The 2020-21 Academic Year brought the following student achievements to GMES:
Grace Ojala receives American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) National Scholarship – Congratulations to Grace Ojala (Applied Geophysics), who was awarded a prestigious American Institute of Professional Geologists National Scholarship! Grace pursues a double major in Applied Geophysics and Anthropology, working towards a career that utilizes geophysics to advance archaeology. In addition to her excellent academic standing, Grace is actively involved in several research projects, including a satellite data processing project (supervised by AssociateProfessor Dr. Snehamoy Chatterjee) supported by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium. The award was presented in person by Bill Mitchell, the president of the Michigan Section of AIPG.
Grace Ojala also received a prestigious scholarship from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). The competitive SEG scholarships are based on merit and have been awarded to students all over the world to encourage the study of geophysics and related geosciences.
Emilie Pray – 2021 Department Scholar Award – Congratulations to Emilie Pray (BS Geology), who received a 2021 GMES Department Scholar Award to recognize her scholarly achievements! This award, presented to a student entering their senior year, recognizes one who best represents student scholarship in the department by participating in research or scholarly activities, demonstrating a high level of intellectual curiosity and creativity, and showing excellent communication skills. Emilie participates in research led by Associate Professor Dr. Chad Deering on deciphering a complex geological history of the central-eastern UP using petrological and geochemical data.
Congratulations to the recipients of Michigan Space Grant Consortium grants:
Diana Bullen (MS), Using a Biologically Enhanced Silica Recovery System to Retrieve Valuable Non-Renewable Resources from Waste Material (advisor: Dr. Nathan Manser)
Ian Gannon (MS), Critical Mineral Potential in the Vulcan Quadrangle and Adjoining Areas, Dickinson County, Upper Peninsula of Michigan (advisor: Dr. James DeGraff)
Brock Howell (MS), Effective Optimization of Groundwater Extraction Through the Development of Computational Tools (advisor: Dr. John Gierke)
Ryan Klida (MS), Satellite Based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Techniques for Earth Dam Monitoring and Failure Prediction (advisor: Dr. Thomas Oommen)
Katie Nelson (Ph.D.), Measuring CO2 fertilization of tropical forests from volcanic soil gas emissions using remote sensing: Volcán Rincón de la Vieja, Costa Rica (advisor: Dr. Chad Deering)
Kassidy O’Connor (MS), Using Satellite Aperture Radar to Improve Wildfire-Causing Debris Flow Mapping on the West Coast (advisor: Dr. Thomas Oommen)
Congratulations to the recipients of these additional awards and recognitions:
Beth Bartel (Ph.D.) – Smithsonian Institution Fellowship–Robert D. Hevey, Jr. Ten-Week Graduate Student Fellow in Mineral Sciences at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Project title, “Reconstructing Disaster: An Analysis of Digital Communications During Volcanic Crises.”
Natalea Cohen (MS) – National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Internship with the USGS Volcano Science Center. (Summer 2021)
Cristhian Salas (MS) – Outstanding Graduate Student Scholar (Spring 2021)
Nelmary Rodriguez (MS) – Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award (Spring 2020); Outstanding Graduate Student Scholar (Fall 2020)
Jordan Ewing (Ph.D.) – Won first place at the 2020 3MT Competition with his presentation, “Terrain Traversing: X Marks the Spot,” in addition to winning the People’s Choice Award. (Fall 2020) Jordan also received an outstanding achievement certificate from the U.S. Army DEVCOM Analytics division. (Spring 2021)
Elana Barth (BS Geology) – Ishpeming Rock and Mineral Club Annual Earth Science Award (Spring 2021)
Chandan Kumar (Ph.D.) – Outstanding Scholarship Award (Fall 2020)
Beth Bartel (Ph.D.) – Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award (Fall 2020)
Amol Paithankar (Ph.D.) – Outstanding Scholar Award (Spring 2020)
Katie Nelson (MS) – Outstanding Teaching Award (Spring 2020)
Congratulations from all of the faculty and staff in GMES!