2021-2022 Annual Report Message From the Head 2 Research Center Updates.........4 Retiring Faculty and Staff ......... 8 Publications, Awards, News ... 10 Gifts to the Department...........12 Student Awards ......................... 14 Degrees Granted ...................... 16 Department Activities ............. 18 In Memoriam .............................. 22 IN THISSchoolISSUEEofarth & SciencEnvironmentales Photo: Jay Cooke. Photo credit: Sharon Kressler
• Over the past five years, average enrollments in our 1000x-level courses for non-majors have increased by more than 20% compared to the previous five years.
• As I write, there are 71 graduate students in the program.
• More than 70% of our students move into degreerelated jobs or graduate school programs shortly after graduation.
Donna also oversaw the hiring of a group of 10 diverse and immensely talented new faculty, most recently Xinyuan Zheng whose expansive approach to isotope geochemistry employs about a fifth of the periodic table (https://isotopes. esci.umn.edu/). Xinyuan is developing new courses on Earth Systems Science to be co-taught with Ikuko Wada this coming spring, and Aqueous Geochemical Analysis this fall. His lab is up and running following numerous COVIDrelated delays (e.g., company technicians who couldn’t travel to the US).
Moving forward, my vision is to help lead a department: with deep ties to the community and the state, that always strives for excellence, diversity and fairness, with outstanding research that addresses problems of high societal impact while allowing our students, staff from the Head
• We are currently a faculty of 25—the largest in the department’s history.
I could go on and on about Donna’s achievements, like how she managed to work with four deans in 10 years, was the first female department chair in CSE, co-led the research group with the most conferred Ph.D.s, and so on. But knowing Donna, she really wishes I would stop talking about her. So I Instead,will. allow me to throw out some facts and figures about the department as it nears it’s 150th anniversary:
• Our total annual research funding portfolio exceeds twelve million dollars.
2 Where’s Donna? And who is this guy? Both good questions.
Donna Whitney, having finished 10 years of incredible service as department chair and head of the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences is off to a very well-earned sabbatical in Germany. The guy in the picture is me, Justin Revenaugh, a seismologist and statistician by training, a faculty member for the past 18 years, and the incoming head.
This being an annual report and me being new to the job, it would be easy to spend this greeting looking back at the past few years. And that’s what I’m going to do, but not just because it’s easy, but because it was a very important period in the department’s history and because the fruits of Donna Whitney’s tireless efforts deserve recognition.
• We’ve had five McKnight Land Grant Professorship Award winners in the last decade. (Note that the University, as a whole, awards only 10 or fewer of these a year.)
Let me start with where I am as I write this: Tate Hall. When I first arrived at the “U” I learned the convoluted history of attempts to get the department out of Pillsbury Hall and into a building both larger and better equipped to host modern science labs. The stories always ended with some form of “it didn’t happen—here we are—get used to it.” Well, we’re not there anymore. Tate, which we share with Physics and Astronomy, was gutted, expanded and custom built to hold our labs, teaching spaces and offices. Getting those spaces “just right” was a monumental effort that Donna oversaw every step of the way. As we emerge from COVID, I hope more and more of you will take the opportunity to come by and see our incredible new spaces!
•
Earth & Environmental Sciences
Speaking of COVID…. Following spring break of 2020, almost all of the University’s classes went virtual, taught online with no in-person activities. In literally the matter of a few weeks, instructors and TAs had to adapt to what was then a very foreign environment of zoom sessions, finding the quietest room in the house to record lectures, devising labs that could teach students about minerals and rocks without access to minerals or rocks. It was a terrifying time. Luckily the head kept her head and, throughout the years since, has helped faculty balance the demands of students, the health of all involved, and the need to continue research despite the new set of obstacles and the added burden of rethinking how we approach virtually everything “virtually.”
• We have four majors and two minors and last year graduated 26 students from our majors.
•
• With Marc Hirschmann’s 2020 election, three of the last eight National Academy of Sciences fellows in the College of Science and Engineering have come from Earth & Environmental Sciences.
• There are three Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award winners on the faculty.
Greetings
All of which is my statistically minded way of saying the department is doing exceptionally well.
•
The department would like to thank its Advisory Board for taking time to meet virtually and in person with students, staff, and faculty on May 5, 2022. We greatly appreciate the work they do and the input they provide the department. Thank you!
2022 marks the 150th Anniversary of the first geoscience course being taught at the University of Minnesota! In 1872, professor Edward H. Twining M.A. taught the first courses in geology and mineralogy. 1872 also marks the establishment of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey!
While this is formally “Greetings from the Head,” it really ought to be “Greetings from the Head Office” as almost nothing gets done in the department without the help of the administrative staff: Sharon Kressler (Department Administrator), Jennifer Petrie (Student Personnel Coordinator), Rachel Venstra (Financial Professional), and Kaleigh Swift (Exec Office, Admin & Communications, also the person who put this report together). On their behalf I wish you well.
150 years of Geosciences
Jon Tortomasi, Board Chair, Jacobs Engineering and faculty to follow their curiosity, • that offers a highly meaningful education for all—majors, minors and those simply seeking a general education experience.
2022 Annual Report 3
Jon Carlson, Braun Intertec Tim Cowdery, USGS Carrie Jennings, Freshwater Society Megan Kelly, MN Dept of Natural Resources
Michelle LaGarde, Braun Intertec Denise Levitan, Barr Engineering
Sandeep Burman, MN Dept of Health
Chuck Mosher, ConocoPhillips (Retired)
Advisory Board members: Judy Andrews, WSP, Inc.
Justin with son Silas, daughter Emma, and wife Kelly MacGregor.
Shanna Schmitt, MN Pollution Control Agency Hong Spores, HDR, Inc. Catherine Stott, Burns & McDonnell
A big part of how we be that department is you. Your generous donations provide critical support to maintain and expand our mission and are especially important to our students’ ability to get out in the field, focus on their education and complete their degrees. Your participation in career forums, advising, mentorship, field trips, seminars, and other venues enriches the experience for our students, staff and faculty. And your opinions—they matter and we want to hear them.
• and is a home for all-things Earth & Environmental that the “U”, the state, our alumni and all of us in the building can continue to be proud of.
Take Justincare,Revenaugh
Institute for Rock Magnetism
Resesarch Center Updates
Earth & Environmental Sciences4
The Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) had an eventful and very positive year! Perhaps most importantly, the NSF Instrumentation and Facilities program recommended the IRM for another five years of funding as a national multi-use facility. This new funding allows the lab to continue operating efficiently through 2027, when we will be 37 years old! As we continue to figure out new ways of living safely with COVID, many of the IRM’s most critical activities were able to resume. All of us were delighted to welcome our first round of in-person NSF IRM Visiting Fellows during the fall of 2021. While our sample mail-in strategy allowed the IRM to continue serving the broader geomagnetic community throughout the pandemic, and will continue to promote inclusivity and accessibility, all of us much prefer working together in-person with our visitors, whether they are beginning graduate students or seasoned senior researchers. Interestingly, the last application cycle for IRM Visiting Fellowships attracted more applications than any previous cycle for the last ten years, suggesting that decreased access to the IRM during the pandemic created a backlog of pent-up enthusiasm to visit our facility. Similarly, we were thrilled to offer an IRM Summer School in Rock Magnetism during June 2022, which was our first in-person IRM Summer School since 2018 and only the second since our move to Tate Hall. Nearly 20 junior researchers from around the globe joined us for ten days to learn the fundamentals of rock magnetism and to gain hands-on experience using all the lab’s instruments. Seeing these students in action left us confident in the promise of the next generation of geomagnetic Thisresearchers.lastyear also brought some noteworthy changes in IRM personnel. Kathryn Hobart completed her Ph.D. on the interactions between microbial communities and magnetic forms of pyrrhotite and will be starting as a postdoctoral Mendenhall Fellow at the Reston office of the USGS. Emma Schneider completed her Masters thesis on the magnetostratigraphy of the Green River Formation and has started as a geologist at the Minnesota Geological Survey. Drs. Plinio Jaqueto (speleothem magnetism) and Jonathan Stine (magnetostratigraphy) joined the IRM as postdoctoral researchers and Declan Ramirez will be studying the magnetism of archaeological materials for his Masters project. Rashida Doctor and John McDaris are progressing well through their Ph.D. projects and this year each of them successfully published their first first-author study related to their dissertation work. Meanwhile, Max Brown continues to do an admirable job as IRM Facility Manager and was recently promoted to the rank of Associate Research Professor. Peat Solheid continues to be our linchpin in maintaining the vast array of the IRM’s geophysical instruments. Dario Bilardello was also appointed as an Associate Research Professor during the pandemic and continues to mentor our visitors and author and edit the IRM Quarterly and the IRM website. All of this activity over last year leaves us looking eagerly ahead to see what the next year will bring! Photo from the IRM Summer School field trip (June 2022). IRM graduate student Declan Ramirez screens for archaeological artifacts in Southwestern Minnesota.
Written by Josh Feinberg, IRM Associate Director, and Bruce Moskowitz, IRM Director
In March, Facility staff managed drilling, sample handling, and data capture for the NSF Bedrock Critical Zone Network project and supported two students through the Visiting Graduate Student Program who split, scanned, and subsampled the cores for detailed analyses.
Curator Kristina Brady Shannon explains the functions of the Multi-Sensor Core Logger instruments to Institute for Rock Magnetism summer school students.
2022 Annual Report 5
Over the past year we have worked with researchers from University of Oklahoma on the NSF Unaweep Canyon project to provide planning and operations support, and splitting, scanning, and archiving for the 225 meters of core collected.
Branson Harris, University of Oklahoma, poses with drill rig at Unaweep Canyon site.
Continental Scientific Drilling Facility
In April, the Facility Multi-Sensor Core Logger instruments from Geotek Ltd were upgraded with new computers, electronics, cabling, hardware, and sensors. Since 2004, these instruments have scanned core samples nearly every day in support of more than 800 research projects.
The Facility has joined the College of Science and Engineering website and is now fully integrated with a new CSD Facility website. The new site allows for exploration of the products, tools, and services the facility offers as well as a projects dashboard that enables visitors to search and browse the full repository core collection. Along with this upgraded site, the Facility has revitalized its Twitter and Instagram social media accounts for responsive and efficient communication.
This year the Continental Scientific Drilling Facility supported 48 field campaigns and made significant infrastructure developments while hosting 78 scientists from 33 institutions for core scanning, inspection, and subsampling. Although these numbers are below pre-pandemic levels, we are still actively engaged with the community. We have supported nearly 1000 researchers from ~350 institutions through remote discussions and virtual meetings for project and community development efforts. few highlights are below.Major
A
Written by Kat Cantner, Science and Outreach Coordinator, and Anders Noren, Director, CSD Facility
Field Campaigns
Mobilization is underway for Kullenberg coring at Lago de Tota in October when Facility staff will travel to Colombia to manage coring operations with the NSF-funded project team.
In August the CSD Facility is taking delivery of a new coring system from Uwitec GmbH to obtain long core samples from lacustrine environments at a fraction of the cost of heavy drilling systems. This system can operate in water depths to 300m and collect core samples to 50+ meters sediment depth.
Infrastructural Developments
Resesarch Center Updates
Earth & Environmental Sciences6
Minnesota Geological Survey
During the course of routine mapping Minnesota’s first impact crater was identified, right here in the Twin Cities! It is located deep in the subsurface, in the Inver Grove Heights area of Dakota County, along Highway 52. Many of you have probably driven over it! You can expect to hear more about this as we more thoroughly piece together the story behind the crater. While juggling all of this activity over the past two years, we have also experienced a large staff turnover. Saying a fond farewell to some incredible geologists, and welcoming several new hires. Terry Boerboom, Mark Jirsa, Al Knaeble, and Gary Meyer recently retired. Those four combined to serve 151 years at MGS! Obviously irreplaceable, but we are excited about the new arrivals who are filling those mentioned and other recent vacancies, welcoming Emma Collins, Aaron Hirsch, Ethan Kurak, Erik Nowariak, Emma Schneider, and Jordan Van Berkel. Photomicrograph of shocked quartz from drill cuttings within the proposed Impact Structure, depth of 525 ft from the surface. Image shows parallel linear features that represent one set of decorated planar deformation features (PDFs). PDFs such as these are diag nostic of bolide impacts. Photos by L. Ferriere at Vienna Museum of Natural History. MGS Staff and Students 2022.
Written by Tony Runkel, Lead Geologist, MGS
We have never been busier here at the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS)! At the time of this writing our building is nearly empty. Field season means our geologists are dispersed across much of the state. Most of the activity is related to mapping for our County Geologic Atlas program. The atlases include maps and databases that describe the geology and water and mineral resources of a county in forms useful for land use planning and resource management. Atlases are now complete or in progress for 71 of the 87 Minnesota Counties!
There are a large number of other interesting projects here at MGS. Our geologists with expertise on Precambrian bedrock are working with the US Geological Survey to produce higher resolution maps as part of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative. The goal is to identify areas that may have potential to contain critical mineral resources. Several other MGS scientists are lending geologic and hydrologic expertise to various Minnesota agencies and University departments in an effort to better understand, and mitigate, groundwater contamination. The most prominent examples being widespread contamination from agricultural activities (e.g. nitrate), and the enormous PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) plume in the eastern Twin Cities Metro Outsidearea.ofthe realm of applied geology, we also recently made an exciting discovery of more purely scientific interest.
2022 Annual Report 7
Polar Geospatial Center
While some Arctic research and especially Antarctic fieldwork continues to be impacted by the pandemic, the Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) has been able to successfully continue expert support for researchers looking to use remote sensing to monitor polar environments or supplement field observations. After a two-year pause, PGC is excited to return to McMurdo – the largest of three US stations in Antarctica – in support of the 2022-23 United States Antarctic Program field season. Three staff and one student will rotate support at McMurdo between October and January.
Written by Jonathan Pundsack, Acting Co-Director, PGC, and Cathleen Torres Parisian, Geospatial Support & Education Specialist, PGC
PGC made a big splash at the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting in December in New Orleans. PGC was honored to be chosen to be featured in the AGU TV series, a unique platform to highlight the latest research and emerging trends within the fields of Earth and space science. This short introductory video (https://youtu.be/ufaXPw51yAU) provided high visibility at AGU and continued beyond the meeting. Four PGC staff and students attended the conference in-person, engaging while in the limelight with users and others interested in polar sciences. PGC will also once again host our usual exhibitor booth at the 2022 AGU Fall Meeting in Chicago. If you plan to attend, please stop by and say hello! In December 2021 the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, recognized the PGC for concerted efforts in understanding the impact of climate change. Our ArcticDEM (Arctic Digital Elevation Model) and REMA (Reference Model of Antarctica) data were highlighted, as well as our public-private partnerships, as examples of how we helped catapult the polar regions from one of the worst to one of the best mapped places on Earth to enable this understanding. Check out the video (https://youtu.be/G_hzzWjVowg?t=4204) to learn more about the impact of our work and collaborations. There have been some notable staff changes in the past year, the biggest being Paul Morin’s (Founding PGC Director) retirement from the University of Minnesota in September 2021. PGC conducted a leadership transition strategic planning framework with the help of a professional consultant to identify the best organizational model to catalyze further innovation, excellence, and community engagement. During the interim period, Claire Porter and Jonathan Pundsack are serving as Acting Co-Directors. Brian Bagley moved South to be closer to family and to start a new job, Jamie Kennedy landed a great job at a local engineering firm, and Eric Behr is putting his Legal degree to great use at a local company. PGC celebrated Rui Zhou’s graduation from his master’s program in May 2022. And we welcomed new PGC Graduate RA’s Maochuan Wang, Chris Carter, and Diego Osario. On the staffing end, we were thrilled to add Stephanie Linde to our User Services team, and Diana Dalbotten (Diversity Director, SAFL) to our team as an affiliate to help lead our DEI efforts at Lastly,PGC.but
very importantly, the NSF-PGC cooperative agreement was renewed for 3-years with continued support through August 2024. PGC was awarded new funding to continue support for NASA Goddard and the NASA Cryosphere program, and we are excited about our new funding support for the US Forest Service International Program. PGC is on a great trajectory, and we are excited about working with our funding partners and the science community to advance support in the coming years! Photo from PGC bowing outing at “The Spot” March 2022.
andHistoryandofatMinnesota.theandteaching,afterretiredandofKohlstedt,GregoryProfessorHistoryofScienceTechnology,inMay202233yearsofresearch,serviceatUniversityofSallywasonceamemberourdepartmentthePrograminofScienceTechnologyas
Earth & Environmental Sciences8
Retiring Faculty and Staff
Sally Gregory Kohlstedt
Written by Anna Graber
Science Society, given in recognition for a lifetime of scholarly Sallyachievement.neverlet just her research do the talking: she organized and trained other historians within her developing subfields, heading committees on American science and women in science within the History of Science Society (in the process making it a more inclusive organization) and supervising important dissertations in these fields as well as museum history. Her students have gone on to productive careers in academia, archives, museums, and science organizations. She has taught generations of Minnesota undergraduates in courses on American and Cold War science, campus museums, and women and gender in science (long an intellectual home for young women scientists). Her graduate students have celebrated her “boundless generosity,” noting with gratitude her deep engagement with their research, detailed comments on papers, and continuing support as they established their careers.
Colleagues in both ESCI and HSTM have benefited greatly from Sally’s warm collegiality, energy, and wisdom. Lucky for us she’ll still have a home in Tate.
Sally builds communities wherever she goes. She helped found the Women’s Studies program at Syracuse University, where she was a member of the History Department from 1975 to 1989. She came to our university in 1989 as a professor of History of Science and Technology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Institute of Technology, from which position she worked to counter harassment and expand opportunities for women students and faculty in science and engineering. She has also served the U as Acting Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education. She has held every office in the Program in History of Science and Technology. As chair, she led with Jennifer Gunn the merger of HST with the History of Medicine program, forming one of the strongest history of science, technology, and medicine graduate programs in the country. She has held nine offices in AAAS and over a dozen in the History of Science Society, including as president in 1992-93. Her service to the U was recognized with the President’s Award for Outstanding University Service in 2004. Perhaps most emblematic of her joy in knitting people together was her tenure as chair of the board of the Campus Club, during which she oversaw the club’s renovation into the space we know today.
Sally
part of the U’s “Minnesota Model” of embedding historians of science within science departments. An extraordinarily energetic scholar and administrator, Sally co-founded two subfields in history of science and built or expanded several programs at our university, particularly championing the cause of women in science and history. Her legacy extends beyond her own publications through the work of her students: she has supervised nearly three dozen Ph.D. Students at the U, and she is known throughout the history of science community as a generous mentor to younger scholars. Over the course of her 50-year career, Sally has opened new fields in the once relatively narrow and young discipline of history of science. Her first book, The Formation of the American Scientific Community: The American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1848-60, several early essays, and a landmark journal volume she co-edited helped to establish American science as a significant subject of historical study in a period when historians of science had turned their eyes toward Europe. Her teaching duties at her first posting, Simmons College (a women’s college), inspired her next project: understanding the role of women in American scientific culture. In articles, journal issues she co-edited, and her prize-winning book Teaching Children Science: Hands-On Nature Study in North America, 1890-1930, Sally helped bring issues of women and gender “in from the periphery” (as the title of a 1978 article of hers runs), in the process expanding our idea of how science is practiced and taught and by whom. She has sustained an abiding interest in museums, especially campus natural history museums, as multifaceted sites of education and research, and her numerous articles on the topic have established productive lines of inquiry, particularly in the history of biology. Among many accolades for her work, in 2019 she was awarded the Sarton Medal, the most prestigious honor of the History of
Paul
Inset 2 from a map created by Paul Morin showing locations in Antarctica named after people and places of Minnesota
2022 Annual Report 9
One of Morin’s most significant accomplishments is ArcticDEM, a White House initiative led by PGC to produce a high-resolution, time-dependent elevation model of the Arctic using the University of Illinois’ Blue Waters supercomputer. Morin has numerous publications in wide-ranging fields including remote sensing, geoscience education, the carbon cycle, and scientific visualization. Morin stated that “PGC has done incredible things over the past decade and I expect that to continue far into the future. It has always been about PGC’s people and how they serve the Longtimecommunity.”PGC
Paul Morin, the director of the National Science Foundation’s Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) at the University of Minnesota, stepped down from his position, effective September 22nd. For 13 years Morin led PGC, and its predecessor the Antarctic Geospatial Information Center. He spent 32 years at the University of Minnesota, including his time at the National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics.
leadership members Jonathan Pundsack and Claire Porter will serve as acting Co-Directors of PGC. The main NSF PGC cooperative agreement was recently renewed in early September 2021, and over the course of the next three years PGC will continue current services, expand support for investigators, improve product accessibility, and broaden education & outreach activities.
Morin
Matsumoto, K. and *T. Tanioka, and *M. Gilchrist, Sensitivity of steady state, deep ocean dissolved organic carbon to surface boundary conditions, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36, e2021GB007102, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007102
Flood, B.E.*, Louw, D.C., Van der Plas, A.K., Bailey, J.V., 2021, Giant sulfur bacteria (Beggiatoaceae) from sediments underlying the Benguela Upwelling System host diverse microbiomes. PLOS One. Fu,https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258124R.R.,Volk,M.W.R., Bilardello, D., Libourel, G., Lesur, G. R. J., & Ben Dor, O. (2021). The fine-scale magnetic history of the Allende meteorite: Implications for the structure of the solar nebula. AGU Advances, 2, e2021AV000486. https://doi. org/10.1029/2021AV000486
Kenyon, L.M. and Wada, I. (2022), Mantle wedge seismic anisotropy and shear wave splitting: Effects of oblique subduction. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127(4), p.e2021JB022752. Korchinski,https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB022752M., Teyssier, C., Rey, P.F., Whitney, D.L., and Mondy, L. (2021) Single-phase vs two-phase rifting: Numerical perspectives on the accommodation of extension during continental break-up. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 123, article 104715. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104715
Medina Ferrer, F.M.*, Rosen, M.,R., Feyhl-Buska, J., Russell, V.V., Sønderholm, F., Loyd, S., Shapiro, R., Stamps, B.W., Petryshyn, V., Demirel-Floyd, C., Bailey, J.V., Johnson, H., Spear, J., Corsetti, F., 2021, Potential role for microbial ureolysis in the rapid formation of carbonate tufa mounds. Geobiology. 10.1111/gbi.12467. https://doi. Naylor,org/10.1111/gbi.12467S., A. D. Wickert, D. A. Edmonds, and B. J. Yanites (2021), The Pleistocene Transformation of North American Topography, Science Advances, 7(48), doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj2938
Seyfried Jr, W.E., Tan, C., Wang, X., Wu, S., Evans, G.N., Coogan, L.A., Mihály, S.F., Lilley, M.D., 2022. Time series of hydrothermal vent fluid chemistry at Main Endeavour Field, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Remote sampling using the NEPTUNE cabled observatory. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 103809. *T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103809Tanioka, K. Matsumoto, and M. Lomas, Drawdown of atmospheric pCO2 via variable particle flux stoichiometry in the ocean twilight zone, Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094924, 2021. Tudor,https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094924A.,Fowler,A.,Foustoukos,D.I., Moskowitz, B., Wang, L., Tan, C., Seyfried Jr, W.E., 2021. Geochemistry of vapor-dominated hydrothermal vent deposits in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 414, 107231. https://doi. Tutolo,org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107231B.M., Seyfried Jr, W.E., Tosca, N.J., 2020. A seawater throttle on H2 production in Precambrian serpentinizing systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (26), 1475614763. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921042117
Tectonically and climatically driven mountain-hopping erosion in central Guatemala from detrital 10Be and river profile analysis. Earth Surface Dynamics, 9, 795–822, doi: 10.5194/esurf-9-795-2021. Brocard, G.Y., Meijers, M.J.M., Cosca, M.A., Salles, T., Willenbring, J., Teyssier, C., and Whitney, D.L. (2021) Rapid drainage integration across the Central Anatolian Plateau triggered by surface uplift and escape tectonics. Geosphere, 17, 739-765. doi: 10.1130/GES02247.1 Cluzel D., Aitchison J.C., Zhou R., Ireland T., Heizler M., Patias D., Lesimple S., Maurizot P., Teyssier C. (2022) Direct dating of podiform chromitite: U-Pb (Zircon, Rutile) and 40Ar/39Ar (Pargasite) evidence from Tiébaghi Cr deposit (New Caledonia). Ore Geology Reviews, 104873, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2022.104873
Earth & Environmental Sciences10 Brocard, G., Willenbring, J. K., Salles, T., Cosca, M., GuttiérezOrrego, A., Cacao Chiquín, N., Morán-Ical, S., and Teyssier, C. (2021)
Newville, C., Whitney, D.L., *Kang, P., *Raia, N.H., and Fornash, K.F. (2021) How the Earth recycles. Frontiers for Young Minds, doi: *Over,10.3389/frym.2021.599596J.-S.andPospelova, V. 2022. Last Interglacial (MIS 5e) sea surface hydrographic conditions in coastal southern California based on dinoflagellate cysts. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 591, 20 pp., 110875. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.110875
Leprich, D.J.*, Flood, B.E, Schroedl, P. *, Ricci, E. *, Marlow, J.J., Girguis, P., Bailey, J.V., 2021, Sulfur bacteria promote authigenic carbonate dissolution at marine methane seeps. ISME Journal.
Raia, N. H., Whitney, D. L., Teyssier, C., & Lesimple, S. (2022). Serpentinites of different tectonic origin in an exhumed subduction complex (New Caledonia, SW Pacific). Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Geosystems. https://doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10510651.2
Van Wyk de Vries, M., A. D. Wickert, K. R. MacGregor, C. Rada, and M. J. Willis (in press, 2022), Atypical landslide induces speedup, advance, and long-term slowdown of a tidewater glacier, Geology, doi:10.1130/G49854.1 Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ito, E., Shapley, M., Brignone, G., Romero,
*McLachlan, S.M.S. and Pospelova, V. 2021. Dinoflagellate cystbased paleoenvironmental reconstructions and phytoplankton paleoecology across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary interval, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Cretaceous Research, 126, 30 pp., 104878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104878
*https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00903-3
Publications, Awards, and Noteworthy News Publications
Li, Z., Pospelova, V., Liu, L., Francois, R., Wu, Y, Mertens, K.N., Saito, Y., Zhou, R., Song, B., Xie, X. 2021. High-resolution reconstructions of Holocene sea-surface conditions from dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in the northern South China Sea. Marine Geology, 438, 20 pp., 106528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106528
Ph.D. student Amanda Patsis was the Grand Prize Winner for her poster at the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute’s Research Exhibition titled “Metagenomic insights into the role of organic sulfur in the deep biosphere”.
2022 Annual Report 11 M., Wickert, A. D., Miller, L. H., MacGregor, K. R. (2022). Physical limnology and sediment dynamics of Lago Argentino, the world’s largest ice-contact lake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 127, e2022JF006598. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JF006598
Zhou, X., and I. Wada (2021), Differentiating induced versus spontaneous subduction initiation using thermomechanical models and metamorphic soles, Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/ IRMs41467-021-24896-xPh.D.student
Awards and Noteworthy News
Ph.D. student Maddy Nyblade received a 2021 President’s Student Leadership and Service Award for her antiracism work in the department and beyond.
Amanda Patsis Presenting Poster at MSI Research Exhibition
Rashida Doctor was awarded a “Ralph W. Stone Graduate Fellowship in Cave and Karst Studies” from the National Speleological Society. Two Graduate TA’s, Maya Gilchrist (M.S.) and Clémentine Hamelin (Ph.D.), have been awarded the National Association of Geoscience Teachers’ 2022 “Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award,” for their excellence in teaching. Marc Hirschmann was formally inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in a ceremony in Washington DC on Friday, April 28, 2022, following his election in 2020.
Professor Justin Revenaugh was a 2020 recipient of UMN’s Morse-Alumni award for excellence in undergraduate education. The pandemic-delayed award ceremony was finally held, and the awardees celebrated.
Professor Peter K. Kang was awarded a UMN McKnight LandGrant ProfessorProfessorship.
Wada, I. (2021), A simple picture of mantle wedge flow patterns and temperature variation, Journal of Geodynamics 146, doi:10.1016/j. Wallis,jog.2021/101848D.,Harris, J., Böhm, C.F., Wang, D., Zavattieri, P., Feldner, P., Merle, B., Pipich, V., Hurle, K., . Leupold, S., Hansen, L.N., Marin, F., & Wolf, S.E., Materials Advances (2022). Progressive changes in crystallographic textures of biominerals generate functionally graded ceramics. doi: 10.1039/D1MA01031J Wallis, D., Hansen, L. N., Wilkinson, A. J., & Lebensohn, R. A. (2021). Dislocation interactions in olivine control postseismic creep of the upper mantle. Nature Communications, 12(1), 1-12. https://doi. org/10.1038/s41467-021-23633-8
Ph.D. Student Jabari Jones received the 2022 Alvin G. Anderson Award from the St. Anthony Fall Laboratory. This award is given to a University of Minnesota student pursuing graduate studies in water resources. Special consideration is given to students involved in the sediment transportation field.
Professsor Marc Hirschmann at NAS Induction ceremony
Van Wyk de Vries, M., P. D. Carchipulla Morales, A. D. Wickert, and V. G. Minaya (2022), Glacier thickness and ice volume of the inner tropical Andes, Scientific Data, 9(342), doi:10.1038/s41597022-01446-8
Ph.D Student Jabari Jones was awarded the 2022 Outstanding Community Service Student Award which recognizes the significant contributions Jabari has made to the community, including building University-community partnerships and programs that benefit students,faculty, staff, and community partners.
Crystal Ng received the President’s Community-engaged scholar award in recognition of her work with Tribal Community partners on the “First We Must Consider Manoomin Project”.
Ph.D. student Evan Whiting was awarded the 2020 Bell Museum’s Natural History Award.
Ph.D. student Max Van Wyk De Vries was recognized by the American Geophysical Union as a top student presenter at the 2020 Fall Meeting for presenting his research analyzing sediment cores recovered from Lago Argentino, the world’s largest ice-contact lake.
Earth & Environmental Sciences12 *multiple donations We wish to express our gratitude to alumni and friends who continue supporting the department with generous donations. Your financial support provides scholarships and fellowships enabling students to carry out their studies, conduct field and analytical research, and present papers at professional meetings. Listed on these pages are gifts recevied from January of 2020 through June of 2022. Department of Earth Sciences General Fund AIPG-Am Inst of Professional Geologists Calvin Alexander* Like StanleyThomasJonRodneyShaughnKeithMichaelWilliamStefanieBillAmyMarciaSuzanneMikeRobertCarlJeffJoelRobertJakeMohammadGeorgeHarshJanineAnAndrysAnuragS.Austin*Badri*Bailey*W.BakerBarker*Baysinger*S.Benson*BergmannandSueBerndt*J.Beske-DiehlG.Bjornerud*BlockBonnichsen*A.Brachfeld*C.Brice*andElaineBrindaA.Brugger*A.Burnison*C.CameronA.Carlson*W.Carlson*E.ChernicoffandJulie K. Stein* Timothy F. Cleghorn Kevin C. Cook* John P. FletcherAmandaStephenJeffreyMichaelCrowleyG.DalglishW.Dayton*B.DeLong*DillmanandBeverly Driscoll Margaretha M. Eckhardt* Denis R. Erickson Karol A. Erickson* Josh EricGailDwightLifengCharlesChelseaElizabethJeffreyPeterEldonJayDavidBeverlyFeinberg*FloodL.Fox*R.FrischmanM.Gath*A.GintautasA.Gorski*GreenbergR.GriffinR.Gruenenfelder*GuoGustafsonHaglundJ.Hansen* Gilbert N. Hanson Martha Hewett Marc Hirschmann John W. Hjerpe* Pieter Hollenberg Daniel R. Holte* Peter J. and Bronwen Hudleston* Emi DavidIto*R. Janecky* Robert G. Johnson* Jabari C. Jones Peter K.K. Kang* Kerry L. Keen* Megan J. Kelly Kent C. Kirkby* Kathryn J. Kleiter and Barbara WillamDaleEmmaShannaCaraConstanceJohnKaitlynKeithNancyJohnVeraJamesThomasWilliamJenniferKathleenGregoryChrisCrystalDavidBruceCharlesJereReedSethPeterBenjaminStephanieDeniseStevenSangCarolanEthanSharonJosephJohnHopperstad*E.Koss*J.Kowalik*J.Kressler*R.KurakM.LaudonLee*L.Levine*M.LevitanR.Lynch*J.Maas*J.Makovicky*E.Matters*andKarinMcEwanMohrandLeahGruhn*C.Mosher*M.Moskowitz*A.Nemetz*Ng*PaolaandBeatriceParkerPatkaA.PetrieM.PickeringG.Plymate*M.PorterPospelova*J.QuinnRadleB.Rapp*D.Rathe*J.Read*andKennethSansome*M.Santelli*A.Schmitt*L.SchneiderR.SetterholmE.andCarolSeyfried* Linda C. and Orrin C. Shane III* Deana RandiJohnJonEdwardHarveyChristianAlexisEmilyCatherineDonaldSneydR.Sprowl*J.StottStrandStrickerTeyssier*ThorleifsonC.Thornton*J.TortomasiC.Vinje*Nordstromand James Walker* Shannon E. Weiher* Donna L. Whitney* Andrew D. Wickert* Lowell E. Wille* Jennifer L. Williams Michael A. Young* Brian A. Zemaitis Xinyuan Zheng* Kovas Zygas Banerjee Fellowship Fund Subir Banerjee and Manju Parikh* Robert L. Bauer* Stefanie A. Brachfeld* Donald R. Sprowl* Robert R. and Josephine F. Berg Scholarship Josephine F. Berg Field Experiences Fund Jack R. Banttari* Robert L. Bauer* Paul K. Buchanan* Jon A. EdwardTatsuroLutherDonaldBernhardtJohnThomasJackBenjaminPeterChristophEldonJeffreyDyannaCarlson*M.Czeck*W.Dayton*M.Gath*E.Geiss*A.Gintautas*J.Maas*W.Newcomb*G.Plymate*J.Read*Saini-Eidukat*E.Soholt*M.StrayerTaniokaC.Thornton* Gifts to the Department
My name is Lexi Thompson, and I joined the College of Science and Engineering’s External Relations team earlier this year. As the liaison to the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, I want to thank you, our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends, for your generous contributions to the department. Without your financial support, Earth & Environmental Sciences could not do the essential work of inspiring and educating our students to address the complex challenges of tomorrow. Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact for our exceptional students, faculty, and facilities. You can direct your gift, including planned gift commitments, to any existing departmental fund or establish your own named endowed fund. We are fortunate to have a variety of funds that offer a wide range of giving opportunities, including undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and departmental initiatives such as public engagement, field course support, and graduate student start-up scholarships.
Please feel welcome to contact me with questions regarding charitable giving opportunities at (612)-626-4040 or lexi@
2022 Annual Report 13
umn.edu.LexiThompsonCSEExternalRelationscse.umn.edu/college/give-cse CSE External RelationsSamuel Goldich Fellowship Fund Robert L. Bauer* Carl S. BernhardtBenson*Saini-Eidukat* John W. Gruner Fellowship Fund Carl S. Benson* Harold M. Mooney Fellowship Fund Muawia Barazangi* Carl S. KathrynMorrisLaneDouglasShaughnGeorgeBenson*V.Bulin*A.Burnison*A.Carlson*R.Johnson*A.Kaufman*J.Kleiterand Barbara CraigScottJamesCharlesJohnHopperstad*E.Koss*C.Mosher*J.Olson*G.Schulz*A.Williams Rita Paquette Memorial Scholarship Fund Michael W. Block* Caroline Chinquist Michael P. Convery* Myrna M. Halbach* Donald L. Jakes* David C. JohnScottMargueriteKasper*M.McCarron*L.Murchie*J.Read* Frederick Swain Fellowship Fund Kenneth R. ThunderbirdQuarfoth*Landand Cattle Company (Donald L. Hansen, Sr.)* Zoltai Graduate Fellowship Fund Cara M. Santelli* Thomas C. Sutton Donath Honors Scholarship in Geoscience Fred A. Donath* Allan & Eleanor Martini Fellowship Allan V. & Eleanor F. Martini H. E. Wright Footsteps Fund Elisabeth Almgren* Carl S. Benson* Keith A.Brugger* Richard Callaway Richard B. Darling* Christoph E. Geiss* Dora Barlaz Hanft* John H. Herman Kerry L. Keen* Linda C. and Orrin C. Shane III* Andrew D. Wickert Craig ZumBrunnen* Scott Rice Memorial Scholarship in Earth Sciences Dorothy Friedman Judith J. Friedman* Chun RobertBrandonMarchessault*J.Rice*andMarjoryRice* Sam Sawkins Public Engagement Fund John J. Read* Daryl A. Scherkenbach & Susan A. Zerwick David and Sally Kohlstedt Scholarship in the Department of Earth Sciences David L. and Sally G. Kohstedt* Quaternary Paleoecology Minor Program Elisabeth Almgren* Forrest Fellowship Kimball Forrest Charitable Fund Corporate/ Foundation Donations 3M Foundation, Inc.* Braun Intertec Corporation* Chevron Corporation* Exxon Mobile Foundation Philotimo Foundation* Shell Oil Co Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation
Fellowships, Scholarships,
Francesca Socki (‘21-’22) William H. Emmons Fellowship Lindsey Kenyon (‘21-’22) Warren Fisher Memorial Fellowship
Earth & Environmental Sciences14 Fellowship and scholarship support has grown significantly over the last decade because of our alumni. Your generosity has been the tipping point in many cases, in which better financial packages enable us to attract and retain the best undergraduate and graduate students to the University of Minnesota and to the department. For the past three years, we’ve hosted our Scholarship, Fellowship, and Awards ceremonies virtually on Zoom. Thank you for all who attended our ceremony and for your continued support of our students!
Allan and Eleanor Martini Fellowship Dylan Parmenter (‘21-’22)
Natalie Raia (‘21-’22)
V.R. Murthy/Janice Noruk Fellowship for Women Graduate Students
Clem Hamelin (‘21-’22) Minyoung Son (‘22-’23)
Francesca Socki (‘22-’23)
Zsuzsanna Allerton (‘22-’23) Hannah Blatchford (‘21-’22) Nora Loughlin (‘21-’22) Colin Murphy (‘22-’23) Liyang (Franklin) Qin (‘22-’23) Nicole Wagner (‘22-’23) Zhao Zhu (‘22-’23) Forrest Fellowship Rashida Doctor (‘22-’23) Lynnea Jackson (‘21-’22) Woonghee Lee (‘21-’22) Nora Loughlin (‘22-’23) Francis Gibson Fellowship Hongfan Cao (‘21-’22) Tyler Fulghum (‘22-’23) Samantha Perez (‘22-’23) Samuel Goldich Fellowship Dylan Parmenter (‘22-’23) Chris Schuler (‘21-’22) John Gruner Fellowship Rashida Doctor (‘21-’22) Amanda Patsis (‘22-’23) Shanti Penprase (‘21-’22)
Fred Swain Fellowship
2021-2023
Rebeca Oliviera Ribiero B Pereira (‘22-’23) Natalie Raia (‘21-’22)
Junior F. Hayden Fellowship Shanti Penprase (‘22-’23)
Zoltai Graduate Fellowships
Soisiri Charin (‘22-’23) Lindsey Kenyon (‘22-’23) Dylan Parmenter (‘21-’22) Amanda Patsis (‘21-’22) Viven Sharma (‘22-’23)
Harold Mooney Fellowship John McDaris (‘22-’23)
Thomas F. Andrews Fellowship
Departmental and Awards
Graduate Fellowships
Undergraduate Scholarships
Thomas & Margaret Aldrich Award
Riley Schmitter (‘21-’22)
V.R. Murthy/Janice Noruk Fellowship Maya Gilchrist (‘21-’22) Adaire Nehring (‘22-’23)
H.E. Wright “Footsteps” Award
Josie Welsh (‘22-’23) Robert R. Berg Scholarship Cheyenne Neess (‘21-’22) Jamison Ward (‘22-’23)
Natalie Raia (‘22-’23)
Wyatt Hansen (‘22-’23) Nora Loughlin (‘21-’22)
Jennifer Taylor (‘21-’22) Subir Banerjee Fellowship Clem Hamelin (‘21-’22) Diede Hein (‘22-’23) Richard Clarence Dennis Fellowship Nilay Iscen (‘22-’23) John McDaris (‘21-’22) Jeremiah McElwee (‘22-’23)
Fred Donath Honors Scholarship Jesse Schewe (‘21-’22) Margaret Stephenson (‘22-’23) David & Sally Kohlstedt Scholarship Maisy Waech (‘22-’23) John “Chris” Kraft Scholarship Mia Schwartz (‘22-’23) McMillen Undergraduate Scholarships
Dennis Undergraduate Scholarships
Reina Balley (‘21-’22 & ‘22-’23) Marjorie Larsen (‘21-’22) Cassie Mullenbach (‘21-’22) Ananya Vegesna (‘21-’22 & ‘22-’23) Payton Wills (‘21-’22 & ‘22-’23)
Grace Elling (‘21-’22) Benjamin Kroll (‘21-’22) Gracelyn McClure (‘22-’23) Cheyenne Neess (‘22-’23) Elizabeth Payne (‘21-’22) Rita Paquette Memorial Scholarship
Jessica Fox (‘22-’23) Allison Friello (‘21-’22) Sidney A. Parkans Scholarship Allison Friello (‘21-’22) Brea Fahrner (‘22-’23) Scott Rice Memorial Scholarship Emma Brown (‘21-’22) Riley Hollenberg (‘22-’23)
2022 Annual Report 15
2021 Field Experience Scholarships Reina MichaelPaytonMaisyAJKarmenMarissaJesseBethMarjorieJaredColinAllisonStephanieGraceJacqlynPaxtonBalleyBuboltzCronsonEllingFinchFrielloGustafsonLandryLarsenPayneScheweShimotaVanderVeldenVoracekWaechWillsYsaguirre 2022 Field Experience Scholarships Reina Balley Jake AbigailRachelGreysonMargaretClaraMiaJacobCheyenneGracelynLoganBenjaminEmilyEmmaTaylorAnnaJasperJessicaMelindaJacksonBenbowCiolfiEdstromFoxGoldsteinGonzalezJewelKosteckiKramerKrollMahoneyMcClureNeessRaabSchwartzSeltzerStephensonStruveTrippWilwerding Awards2020-2021 Outstanding TA Awards Hannah Blatchford Rashida Doctor Maya Gilchrist Clem JosieMeganJenniferFrancescaChrisHayleyChristineJohnLindseySamKathrynHamelinHobartHuntKenyonMcDarisNewvilleOrlowskiSchulerSockiTaylorWedalWelsh 2021-2022 Outstanding TA Awards Zsuzsanna Allerton Gustaf Carlson Grace Elling Nora Loughlin
Earth & Environmental Sciences16 Degrees Granted Fall 2020-Summer 2022 Undergraduate Degrees Spring 2022 Allison PatrickLaurenCassieIsabelMarjorieFrielloLarsonLewisMullenbachShipmanTimmerman Bachelor of Arts, Earth Sciences Fall 2020 Marga Ramsdell Spring 2021 Elena Chambers John Eggenberger Summer 2021 A.J. RachelVoracekWheeler Fall 2021 Keegan Hoffer Spring 2022 Jacqlyn Cronson Dylan Hiebel Bachelor of Arts, Envrionmental Geosciences Fall 2021 Jordan Warner Spring 2022 Emma MarissaMarjorieBrownLarsenShimota Bachelor of Science, Earth Sciences Fall 2020 Lujaina Al Hinai Hayden MeganErikKatherineBraydenChristensenKuesterSchroederSeversonWedal Spring 2021 Derek Cole John RashelAlexisKaelynRileyHayleyIsabelPhillipJenniferCrowleyHuangJonesKeefeOrlowskiSchmitterSperleStrickerWilliams-Schaetzel Summer 2021 Muthanna Al-Mughairy Stephanie Finch Fall 2021 Raya Al Hajri John MadisonO’MalleyWieczorek Spring 2022 Gustaf Carlson Colin Gustafson Lily AndrewKarmenJesseCarterJaredHershleyLandryLeiningerScheweVanderVeldenVierbicher Bachelor of Science, Envrionmental Geociences Spring 2021 Carolyn Enright Camryn Jordan Fall 2021 Paxton Buboltz The Environmental Geosciences B.S. class of 2022 with Goldy Gopher
2022 Annual Report 17 FallKerry2020L. Callaghan, Ph.D. ComputingWaterFlowandStorageInComplexLandscapes Advisor: Andrew Wickert Meng Sun, Ph.D. RelicSeismicityandLithosphericStructureinActiveSubduction,SubductionandIntracontinentalSettings Advisor: Max Bezada SpringFernando2021Medina Ferrer, Ph.D. ProteinsinGeobiology:NewApproachesforEnzymeFieldDetectionandBiomarkerVisualization Advisor: Jake Bailey Omme Leila Saberi, Ph.D. Evaluating the Eco-Hydrochemical Response of Tropical AGlacierizedMountainousWatershedstoClimateChange:CaseStudyoftheVolcánChimborazo,Ecuador Advisor: Crystal Ng Alexander K. Waheed, M.S. Manoomin (wild rice) and Environmental Change at a SignificantRiverSystemoftheLacduFlambeauBandofLakeSuperiorChippewa Advisors: Crystal Ng and Cara Santelli Summer 2021 John He, M.S., Plan B Advisor: Donna L. Whitney Patricia Kang, Ph.D. Eclogite,Zones:TheRecordofFluid-RockInteractioninOceanicSubductionInsightsfromtheCompositionsofLawsonite-BearingBlueschist,andMetasomatite Advisor: Donna L. Whitney Hwaju Lee, Ph.D. An Exploration of the Effect of Anisotropy on Seismic TomographyinDifferentGeologicalSettings Advisor: Max Bezada Morgan Monz, Ph.D. fromAStudyofMicrofabricandStructuresinGlacialice:InsightsStorglaciären,NorthernSweden Advisor: Peter Hudleston Leah Nelson, M.S. Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Glacierized WatershedsintheSubhumidInnerTropics Advisors: Crystal Ng and Andrew Wickert Graduate Degrees Mary Sabuda, Ph.D. toAnInterdisciplinaryGeochemicalandGenomicsApproachUnderstandingFungalSeleniumTransformationsfortheBioremediationofContaminatedWaters Advisor: Cara Santelli Jacob Zahn, M.S. Marine DOC Modeling Suggests the Importance of HydrothermalVentsandInitialDOCProduction Advisor: Katsumi Matsumoto FallDan2021Cazanacli, Ph.D. Probabilistic, Rule-Based Modeling of Deltaic Networks andStratigraphy Advisor: Chris Paola Avishek Rudra, Ph.D. Ferric Iron Partitioning between Pyroxene and Melt: Experiments,Microbeamanalysis,andConsequencesforMantleRedox Advisor: Marc Hirschmann SpringHarsh2022Anurag, Ph.D. ChangeEvaluatingtheImpactofVegetationandFutureClimateonGroundwaterRechargeusingaLand-SurfaceModel Advisor: Crystal Ng Kingsley Anyim, M.S., Plan C Advisor: Ikuko Wada Christine Newville, M.S. Investigating the Structure, Kinematics, and Timing of ExhumationoftheRoanWindow,Norway Advisors: Donna L. Whitney and Christian Teyssier Emma Schneider, M.S. Formation,UpdatedMagnetostratigraphyforTheEoceneGreenRiverWyoming Advisor: Josh Feinberg Maximillian Van Wyk De Vries, Ph.D. BeyondandGlaciersintheEarthSystem:AnEvaluationoftheCausesEffectsofGlacierChangeinSouthernPatagoniaand Advisors: Andy Wickert and Emi Ito Summer 2022 (through June 30, 2022) Maya Gilchrist, M.S. ClimateModelingMarineDissolvedOrganicCarbonResponsetoChange Advisor: Katsumi Matsumoto Jana Kramer, M.S., Plan C Advisor: Peter Kang
U of M Geological Society (GeoClub)
Written by Joel Barker, Research Faculty
The University of Minnesota Geological Society, also known as the Geoclub, had an exciting 2021-2022 year! The ability to be back on campus and gather safely allowed students to meet for various activities. The monthly meetings offered students a time to find new friends, opportunities, and fun! Over the past year, GeoClub also invited special guests to talk about career opportunities, research, field experience courses, and more. Students were kept up to date on departmental news through the club, which allowed them to further their involvement within the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department. Geoclub saw some of their most immense involvement this year as students were more than excited to be back in person which fueled the club’s ability to flourish. In the fall, Geoclub held a career fair which invited companies from the Twin Cities to showcase their job opportunities in internships or full-time careers. This year was the first since the pandemic that Geoclub was able to plan and hold the Spring Trip which went to Utah National Parks. Students were able to take a 1-credit class to learn about the basic geology of the sites as well as visit with a guiding professor. Geoclub also held a fundraiser for this trip in the form of an outstanding Succulent Sale that sold out in about an hour. Other meetings had fun activities like painting mini pumpkins, creating valentines, or bowling which allowed students to get to know each other after learning valuable information from the meetings. Being back in person has allowed Geoclub to establish itself once more and this coming year will be even better!
Department Activites
Written by Reina Balley, 2021-2021 GeoClub president
GeoClub Spring Trip
In the early morning of May 18th, 14 members of the GeoClub, along with Joel Barker and Deide Hein (Research Faculty and Ph.D. student respectively, Earth & Environmental Sciences) climbed into two University vans and embarked on a journey of exploration and practical application of concepts learned in the classroom centered on the environs of southern Utah.
During the proceeding 10 days, we all experienced the splendor of ancient sand dunes in Nebraska, crustal uplift and deformation in Colorado and Wyoming, and spectacular erosional artifacts in southern Utah and Arizona, including those in evidence at Zion, Arches, and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We observed textbook examples of incised meander bends at Goosenecks State Park and Horseshoe Bend, walked in the incised Virgin River between towering cliffs of sandstone in the Narrows of Zion National Park. We witnessed the effect of water percolation into fractured bedrock and the resultant formation of arches, windows, and hoodoos in Arches and Bryce Canyon National Parks. In all, students were able to apply Earth surface processes of uplift and erosion learned in class and see how theory manifests as the dramatic landscapes of the southern Utah region. Each student brought with them unique experiences and perspectives, contributing in their own way to a team building exercise that was the 2022 GeoClub Spring Trip.
Earth & Environmental Sciences18
Delicate Arch: GeoClub students for scale (Arches National Park) GeoClub Succulent Sale
The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Seminar working group filled a quarter of the soft and hard rock seminar slots with both external and internal speakers presenting on confronting colonization, community engagement, inclusive teaching and our ESCI Anti-racism Action Plan among other topics.
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The Unlearning Racism and Improving JEDI Action Plan working group merged the deliverables from ESCI’s five discussion groups that participated in the national URGE program, created an executive summary of suggested policies and action items, and is developing a plan for endorsement by Associate Dean Ellen Longmire.
Earth Student Research Symposium
The newest DEI initiative is the Accessible ESCI group which is working with the Department and the Disability Resource Center to design communication pathways to gather feedback about department members’ needs and accommodation experiences to normalize conversations around access.
Written by Rashida Doctor, Graduate Student
• This Fall, the Confronting Colonization in ESCI working group held three JEDI seminars to workshop the document ESCI Statement of Intent: Commitments to Indigenous Lands and Peoples, added American Indian Studies courses to the list of technical electives for B.S. students, and presented a poster on their work at the AGU Fall Conference. During the Spring semester they formed a Community-of-Practice that held monthly meetings, reviewed and revised the draft of Commitments to follow the Statement of Intent, and developed a living document Resource Guide.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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• The DEI Website and Resource working group has created a DEI page on the ESCI website that includes the department’s goals, activities and new initiatives, information on the DEI Committee and working groups, and DEI resources through the University and professional institutions.
The presenters came from ESCI, SWAC, and Water Resources departments, and the presentations spanned a wide range of earth science related topics, from fluid-rock interactions in subduction zones to the effects of soil health management systems to mammal diversity in North America to food sovereignty. Additionally, we were excited to have Dr. Steven Semken share his experiences with place-based education in environmental sciences as the keynote speaker.
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2022 Annual Report 19
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The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee leads education and other training initiatives and activities, provides information and advice to members of the School, and helps determine goals and evaluate progress in promoting DEI values. DEI activities are central to all department activities: teaching in classrooms, labs, and the field; mentoring and advising; research in all its forms; and many other aspects of work in the School. This past year:
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The Inclusive Teaching working group convened in the Spring semester and held three workshops led by Kris Gorman from the Center for Educational Innovation. They will continue this practice of hosting three workshops each semester as an ongoing series to increase departmental capacity for inclusive teaching and learning.
Written by Kat Cantner, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee member
EarthSRS is an annually held student-led research symposium organized by graduate students in the Departments of Earth & Environmental Sciences (ESCI) and Soil, Water, and Climate (SWAC). EarthSRS is an opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to share their research and accomplishments with the Earth science community at UMN. This year, the symposium was held completely virtually over the course of two days. The work of 13 graduate and eight undergraduate students was showcased to the over 80 registered attendees from six different departments/programs.
The Departmental DEI Discussion working group organized two conversations facilitated by Dr. Virajita Singh (OED) during the Fall semester with over 35 department members including students, staff, researchers, and faculty. In the Spring semester the group hosted targeted community-building events within peer groups to encourage open discussion of DEI issues.
The symposium relies on postdocs and researchers, who volunteer their time and insight, to act as anonymous judges.
Each presenter receives feedback from multiple judges on their research and presentation skills. Scores given by the
judges were used to award a best poster and presentation award. The winner of the best poster award was Amanda Patsis (ESCI) who shared research on the importance of organic sulfur in the deep biosphere. The winner of the best oral presentation award was Shanti Penprase (ESCI), who talked about glacially-driven base level change of the Whitewater River in Minnesota. Overall, the virtual modality allowed for a more accessible symposium, as many people were able to listen and interact with the presenters.
Written by Jennifer Taylor, Graduate Student, member of Outreach through Science and Art
In addition to working with professional artists, OSA is constantly encountering talented and creative UMN students making art inspired by science. The artistic side of STEM students often goes unrecognized. Seeing the need for a space to showcase and celebrate student-made science-related art, this year OSA hosted our first Science/Art Exhibition. The Exhibition was held in conjunction with the Earth Student Research Symposium and filled the 3rd floor atrium windows of Tate Hall with a stunning array of paintings, drawings, sculptures, 3D prints, creative writing, mixed media, soundscapes, and knits. The art covered a wide range of science topics and themes, from the bleaching of coral reefs to advances in artificial intelligence and the science behind our food. Artists represented more than ten science programs across the university, including several ESCI graduate and undergraduate students. You can access the online version of the Exhibition through the OSA website: https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/osa
Outreach Through Science and Art
This was a busy year for Outreach through Science and Art (OSA), an interdisciplinary group led by ESCI students dedicated to creative science communication. We were inspired by Cameron Carpenter’s performance on the Northrop pipe organ to explore how sound waves generated in volcanos behave like those in giant organ pipes. Our interactive exhibit encouraged the Northrop audience to explore the physics of sound and even record and analyze their own sounds. We also partnered with local choreographers at Analog Dance Works as they developed dances inspired by white tailed deer in Minnesota and humans’ complex psychological responses to climate change. OSA created a series of sciencebased displays exploring climate change in Minnesota to accompany Analog’s debut performance.
Audience members at Northrop investigate sounds made by pipe organs, volcanos, and stars. Visitors enjoying the Science/Art Exhibition on the 3rd floor of Tate Hall.
Earth & Environmental Sciences Department Activites
20
Community Relationships Summit Earth Science Writing Workshop
Written by Maddy Nyblade, Graduate Student, and co-organizer of Summit
While bonding over shared challenges – such as counting words to meet the specific requirements of an abstract or explaining wordy terminology – participants were able to help one another see their pieces through a new lens. According to one participant, “I feel more confident in my own editing and writing process after giving feedback to others and receiving feedback on what I do well.”
Photo of participants in the Earth Science Writing Workshop taking place virtually via zoom
Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020, a wave of activism spread across our city of Minneapolis, our Earth & Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Minnesota, and our national and global geoscience community. Motivated by the local, in-the-streets calls for racial justice, undergraduate and graduate students in our department wrote a letter to faculty and staff advocating for change across our academic community. One call to action increased department engagement within our surrounding Twin Cities community, specifically those traditionally marginalized in the geosciences (e.g. urban residents, people of color). A group led by students Jabari Jones and Maddy Nyblade, and staff member Kat Cantner, organized and hosted a summit between members of the department and local community organizations with a focus on environmental issues, all made possible by the Sam Sawkins Fund.
Written by Clare Boerighter, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
The goal of this summit was to initiate and support meaningful relationships, with the hope that they would grow into research and curricular partnerships in support of the community’s priorities and self-determination. Along the way, the organizing team connected with and learned from community engagement scholars and practitioners both within the University of Minnesota and within community organizations partnering with the University. Informed by these relationships, we hosted the summit in November 2021, which brought together 19 department members and 23 members of environmental community organizations including neighborhood associations, urban gardening organizations, youth outdoor programs, and water rights activist groups. Following the event, a few collaborative projects have taken root, and yet we still have more work to deepen and maintain these relationships and transform our department to support this work. We are looking to host this event this coming year to continue building these and other relationships.
Over the course of five weeks during the Spring 2021 semester, eight graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences gathered virtually for a science writing workshop. Led by Rob Ulrich (writing consultant and Ph.D. Student at UCLA) and Clare Boerigter (Communications Manager for UMN’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory), the workshop series focused on the writing process, refining abstracts and plain language summaries, and translating research for popular science outlets and social media.
In two small workshop groups, participants read and offered feedback to one another on both technical and generalaudience writing. “It was nice to hear about other peoples’ struggles with writing,” one participant shared. “[I realized] that I’m not the only one who finds writing a bit daunting.”
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants walked away energized by their conversations with one another. “The sense of community around academic writing helped me with my writing productivity,” one participant said. With interest from several participants around continuing the workshop, the science writing workshop may return in the coming semesters.
2022 Annual Report 21
William J. Schwappach, B.S. 1959, d. 2/19/2021. It is with great sadness and eternal hope that the family of William John (Bill) Schwappach announces his passing on February 19, 2021, at 88 years of age. Bill died in his sleep, at his home in Englewood, Colorado, after a long battle with dementia. Born on February 26, 1932, Bill was fond of saying that his “mis-spent youth” took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He
Richard L. Buchheit, M.S. 1959, d. 06/23/2021. Richard (Dick) Buchheit 86, of Grand Marais MN, died June 23, 2021. Born September 18, 1934, in Minneapolis, MN, to Frank and Lola Buchheit. He instead pursued his Master’s Degree at the University of Minnesota after earning his Bachelor of Science in Geology at Carleton. Dick served in the Army Reserves until being discharged to start his career as an Exploration Geologist with the New Jersey Zinc Company.
Dick was an avid “rock picker” whose profession took him into the remote bush country of Northern Canada, the red rocks of the Southwest, the coal mines of Pennsylvania, and ultimately the Land of Minnesota’s 10,000 Lakes where he finished his career as the Owner and CEO of Eveleth Fee Office in Eveleth, MN, retiring in 2000.
James G. Palacas, Ph.D. 1959, d. 02/11/2021. Jim graduated from both Boston Public Latin School and Harvard University, all the while helping to raise his younger brothers and earning his own tuition. He went on to earn an M.S.from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in organic geochemistry at the University of Minnesota, becoming the first person in the history of his family to graduate from college and to earn a doctorate degree. In 1963 Jim joined the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver and served for over forty years as a leader in many of the Survey’s global geochemical research and petroleum exploration projects. Among the many highlights of his long career was an invitation by the government of Greece to present his research and share his professional expertise with fellow geologists in Athens (later welcoming many of them to the Palacas home in Denver!).
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Roger L. Born, B.S. 1956, d. 12/13/2020. Roger had a B.S. in Geology with minors in Math & Physics from University of Minnesota, 1956. He earned an Electrical Engineering Certification at UofM, 1963. He worked on a Master’s in Business Administration at Southern Methodist University 1968-1970. Roger continued his education at Columbia University; obtained certifications in Business Planning and Finance. He joined MENSA in 1980.
As a seismologist, Roger worked for the Continental Geophysical Co. and Sinclair Research Inc. He joined the Sperry Rand Corp, UNIVAC Division as an Associate Programmer and advanced to System Development Engineer supporting geophysical and oceanographic operations. Roger was a multi-talented man filled with smiles and laughter. He enjoyed life to the fullest and was happy in the life he led.
John D. Vogel, M.S.1951, d. 03/24/2021. John David Vogel, age 92, U.S. Army Veteran. Beloved husband of Arline (nee Anderson), married 62 years. Dear father of Dianne and John, Jr. Grandfather of Ryan and Matthew. Brother of James. 49 year resident of Bay Village. He was a member of the Bay Village Kiwanis Club. Dave obtained his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, his Masters from the University of Minnesota, and his doctorate from Stanford University in Geology. He was employed by the U. S. Geological Survey, Valley Camp Coal Co., IBM, Work Wear Corp. and the Institute of Management Resources. Forrest W. Bovee, B.S. 1952, d. 12/29/2004. Edward S. Hughes, M.S.1952, d. 12/11/2020. Otto P. Majewske, M.S.1953, d. 09/22/2020. James A. Fraser, Ph.D. 1955, d. 07/06/2020. Robert G. Knoll, B.S. 1955, d. 12/05/2020. Robert George Knoll died on Saturday, Dec. 5th at the age of 87 years after a lingering illness. Robert was the youngest of three children of Milton L. Knoll Sr. and Gladys Peel Knoll. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree in geology in 1955. He worked as an exploration geophysicist for Texaco for more than 37 years. He lived in various parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and California. In later years he did extensive work in Europe and North Africa. He retired from Texaco in 1994 and moved to New Braunfels in 1998. He is survived by nine grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews. He has visited all 50 states, more than 50 countries and all seven continents (even Antarctica) He enjoyed bowling and golfing. He especially loved gardening and maintaining his yard.
Allan V. Martini, B.S. 1951, d. 2021. (in memoriam on page 25)
Alumni listed in order of year degree received Stuart1950’sE. Jenness, M.S.1950, d. 10/01/2021. Stuart was born and raised in Ottawa, the second son of the late Dr. Diamond Jenness (noted Canadian Anthropologist), and Eileen Jenness. Stuart received his B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario (1948), his M.Sc. from the University of Minnesota, (1950), and his Ph.D. from Yale (1954). After receiving his Ph.D., Stuart worked for the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in Ottawa, first as a field geologist and subsequently as editor of scientific journals and field reports. In 1968, he joined the National Research Council of Canada (NRC, Ottawa), as a managing editor of the Canadian Scientific Journals of Research.
In Memoriam
Alvin D. Cronberg, B.S. 1961, d. 03/10/2021. Alvin Dale Cronberg was born on February 21, 1937, on a farm outside of Luverne, MN to Fredrick and Lucile (Stroh) Cronberg. Alvin earned the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota. On November 14, 1959, he married Ruth Alice Floto. After college Alvin worked at Ashland Chemical as a chemist until 1982 when the family moved to Watertown, SD, to be closer to extended family and to focus on his woodworking hobby. In 1988 Alvin and Ruth moved to Broomfield, CO. In 1989 Alvin was employed at Boulder Scientific as a chemist, where he remained until retirement.
John1960’sN.Freeburg Jr., B.S. 1960, d. 11/08/2021. John N. Freeburg Jr. age 88, passed away November 8th, 2021 at his home in Robbinsdale with his beloved wife at his side. Born in Mpls., he grew up in Anoka, graduating from Anoka High School, class of ‘51. Enlisting in the Air Force, he served four years to include overseas duty and upon Honorable discharge, enrolled at the University of Minnesota, graduating with a B.S. degree in ‘60. After graduation, he went to work in sales for Goodin Company, a plumbing and heating wholesaler in downtown Mpls. The company grew and expanded and he retired as Sales Manager after 32 yrs. He loved traveling and he and Carol traveled to China, through-out Europe, and around South America. They also travelled to Sweden several times to visit relatives. He loved spending time with the family at his cabin on Big Eagle Lake, where he could enjoy nature and work on his projects.
Rodney L. Bleifuss, Ph.D. 1966, d. 01/31/2021. Rodney L. Bleifuss, died of natural causes at age 92 on Sunday, January 31, 2021 in Grand Rapids, MN. His career as a geological engineer centered on the taconite industry in Minnesota. He was a professor at the University of Minnesota and assistant director of the Mineral Resources Research Institute in Minneapolis. He later became the division chief of the Minerals Beneficiation Laboratory of U.S. Steel in Coleraine. He consulted abroad in Canada, Venezuela, Tunisia, Japan, and China. In 1989 Rod returned to the University of Minnesota as director of the Coleraine Minerals Research Lab when the site was transferred to the university. He held the University’s
Robert E. Pendergast, B.A. CLA 1963, d. 02/16/2021. Robert E. “Butch” Pendergast, Age 84 of Mahtomedi and Hutchinson MN, Culebra Island PR, and Peoria AZ passed away on February 16, 2021. He was born August 20, 1936, to Robert E. & Lenore Pendergast. Raised on White Bear Lake in Mahtomedi, Butch was a graduate of Breck Military High School and after earning a B.A. in Geology from Dartmouth College, went on to the University of MN Geology and Civil Engineering graduate school. A career geologist, he was the founder and president of Geotechnical Engineering Corporation (forerunner of American Engineering Testing), and founder and president of Pendergast Geoengineering, Inc. Always active in professional engineering organizations, Butch was also involved in civic and community groups including Rotary clubs, the St. Paul Club, and the 49ers Business Development Club as well as founding the Trilogy at Vistancia STEM club in Peoria AZ.
John J. Anderson, M.S. 1962, d. 10/30/2017. Gerald W. Paulsen, M.S. 1962, d. 11/12/2020. Gerald W. Paulsen, Age 87 of Chanhassen, was called home by our Lord and Savior Nov. 12, 2020 after a long battle with Parkinson’s. Jerry was born in Milwaukee, grew up on a farm in Huxley, Iowa, and served his country as a F-102 pilot, Captain, in the Air Force. He received his B.S. in Geology at Iowa State, and a Masters of Geology from the University of Minnesota. While his career started in geology, he went on to be a systems analyst for Lockheed Martin. Jerry enjoyed spending time in the outdoors on family camping and fishing trips. He coached all his children’s athletic teams. Most of all he loved spending time with family. His family will dearly miss his wry wit and gentle kindness.
2022 Annual Report 23 served as a Corporal in the United States Army during the Korean War, after which he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He then embarked on a career with Texaco that spanned over 30 years and took him and his family around the globe to Libya, Indonesia, Canada, and to various states in the United States, finally settling in the Denver area where he spent the remainder of his life. Willis H. Thompson Jr., M.S. 1959, d. 06/26/2021. Willis H. Thompson was born April 19, 1934, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Willis Herbert and Barbara (Mitchell) Thompson. He attended the University of Minnesota on the GI Bill, earning a B.A. in Geology in 1956. After service in the Army, he earned his Master’s in Geophysics at the University of Minnesota before beginning distinguished careers in the energy and banking industries. He launched his career in Midland, Texas, where he met and married his wife of 53 years, Byrdie Ann (Herring) Thompson. Bill’s spent the majority of his career working as an executive in the Oil and Gas industry, later becoming President of First National Bank of Tulsa, guiding and growing it as it eventually became part of Liberty Bank, then Bank One, and ultimately Chase Bank. He “retired” in 1999, but remained active in oil and gas ventures around the globe through his company A&T Resources LLC, based in Tulsa.
Roger LeB Hooke
Todd W. Norton, B.S. 1982, d. 11/20/2021. Karl1990’sN. Zenk, B.S. 1991, d. 06/09/2021. Karl N. Zenk, 60, of La Crosse, passed away unexpectedly in his home on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 from a cardiac event. He was born on March 21, 1961 in Minneapolis, MN to Russell and Barbara (Bevan) Zenk. Karl attended Central High School in Minneapolis, MN and graduated from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology. After college, he moved to La Crosse for work and fell in love with the city. Karl always loved the outdoors and spent much of his free time hunting, camping, boating and fishing. He enjoyed playing with his kids when they were young, and as they got older, he spent hundreds of hours each summer on the river with them. Karl had an over 20-year professional career in the environmental services industry. Incidentally, he had an impressive collection of various rocks that dwindled in size every time he moved. For the last 10 years Karl has owned and operated a business he created renovating historic homes around the La Crosse area. He was fascinated by the local La Crosse architecture, and found his niche in restoring the beauty and functionality of these homes.
Roger’s scientific contributions covered a wide range of topics, but those who took his courses recognized that his main motivation was to get at physical processes that make the landscape. Teaching geomorphology using the Socratic
Endowed Taconite Chair from 1997-2000. After retiring, he continued to consult and offer advice until finally clearing out his office at the age of 90. Richard J. Otis, B.S. 1968, d. 02/28/2021. Dick earned his B.S. in geophysics from the University of Minnesota in 1966.
In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus
Hemingway, Ph.D. 1971, d. 03/22/2021. Richard V. Smith, B.A. 1977, d. 03/26/2019. Ronald A. Franke, B.S. 1979, d. 07/30/2021.
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Donald1980’s C. Johnston, B.A. 1980, d. 05/26/2016. Robert E. Yost Jr., M.S.1981, d. 07/27/2020. On July 27, 2020, Bob Yost passed on. Bob attended Catholic elementary school, C-K High School (he has enduring friendships with his classmates), Mashall Univeristy and The university of Minnesota. He worked for 39 years for the U.S. Army Coprs of Engineers as an Engineering Geologist, where he worked on manay important and sometimes challenging projects. More importantly, he had years of opportunities to be a trainer, mentor, and facilitator which he hoped had positively influences talented young professionals. Bob tought Geology as a part-time professsor at Marshall University and Ohio University.
Jodi A. Milske, M.S. 1982, d. 04/15/2022. Jodi graduated from Kimberly High School in 1971 and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology in 1976 and a Master’s degree in Geology in 1982. Jodi spent most of her professional career working in groundwater geology and land conservation, helping to preserve thousands of acres of Door County’s most important natural areas.
Roger LeBaron Hooke passed away on 10 March 2021, a few days after sustaining severe head injuries in an ice-skating fall. He was 82 years old. As his widow put it, the ice finally got him.
In 1967, Dick joined the Peace Corps. He served two years in the arid Turkana region of Kenya. His task was to organize and supervise a team which installed freshwater wells and pipelines throughout the district. He valued his experience in Kenya and credited it for shaping his character and determining his future career path. Following the Peace Corps, Dick earned an M.S. in sanitary engineering and a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from UW-Madison. During his time at UW, he met lifelong friends, future business partners, and future wife, Barbara Lee, who he married in 1981. Dick traveled constantly as a consulting engineer. Dick devoted his time to mentoring others within his industry and encouraging everyone to be stewards of the environment. He wrote policies and standards for the EPA, worked with the World Health Organization in Brazil, often testified as an expert witness, and was involved in multiple research studies. In 2006, Dick became involved with UW-Madison’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB). He traveled with students once to El Salvador and four times to Kenya. His fluency in Swahili from his Peace Corps days was a useful asset. Dick loved his time spent with EWB and was very proud of the students’ work. Bruce1970’sS.
2022 Annual Report 25 method, which could be terrifying to new graduate students, a favorite question was “where’s the physics?” Very few things generate a force to move sediment and water and ice and soil, and how do you make the connection from these few things to what you see in the landscape?Roger’sscientific career is most simply described as broad, encompassing several areas of geomorphology, several areas of glaciology, and glacial geology. His techniques included field work, laboratory experiments, instrument design, and quantitative analysis that included mathematical theory, empirical studies, and numerical modeling. After receiving his PhD in 1965, Roger took a professorship at the University of Minnesota, which he would hold for 35 years.
just meant that he stopped taking a salary or a teaching obligation. Well before retirement, Roger developed an informal Adjunct Professor position at the University of Maine, and on retirement this turned into a Research Professor position. For the rest of his career he used the Maine byline. Roger leaves behind a legacy that includes a wide-ranging set of published results that have improved fundamental understanding across several fields. He also leaves behind a host of collaborators, students, and friends, who will cherish the memory of his impact on our lives and careers. This “In Memoriam is an abridged version of a more susbstantial piece prepared by Brian Hanson with contributions from former students Bob Baker, Jim Pizzuto, Neal Iverson, and Peter Jansson; from his Minnesota collaborator Peter Hudleston; from his colleagues in Maine Alice Kelley, Sean Smith, and Scott Johnson; and most importantly his widow Ann.
Roger did pioneering work on alluvial fans in Death Valley, made significant contributions to glaciology, and was believed to be the first to make the case that humans act as geomorphic agents on a scale equivalent to that of any natural process. He recently completed the third edition of his textbook on Inglaciology.the1980s, Roger and Ann had acquired land on the shore of Deer Isle, Maine. He built a small house over a garage there while developing a plan for a permanent retirement house. The small house became his guest house when by 1992, the “big house” was built. He spent nearly every August there after his field seasons were over, but in 2000 he retired from the University of Minnesota and moved to Deer Isle “Retirement”permanently.inthiscase
In Memoriam: Allan V. Martini
Written by Professor Emeritus Peter Hudleston Distinguished alumnus Allan V. Martini died in 2021 at the age of 93. A native of Minneapolis, he graduated with an Engineer of Mines in Geology degree (equivalent to a B.S. degree) in 1951. His whole professional career was effectively spent with just one company, Chevron (formerly, Calco, the California Company). Allan started out as an exploration geologist working for Calco in 1951 and he rose through the ranks to become President of Chevron Overseas Petroleum, Inc. in 1980 and, in 1986, Chevron’s Director and Worldwide Vice President of Exploration and Production. He retired in 1988. Early in his career, Allan’s insight led to the discovery of significant offshore oil and gas deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in Chevron becoming the largest offshore energy holder in the industry. His expertise led to petroleum production in California’s continental shelf and Alaska’s North Slope. He made major discoveries of petroleum in northeast Africa. His role in the industry meant that he bacame a significant influence on US energy production and policy in the 20 th century.
In 2007 Allan was inducted into the Offshore Pioneers Hall of Fame in Galveston, TX, which recognizes individual achievements in the offshore energy industry. He was awarded the University of Minnesota’s 2022.EleanorinsuchthegraduategaveEleanor2011.AchievementOutstandingAwardinHeandhiswifegenerouslyfundstoendowafellowshipindepartment,thefirstawardbeingmade2012-13.Allan’swifepassedawayin
Olaf felt strongly that academic research that advances theory should also be used to solve real-world problems. He incorporated this philosophy in both his teaching and research. In 1965, Olaf accepted his first academic position in the Department of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. A downturn in the petroleum industry forced him to transfer to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale to the new School of Technology where he taught fluid mechanics, water supply, and sewage treatment. In 1968, Olaf accepted a position at the University of Minnesota where he turned his attention to the study of groundwater flow with emphasis on surface water/groundwater interaction. He became a pioneer in the use of electric analog models to study groundwater seepage to lakes.
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Olaf’s undergraduate work began at the School of Mines in Morgantown, West Virginia studying mining engineering on a U.S. State Department Scholarship (September 1952 to June 1953) He finished his undergraduate degree and completed a Master’s Degree in July 1959 from the School of Mines at the Technical University of Aachen, Germany. He found fluid mechanics and petroleum engineering more interesting than mining and, fluent in French in addition to his Norwegian and German, continued to earn his doctorate at Sorbonne University in Paris where he focused on the displacement of miscible fluids in porous media (in 1962). In Paris, Olaf met Georgette Lobbé. They were married there in February 1961. On 24 August 1965, the family boarded the SS Maasdam bound for NYC with two young children and a third on the way.
Memoriam:
In 1979, a crude oil pipeline rupture near Bemidji, Minnesota,
Contributed by friends and family of Olaf Pfannkuch
Herr Dr. Professor Hans-Olaf Pfannkuch (Nov. 24, 1932 – Nov. 19, 2020) Hydrogeology and academia lost a scholar and a gentleman on November 19, 2020, with the passing of Professor Hans-Olaf Pfannkuch. Born to a Norwegian mother and German father in Berlin on Nov. 24, 1932, Olaf grew up in a home that valued languages, the arts and divergent and analytical Olaf’sthinking.early life was shaped by the war years; on a November evening in 1938, his mother walked him to the market over broken glass from Krystallnacht. His academic life began a bit short-changed due to the invasion of Poland, and his first day of kindergarten was canceled. Olaf attended grade school in Berlin and Flekkefjord, Norway from April 1939 to July 1942. He attended secondary school in Berlin and Bad Hersfeld from August 1942 to March 1954, holding fast against the fascist influenced requirements on education during the war years and graduating top in his class.
Olaf and his students established the modern framework for surface water/groundwater interactions, particularly seepage in and out of lakes and wetlands. Starting with his electric analog modeling to visualize groundwater flow, Olaf became a master in presenting complex concepts and ideas with simple diagrams. Olaf felt that in teaching and practice, solving problems visually, if possible, facilitates the development of an intuitive feel for fluid mechanics relationships, a critical skill for hydrogeologists and engineers. Olaf’s simplification of complex concepts culminated with his posthumous publication of “Jacob’s Zoo” (Pfannkuch et al., 2021), a graphical review of aquifer responses to pumping that allows students and practitioners to develop an intuitive feel for groundwater systems and aquifer properties.
Required at age 10 to join the Hitler Youth Group, Olaf later told stories about how many of the boys and girls pretended to go along with the indoctrination but laughed in private about it. Punished for showing up to a meet with the badges on his uniform sewn upside down, he was made to run the perimeter till exhaustion, establishing his life-long dislike for all things Hisphys-ed.family was staunchly antiNazi. The family helped and protected Jews that lived in their building and sheltering Jewish families in their attic as they tried to escape. One night a Nazi soldier knocked on the door of his home and his mother fainted when she opened it. Olaf’s father fabricated the lie she fell because of a heart condition. The soldier only wanted to let them know of a citywide blackout. The WWII experiences clearly shaped his philosophies and tendencies. He was fair, kind, and possessed a sharp wit and keen sense of humor. When asked if he would ever have wanted to have a different life growing up, he answered no.
Herr Dr. Professor Emeritus Hans Olaf Pfannkuch
2022 Annual Report 27 turned into a long-term research project for Olaf and a host of his and others’ students. Olaf, in collaboration with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and other academic institutions, researched the spill to understand the fate and transport of the oil through soil and groundwater. Olaf and his students contributed at least 14 research papers dealing with contaminant-source strength and mass-exchange processes at the petroleum-water interface. In his initial report on the spill in December 1979, Olaf suggested that, “No extensive propagation of the dissolved oil components beyond the confines of the present site will take place.”
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Subsequent research at the site over the past 40+ years confirmed his initial assessment. Since 1983, an inter-agency and interdisciplinary research team has continued to assess the physical, chemical, and biological processes controlling the transport and fate of hydrocarbon contaminants at the Bemidji spill, a multidecadal effort begun by Olaf. Over the years, Olaf also studied aquifer thermal energy storage and the hydrogeology of glacial-drift-filled bedrock valleys. He was instrumental in the development of a Minnesota county-based priority assessment for phasing of wellhead protection, and he published on the role of Geophysics/Geology in environmental discourse. An astute student of history, Olaf had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of science. He was well known for his lectures on the foundations of the study of hydrology beginning in the 16th century, and on the history of mining fraud, including the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872. Olaf was possibly best known for his humorous public lectures on St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners, engineers, and mathematicians. Olaf’s multilingual abilities resulted in a unique contribution to the literature, Elsevier’s Dictionary of Hydrogeology, published in 1969 and 1990. That volume has served as a translator of technical terms in English, German, and French.
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In 2000, the Groundwater Foundation established the William A. McEllhiney Distinguished Lecture Series in Water Well Technology to foster professional excellence in water well technology. Olaf Pfannkuch was chosen by a panel of groundwater experts to be the first W.A. McEllhiney National OlafLecturer.loved his family, students and friends, life, the arts (including the culinary), cognac, humor, science, deep and creative thinking, and travel, but above all, connecting with people. Olaf was respected worldwide as an expert in his field of hydrogeology. He also was one of those rare mentors who taught, by example, that kindness and generosity should be an integral part of intellectual pursuits. His legacy continues forward as his students, in turn, teach and lead others by
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As an educator, Olaf mentored 51 graduate students, many of whom worked for Minnesota state agencies (MPCA, DNR, MDH) to help manage the State’s water resources. Those that have gone on to academic positions and government research positions have continued his legacy on how to do rigorous research while also being patient with students or subordinates at the same time. Olaf always found a way to utilize his graduate students’ natural intellectual strengths, curiosity, and interests. He didn’t pigeon hole the students into what he may have wanted them to do to advance his research goals. Allowing his students such freedom led to three of his graduate students (Tom Winter, Don Siegel, and Don Rosenberry) being awarded the O.E. Meinzer Award for research excellence from the Geological Society of America’s hydrogeology division. The Meinzer Award is considered the highest award for basic research in hydrogeology among the professional societies.
This Annual Report is available in alternative formats upon request. For additional information contact: Department of Earth & Environmental UniversitySciences of Minnesota John T.Tate Hall Room 150 116 Church St SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 phone: 612/624-1333 fax: www.cse.umn.edu/escie-mail:612/625-3918esci@umn.edu Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences John T. Tate Hall Suite 150 University of Minnesota 116 Church St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Follow us on Social Media for Department News,Seminar Annoucements, and www.linkedin.com/@UMNESCI@UMNEarthScienceMoregroups/12247958/@umnearthscience
