Fall 2020 Texas Geosciences
Increasing Diversity in Geosciences
There’s a good chance you would recognize Jackson School of Geosciences alumnus Tim Shin even if you’ve never met him. That’s because Shin’s face is on the cover of an undergraduate brochure that the school used for years to recruit students.
On the brochure, Shin is smiling as he looks up from a stack of papers. His undergraduate adviser, Department of Geological Sciences Associate Professor Elizabeth Catlos, is pictured beside him, leaning over his shoulder. With his face front and center on that brochure, Shin represents the school.
But the truth is that he is far from representative of the school. That’s because Shin is Black, and, put simply, most people in the Jackson School — and in the geosciences as a whole — are white.
New Certificate Program Brings Machine Learning to Geosciences
A new certificate program at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences...
GEO 660: Staying Safe in the Field
Last summer, the GEO 660 field camp started with a nasal swab. Three days before...
Vibroseis Experiment at the Texas Observatory
In February 2020, the Texas Geophysical Society, The University of Texas at Austin’s student chapter...
Researcher News
Ronald Steel: Professor Emeritus
A former chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, Ronald Steel has built a career studying sedimentology and stratigraphy at field sites around the world. Now retired and with professor emeritus status, he has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
Ken Wisian: Associate Director, Environmental Division
Ken Wisian is a retired general, a geophysics expert and — most recently — the associate director of the Environmental Division at the Bureau of Economic Geology. From natural disaster preparedness to geothermal energy, he sees big opportunities for applying bureau expertise to some of the world’s most pressing issues.
Research Highlights
Triassic Core
A quarter-mile rock core is shedding light — and raising questions — on the turbulent events of the Late Triassic.
No Frills for ‘Jurassic Park’ Dino
From movies to museum exhibits, the dinosaur Dilophosaurus is no stranger to pop culture. Many probably remember it best from the movie “Jurassic Park,” where...
Coastal Permafrost More Susceptible to Climate Change Than Previously Thought
If you flew from the sea towards the land in the north slope of Alaska, you would cross from the water, over a narrow beach,...
Dean's Welcome
Welcome to Texas Geosciences, from Dean Claudia Mora
Dear friends and colleagues,
The COVID-19 pandemic brings very real constraints, costs, and physical and emotional challenges to everyone in our departments and universities. For nine months, the pandemic has impacted all of the usual touchpoints of academic life: classes, field and lab research, mentoring, conferences, and graduation. As we reach the end of another pandemic-dominated academic semester, I wanted to share some news about the educational and research programs at the Jackson School of Geosciences. Above all, I am struck by the remarkable resilience and resourcefulness of faculty, staff, researchers and students. Despite so many challenges and disruptions, our work continues, and it is hard not to be proud of our efforts and accomplishments!
After abruptly moving class online in mid-March, The University of Texas at Austin made significant effort to develop strict, but sensible, protocols that allowed us to return to our research labs, in a phased- and cohort-based approach, starting late April. By mid-summer, research labs in all three Jackson School units – the Bureau of Economic Geology, the Department of Geological Sciences and the University of Teas Institute for Geophysics – were running full time, supporting the meaningful, cutting-edge research that the Jackson School is known for. We include a collection of recent research highlights in this edition of Texas Geosciences.
The newsletter also highlights our continued commitment to providing a top geoscience education. A major challenge posed by the pandemic was how to safely provide the foundational experience of field camp, and, across the country, the solutions were many and creative! We report here on our own successful undertaking, which required careful planning and coordination by faculty, students and the university.
One issue that the entire geoscience community is grappling with is how to improve and promote greater justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in our schools and in our science. This longstanding challenge defies simple solution and requires our concerted attention and investment. We share here some of our efforts and struggles in this area, we and hope that it stimulates conversations on how we can more successfully address this stubborn suite of issues.
I hope you enjoy these stories and share them with others at your institution who you think may benefit from them. Leading a department or college in a pandemic is a special challenge, and there is no how-to manual. I hope all of you are doing well and taking the time to celebrate your successes, large and small. I look forward to speaking with you again, soon and in person, but welcome your thoughts anytime.
Enjoy Texas Geosciences,
Claudia