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A Fresh Perspective: GMES Freshman Shines in Hydrological Research

Published April 12, 2023

News

Meet Natalie Sorensen, the exceptional first-year student at the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) who has defied the odds and conducted scientific research during her freshman year. Natalie’s project focused on helping farmers adjust their farming practices based on water availability, which is dictated naturally by climate and enhanced anthropogenically. She worked closely with Dr. John Gierke to test the Mark 2 soil moisture sensor against independent measurements of meteorological parameters and soil moisture in a local agricultural setting.

Student standing in the field with two apparatuses. — The HOBO station is on the left, and Arable Mark 2 is on the right.

Natalie’s project was a rare feat for a freshman, as most students don’t join research until their junior or senior years. However, Natalie’s passion and dedication to the field drove her to take on this challenge early in her college career. Natalie compared data from an Arable Mark 2 weather station to data from a HOBO RX3000 weather station, which is commonly used in climate-monitoring research. To independently test the soil moisture sensors on both weather stations, she also took soil core samples to measure soil moisture using gravimetric analysis. While the results of Natalie’ study are still being analyzed, the preliminary data seem promising and compatible with the natural variability of soil properties in glacial settings.

Student in the field taking core samples near an instrument. — Natalie takes core samples for gravimetric analyses.

Natalie’s work was supported by the URIP program and Dr. Gierke’s Institutional Research and Development (IRAD) for matching funds. In addition, in-kind support for the fieldwork was provided by the Gierke Blueberry Farm. Natalie presented a poster of her work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 24, 2023, where she impressed her peers and professors with her research.

Natalie’s story is a testament to the power of hard work, passion, and dedication. She is a shining example of how early exposure to research opportunities can help students achieve their academic and professional goals. We look forward to hearing more about Natalie’s future research endeavors and wish her continued success in her studies within GMES.

Natalie Sorensen standing near her poster on the floor of the symposium. — Natalie at her poster at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Poster Extract

Field Testing of Climate and Soil Moisture Monitoring in an Agricultural Setting

Student Presenter: Natalie Sorensen, Geological Engineering
Faculty Advisor: John Gierke, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Farmers need to adjust their farming practices based on water availability, which is dictated naturally by climate and enhanced anthropogenically.

Data from a Mark 2 was compared to data from a HOBO RX3000 weather station (Onset, Bourne, MA), which is commonly used in climate-monitoring research, on the Gierke Blueberry Farm for the past decade.

I am still processing data to compare the Arable Mark 2 and HOBO measurements of air and soil temperatures and precipitation (along with solar intensity, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity–the Mark 2 is not equipped to measure wind).

Thomas Oommen on the Slow-moving Portuguese Bend Landslide

Published March 14, 2023

By College of Engineering

News

Land near the shore showing cracks and buckling. — By Pricetveyron – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47502552

Thomas Oommen (GMES) was quoted by SFGATE and the Seattle Times. Both outlets picked up a March 6, 2023, Los Angeles Times story about the slow-moving Portuguese Bend landslide affecting the city of Rancho Palos Verde in southern California.

Palos Verdes Peninsula has long been prone to landslides, and the most dramatic one is affecting Portuguese Bend, an area named after a Portuguese whaling operation. The geological phenomenon has hit a 240-acre area hard over the last seven decades, causing fissures to open in the earth and homes to strain, buckle and drift, sometimes outright wandering onto adjacent properties.

The land moves sometimes horizontally, sometimes vertically. Sometimes inches, sometimes feet.

Thomas Oommen, professor of geological sciences at Michigan Technological University, said it’s an interesting case study because there are only a few landslides with such significant movement every year. What distinguishes Portuguese Bend is that the slope has not failed catastrophically — yet — and the humans atop are largely staying put, riding the slow-moving land for as long as they can.

Oommen’s research efforts focus on developing improved susceptibility characterization and documentation of geo-hazards, such as earthquakes and landslides.

International Team Analyzes Ice Cores to Calculate Levels of Sulfate Aerosols

Published February 7, 2023

By College of Engineering

Faculty
News

An international team which includes Simon Carn analyzed layers of an ice core from central Greenland to calculate levels of sulfate aerosols between the years 1200 and 1850. They discovered that non-erupting volcanoes leak sulfur at up to three times the rate previously believed.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL102061

The discovery impacts efforts to model past, present, and future climate.

“We found that on longer timescales the amount of sulfate aerosols released during passive degassing is much higher than during eruptions,” said first author Ursula Jongebloed, a UW doctoral student in atmospheric sciences. “Passive degassing releases at least 10 times more sulfur into the atmosphere, on decadal timescales, than eruptions, and it could be as much as 30 times more.”

Chad Deering Nominated for Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award

Published February 2, 2023

By College of Engineering

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is seeking input for its annual Distinguished Teaching Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to Michigan Tech’s instructional mission. Based on more than 40,000 student ratings of instruction responses, 10 finalists have been identified for the 2023 awards. The selection committee is soliciting comments from students, staff, faculty and alumni to be referenced during their deliberations.

Among the Associate Professor/Professor finalists is Chad Deering, who is an associate professor in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

Comments for the finalists are due by March 31 and can be submitted online.

The process for determining the Distinguished Teaching Award recipients from this list of finalists also involves the additional surveying of their spring 2023 classes. The selection committee makes the final determination of the award recipients. The 2023 Distinguished Teaching Awards will be formally announced in May.

For more information, contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu or 906-487-3000.

Bay College and Michigan Tech Offer Mine Safety Annual Training

Published January 31, 2023

By College of Engineering

News

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) refresher training is offered by Bay College and Michigan Technological University.

This 8-hour program covers the annual training requirements under 30 CFR parts 46 & 48.

Attendees must be “experienced miners” and have completed their 24-hour New Miner training.

Location: Escanaba at Bay College, Joseph Heirman University Center, room 908J.

Dates: Choose one of Wednesday, February 15, Thursday, February 16, or Friday, February 17.

Time: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. ET

Cost: $70 includes lunch

To register or view all offerings, visit mytraining.baycollege.edu.

For questions, workforcetraining@baycollege.edu.

Brittany Buschell Receives the Above and Beyond Making a Difference Award

Published January 10, 2023

By College of Engineering

Awards
News

Our heartfelt congratulations to Brittany Buschell, the GMES department coordinator, on receiving the 2022 Above and Beyond Making a Difference Award!

Brittany, who joined GMES in 2014, goes above and beyond her duties as coordinator. She is incredibly creative and very skilled in artistic endeavors. She quietly applies these skills to her work in GMES as the unofficial department photographer and as a media creator. Any time that a picture of someone is needed, Brittany is there with her camera and the perfect flash for the event time and place. The pictures that are presented always look great—many of the faculty photos on our faculty webpage were taken by her!

With her love of rocks, Brittany fits right in at the geological and mining department. Several times each year she organizes Yooperlite hunting trips with our students. She grabs a bucket, her UV flashlight, and groups of brave students to walk the shores of Lake Superior at night collecting the Yooperlites. She even puts together gift bags to give out to donors, visitors, or prospective students. Each bag contains a Yooperlite and a card (that she designed of course) explaining Yooperlites. It can take a few hours to collect just a couple of Yooperlites, so you can imagine the time Brittany spends looking for these during the months without snow!

Brittany constantly goes above and beyond to create a comfortable, safe, enriching environment for our faculty, staff, and most importantly, our students. The GMES community is thankful for the positive difference she makes, and we congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition!

Simon Carn on the Tonga Eruption

Published January 9, 2023

By College of Engineering

BBC Science in Action Tonga eruption podcast interface.

Simon Carn (GMES) was a guest on a BBC Science In Action podcast episode on January 5, 2023, titled “One year on from the Tonga eruption.”

The episode discussed what made the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano so powerful and unpacked its long-lasting impacts.

“Amongst all the material ejected by Hunga Tonga was a huge amount of water. The massive water vapour cloud is still present in our atmosphere, as Professor Simon Carn from the Michigan Technological University tells us.”
BBC Science in Action

Addison Goecker Wins Poster Award at AIPG Meeting

Published December 14, 2022

By Brittany Buschell

Awards
News

Addison Goecker, an applied geophysics senior at GMES, presented her research at the AIPG Michigan Section end-of-year meeting in Ann Arbor on December 8, 2022. Addison’s poster “Tectonically Versus Magmatically Accommodated Extension at Different Mid-Ocean Ridges and Ridge Segment Offsets” won her $500.00 in the student poster contest. Addison worked on this research during her summer internship at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (Honolulu) with Prof. Garrett Apuzen-Ito and Dr. Jana Schierjott. Congratulations, Addison!

Addison Goecker at her award-winning poster.

Addison Goecker discusses her poster with Chuck Graff (MS Geology ‘91), a Senior Geologist with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Addison Goecker (right) with David Adler (Geology ‘82), the industry sponsor of the GMES AIPG Student Chapter, and Sienna Meekhof (Mining Engineering ‘21).

A Note from the Chair

Published December 11, 2022

By Kim Geiger

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Alumni,

Greetings from the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences at Michigan Tech! I hope that this newsletter finds you well and in good spirits.

The second half of the year 2022 has brought our Department new challenges, but also achievements and successes.

Professor Aleksey Smirnov, Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

First and foremost, I am proud to report that, after some hiatus, we inducted eight (!) new members to our Academy of Geological and Mining Engineers and Scientists. I hope you will join me in congratulating David Adler ‘82, Daniel Farrell ’60, Mary Herrmann-Foley ’83, Terre Lane ’82, Julie (Varichak) Marinucci ’02, Richard Saccany ’71, Brian Schwanitz ’77, and Todd Stone ’85! The Induction Ceremony, held on October 14, was a success and well-attended. In particular, we were happy to see the current academy members Catherine Aimone-Martin, Suzanne Beske-Diehl and Jimmy Diehl, William Brice, Karl Burgher, Gerald Carlson, Richard Gray, Catherine Dummer McRae, and Bill Rose. The festivities continued the next day with a Director’s Tour of the Mineral Museum and apple pressing at Professor John Gierke’s farm. Everyone had a good time. I would like to praise Brittany Buschell, our Department Coordinator, whose diligent work was instrumental in the success of this event. I intend to preserve the biennial cycle of the Academy from now on.

The success of our department is ultimately measured by the success of our students, and it is no secret that we’ve been blessed with more than our fair share of capable, dedicated, enthusiastic individuals who’ve been very successful in their classes and professional development. Just to give you a small sampling of these successes—our student chapter of the American Institute of Professional Geologists won the nationwide Student Chapter of the Year Award, not just one time, but three times in a row! Our mining engineering senior, Jake Maxon won the highly prestigious national Lord Bagri Scholarship Award from the Copper Club. It’s the second time in a row the award goes to our students.

In addition, our geology majors, Elliz McClelland and Samuel Johnson received the DeCleene Memorial Scholarship awarded by the Copper Country Rock and Mineral Club (CCRMC). Our graduate students get awards, too. For example, Beth Bartel was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and the prestigious Smithsonian Institute Fellowship. Beth was also featured in the book, Quake Chasers: 15 Women Rocking Earthquake Science—check it out!

Increasing undergraduate and graduate enrollment to full capacity is one challenge that remains. We have been active in our recruitment efforts. We recently developed an articulation agreement with the Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) for our Geology and Applied Geophysics programs. We plan to complete similar agreements for our Geological Engineering and Mining Engineering degree programs soon. I am especially grateful to Luke Bowman, research professor and recruitment director, for his meticulous and efficient work in developing these initiatives. So far we have been able to withstand national enrollment trends, even slightly increasing our numbers this year. But much more remains to be done.

We are dedicated to providing students with the greatest possible opportunity to succeed—something we can only do with the best faculty, staff, equipment, facilities, and scholarship opportunities. Your generosity makes our goal of providing truly excellent undergraduate and graduate experiences a reality, as we educate the scientists and engineers of the future, while still meeting the needs of today’s employers.

We especially need your help to support incoming and current students. This can be done in a variety of ways: funding undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships; helping us to incorporate modern instrumentation and software in the classroom and field; developing new opportunities for the professional development of our students; and extending our efforts to offer a cutting-edge, quantitative, digital-age curriculum. You can find more information here, or contact me via email, at asmirnov@mtu.edu.

On behalf of all of our students, faculty, and staff, I want to express our deepest gratitude to those of you who have provided support to our department, by sharing your experience and expertise, providing professional opportunities to our students, or offering monetary and logistical support. As always, we welcome all new ideas and inquiries, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Alumni and friends are always welcome in person, too! Feel free to stop by the department office (room 630) on the 6th floor of the Dow Building whenever you are in Houghton. We would be very pleased to meet with you and arrange a tour of the teaching and research laboratories during your visit. Meanwhile, I invite you to stay connected to the department via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and our website.

Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Aleksey Smirnov
Professor and Chair
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences