Fall 2021 Edition
In this Q&A, Byrne describes exploring alien worlds, Earth’s surprisingly cool next-door neighbor (no, not Mars), and how Twitter can be a productive platform for science.
In this Q&A, Jill Pasteris, now professor emerita, revisits some of her favorite memories and milestones from her impressive 41-year career.
Views from the Past Year
Senior research scientist Elaine Flynn samples soil at Peace Park on the north side of St. Louis.
Graduate student Jed Dale (left) and Olivia Shaw, BA 2021, install a pressure transducer in an urban stream in Centreville, IL, to monitor urban flooding.
Phil Skemer (left) and research engineer Hélène Couvy Craigg working on a new large volume torsion apparatus (LVT) in the Rock Deformation Lab.
Phil Skemer (foreground) with collaborator Heather Savage from UC Santa Cruz scouting field locations in the eastern Sierra Nevada for a new REU program.
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor Arvidson and his team were chosen by NASA to continue to archive and distribute digital data related to the study of the surfaces and interiors of terrestrial planetary bodies through the Geosciences Node of NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS). The five-year renewal agreement has a value to the university projected at $11.8 million.
Read the StoryProfessor Catalano won a three-year, $2.25 million award from the Office of Basic Energy Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy. The award supports geochemistry research on elements and minerals essential for the production of electric vehicles, cell phones, computers, and a range of other items important to the U.S. economy. Catalano was also elected a fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), and he received a grant from the National Science Foundation for the acquisition of a laboratory-based X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy instrument.
Read the StoryAssistant Professor Konecky won two grants from the National Science Foundation for collaborative research projects titled "Investigating Inter-Hemispheric Phasing of Tropical Andean Hydroclimate in Response to Holocene Orbital Forcing" and "Quantitative Reconstructions of Last Millennium Hydroclimate and Temperature from the Tropical High Andes." Konecky also received a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Pilot Fund for a new DEI initiative titled "URG2: Undergraduate Research in the Geosciences for UnderRepresented Groups."
Read the StoryAssistant Professor Krawczynski won a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation for research on the evolution of super-hydrous magmas in the Earth’s crust. In the project, Krawczynski will apply experimental petrology, thermodynamics, and volcanology to explore how volcanoes work, especially how water affects the evolution of volcanoes and their behavior. He also received an NSF grant for a collaborative research project titled "Redox Ratios in Amphiboles as Proxies for Volatile Budgets in Igneous Systems."
Read the StoryProfessor McKinnon was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The honor highlights McKinnon’s exceptional contributions in Earth and planetary sciences and recognizes him as a global leader and expert committed to the advancement of the geosciences.
Read the StoryProfessor Skemer won a grant from the National Science Foundation to establish Research Opportunities in Rock Deformation (RORD), an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) internship program that provides laboratory and field-based research experience in rock mechanics and structural geology. RORD is designed to introduce undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and experience levels in Earth science, geoscience, and engineering to the field of rock deformation.
Read the StoryResearch Professor Wang and her team were selected to develop lunar resource utilization technology under NASA’s first-ever Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) solicitation. The team is tasked with building a rover-mounted drill sensor to quantify the 3D distribution of water at the Moon’s south pole. A laser probe located at the bottom of the drill, capable of analyzing regolith, will quantify the amount of water and other chemicals present beneath the surface.
Read the StoryAssistant Professor Wang and co-investigator Katharina Lodders, research professor, received a grant from the NASA Emerging Worlds Program for their project "Experimental Studies of Volatile Fractionation in the Early Solar System."
Read the StoryProfessor Wysession won the 2021 Geosciences in the Media Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the world’s largest society of professional geologists. This honor recognizes Wysession’s many achievements in promoting geoscience literacy and education, as well as his notable journalistic contributions to the public understanding of geology and energy resources.
Read the Story2020-2021
