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Continued .... from the ChairNick Wemyss (B.Sc. 1978, Profound Energy Ltd.) made aleading donation to the Undergraduate Explorers Fund andthe first undergraduate scholarship arising from this contributionwill be awarded in September. One area that wewould very much like to see growth in is the Annual Fund,which would have a direct benefit for a large number ofstudents taking our field courses. Please consider makinga donation, of any size, to one of the Explorers Funds thisyear. It is guaranteed to have significant impact on the educationof Earth Scientists in the department and to attractthe very best to study here.We also continue to see changes in the make-up of thedepartment. This January we were joined by AssistantProfessor Bridget Bergquist. Bridget specializes in tracemetal and heavy metal isotope geochemistry and her maininterests are in the biogeochemistry of metals in the marineand terrestrial environments. Bridget came to us afterholding a Turner Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Universityof Michigan and a Ph.D. from M.I.T. and the Woods HoleOceanographic Institute. We were also fortunate to add toour graduate department through the cross appointments ofAssistant Professors Kim Tait and Julian Lowman. Kimrecently joined the Royal Ontario Museum as AssistantCurator of Mineralogy after completing her Ph.D. in Geologyat the University of Arizona. She specializes in theapplication of X-ray synchrotron and neutron scattering toinvestigate crystal structures. Julian is currently appointedin the Dept. of Physical and Environmental Sciences at theUniversity of Toronto Scarborough. Before coming to theU of T he held a faculty appointment at Leeds Universityfollowing a Ph.D. at York University. Julian is a geodynamicist,with special expertise in numerical modeling ofmantle convection in the Earth and terrestrial planets.As usual, our faculty and students continue to distinguishthemselves in research and scholarship. Ulrich Wortmannwas awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professorthis summer. Barbara Sherwood Lollar was successfullynominated as a Tier I Canada Research Chair in EnvironmentalGeochemistry to add to an already impressive list ofrecognitions. The Norman B. Keevil Chair in Ore GenesisGeology, previously held by Steve Scott, was awarded toJim Mungall in recognition of his research on magmatic oredeposits. Among many other scholarly achievements thisyear, one that caught the public eye was the publication ofthe book Canada Rocks by Nick Eyles and Andrew Miall,which was launched at a reception in Hart House in October.Nick also played a starring and advisory role in thesuccessful CBC television series Geologic Journey. Youcan learn more of the success of our faculty and students inthe following pages of this newsletter.I look forward to meeting many of you and catching upwith acquaintances at our annual reception at the PDACon Tuesday, March 4 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. I would alsolike to extend an invitation to all alumni and friends to visitthe department at any time. I will be happy to show youaround, and do my best to arrange meetings with studentsand faculty, and am always willing to discuss ideas for thedepartment and provide updates on our activities.Sandy CrudenNew Appointments and Cross AppointmentsBridget BergquistB.S. Geology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996B.S. Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996Ph.D., Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry,MIT-WHOI Joint Program, 20042The primary aim of my research program is to increase our understandingof the biogeochemical cycles that are important for life on Earthand how these cycles have evolved over time through the use of tracemetal and stable isotope geochemistry. Besides the inherent importanceof metals in the environment (i.e., in their roles as nutrients or toxins),the chemistry of metals is often linked to, or plays a controlling role in,environmental processes including carbon cycling, ocean circulation, andweathering and transport of chemicals in nature. Understanding metalsin the environment is especially important in a changing world where humanactivities are perturbing many natural cycles and will have impacts