Lauren RubensteinNovember 11, 20152min
Suzanne O'Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, received the Exchange Award from the Association for Women Geoscientists at its annual awards breakfast on Nov. 2. The Exchange Award recognizes the contribution of those who exchange technical, education, and professional information in the field. The award ceremony took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland in conjunction with the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. O'Connell is also faculty director of the McNair Program. According to Blair Schneider, president of the Association for Women Geoscientists, O'Connell won the organization's Outstanding Educator Award in 2000. Since then, she has been an active…

Olivia DrakeOctober 26, 20152min
Joop Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and Marty Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor and chair of professor of earth and environmental sciences, are the co-authors of two book chapters published in Copahue Volcano (Springer Publishers, September 2015) Copahue Volcano is part of Springer Publishers' "Active Volcanos of the World" series. Varekamp is the lead author on a chapter with Jim Zareski MA‘14 and Lauren Camfield MA’15. Gilmore and Tristan Kading MA’11 are co-authors with Varekamp on another chapter dealing with terrestrial environments as analogs for Mars. A third chapter,…

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Olivia DrakeOctober 19, 20152min
Marine scientist and author Ellen Prager '84 came to the Exley Science Center on Oct. 8 to talk about her recent research and writing. Discussing her book Sex Drugs and Sea Slime: The Ocean's Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter, she entertained a crowd of Wesleyan students and faculty with stories from her work in the Galapagos and as researcher at the Aquarius undersea laboratory off Key Largo, Fla. Lately, Prager has ventured into the realm of children's fiction in order to spread awareness about the ocean's most pressing issues. Her most recent children's book, The Shark Whisperer, was published in May…

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Olivia DrakeOctober 4, 20153min
On Sept. 30, NASA’s Discovery Program selected five planetary mission investigations for study during the next year as a first step in choosing one or two missions for launch as early as 2020. Wesleyan’s Martha Gilmore is on two of the investigation teams. Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is an expert on terrestrial planets. She studies the morphology and mineralogy of the surfaces of Venus and Mars using data from orbiting and landed spacecraft. She also is on the Executive Committee of NASA’s Venus Exploration Analysis Group…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20153min
Ellen Thomas, the University Professor in the College of Integrative Sciences, research professor of earth and environmental science, is the co-author of two recently published papers. They include: "Microfossil evidence for trophic changes during the Eocene–Oligocene transition in the South Atlantic (ODP Site 1263, Walvis Ridge)," published in Climate of the Past, Volume 11, pages 1249–1270 in September 2015 and "Changes in benthic ecosystems and ocean circulation in the Southeast Atlantic across Eocene Thermal Maximum 2," published in the journal Paleoceanography, Volume 30, pages 1059-1077 in August 2015. "Microfossil evidence" describes changes in organisms living in the oceans during a major change in the…

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Lauren RubensteinAugust 27, 20154min
In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Robert Ramos from the Class of 2016. Q: Robert, where are you from and what is your major? A: I’m from Philadelphia, and I’m a biology and earth and environmental sciences double major. Q: This summer you did a SEA Semester program, “Aloha ‘Aina: People & Nature in the Hawaiian Islands.” How did you become involved in the program? A: I learned about the program from another Wesleyan student who had done it a few years ago. As a biology and E&ES double major, it sounded like it was right up…

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Olivia DrakeAugust 26, 20152min
Wesleyan’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is hosting the 107th New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Oct. 9-11 on campus and in the field. Several Wesleyan faculty, students and alumni are participating in the conference, which includes trips to local sites of ancient and modern geological interest. Participants will have the opportunity to examine tectonic slivers of oceanic terrain near New Haven; explore groundwater flow patterns and geologic deposits in Bloomfield; observe a gravel bed channel affected by a dam removal on the Naugatuck River in Waterbury and more.

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Laurie KenneyAugust 3, 20152min
On July 30, Wesleyan's Summer Research Poster Session took place at Exley Science Center. More than 110 undergraduate research fellows from Math and Computer Sciences, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Quantitative Analysis Center, and Psychology presented research at the event. (Photos by Laurie Kenney) (more…)

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Olivia DrakeJuly 21, 20152min
For her distinguished contributions to the geosciences, Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, recently became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. Society Fellowship is an honor bestowed on leading professional geoscientists. New fellows are nominated by existing GSA fellows in recognition of their contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic and library responsibilities. “Suzanne O’Connell is an accomplished geoscientist who highly honors the traditions of research and scholarship in the geosciences,…

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Olivia DrakeJuly 1, 20152min
Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the co-editor and co-author of the book, Women in the Geosciences: Practical, Positive Practices Toward Parity, published in May 2015 by Wiley and the American Geophysical Union. The geoscience workforce has a lower proportion of women compared to the general population of the United States and compared to many other STEM fields. This volume explores issues pertaining to gender parity in the geosciences, and sheds light on some of the best practices that increase participation by women and promote parity. Highlights include lessons from the National Science Foundation-ADVANCE; data on gender composition of…