Year: 2017

  • Charlotte Cowdery, Summer Internship Abroad 2017, Santa Susana Project: Portugal

    Archaeology: some people think it’s an exciting glamorous discovering-Pompeii kind of life, while others think all we do is dig around in the dirt. As I learned on my dig this summer, the reality is somewhere in between. All I knew about the site upon arrival was that it was a Roman Villa, first built…

  • Sarah Bruihler: Summer in the Bahamas, like summer in the Precambrian

    Hi there! I’m Sarah Bruihler and I’m a senior in the Geology Department. Last summer I worked with Julie Bartley on stromatolite research; for my senior thesis I will be doing a comparison of modern and ancient stromatolites, identifying similarities and differences between them. In June, Julie and I traveled for a week to the…

  • Kenzie Perry: Studying (and experiencing) the water chemistry in Hot Springs, South Dakota

    Kenzie Perry: Studying (and experiencing) the water chemistry in Hot Springs, South Dakota

    My name is Kenzie Perry, and this summer I traveled to western South Dakota, to Hot Springs in the southern half of the Black Hills, to complete my thesis field work. My thesis hopes to answer the question of the connection of the thermal springs, and the various creeks that run through this area using…

  • Abby Michels: Looking for faults (the geologic kind!) in Santa Rosalia, Mexico

    In January 2017 I began researching near Santa Rosalia, Mexico on the Boleo Mineral Mine through a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) with other geology students and professors from both the U.S. and Mexico. Over the course of three weeks, my partner, mentor and I explored around the mine site and mapped the locations of…

  • Welcome Dr. Rory McFadden

    We welcome Rory McFadden this fall, who joins the Gustavus faculty as a one-year visiting professor to teach the solid earth courses.  Rory has studied structural and tectonic geology all over the world, from Antarctica and Panama to California and New England.  Stop in to say hello, and if you need to identify a mystery…

  • Jim Welsh retires into the geological sunset

    Jim Welsh retired in May 2017, ending a 37-year era at Gustavus.  Here is a small excerpt from the speech Laura Triplett gave at his retirement dinner: “Indeed, the entire Welshian is defined by Jim’s passionate commitment to the student experience and camaraderie, a fierce belief in the value of the earth sciences, and a…