Tag: Geology

Alumna named American Geosciences Institute/Schlumberger Geoscience Communication Fellow

Stephanie Tubman, an alumna of the Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program, has been named American Geosciences Institute/Schlumberger Geoscience Communication Fellow. Tubman will be working with AGI’s Critical Issues Program to disseminate geoscience information to help support decision-making at the federal, state and municipal levels.

Following her undergraduate degree at Colgate University, she completed an internship at the US Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory and enrolled in the PCMI program in geohazards mitigation.

During her two-year tour in Guatemala with the Peace Corps, she was assigned to a municipal environmental office, collaborating with local officials on water management, environmental science education and ecotourism projects.

Published in Tech Today.

New theses available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Applied Ecology
  • Applied Natural Resource Economics
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Forest Ecology and Management
  • Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Forestry
  • Geology
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program

NASA announces a call for graduate fellowship proposals to the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) program for the 2014-2015 academic year.  This call for fellowship proposals solicits applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines.

The deadline for NEW applications is February 3, 2014, and the deadline for RENEWAL applications is March 17, 2014.

WWF funding and fellowship opportunities

The Luc Hoffmann Institute pursues synthesis ideas that will deliver cutting edge results with a clear pathway to application for decision makers and civil society practitioners in WWF’s key focus areas.  WWF focus areas can be broken into goals focused onpriority places and priority species, and goals focused on reducing human impact, or the human footprint.  Many of these goals receive additional focus through WWF’s Global Initiatives.

Our next call for full proposals is JANUARY 5th, 2014.  For this call, we are accepting proposal ideas across the full suite of WWF focus areas, with a particular focus on synthesis proposals relevant to the goals of WWF Global Initiatives, as well as proposals that explore trade-offs and consequences of alternative social, economic, and ecological futures in the greater Yangtze River area.

To allow enough time to make the next proposal deadline, we recommend that you send us your proposal ideas no later than December 1st, 2013.

If you have any questions related to our process, or in submitting your idea, please contact Emilie Cavallo at ecavallo@wwfint.org.

Proposal submission is a two-step process.

A Night at the Museum Features Geology PhD Student

The Carnegie Museum, in downtown Houghton, will host its third annual “Night at the Museum” fundraiser this Saturday, Sept. 21, from 4 to 8 p.m.  Tickets are $25 each and include a guided Red Jacket Trolley Tour, gourmet refreshments, music performed by local Suzuki students, and a silent auction.

This year’s guided Red Jacket Trolley tour will be of the ruins of Houghton’s Isle Royale Mine. Led by Erika Vye, geology PhD student and Wil Shapton of the Red Jacket Trolley company, the tour reflects our current exhibit theme “Gone But Not Forgotten: Preserving Memories of the Copper Country.”  The tour will illuminate how mining influenced our city’s landscape and how the remnants of the mining days live on amongst us.

Tickets are available at the museum (open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday noon to 4 p.m.) Trolley seating is limited so be sure to choose your tour time, (4, 5, or 6 p.m.) when purchasing your ticket. Tickets sold at the door are not guaranteed a trolley tour.  All proceeds from the event will support building restoration and improvements, website development, exhibits and programs.

For more information, email history@cityofhoughton.com or call 482-7140.

Published in Tech Today

Geoscientists Without Borders accepting applications

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) announces grant application for the Geoscientists Without Borders (GWB) (www.seg.org/gwb) humanitarian program.

Apply online before the grant application deadline of Sep 30, 2013 .

Funding: up to $50,000/year, two years max.

Criteria:  applied geosciences technology, student involvement, humanitarian benefit.

For more information and an overview of the application , click here.

Bernadette Ward
bward@seg.org
SEG Foundation

Peace Corps MS Student Tackles Water, Waste, Volcanoes, Earthquakes in Panama

To the people of Peña Blanca, Panama, Chet Hopp must seem like a godsend. He’s helping them get cleaner water, improve sanitation and understand their local volcanic hazards.

“I’m an environmental health extensionist, which means that my main responsibilities to my community of Peña Blanca deal with sanitation,” says Hopp, a Peace Corps Master’s International student in geology at Michigan Tech. “Specifically, we work to improve access to potable water through development and construction of gravity-fed aqueducts, as well as improving sanitation practices through education and access to various types of latrines.”

From the beginning, Hopp says, the priority has been latrines, although the water system does concern many in the community. He gives talks on sanitation practices, as well as how to properly construct and maintain the latrines they are building.

And, there’s buy-in, literally, from the locals.

“Each participating family is required to make a $5 deposit, to be returned upon successful completion, and they must pay for half the cost of corrugated metal roofing,” Hopp says. “There are other roofing options, though, so they can opt out of this.”

Read the full story.

Published in Tech Today by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor

Geology Grad Student Helps Indonesians Understand Their Volcanoes

Jay Wellik, left, installs a new seismometer near Raung volcano.
Jay Wellik, left, installs a new seismometer near Raung volcano.
Nine thousand miles is a long way to go for research. But, if you are studying volcanoes, Indonesia is the place to be.

For Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) student Jay Wellik, it became even more than a place to study volcanoes. It became home, as he worked in Java, mostly near the Raung volcano.

As the first Michigan Tech student to work in Indonesia, Wellik endeared himself to the local governments and people, for his risk perception and mitigation, as well as for his willingness to jump into community life.

He researched two relatively active volcanoes, Raung and Ijen, working from observatory posts there, while also teaching English and coaching basketball in a “madrasah,” a state Islamic school. Wellik says he appreciates the different perspective he gained from the classroom and basketball courts. More.

by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
Published in Tech Today

New Theses and Dissertations Available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Forest Ecology and Management
  • Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Geology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Physics