institutional responses to that outbreak. She hopes to 

develop a decision-making tool for mosquito abatement directors that can help plan 

42

seasonal as well as daily operations, both of which are climate-dependent. She 

concluded research on the phyogeography and dispersal of mosquitoes in Florida with 

colleagues in the Biological Sciences Department, although work on several publications 

is currently in progress. In addition to work on mosquitoes, Dr. Conley revisited an older 

project developing long-lead forecasts for 1-April snowpack in the Columbia River Basin 

designed for operational reservoir managers. Dr. Conley left Illinois State University at 

the end of the Spring 2009 semester to pursue other opportunities in climate, risk, and 

decision-making. She is also in negotiations to write a new natural disasters textbook. 

Robert G. Corbett, Emeritus Professor of Geology. B.S., 1958; M.S., 1959; and Ph.D., 1964, 

The University of Michigan. Bob remains active in both education and geology. He 

served as external reviewer for a Ph.D. candidate, at Andhra University (India), and 

continues as chair of the Academic Education Committee of the American Institute of 

Professional Geologists. In that capacity he oversaw the review of 27 applicants for the 

$1000 AIPG scholarships. This year, given the number and the quality of the applicants, 

seven awards will be given. Bob also is an active member on the departmental Means 

Committee, reviewing applicants for the Margaret Means Endowment Stipend and the 

George R. Means Geography Scholarship. He had been the liaison between the 

University and Martha Means since George Means passed in 2000, but unfortunately 

Martha passed away last November. President Bowman hosted a reception at the 

President’s home to honor Martha, and Bob presented a summary of the life of Martha 

Means at that event and before a number of Martha’s relatives. It was Bob’s great honor 

to write an article, “Martha Cowart Means, 1915-2008” for this issue of Glacial Deposits. 

Bob continues as an active member of the Geology Board of Professional Regulation 

(Illinois). Paul Frederic, retired faculty member from the University of Maine at 

Farmington, invited Paul R. Larson, Southern Utah University, and Bob to organize and 

write a field trip guidebook, In John Wesley Powell’s Wake: Southwest Utah and Zion 

National Field Trip, for a trip that was held March 23, 2009, as part of the AAG national 

meetings in Las Vegas. Heather Conley was kind enough to read Bob’s paper, “Central 

Illinois Remembers John Wesley Powell,” at those meetings, as Bob had contracted a 

bad respiratory infection. Bob is continuing with knee rehabilitation exercises, but is 

thoroughly frustrated by the slow progress. He is now seeing a podiatrist to obtain some 

additional help. Email: rcorbett@ilstu.edu 

James E. Day, Professor of Geology. B.S., 1979, Oregon State University; M.S., 1984, 

Northern Arizona University; Ph.D., 1988, The University of Iowa. Over the past year Dr. 

Day taught two sections of GEO 202 (Evolution of the Earth) and GEO 295 

(Sedimentology-Stratigraphy I) in the fall of 2008, and GEO 385 (Invertebrate 

Paleontology) during the spring of 2009. He also was a co-author of two articles, one 

published in a Society for Sedimentary Geology Special Paper (“Magnetic Susceptibility, 

Biostratigraphy, and Sequence Stratigraphy: Insights into Devonian Carbonate Platform 

Development and Basin Infilling, Western Alberta”) and the other in a Geological 

Association of Canada Special Paper (“Record of the Late Devonian Hangenberg Global 

Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion in Epeiric Sea Setting: Carbonate Production, 

Organic Carbon Burial, and Paleoceanography During the Late Famennian”). He was 

elected to serve as a Titular Member (representing Canada) of the Subcommission on 

Devonian Stratigraphy. Dr. Day was also an author or co-author of eight papers 

presented at a variety of professional international, national, and regional conferences in 

the United States, and four guidebook articles or field stop descriptions, all in Iowa 

Geological Survey Guidebook 28. The field trip for GEO 295 was held in conjunction 

43

with the fall 2008 Field Conference headquartered in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Dr. Day led the 

second day of the field conference, which featured three stops focusing on the Upper 

Devonian stratigraphy and paleontology of north-central Iowa. The spring field trip for 

GEO 385 looked at the Devonian and Carboniferous stratigraphy and paleontology of 

Cedar Valley Group and younger rocks in eastern and central Iowa. Dr. Day and 

collaborating undergraduate major students Sarah Clark (Illinois State) and Nick 

Sullivan (SUNY-Geneseo) presented results of directed research at the GSA Meeting in 

Houston in October of 2008. He also hosted a German Ph.D. candidate (Ms. Mena 

Schemm) from the University of Frankfurt for five weeks in June and December of 2008, 

completing field work related to re-study of the Lower Devonian marine rocks and 

faunas of the southern Illinois Basin, and completed writing of one co-authored paper on 

a new genus of a Lower Devonian spiriferid brachiopod from Lower Devonian rocks in 

southern Illinois. At the national meeting of the Geological Society of America in 

Houston, Texas, he was a co-author of four poster presentations and gave one oral 

presentation at that conference. He attended the North-Central Section meeting of the 

GSA in Rockford, Illinois; chaired the theme session of the Great Lakes Section of the 

Society for Sedimentary Geology entitled “Conodont Biostratigraphy and Correlation of 

Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic Records of Environmental Change”; and presented two 

papers in that session. He also chaired the SEPM-Paleontological Society luncheon and 

business meeting at that meeting. As President of the Great Lakes Section of the 

Society for Sedimentary Geology for 2008-2009, he organized the fall 2008 GLS-SEPM 

Field Conference on the Upper Devonian Carbonate Platform facies, faunas, and history 

of northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Email: jeday@ilstu.edu 

Tasha L. Dunn, Assistant Professor of Geology, B.S., 2000, Tulane University; M.S., 2005, 

Geology, University of Tennessee; Ph.D., 2008, Geology, University of Tennessee. Dr. 

Dunn moved to Bloomington-Normal from Knoxville, Tennessee, soon after earning her 

Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. She graduated in May, took a weeklong 

vacation to the Florida Keys, visited with family and friends in Georgia and Texas, and 

then moved to Bloomington with her partner and their two cats in early July. Dr. Dunn 

came to ISU as a Visiting Assistant Professor but will be joining the Geology faculty on 

permanent basis in the fall of 2009. Dr. Dunn’s research focuses primarily on petrology 

and geochemistry of extraterrestrial materials, from alkaline rocks on Mars to primitive 

meteorites. She spends most of her time studying ordinary chondrites, the most 

common type of meteorite but also one of the most interesting. This year Dr. Dunn has 

stayed busy teaching several established courses, including Mineralogy (GEO 280), 

Petrology (GEO 285), and Evolution of the Earth (GEO 202), and also developed a new 

course on planetary geology, which she hopes to teach on a regular basis. In addition to 

teaching, Dr. Dunn has been working on publishing her dissertation, entitled 

“Determination of Mineral Abundances in Ordinary Chondrites Using X-ray Powder 

Diffraction: Applications to Parent Body Processes and Asteroid Spectroscopy.” The first 

two chapters have been accepted for publication in Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 

and the third chapter will be submitted to Icarus later this summer. Dr. Dunn managed to 

escape from the classroom for a few days this year, first to attend the annual Lunar and 

Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, and then for a short Petrology field 

trip to Missouri. She is getting ready for her longest and most intense travel experience 

of the year, field camp. After field camp, Dr. Dunn is looking forward to exploring the 

Midwest, relaxing at home in Bloomington, and enjoying the warm weather. 

Email: tldunn@ilstu.edu. 

44

Karen Dunton, Staff Clerk. Karen continues to be busy as President of the Clerical and 

Support Staff Union on campus. The Health Professional segment of the local settled 

their first contract in July. The main group of the local, the Clerical and Support Staff, is 

gearing up for contract negotiations beginning in 2009. Karen has also been busy with 

testifying before state officials about how the proposed state budget changes would 

negatively affect her union members. Karen moved again in December, during a very 

icy stretch of weather. Hopefully she will not be moving for a couple of years. Packing 

and unpacking boxes is not her idea of fun. Hopefully there will be some travel coming 

up within the next year. Email: kkedunt@ilstu.edu 

Johanna Haas, Assistant Professor of Geography. B.A., (Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum 

Laude), 1993, English and Medieval and Renaissance Studies, West Virginia University; 

J.D. (with honors in law), 2001, The Ohio State University; Ph.D., 2008, Geography, The 

Ohio State University. Johanna had a great third year at ISU. You can read about her 

adventures in Alaska elsewhere in this volume, as well as the exciting work her Living in 

the Environmental class (GEO 205) is doing in assessing Felmley Hall’s environmental 

sustainability. Her fall semester got off to a strange start when some remarks she 

posted on a political geography listserv regarding Sarah Palin’s Alaskan record got 

picked up and utilized in Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times blog “On the Ground.” She 

also presented her Alaska trip (along with Phil Ferguson and Dawn Heckmann) to the 

Department as part of the GGGeo Colloquium series. Johanna has been transitioning 

her research from Appalachia to Alaska, and voraciously reading about all things 

Alaskan. In the fall, she presented her research at the AAG West Lakes meeting at the 

other Bloomington (Indiana) and in the spring at the annual meeting in Las Vegas. At 

the annual meeting, she was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Energy and 

Environment Specialty Group and organized a vibrant pair of sessions on the political 

geography of energy. She helped organize the local part of the National Teach-In on 

Global Warming Solutions, in February, putting together experts from across the 

University for a pair of panel discussions. In addition to GEO 205, Johanna taught GEO 

140, (Honors) Human Geography, and GEO 334, Political Ecology. She designed two 

new courses, which will be offered over the next couple of years: GEO 312, 

Environmental Law, and GEO 313, Energy and Sustainability (for which she received a 

grant from the Program of Excellence: Energy Science for course development). In 

addition to classes, she advised several students in independent study work, which is 

one of her favorite parts of the job. Johanna and husband Shae were able to make a trip 

to Portland, Oregon, to visit family—and, of course, stop by to tour the Bonneville Dam 

and the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Both volunteer on the board of the Heartland Local 

Food Network, helping boost awareness of local and sustainable food options; and Shae 

serves as volunteer coordinator for the Bloomington Farmers’ Market. Of course, the 

garden is the center of their summer activity, and Johanna wants everyone to send her 

good tomato vibrations this summer. Email: jmhaas2@ilstu.edu 

Terry L. Harshbarger, Lecturer in Geography. A.B., 1964, University of Illinois; M.S., 1970, and 

Ph.D., 1974, Purdue University; and M.S., 1996, Indiana State University. Terry taught 

one evening section of World Geography at Illinois State University both semesters 

during the 2008-2009 academic year; but his primary responsibilities are teaching World 

Geography, Geography of Underdeveloped Areas, Economic Geography, and Aviation 

at Parkland College in Champaign, where he is a Professor of Geography. In addition, 

he again taught World Geography to the Ford ASSET students, a joint program between 

Parkland College and Ford Motor Company. Terry has developed two online geography 

45

courses, and continues his research on Champaign County schools, especially before 

1900. He presented the Distinguished Geographer Award at the Illinois Geographical 

Society’s 2009 Conference in Skokie, Illinois. Terry is also listed in numerous Who’s 

Who publications. Email: tharshbarger@parkland.edu 

Mohammad Hemmasi, Lecturer in Geography. B.A., 1960, Tehran University, Iran; M.A., 1968, 

and Ph.D., 1971, Indiana University. Dr. Hemmasi retired as Emeritus Professor of 

Geography from the University of North Dakota in 2004 and began teaching as lecturer 

at Illinois State in 2005. He has taught a variety of systematic and regional geography 

courses here. During 2008-2009, he taught Regional Geography of the Middle East, 

Human Geography, and Urban Geography. He spent time revising his on-campus 

courses and preparing for an online World Geography course taught last summer 

(2008) and being revised to offer this summer. Email: mhemma2@ilstu.edu 

David B. Johnson, Lecturer in Geography. B.S., 1963, Physics, Illinois Wesleyan University; 

M.S., 1976, Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University; M.S., 1993, History, Illinois 

State University; ABD, History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dave 

Johnson teaches GEO 135, World Geography, during the fall and spring semesters. He 

is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and served on active duty for over 28 years before 

coming to teach at Illinois State in January 2000. A meteorologist with an M.S. from 

Penn State, he has also taught Earth’s Dynamic Weather on an as-needed basis. A 

master’s graduate from Illinois State and ABD from the University of Illinois in history, he 

also teaches in the History Department, specializing in 20 th century United States 

history. Dave is married to Carol; they have four daughters, all grown and off the payroll. 

Email: dbjohn@ilstu.edu 

Gretchen E. Knapp, Research Associate. B.A. (Summa Cum Laude), 1980, Classics 

(Latin/Greek), State University of New York at Buffalo; M.L.S., 1989, Archives & 

Information Science, University of Maryland, College Park; M.S., 1991, and Ph.D., 1995, 

History, State University of New York at Buffalo. In 2007 Dr. Knapp joined the 

Department as a Research Associate for the newly dedicated Institute for Geospatial 

Analysis & Mapping. She is an Adjunct Professor in Biological Sciences and Collections 

Manager for the John Wesley Powell and Dale Birkenholz Natural History Collections. 

Since 2007 she has been an ESRI-authorized ArcGIS instructor, and teaches the twoday 

Introduction to ArcGIS I to employees from state and local government, State Farm, 

Ameren, the Bloomington & Normal Water Reclamation District, and Illinois State. With 

Drs. Budikova and Kostelnick, she helped organize GIS Day 2008, publicize GEOMAP 

and GIS, and explore funding opportunities for GEOMAP research. Knapp serves as the 

liaison between Biological Sciences and Geography-Geology to recruit and support 

Biological Sciences graduate students in the Biology Graduate Certificate in GIS. She is 

pursuing a post-baccalaureate certificate in GIS from Pennsylvania State University, and 

was admitted to PSU’s MGIS program in January 2009. With Dr. Angelo Capparella of 

Biological Sciences, Knapp coauthored a NSF Biological Research Collections grant 

proposal to georeference the entire collection of birds and mammals dating back to the 

1860s. Knapp attended the McLean County GIS Consortium meetings and participated 

in the ILGISA conferences in Springfield, Lombard, and Urbana. Her projects include 

preparing a GIS inventory and maps of the Illinois State campus for Facilities 

Management (Grounds) with the assistance of Dawn Heckmann; mapping nursing 

trends for the Mennonite College of Nursing; and developing a GIS parcel inventory and 

maps for the ParkLands Foundation, a local conservation land trust in McLean County. 

46

With Dr. Kostelnick, she provides support for Shane Strope’s project and serves on 

Biological Sciences master’s candidates’ committees. Dr. Kostelnick and Knapp 

received an USDA/APHIS grant from the Illinois Department of Agriculture to study the 

emerald ash borer in Chenoa through color infrared imagery with the assistance of a 

team of undergraduates from Biological Sciences and Geography. 

Email: gelmapp@ilstu.edu Homepage: http://geomap.ilstu.edu/gretchen.asp. 

John C. Kostelnick, Assistant Professor of Geography. B.A., (With Distinction, Phi Beta 

Kappa), 1998, History, Iowa State University; M.A., 2000, Geography, University of 

Nebraska-Lincoln; Ph.D., 2006, Geography, University of Kansas. The 2008-2009 

academic year marked John’s second year in the Department at Illinois State University. 

The year’s research activities have yielded the publication of completed projects and the 

beginning of new research ventures. Along with colleagues at the University of Kansas 

and Haskell Indian Nations University, John had a manuscript on GIS analyses of global 

sea level rise published in Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. Another 

manuscript, this one on the development of a GIS program at a tribal college, was 

published with colleagues from Haskell Indian Nations University in the Journal of 

Geography. John also had an entry on cartography accepted in the forthcoming 

Encyclopedia of Geography. He continues research on methods for visualizing sea level 

rise, and has started to develop a broader line of research exploring issues related to 

the visualization of hazards and threats in general. New work has also started on a 

project funded by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to investigate the use of color 

infrared imagery and GIS for monitoring the infestation of the emerald ash borer (EAB) 

insect in Chenoa. John recently joined Dr. Sublett and Dr. Lauren Brown (Biological 

Sciences) in their investigation of the historical development of long lot parcels in 

Kankakee County, Illinois. This past winter, John served as a co-editor of a disasters 

and GIS-themed issue of Earthzine, an online webzine devoted to Earth observation. 

Travel was a highlight of the year, which included trips to the Association of American 

Geographers, AutoCarto, ILGISA, and ESRI conferences. John remains involved in the 

development of GEOMAP, which continues to grow and expand with new projects. Last 

summer, John and GEOMAP colleagues Dagmar Budikova and Gretchen Knapp 

assisted the State with the processing of satellite imagery of the Mississippi River 

captured during the summer flood event in the Midwest. This academic year, John 

taught GEO 300, Cartography; GEO 304, GIS Applications; GEO 140, Human 

Geography; and GEO 305, Remote Sensing. In June 2008, John joined Dr. Sublett as a 

reader for the Advanced Placement Human Geography exam, which also provided an 

opportunity for John to return to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he completed his master’s 

degree. John served as faculty advisor for the Geography Club at Illinois State, and has 

enjoyed the opportunity to work with the students in this capacity. Away from campus, 

John and his wife, Ayrrin, stay busy with home improvement projects and trying to keep 

up with their daughters Isabelle (5) and Francesca (2). 

Email:jkostelnick@ilstu.edu. Homepage: www.ilstu.edu/~jckoste/index.shtml. 

Deborah L. Lescher, Secretary. Debbie completed her eighteenth year with the Department 

and her thirty-third with the Civil Service System. Debbie and her husband, Ray, are 

nearing the completion of their garages that they started decorating the past couple 

years, with only a last few things left to do. Hopefully they will get it done later this 

summer into fall. They have even had a couple parties in the main garage, even though 

it is not quite totally done, but still works for having parties. They both still do the 

marching band competition events for their oldest granddaughter, Brittany (16), who in 

May 2009 finished her sophomore year at Normal West High School, with Ray still 

47

driving the semi and Debbie being one of the chaperones on the school buses. Both 

Debbie and Ray still go to every soccer game for all three of their granddaughters, 

Brittany being on the Normal West JV team, and Kourtney (12) and Hanna (8) being 

part of the Prairie City Leagues. The only time they miss anything going on for the girls 

is if they are out of town and cannot help it. Otherwise they are there for everything and 

always have been since the girls were little and started school. And now the youngest, 

Hanna, is getting into softball this summer (2009), along with her stepsister, Jessica 

(13), so that will keep them even busier than they thought they could be. Debbie is 

excited to finally have a new grandchild in the mix. Her son, Dallas, who has been dating 

a sweetheart, as Debbie refers to her, has a little boy, Reese (2), that she adores and 

says it is so nice to finally have a little boy around again, totally still adoring all six of her 

girls, of course. Debbie and Ray still do four major races every year, two of them being 

NASCAR races (Daytona 500 race in February and Michigan race in August), and the 

other two being dirt track late model races (the DREAM race in June and WORLD 100 

race in September) in Rossburg, Ohio. This year they are adding a new dirt race the first 

weekend in October, the Knoxville Nationals, in Iowa. They will be able to make this 

race for the first time because it is an off weekend for band competitions this year. 

Debbie always says no grass grows under their feet, and that you can be sure of. 

Email:dllesch@ilstu.edu 

David H. Malone, Professor of Geology and Department Chairperson. B.S., 1988, Illinois State 

University; M.S., 1990, and Ph.D., 1994, The University of Wisconsin. The past year 

was typical for Dave with respect to teaching, research, and service, as well as his 

duties of Department Chairperson. He taught and directed GEO 395, the capstone field 

geology course that is run in South Dakota and Wyoming. During the fall of 2008, Dave 

taught GEO 290, Structural Geology; in the spring he taught GEO 296, Stratigraphy and 

GEO 306.15, Regional and Area Studies West Texas/New Mexico. He also developed a 

new field course to the Death Valley, California, area that he will run over fall break. 

Unfortunately, logistical issues prevented the course from being run in 2008. Much of his 

fall semester was occupied by the writing of the Illinois Board of Higher Education 

mandated Geology baccalaureate program review. He also chaired the Geology search 

committee that hired Dr. Tasha Dunn, and he chaired the search committee that hired 

the new Dean of the College of Business. In terms of research, Dave published three 

papers since the last issue of Glacial Deposits was published. In August, he published a 

paper entitled “Recent Contributions to the Understanding of the Heart Mountain 

Detachment, Wyoming” in Northwest Geology. In April, his paper “Dynamics of the 

Emplacement of the Heart Mountain Allochthon at White Mountain: Constraints from 

Calcite Twin Strain, Anhysteretic Magnetic Susceptibility, and Thermodynamic 

Calculations” appeared in print in the Geological Society of America Bulletin. Also in 

April, “Oxygen Isotope Evidence of Heated Pore Fluid Interaction with Mafic Dikes at 

Cathedral Cliffs, Wyoming,” with colleague Elizabeth King, was published in The 

Mountain Geologist. He also had two maps published at the Illinois State Geological 

Survey. His research efforts were supported by about $100,000 in external funding from 

the U.S. Geological Survey, the Illinois State Geological Survey, the Illinois EPA, and 

NICOR Inc. This past year was light with respect to personal and professional travel. 

The economic situation prevented a fourth trip to Alaska over the summer, and 

administrative responsibilities got in the way of travel to the Houston Geological Society 

of America meeting. Dave spent three days in Washington, D.C., in February lobbying 

the Illinois Congressional delegation on behalf of the U.S. Geological Survey, and he 

attended the Rockford sectional meeting of the Geological Society of America in April. 

48

The regular local course-related field work with students kept him from getting cabin 

fever. On the personal side, Dave’s family continued to mature, and they kept very busy 

with youth sports. During the fall, football for Jack and Josh (where Dave coached) 

resulted in a trip to the championship game; and Hayley’s volleyball efforts continued to 

improve. At the time of this writing, baseball and track were at the forefront. The family 

is beginning to enjoy concession stand food. The good news is that staying closer to 

home meant more fishing trips to Wisconsin, which have been overlooked the past few 

years. Family vacations visited the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan, and the Shawnee 

Hills in southern Illinois. Email: dhmalon@ilstu.edu 

E. Joan Miller, Adjunct/Emerita Professor of Geography. B.A. (Hons.) Class Two; M.A., in 

Geography, and Graduate Certificate in Education Class One, all from Cambridge 

University (Girton College and Cambridge Training College for Women), England, 

United Kingdom; Ph.D., Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 

year was dominated by preparations for her induction into the Hall of Fame of the 

College of Arts and Sciences. She had to write an essay about her 31 years at IS(N)U. It 

had to take up two-thirds of a page, single spaced. This was the hardest essay she had 

ever written. The first draft of Part Two of her Memoirs is close to completion. 

Email: ejmille@ilstu.edu 

Robert S. Nelson, Associate Professor of Geology. B.A., 1965, Augustana College; M.S., 

1968, and Ph.D., 1970, The University of Iowa. The year started with sad news from 

field camp. Denny Clemmons, the good friend of field camp at Whitewood Peak, the guy 

with the sign “Welcome Geology Field Camps,” who brought out pop and water to the 

vans, died in his sleep in March 2008. His wife and daughter still set out the pop and 

water, but the disposition of the property is in question. In late July Dr. Nelson 

conducted the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers Teacher’s Workshop in 

Moline. At 6 a.m. the first day, a gustnado (straight line wind front) with measured 

velocity of over 100 mph, devastated the Illinois Quad Cities. Power was not fully 

restored for five days. This caused a quick shift of activities and venues. But the 

workshop was a success in spite of the difficulties. In October, Dave Malone and Skip 

Nelson led the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency continuing education field trip in 

the Galena area. In November, Bill Shields, Dave Malone, and Skip Nelson conducted a 

continuing education field trip for the Illinois Chapter of the American Association of 

Radon scientists and technicians to the Matthiessen State Park area. In March, Dave 

Malone and Skip Nelson led the Regional Area and Studies class field trip to the 

Guadeloupe Mountains. The last stop on the field trip was an afternoon at the 

Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory. Dr. Nelson presented a paper on using 

EarthScope data in the classroom at the North Central Section of the Geological Society 

of America meeting in Rockford, Illinois. In April and May Dr. Nelson and C. Puis Weibel 

of the State Geological Survey conducted two educational extension field trips to look at 

the geology of the Mackinaw River watershed. There were over 200 field trip 

participants. Also in April Dr. Nelson was inducted into the Million Dollar Club for 

generating more than one million dollars of grants and contracts at Illinois State. Don 

Kunkel presented his work on the Smithfield Quadrangle at the Annual Meeting of the 

Geological Society of America in Houston and again at the Graduate Research 

Symposium at Illinois State. Sarah Clark presented a poster on Glacial Isostatic 

Rebound at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Illinois State. 

Email: rsnelso@ilstu.edu Homepage: lilt.ilstu.edu/rsnelso 

49

Eric W. Peterson, Associate Professor of Geology. B.S., 1995, and M.A., 1997, Mathematics, 

University of South Dakota, Vermillion; M.S., 1998, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville; 

Ph.D., 2002, University of Missouri-Columbia. The 2008-2009 school year marked Eric’s 

seventh year at Illinois State University, and first year as an Associate Professor. Eric 

was awarded tenure and promotion in June 2008. In the fall semester, he taught 

Seminar in Hydrogeology Research, Groundwater Hydrogeology, and Introduction to 

Groundwater Modeling. In the spring semester, he taught Hydrology and Karst 

Hydrogeology. In addition to course work, Eric mentored 10 students, had three papers 

printed, had one paper accepted, and submitted two additional papers for review. 

Vanessa Beach (Druke), John Woodside, and Carol Glennon successfully defended 

their theses. This summer Julie Angel, Lara Harlan, and Joe Becker plan to defend their 

theses. Eric began mentoring Ben Maas, Erasmus Oware, and Hridaya Bastola in the 

fall. Ben is working on a karst project in Jo Daviess County; Erasmus and Hridaya are 

working on thermal transport questions that were derived from Vanessa’s thesis work. In 

October, Eric presented a poster at the annual Geological Society of America meeting 

entitled “Transport and Storage of Chloride in the Unsaturated Zone Following Deicing 

Applications.” This summer, Eric will be co-teaching the Environmental Field Course 

with Dr. Van der Hoven, and will also spend two weeks at the traditional field course in 

South Dakota. On a personal note, Eric and Sarah are kept busy running Morgan (12) 

and Aidan (7) around to their numerous activities. 

Email: ewpeter@ilstu.edu Homepage: lilt.ilstu.edu/ewpeter 

William E. Shields, Lecturer in Geology. B.S., 1999, and M.S., 2001, Illinois State University. 

For the fourth year in a row, Bill has received an “Outstanding Professor” award from the 

Student Educational Association. He was also honored with the Illinois State University 

Panhellenic Association’s 2008 Professor Appreciation Award, the Dean’s Award for 

Outstanding Teaching (Honorable Mention), and the Team Excellence Award. Bill also 

led an independent study project with an Art major, opening the Virtual Redbird Art 

Gallery in Second Life. Email: weshiel@ilstu.edu 

Michael D. Sublett, Professor of Geography. B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa), 1966, and M.A., 

University of Missouri-Columbia, 1967; Ph.D., 1974, The University of Chicago. Mike 

arrived at Illinois State in 1970, chaired the Department from 1978 to 1988, has 

coordinated the Geography internship program since 1987, and has served as coorganizer 

of the annual Geography Career Fair since its inception in 1990. He continued 

to teach two sections of Doing Geography (GEO 204) in the fall semester along with 

Field Geography (GEO 310). Spring semester brought Mike back to his longest running 

course, Illinois (GEO 220), and to Seminar in Geography (GEO 315). Seminar is the 

capstone campus course for undergraduate majors in both the traditional Geography 

and Geography Education sequences. Illinois is an elective that attracts Geography 

students as well as a wide variety of others from around campus. In the fall, Mike 

sponsored an in-course honors project with Lindsay Tuegel, a double major in 

Geography Education and History Education, a project that led to her presentation of 

findings at the annual meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society in April 2009. Mike’s 

spring independent study student, Alex Weiss, also made a research presentation at the 

2009 Illinois Geographical Society meeting. Alex is an Earth and Space Science 

Education major. Over the summer of 2008, Mike looked after the Geography interns 

(16 of them) completing their graduation requirement. He also had an intern in the field 

during the spring 2009 semester. Mike served as corresponding author on a chapter 

about learner autonomy in a book from Stylus Publishing with the working title of 

50

“Engaging Student Voices in the Study of Teaching and Learning,” and due out in 2009. 

He presented papers at the National Conference on Geography Education and at the 

Conference on Illinois History. Along with colleague John Kostelnick and retired biologist 

Lauren Brown he has begun examining the unusual practice, in Pembroke Township, 

Kankakee County, of subdividing rural sections into long narrow lots for residential 

purposes. Service activities continued with the University’s Code Enforcement Review 

Board Grievance Committee, Steering Committee of the Illinois Geographic Alliance, 

and Mayor’s Town of Normal Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Committee. His 

longstanding work with Advanced Placement Human Geography took him to Lincoln, 

Nebraska, for scoring of essays in June 2008 and to Eugene, Oregon, in January 2009 

for training to help him assist high school teachers having problems getting their APHG 

syllabi through mandatory review for the College Board. Mike also serves as a Senior 

Reviewer in the syllabus-approval process. 

Email: mdsuble@ilstu.edu Homepage: lilt.ilstu.edu/mdsuble 

Jill Freund Thomas, Geography Education Specialist and Lecturer in Geography. B.S., 1982, 

Anthropology-Archaeology/Geography, Illinois State University; M.S., 1986, Geography/- 

Cartography, University of Idaho. Another year down, and it was just as chaotic as the 

last. But that is a good thing, because it keeps you on your toes. The number of majors 

has risen quickly this last year or so, and Jill is trying to catch her breath. Advising more 

majors than ever before is becoming a good-bad problem. Jill feels she is missing out 

on knowing the students at a more personal level, with the numbers coming through her 

door; but she knows that numbers are a good thing for the Department and promoting 

Geography. Jill taught her Geography 307 Teaching Methods course to over a dozen 

students and incorporated a two-day, one-night stay in Chicago to have the students 

visit Chicago Public Schools in learning about cultural diversity. This was a great 

experience for everyone, as well as enjoyable. Jill is still collecting data for the 

Department’s NCATE review for our certification of the Earth and Space Science 

Education and the Geography Education programs. Every seven years the programs 

are reviewed and collected data assessed for the Department. She had nine student 

teachers this past year spread all over the state. Several already found jobs and are 

either teaching or will be teaching this coming fall. Jill also became the Co-Coordinator 

of the Illinois Geographic Alliance. The Alliance helps teachers create lesson plans in 

Geography to teach in their classes. She was able to attend a five-day work session in 

Washington D.C., through National Geographic Society. Jill also attended the National 

Conference on Geography Education in Dearborn and plans on presenting several 

papers at the NCGE in Puerto Rico next fall. Jill was busy as usual outside the office, 

including co-hosting the big twentieth annual Geography Career Fair held at the Bone 

Student Center. Jill also judged at the state of Illinois Geography Bee, held at the 

Chicago Field Museum, and attended several other small workshops and conferences 

around the state. So traveling was popular this year for her. She is continuing as the 

President of the Illinois Geographical Society for the second year in a row, hoping to 

accomplish some of her goals in promoting geography around the state. And to add 

chaos to the mix, Jill and her family adopted a two-year-old this spring. Yes, last year 

you read about the one-year old; and now they have another one. That makes five all 

together. There is never a dull moment in the Thomas household or at Jill’s office; 

waiting lines never seem to end. Email: jfthoma@ilstu.edu 

Stephen J. Van der Hoven, Associate Professor of Geology, B.S., 1985, Southampton 

College; M.S., 1994, University of Arizona; Ph.D., 2000, University of Utah. The main 

51

event of the year for Steve was a sabbatical at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

(LLNL) in California. During the second half of 2008, Steve performed laboratory 

experiments and “mined” the laboratory’s extensive groundwater noble gas dataset to 

pursue new ideas related to the use of 4 He age and flow of groundwater. By the end of 

his sabbatical, Steve presented the first results of this new research at the Fall AGU 

meeting in San Francisco and began work on a manuscript. Steve also has status as a 

Visiting Scientist at LLNL, and will continue collaboration with LLNL scientists. This 

collaboration is also expected to lead to summer internships at LLNL for Illinois State 

undergraduate and graduate students. During the spring semester, Steve taught 

Contaminant Transport to graduate students and Regional and Area Studies: Southern 

Arizona to a group of students ranging from freshman to graduate students. The 

Contaminant Transport class featured guest lecturers from Illinois EPA case managers; 

and the Southern Arizona course focused on the field exercises of Quaternary geologic 

processes, and included a mapping exercise at Murray Springs, a world famous 

mammoth kill excavation site. At the beginning of the summer, Steve co-taught the 

Environmental Geology Field Camp with colleague Eric Peterson and Northern Illinois 

colleague Melissa Lenczewski. Positive feedback from employers of Illinois M.S. 

graduates continues to show that the field camp is an important part of the required 

graduate curriculum. Even though Steve was in California from July through December, 

he managed to guide three graduates to completion in the summer and fall. Steve made 

two return trips to Normal specifically for theses defenses. Dominic Strezo completed 

his research on the effects of beaver dams on nitrogen cycling in streams, graduating in 

August. Samuel Bansah and Joyce Harris graduated in December. Samuel’s research 

involved the use of age and isotopic tracers to study the origin of high fluoride in 

groundwater in northern Ghana. Joyce’s research involved quantifying the time scale of 

hyporheic recovery after a stream channel maintenance event. Both Samuel and Joyce 

presented their research at the Geological Society of America in Houston in October. 

Both Dominic and Joyce were able to find employment as hydrogeologists despite the 

economic situation. Steve’s only current graduate student is Steve Simpson, who is also 

a chemistry teacher at Lexington High School.. Steve S.’s research involves exploring 

the cycling of nitrogen through constructed wetlands using an nitrogen isotope mass 

balance technique. This research is part of a larger project that will be funded by The 

Nature Conservancy (TNC). Steve S. began sampling in November from the wetlands at 

the TNCs Franklin Demonstration Farm in Lexington. 

Email:sjvande2@ilstu.edu Homepage: www.geo.ilstu.edu/Faculty_pages/vanderhoven/ 

Henry J. Zintambila, Assistant Professor of Geography. B.S., 1968, Spicer Memorial College, 

India; M.A., 1970, University of Poona, India; Ph.D., 1982, University of Hawaii at 

Manoa. Henry continues to take his medical treatment. He traveled to Mayo Clinic in 

Minnesota recently for further medical checkup. In the year 2007, Henry John Kostelnick had a major 

operation at Mayo Clinic. During the past school year Henry taught sections (left) and Jill of Freund Earth’s 

Dynamic Weather and Geography of Africa. In addition to his departmental Thomas took duties, a break he 

had to help his boy, Chiko, with school projects and piano practice. from Chiko Career will Fair be a 

sophomore at the University High School next school year. Email: hjzinta@ilstu.edu 

obligations to discuss 

mapping or some 

other subject the two 

colleagues have in 

common. 

52

In February of 2009, Bill Anderson came 

back to deliver the annual John W. Foster 

Lecture, speaking about the “Role of 

Random Processes and Interannual 

Climate Oscillations on Groundwater.” 

Bill was on the faculty here from 1998 to 

2000 and is now a professor at 

Appalachian State. 

Tasha Dunn was a visiting professor 

in the Department for 2008-2009. 

She applied for and won the tenureline 

petrology and mineralogy 

position, starting in fall 2009. See her 

faculty sketch on page 44. 

Jonathan Thayn will be joining the 

faculty as a remote sensing 

specialist in the fall, after his Ph.D. 

work in Geography at the 

University of Kansas. He will also 

teach our Latin America course. 

53

AND CAKE, TOO 

Sheet cakes are a popular item 

for the numerous receptions and 

other events that punctuate the 

academic year. They also lend 

themselves to some cartographic 

efforts, as was the case with 

those featuring maps of McLean 

County and Illinois, cakes that 

helped make GIS Day a success. 

Roses were the highlight visual 

on the Geography Career Fair 

replacement for the traditional 

super cookies, in the afternoon 

segment of the day. 

54

ILLINOIS VERSUS IOWA/INDIANA/IDAHO 

By Adam Kastor 

A 

s we all know, Illinois shares a border with two of the other three states to start with the 

letter “I.” Then, of course, there is the lesser-known I state, Idaho. 

I believe that my attitude toward Iowa stems from my hatred of Iowa Hawkeye football. My dad 

never liked the Hawkeyes, and so my feelings of malice toward Iowa grew and spilled over into 

other aspects of Illinois versus Iowa. In terms of square miles, Illinois is 25 th , @ 57,918; and 

Iowa is 26 th , @ 56,276. That is one reason Illinois is better than Iowa. Some other reasons 

follow. Illinois is the 5 th most populated state, whereas Iowa is 30 th . Illinois has approximately 

10,000,000 more people. Iowa claims that hogs/pigs are major industries there, but Illinois has 

Kewanee: The Hog Capital of the World! The largest city in Iowa is Des Moines. The largest city 

in Illinois is Chicago (possibly the greatest city on Earth). Enough said!! Iowa is named after 

Ioway, a French word for a tribe of Indians from the area. Illinois comes from Illini, which was a 

confederation of Indians (Kaskaskia, Peoria, etc.). Obviously a confederation of Indians is better 

than a single tribe. Illinois was the 21 st state, while Iowa was the 29 th . Iowa has no NBA, MLB, 

NFL, or NHL teams. Illinois has the Bulls, Bears, Cubs/Sox, and Blackhawks! 

This past summer (2008) I was never so happy to be a resident of Illinois rather than Iowa when 

the flooding in Iowa became disastrous. Sometimes I wish I lived in another state. But then I 

think to myself…@ least I do not live in Iowa! The only good thing about Iowa is the Triple A 

Iowa Cubs, a farm team of the Chicago Cubs. 

I respect Indiana basketball. I respect Idaho potatoes. Go Illinois. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Adam Kastor was a student in the Department’s [Geography of] Illinois class 

in the spring semester and wrote this rant in his class logbook as an independent entry. We 

reprint a slightly edited version here with his permission. 

Iowa is not all that bad— 

really. Professor Jed Day 

finds some great places 

there to look for fossils, 

places such as the 

Williams Quarry near 

Nora Springs. He 

captured this image on a 

day when the Greene 

Limestone Company was 

drilling prior to shooting 

off charges and 

dislodging more of the 

Shell Rock (Upper 

Devonian) formation. 

55

YESTERYEARS 

By Michael D. Sublett 

Glacial Deposits 30 Years Ago, Volume 7, 1978-1979 

Alaska has been a periodic subject of Glacial Deposits items, with topics ranging from 

classes going up for two months to litigating the Exxon Valdez spill to exploring for 

minerals to the latest one, in this issue, on prospecting there for research ideas. 

Geography grad Jeff Labahn was just beginning his career and had landed a planning 

job with the Fairbanks North Star Borough. He wrote in 1979 about Alaska as the “last 

frontier” and about Fairbanks as the end of the railroad and highway on the way north, 

with only air access to farther places. Ice fog took up roughly a third of his article, and in 

that long paragraph Jeff talked of enduring this strange circumstance on many of the 14 

consecutive days that temperatures dropped below minus 40. An even bigger challenge 

for Alaska’s planners, in his view, was “to promote the individual lifestyle within the 

context of an overall, coordinative strategy which promotes the welfare of the entire 

area.” Jeff is now Director of City Development in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 


Lyla Coppess was the student editor for Volume 17; and her talented touch is 

everywhere evident, especially in the “Faculty and Staff Sketches,” which occupy well 

over half the pages. She took it upon herself to approach all professors, instructors, and 

clerical staff “with a conglomeration of questions.” Then, “to further capture the energy, 

interests, and fun” that she claimed we possessed, she convinced caricaturist Charles 

McGuire to render profiles with pen and ink from photos that she had snapped during 

the interviews. She must have also shared with him some of the recreational pursuits 

that faculty and staff subjects had revealed to her because each caricature sports a 

descriptive label (e.g.,“The Waterbug” for swimmer Jill Thomas) or appropriate 

commentary (“Volunteers can get their water shut off” for volunteer firefighter Skip 

Nelson) underneath an oversize head and tiny torso. Lyla also wrote a humorous piece 

in which she chronicled a road trip she and three departmental professors had taken to 

the 1989 annual meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society. She never identified them, 

referring only to Eenie, Meenie, and Minie. Mo, we later learned, was the student editor. 


Felmley Hall of Science was the star of Volume 27 because during that year the 

Department packed its bags, books, maps, and rocks for a fruitful move out of a poorly 

aging Schroeder to nicely upgraded Felmley. For the cover, Jill Thomas confirmed our 

new space with floor plans, depicting floors 1 and 2 in the original Felmley (completed in 

1930) on the front and floor 4 of Felmley Annex (completed in 1964), plus the legend, 

on the back. A contemporary Jim Carter photograph of Felmley on the front provided a 

frame of reference for the plans. The Editor’s editorial ran three full pages of text, mostly 

on Felmley, and included a Pantagraph aerial photo from 1930 looking down on a 

Goodyear blimp that was cruising a couple hundred feet above the newly completed 

science building. There were several more pages of Schroeder and Felmley photo 

memories, as the move progressed and folks got to know their new academic home. 

56

2008-2009 DOUGLAS CLAY RIDGLEY LECTURE 

The final event on GIS Day 2008 agenda was the Ridgley Lecture by Dr. David A. 

Bennett, an Associate Professor of Geography at The University of Iowa, with a Ph.D. 

from Iowa, a master’s from Michigan, and a bachelor’s from Northern Iowa. Previous 

academic appointments include Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and the 

University of Kansas. His research applies GIS theory to land management issues, in 

places like Yellowstone National Park. 

Professor Heather Conley (left), 

who holds a Geography Ph.D. 

from Iowa, was a key player in 

bringing Dr. Bennett to campus 

for the Ridgley Lecture. 

The title of his presentation was 

“Geoinformatics in Complex Adaptive 

Systems.” 

The George and Martha Means 

family funded the Ridgley 

Lecture, which features a hearty 

reception for those in attendance.

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