Month: October 2014

Community Lecture/Discussion: What’s Up with Lake Superior?

345On Tuesday, November 18, Professor Sarah Green, expert on Lake Superior, will lead a discussion titled Lake Superior’s history and future. The event is part of a monthly series of sessions on the Geoheritage and Natural History of the Keweenaw, at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. The discussions are aimed at the general public, but discuss current research and science.

Professor Green explains her discussion: “Lake Superior defines our region. It’s a powerful force that is both constant and changing. I will show how we can see day-to-day conditions on Lake Superior from buoys. I will also talk about how the lake has changed over the past hundred years and what we predict for its future. Bring your questions! What makes the beaches change from one day to the next? Why does the water level change from one year to the next? How does water move around the lake? What changes have you seen during the time you have lived here?”

The Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, located at Huron & Montezuma in downtown Houghton. Seminars are held in the recently restored Community Room on the ground level of this historic building. Lectures are free, open to the public, and barrier free (wheelchair accessible). For each monthly lecture, the museum will open at 6:30 pm for refreshments; lectures and discussion occur from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Please contact the Museum for further information, 906-482-7140.

Stabilizing Geotechnical Assets: New Research Aims to Identify Potential Highway, Railroad Problems

image57399-persWhile we’re able to enjoy timeless scenery as we travel in the United States, it’s important to realize that the soils and rocks forming the base of these transportation systems may not forever be stable.

In a new project led by Michigan Technological University, Thomas Oommen, assistant professor of geological and mining engineering and sciences, heads a team that is using advanced technology to develop a comprehensive management system to monitor our nation’s geotechnical assets—the ground that forms the base for the concrete, asphalt or steel that makes up our transportation system.
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Gari Mayberry Featured in Washington Post

image86273-lthumbMichigan Tech 1999 MS Geology Alum Gari Mayberry was featured in the Washington Post article “Gari Mayberry: Lessening the impact of natural disasters worldwide” She is employed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) while working at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). wHer work involves the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) where she is leading and coordinating the U.S. government’s response to disasters overseas and mitigation of geological hazards.

Read her Alumni Profile: Gari Mayberry

GMES Representation at IAVCEI Conference

The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Cities on Volcanoes 8 Conference was held September 9-13, 2014 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Nine students, alumni, and faculty/staff presented at the conference.

Those in attendance are pictured (left – right) below:  Jennifer Telling, post-doc; Verity Flower, PhD candidate; Christine Sealing, MS graduate – INVOGE program; Kathleen McKee, MS graduate; Lauren Schaefer, PhD candidate; Anieri Morales Rivera, MS graduate; John “Jay” Wellik, MS graduate – PCMI program; Simon Carn, Associate Professor; and Lizzette Rodriguez, PhD graduateIAVCEI-Conference-914

Fifth Annual Marvin Party at Continental Fire Company

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The Marvin Party Reached Its Goal

by Jennifer Donovan, director of news and media relations

Marvin Rene Huezo Mendoza will be able to pay for his final year of university in San Salvador and graduate in 2015.

Hans Lechner and Emily Gochis, graduate students who organized the annual Marvin Party to raise money to put Marvin through university, have announced that the Marvin Party this year met and exceeded its goal. Anything that remains after Mendoza’s bills are paid will go to help other students sponsored by Project Salvador.