NAME: J. J. Delfino CURRENT TITLE: Professor Emeritus, Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida. AREA OF EXPERTISE: Field of specialization is water resources, with aquatic chemistry as the key specialty. Broader interest involves industrial ecology which, according to some writers, is the science of sustainability. This work is somewhat off point compared with the majority of fields dealing with geology. However, geology does influence the chemistry of natural waters and the ocean quite a bit, so in that regard, aquatic chemistry is tied in closely with geology. In fact, it’s quite close as a “wet” version of geochemistry. YEARS EXPERIENCE: Total academic career at two universities has been 45+ years. What’s your job like? An academic job is one of the best that a scholarly oriented professional scientist and engineer can expect. A faculty member generally can choose the courses one wants to teach and can conduct research in areas of
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Professor Emeritus, Environmental Engineering & Sustainability, Dr. J. J. Delfino: A Day in the Life Series
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Assistant Dean/Professor, Paleontology, Dr. Peter Harries: A Day in the Life series
NAME: Peter Harries CURRENT TITLE: Professor and Assistant Dean, Office of Graduate Studies, University of South Florida, United States AREA OF EXPERTISE: Invertebrate Paleontology, Stratigraphy, Field Studies YEARS EXPERIENCE: 21 EDUCATION: BS in Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 1984; PhD in Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1993 WEBSITE: http://www.grad.usf.edu/staff_harries.php What’s your job like? My job consists of two components: being a professor and serving in the administration. The big difference between the two is their scope. The first is focused pretty immediately on my academic area of expertise: paleontology. Within that scope, I teach paleontology classes and also advise a number of research projects with both undergraduates and graduates. My administrative job involves a much broader perspective on graduate education at the University of South Florida. What’s a typical day like? I don’t think I have a typical day, as I’m constantly migrating between the demands of the two pieces of my job. What’s
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Rock-Paper-Fossils? An informative interview with a Professional Hydrogeologist! By Kostas Mandilaris
Hi everyone! Just a short post to let you know that about a week ago, hydrogeology student, Kostas Mandilaris, asked if he could interview me on my career in hydrogeology, since he will soon be starting an MSc program in hydrogeology this fall in Uppsala, Sweden. Not only did he want to learn more about my career, but he also wanted to add the interview to his blog, “The Pursuit of Happiness – Preparing for Life in Uppsala,” to share the information with other students. He has several interesting posts on his blog about his life since deciding to move from Greece to Sweden, so this interview fits right in. His questions were well prepared, and he asked several that build on the “A Day in the Life” series. Stop by and see! Here’s the link to the interview: Rock-Paper-Fossils? An informational interview with a professional hydrogeologist! Kostas is also looking for
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Manager, Emergency Mgmt, Richard Woods @RichardWoodsNZ: A Day in the Life series
NAME: Richard Woods CURRENT TITLE: Manager Planning and Intelligence, Civil Defence & Emergency Management, Auckland Council, New Zealand AREA OF EXPERTISE: Physical geography specialising in geomorphology, emergency management and risk assessment. YEARS EXPERIENCE: 7 years university and 7 years hazards and emergency management. EDUCATION: Physical Geography undergrad with a number of geology papers. Post Graduate Diploma in Physical Geography with an emphasis on paraglacial geomorphology evolution in New Zealand’s Fox Glacier basin. The term “paraglacial” is contentious, but science should always be challenged WEBSITE: http://www.aucklandcivildefence.org.nz VIDEO: www.youtube.com/aucklandcivildefence What’s your job like? Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management co-ordinates emergencies and crisis management for approximately 1.5 million people comprising one-third of New Zealand’s population. My role has responsibility for two portfolios: Hazards 1. Work with leading New Zealand scientific organisations to undertake hazards research to reduce risk in Auckland. 2. Manage regional investigations – examples include coastal inundation, tsunami and earthquake
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Research Assistant, Volcanic Hazards, Elaine Smid @lavabombs: A Day in the Life Series
NAME: Elaine Smid CURRENT TITLE: Research Scientist AREA OF EXPERTISE: Volcanic Hazards YEARS EXPERIENCE: 6 EDUCATION: B.A. Environmental Science, University of Virginia (2000); M.S. Geology & Geophysics, University of Hawai’i at Manoa (2004); PhD in progress, University of Auckland WEBSITE: https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/profile/e-smid What’s your job like? I would describe my job as challenging, but always fun and very rewarding. I am a research and project management assistant for a long-term, multi-disciplinary international research project aiming to quantify the volcanic risk to people and the services they rely on to live in Auckland, New Zealand. The project is called DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland (or ‘DEVORA’ for short) (see: http://devora.org.nz). The problem is that Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and lies directly atop a dormant volcanic field that could produce an eruption at any time, threatening the lives and livelihoods of 1.5 million people. The DEVORA project is all about understanding
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Intern, Structural Geologist, Timothy Sherry @tsherryUSA: A Day in the Life Series
NAME: Timothy J Sherry CURRENT TITLE: Earth Science Intern, Geology & Geophysical Operations, Chevron AREA OF EXPERTISE: Structural and Earthquake Geology YEARS EXPERIENCE: 2 EDUCATION: Wrapping up MSc at McGill University WEBSITE: http://upsection.blogspot.com What’s your job like? When most people hear the word “internship” they think of a college kid running around fetching cups of coffee for meetings, making photocopies, and organizing files. This is not the case. As an intern (this is true both for last summer and this summer), I was given a project that contributed to my teams. In other words, the projects matter, and the results are used by the team. I’ve now worked two internships for two different sides of the company as a structural geologist. Last year I was on an exploration team, and my project had a large research component digging into the previous literature. On top of that I learned and gained experience interpreting
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New Update 8/14/14! Geology in Peru with Anna Bidgood @akbidgood Summer 2014
ROCK-HEAD SCIENCES is pleased to announce our first ongoing guest blog by a student who will share her field experiences in Peru throughout the Summer of 2014. Anna Bidgood is currently an undergraduate student who is studying Earth Science at Oxford University. She is working for a mining company this summer in the remote Peruvian Andes as an exploration geologist. Follow this guest blog for updates from Anna as she searches for copper porphyry deposits and experiences the local communities. Anna will be updating this blog on an ongoing basis, so stay tuned for more updates! ANNA’S BLOG (UPDATED AUGUST 14, 2014 – see “Animals and Vegetation” and “Moving to a New Project” below): Background As a fourth-year undergraduate geologist at Oxford University, I really relish the opportunity to work abroad and gain the experience of working as an exploration geologist. It’s fantastic that there are opportunities for me and my
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Undergraduate and Exploration Geologist, Anna Bidgood, @akbidgood: A Day in the Life Series
NAME: Anna Bidgood CURRENT TITLE: Undergraduate and exploration geologist YEARS EXPERIENCE: 1 EDUCATION: I am currently an undergraduate studying Earth Science at Oxford University. This summer, I am working for a mining company in exploration geology in Peru, looking for copper porphyry deposits. I am about to start my 4th year MEarthSci, where I will be studying metamorphic rocks from Massachusetts. I will be trying to uncover the story recorded in the garnets in these rocks to figure out what pressure and temperature they reached in the Earth, when the mountains were being built. I studied geology at Sedbergh School which then led me on to study Earth Sciences at Oxford. My love of fieldwork led me to undertake my mapping project in South Greenland, and this year, I am spending the summer in the remote Andes. WEBSITE: http://annabidgood.wordpress.com/ What’s your job like? My job is extremely varied; you never know
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Lecturer, Glacial/Quaternary Geomorphology, Dr. Lynda Yorke @DrLyndaYorke: A Day in the Life Series
NAME: Lynda Yorke CURRENT TITLE: Lecturer in Physical Geography AREA OF EXPERTISE: My background is in fluvial geomorphology and reconstructing river response to change, but during my doctorate, I became much more interested in glacial histories, sedimentology and Quaternary landforms, so my research tends to straddle the interface between deglacial and postglacial environments. YEARS EXPERIENCE: I’ve had quite a potted history, working before my undergrad and after my masters, but I’ve spent the last 15 years in/around academia. EDUCATION: I have a BSc. (hons) in Geography (Northumbria), a Masters in Geomorphology and Environmental Change (Durham), and my PhD is in Quaternary Geology (Hull). I did a post doc at Liverpool uni, returning to my fluvial background, before taking up a lectureship. WEBSITE: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/senrgy/staff/yorke.php.en What’s your job like? I’m a lecturer so that entails teaching of course, but my job also requires me to be an active researcher and to play
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Assistant Professor, Vertebrate Paleontology, Dr. Benjamin Burger @benjamin_burger: A Day in the Life Series
NAME: Benjamin Burger CURRENT TITLE: Assistant Professor AREA OF EXPERTISE: Vertebrate Paleontology (fossil mammals) YEARS EXPERIENCE: 20 EDUCATION: PhD in Geology, University of Colorado; MS in Anatomy, Stony Brook University in New York; BS in Geology, University of Colorado WEBSITE: http://www.benjamin-burger.org What’s your job like? I’ve worked numerous jobs as a paleontologist, from organizing fossils in museum collections, to salvaging fossils from industrial building projects (roads, pipelines, but mostly oil and gas development on public lands in the Western United States), as well as teaching full time to hundreds of college students. What’s a typical day like? Typical days depend on the season and current job. Right now, I’m lucky to be teaching full time, but a typical paleontologist in the United States is working on fossil salvage and mitigation projects. This requires an early start as the sun rises (6am), a safety meeting before heading to the project area, then
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