Geology Department News

It is with a heavy heart that we convey the news of Zach Mitchell’s passing.

Zach was majoring in Geology with an interest in Archaeology. Zach was also active with many groups on campus including CANOE, Farm House, and Rugby. He had a love for the outdoors and spent a great deal of time in the arboretum as a Cole Student Naturalist. Zach had numerous passions and academic pursuits.

We will remember him for the impact that he had on us all.

There will be a remembrance service held soon at St. Dominic’s- details will be updated shortly. There will also be a memorial service at Carleton Chapel on Saturday, April 2nd at 2pm.

Carleton Geology would like to celebrate and acknowledge the following alums who were recently recognized at the annual GSA meeting in Denver. Philip E. Brown ’74 and Kurtis C. Burmeister…

Jonathon Cooper, Technical Director In Geology, happened an intact ceramic pot and an accompaniment of pot shards in a small cave while exploring the Mecca Hills area along the San Andreas Fault. He reported the find to the folks at the Salton Sea Recreation Area who, in turn, relayed the information to the Anza Borrego State Park archaeologists and many others.

In February 2012, Assistant Professor of Geology Sarah Titus received a prestigious CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a five-year research project on oceanic fault lines. The $418,891 grant will enable Titus to undertake field work at three unique locations where oceanic “transform faults” are exposed above sea level: New Caledonia (in the south Pacific), Cyprus, and Iceland. This field work will feed into an elaborate and groundbreaking effort to quantitatively model the faults.

As I approach retirement – my successor Jonathon Cooper starts as our new Technical Director in a couple of days – I search for some profound and meaningful comment to make about my experience at Carleton over the past 36 school years.  But if I were a profound person I would have been a philosopher or a theorist rather than a technical director, so maybe I should just keep it simple.  I have enjoyed my work at Carleton immensely.  The place, the people, and the subject of geology have all been interesting and rewarding. 

I am leaving the Carleton Geology Department in good hands, and I know that the faculty, Jon Cooper as the new Technical Director, Ellen Haberoth, and current and future students all will take good care of the Geology Department and help it thrive into the future.

There is absolutely no question that the very best part of my experience in all these years has been getting to meet and work with well over a thousand wonderful people at Carleton. 

We are excited that our new x-ray diffractometer, funded by a National Science Foundation grant of $305,000, has been delivered and is now being readied for use.  In the picture,…

In November 2010, Cameron Davidson, Associate Professor of Geology, received a $20,000 grant from the Keck Geology Consortium to undertake field research in Alaska. Working with a collaborator at Union College (Schenectady, NY) and six undergraduate researchers, Davidson will seek to understand the tectonic evolution of unusual geological features on Kodiak Island and western Prince William Sound. The fieldwork will take place in summer 2011.

Update on Thurs., Nov. 18, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. CST

Carleton’s administrative leadership team has issued an update to the flood recovery process. Allen and Prentice Houses are now available and will be occupied by students during winter term. West Gym is also now available, with the basketball and swimming teams resuming practices in those spaces. College officials have met with federal officials as well in regards to possible governmental funds for flood recovery, and bids are out for restorative work to Laird Stadium.

The Northfield News Cannon River gauge at Northfield (near the Carleton stadium) Cannon River gauge at Welch, about 20 miles downstream from… Straight River gauge at Faribault. The Straight River…

Tim has decided to retire in March 2011.  Let’s face it, the Carleton Geology Department will never be the same.

To celebrate ‘All Things Tim’, and to show our collective appreciation for his amazing career and service to the College and the Department, we are already planning events: a reception in Mudd during the 2010-11 Academic Year, an event of some sort during Reunion Weekend 2011, and hopefully a big bash here on campus timed to coincide with the October 2011 GSA National Meeting in Minneapolis.  So, keep these dates in mind, and start showering Tim with your emails, cards, phone calls, hugs and casseroles!

Expect more announcements, dates, and requests (for reminiscences) in the fall.