News in the Geology Department
Students on the Dean's List for Winter 2023
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Winter 2023 quarter ...more...
Marcus Ashton Awarded the 2023 Spirit of the Department Award
At the 2023 COTS Celebration of the Sciences, Marcus Ashton was awarded the "Spirit of the Department" award ...more...
Geology Club Wins Banner Competition
The Geology Club tied for first place at the RSO banner competition ...more...
Philip Siguenza on his JOIDES Resolution Experience
Philip has written about his experience on the JOIDES Resolution Academy research cruise ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Fall 2022
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the inter 2022 quarter ...more...
Dedication of the M. Meghan Miller Conference Room
On Friday, December 2, 2022, we formally named room 317 in Discovery Hall the M. Meghan Miller conference room. The name acknowledges Emeritus Professor Miller’s generous donation to the department to establish the M. Meghan Miller endowment, which will help us advance strategic priorities that broaden participation in geology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. ...more...
New Grant Funding Helps CWU Geology Continue Its Legacy of Excellence
Central Washington University’s Department of Geological Sciences has a long-standing reputation of passion for the field and boundless innovation that benefits the global good. Thanks to this record of excellence, the University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO) and National Science Foundation (NSF) have awarded CWU an additional $122,039 to continue our work on the Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE). CWU Associate Professor of Geology and Principal Investigator of the grant Walter Szeliga says this work is made possible through continued research and development ...more...
Great Washington ShakeOut -- Thursday, Oct 20 at 10:20am
The annual International ShakeOut Day fostering awareness of earthquake risk and preparedness will be this Thursday, October 20, with an earthquake drill at 10:20am to practice duck-and-cover and ponder how to get ready for a big quake. ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Spring & Summer 2022
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Spring and Summer 2022 quarter ...more...
Dr Ely Receives Distinguished Faculty for Research Award
Lisa Ely has been recognized by the CWU Board of Trustees with a Distinguished Faculty for Research award. From the citation: Her record is notable for the wide range of research topics to which she has contributed, including investigating the links between climate change and large floods in the western U.S. and investigating how large wood restoration impacts groundwater recharge and storage in the Yakima River Basin. Prof. Ely has helped provide research opportunities to students, taking them on expeditions to Mexico, Chile, India, Hungary, and the western U.S. In addition, she has mentored 31 graduate students and a number of undergraduates, many of whom have been named as co-authors on her 25 peer-reviewed journal articles. ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Winter 2022
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Winter 2022 quarter ...more...
Dr Kaspari Selected as Fulbright U.S. Scholar
Susan Kaspari was selected to be a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2022-2023, during which time she will spend her sabbatical in Tromsø, Norway working on her project Norwegian Arctic Light Absorbing Particles in Snow and Teaching Climate Change and Sustainability. ...more...
Dr Anne Egger Elected Lifetime Fellow of AAAS
Central Washington University Professor Anne E. Egger has been elected as a lifetime fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals ...more...
Geology Club Wins Most Artistic Banner in CWU Club Contest
The Geology Club won the award for "Most Artistic" banner in a contest between clubs and organizations at CWU. Their winning banner will be on in the SURC until Wednesday, January 26th. After that, look for it in the Geology Undergrad Study (Discovery Hall, Rm 216) ...more...
Dr Paul Winberry on the Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 2C Project Team
Dr Paul Winberry is a member of the Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 2C (SWAIS 2C) project, working with an internaltional group of colleagues to examine the ice sheet’s sensitivity to global warming of 2°rees;C (3.6°rees;F) by retrieving sediment cores from the ocean floor to search for geologic evidence of ice sheet retreat during previous eras in the earth’s history. Paul is helping with drill site selection, based on his extensive research experience in the region ...more...
Dr Shamloo awarded NSF grant to investigate Koma Kulshan eruption mechanisms
Newest faculty member, Dr. Hannah Shamloo, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to address the processes and associated timescales that drive volcanic eruptions in our very own state of Washington, at Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker). ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Fall 2021
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Fall 2021 quarter ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Summer 2021
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Summer 2021 quarter ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Spring 2021
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Spring 2021 quarter ...more...
YVC-CWU Undergraduate STEM Research Collaboration
Faculty members from Central Washington University and Yakima Valley College (YVC) came together this spring to publish a Council for Undergraduate Research journal article that examined the insights gleaned from a five-year observation of YVC’s ongoing Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). ...more...
Nick On The Rocks Wins Two Emmy Awards
Central Washington University has won two Emmy awards from the Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences for the popular geological sciences program Nick on the Rocks. The show won for the “Teanaway Tropics” episode in the category Environment/Science, and for the episode “Saddle Mountains Buried in Ash” in the category Informational/Instructional. The awards went to Chris Smart, Producer/Photographer/Editor; Linda Schactler, Executive Producer; and Nick Zentner, Host/Writer. The awards recognize excellence in broadcast for programs that aired in 2020 ...more...
Murdock Research Laboratory Analyzing Ellensburg Blues
Dr. Angela Halfpenny and student researcher Sydney Dale have presented results from lab analyzes of quartz specimans with a portable X-ray spectrometer (pXRF), to measure the chemical makeup of the mineral samples. They found a distinctive chemical fingerprint that can be used to authenticate that a speciman is, in fact, an Ellensburg Blue ...more...
PANGA Providing Geodetic Positioning for Real-Time Earthquake & Tsunami Response
The PANGA research group is providing real-time position solutions for sites around the world with data from the Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS, of which GPS is the American system) and integrating those results into real-time earthquake and tsunami response by the USGS ShakeAlert system, the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers, and other global agencies. Real-time geodetic position solutions are particularly valuable for characterizing the largest earthquakes quickly — a case where seismic analysis requires waiting for data to arrive from more distant stations ...more...
Dr. Angela Halfpenny Elected a Director of Microanalysis Society
Dr. Angela Halfpenny has been elected as a director for the Microanalysis Society (MAS). Two new directors are elected each year and serve for a three year term — Dr. Halfpenny will serve from 2021 to 2023 ...more...
Discovery Hall Rock Garden Now Online
The Discovery Hall Rock Garden now has a web interface to help you identify and learn about these boulders representative of the geology of Washington State and the surrounding region ...more...
Dr. Susan Kaspari Receives Distinguished Faculty Award
Dr. Susan Kaspari has been awarded the Distinguished Professor of Service Award. The award statement hightlighted her notable contributions and exceptional commitment to advancing sustainability at Central Washington University and in the Ellensburg community ...more...
Students on the Dean's List for Winter 2021
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean's List for the Winter 2021 quarter ...more...
Grad Student Alyssa DeMott Awarded 2020 GSA Stanley A. Schumm Research Grant Award
CWU Geology grad student Alyssa DeMott is the 2020 recipient of the Stanley A. Schumm Research Grant Award of the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology (QG&G) Division of the Geological Society of America. ...more...
CWU News: Dr. Egger's Continued Efforts to Improve K-12 STEM Education
CWU has posted a news article about Dr. Anne Egger's efforts to win a $2 million NSF grant to enable future teachers to experience science investigation and engineering design in introductory undergraduate STEM classrooms, and to keep CWU at the forefront of preparing the best STEM classroom teachers ...more...
CWU News: Dr. Kaspari's Research on Regional Pollution from North Cascades Ice Cores
CWU has posted a news article about Dr. Susan Kaspari's study of regional pollution using ice core data from the North Cascades. This research will be published in the June 16 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres ...more...
Congrats and Farewell to Geology's 2020 Graduates!
The graduates put together a memory book slideshow for the June 13th online farewell ...more...
Dr. Susan Kaspari Receives 2020 Sustainability Champion Award
CWU named several Sustainability Champions this month with Dr. Susan Kaspari receiving the Outstanding Faculty Sustainability Champion Award. ...more...
Dr. Angela Halfpenny's Ellensburg Blue Research Featured in The Observer
Kittitas County's unique semi-precious gemstone has been the focus of Dr. Angela Halfpenny's research while at CWU. ...more...
Nick Zentner Featured in the Yakima Herald: Memories and Lessons from Mount St. Helens
The Yakima Herald spoke with CWU's Nick Zentner about the eruption of Mount St. Helens 40-years ago, and the changes in the geologic sciences and hazards communities since the event ...more...
Ellensburg Geology Featured in Seattle Met
Ellensburg's unique geology is highlighted in this month's edition of the Seattle Met and features CWU's own Nick Zentner. ...more...
Research at Mount St. Helens by CWU Geological Sciences alumna featured by CWU
Angie Diefenbach graduated from the CWU Geological Sciences in 2004 and has been involved with the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. ...more...
Dr. Carey Gazis Wins Distinguished Professor of the University for Service Award
Dr. Carey Gazis was selected as the recipient of the CWU Distinguished Professor of the University for Service Award. ...more...
Geology Graduate Student Jana MacInnis Wins CWU Haiku Contest
In honor of National Haiku Poetry Day, the CWU library hosted a haiku contest on individual's feelings on the current Stay Home, Stay Healthy order. ...more...
Nick Zentner's Backyard Geology Lessons Gaining Views
Nick Zentner's backyard lectures being catching traction during the COVID-19 quarantine. ...more...
Nick on the Rocks Nominated for a Northwest Regional Emmy Award
Nick Zentner and his television series have been nominated for a Northwest Regional Emmy Award. ...more...
ANGLE Receives WSSPC National Award in Excellence for Outreach
The Alaska Native Geoscience Learning Experience (ANGLE) program will receive the 2020 Western States Seismic Policy Council's National Award in Excellence in the Outreach category. ...more...
Dr. Paul Winberry, Dr. Audrey Huerta recognized in Nature's Research Highlights
Research on the use of seismic data from "icequakes" has been recognized as a way to calculate melt rates of glaciers in west Antarctica. CWU's Dr. Paul Winberry and Dr. Audrey Huerta's research published in Geophysical Research Letters in January, 2020 has gained attention in Nature's Research Highlights. ...more...
Congratulations to Yakima Rock and Mineral Club Grant Recipients Megan Kjelland, David Bruce, and Elizabeth Curtis!
Several graduate students have been selected by the Yakima Rock and Mineral Club to receive funding towards their master's work. Congradulations to Elizabeth Curtis, Megan Kjelland, and David Bruce! ...more...
Congratulations to Research Grant Recipients Anne Egger, Walter Szeliga, Tim Melbourne, and Paul Winberry!
Several geology faculty members received large grants this last month to extend their local and global research projects. Dr. Anne Egger was awarded a grant from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers for the Executive Director Appointment. Dr. Paul Winberry received additional funding from the University of Tasmania for his Antarctic Seismic Research Services.
Dr. Walter Szeliga and Dr. Tim Melbourne received over 100,000 dollars from the National Science Foundation and UNAVCO for continuing work on Enabling Discoveries in Multiscale Earth System Dynamics: Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE2). ...more...
Paleontological Field Work in the Wildcat Creek Beds
Dr. Meaghan Wetherell and her many assistants have more than doubled the known number of fossils from the 25-million-yr-old Wildcat Creek Beds near Rimrock Lake. The area has only had limited paleontological collected in the past, with the steep topography and vegetation often hindering previous fossil work in the past. ...more...
Washington Geologic Survey Mapping in Kittitas Valley
Geologists Andrew Sadowski and CWU Alumni Bodie McCosby with the Washington Geologic Survey are working on a multi-year project completing detailed 1:24,000 geologic maps of Kittitas Valley and surrounding areas. Andrew and Bodie are based out of CWU's Discovery Hall and are wrapping up the fall field around the Reecer Creek and north Ellensburg areas, with plans to expand across much of the county in the future. ...more...
Trenching the Thousand Springs Fault in Central Oregon
In July 2019, Graduate Student Elizabeth Curtiss trenched the Thousand Springs Fault, a west-dipping normal fault, in Summer Lake, Oregon, located in the northwestern Basin and Range. Other faults in the basin show evidence of large (>M7) earthquakes, but the Thousand Springs fault was only recently mapped and has no documented earthquake history. ...more...
Anne Egger Honored as a GSA Fellow
Dr. Anne Egger has been elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America Fellows are recognized for their distinguished contributions to the geosciences, and election as a Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed by the GSA. ...more...
Dan Mongovin Accepted Into the NAGT-USGS Internship Program
Congratulations to Dan Mongovin, who has been accepted into the NAGT-USGS internship program. This 54-year old program is the longest running internship program in the earth sciences. The top student from our summer field geology course (G489) is eligible to apply for this internship, and Dan was the top student in the 2018 summer field course. ...more...
Tsunami Field Work Along the North Central Chile Coast
Field Work Along the North Central Chile Coast: Professor Lisa Ely, CWU undergraduate student Trent Adams, and former CWU student Dr. Tina Dura (now a professor at Virginia Tech University) were part of research team that visited Chile in July, 2018, to study tsunami and paleotsunami deposits.
Graduate Field Work in the Huntoon Mtns, Nevada
Field Work in the Huntoon Mts, Nevada: Graduate student Bodie McCosby, his field assistant Grant Nussbaum, and Professor Jeff Lee completed geologic mapping in the Huntoon Mountains, Nevada, in June and July, 2018. The Huntoon Mountains are located ~50 km east of Mono Lake, and the region is cut by sinistral and normal faults.
Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigation and Design at the Center
Associate Professor Anne Egger is on the Board on Science Education of The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and this committee has just released a new concensus report that describes evidence-based ways that teaching and learning can shift toward science investigations and engineering design to help realize a new vision in the classroom ...more...
A Decade of CWU Research in Antarctica
10 Years of CWU Research in Antarctica: 2017-18 is the tenth year Dr. Audrey Huerta and Dr. Paul Winberry have been teaching and conducting polar research in the CWU Geological Sciences department.
CWU Helping Lead Outreach and Education Related to Earthquakes, Tsunami and Volcanic Hazards
CWU Geology's Beth Pratt-Sitaula is co-PI on the EarthScope ANGLE project that is helping lead outreach and education related to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic hazards ...more...
Bodie McCosby Awarded GSA and White Mt Research Center Grants
Congratulations to J. Bodie McCosby, who was awarded a Geological Society of America (GSA) Graduate Student Research Grants and a UC White Mountain Research Center (WMRC) Student Minigrant for 2018. ...more...
Moriah Kauer Honored as University Distinguished Employee
Moriah Kauer, our department fiscal specialist, was honored last year as the University Distinguished Employee. Moriah is the glue that keeps the department together. From fixing the xerox machine to managing the complexity of purchasing a mass spectrometer for our beautiful new building, Moriah does her job with efficiency, humor, and patience. ...more...
Premiere Evening for Season 2 of Nick On The Rocks
A new batch of Nick On The Rocks episodes premiered in CWU’s SURC Theater in January. ...more...
Marie Takach Awarded 2018 Yakima Rock Club Scholarship
Marie Takach, a second year students in the Geology Master's program was awarded the Yakima Rock Club Scholarship for 2018. ...more...
Alumni Gathering at GSA 2017
CWU Geology organized a gathering for alumni and current students and faculty during the 2017 GSA meeting in Seattle. More than 50 folks showed up! ...more...
Andrew Hoxey and Melanie Swick awarded GSA Graduate Student Research Grants
GSA will, in part, support of the MS thesis research of Andrew Hoxey and Melanie Swick. ...more...
Rachelle Sanchez accepted into the 2017 GeoTenerife Internship Program
During the month of July, Rae will be working with geoscientists and other geoscience students from both sides of the Atlantic to geochemically monitor the Canary Islands volcanoes. ...more...
Sarah Olden receives 2017 NAGT Scholarship for Field Study
Sarah Olden was awarded a 2017 NAGT Scholarship for Field Study. Sarah was one of 18 students from across the country who received this scholarship for 2017. The scholarship provides $750 towards the cost of a field course and is awarded to those whose field experience is important to their educational and career goals ...more...
Daniel Mongovin awarded 2017 Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Daniel Mongovin has been selected as the 2017 winner of the Robert D. Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Dan! A 2014 graduate of Olympia High School, Dan plans on pursuing a graduate degree in structural and field geology after graduation. ...more...
CEETEP receives educational outreach award from WSSPC
The Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program (CEETEP) was awarded the 2016 National Awards in Excellence for their educational outreach to schools. CEETEP offers four-day workshops to foster community engagement of earthquake science and preparedness, and to encourage collaboration and exchange between formal and informal coastal educators.
Beth Pratt-Sitaula is CWU's collaborator on the CEETEP project (and one of the project PIs). She noted that the success of the project has been due to the full group effort of all the PIs and collaborators. ...more...
Cameron Burns awarded 2016 Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Cameron Burns has been selected as the 2016 winner of the Robert D. Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Cameron! A 2008 graduate of Eisenhower High School, Cameron plans on pursuing a graduate degree in geology after graduation, focusing on his interests in the fields of structural geology and seismology. ...more...
Wendy Bohrson elected MSA Fellow
Wendy Bohrson was elected as a Mineralogical Society of America Fellow in recognition of her significant contribution to geochemistry and petrology. The number of fellows elected each year cannot exceed 0.5% of MSA membership, and Wendy was one of 13 elected this year ...more...
Wendy Bohrson recognized by CWU as a Distinguished Professor
Dr. Wendy Bohrson has been selected as a CWU Distinguished Professor. The designation is the highest award attainable at Central Washington University and represents the highest level of performance ...more...
Lisa Ely a GSA Thompson Distinguished International Lecturer
Dr. Lisa L. Ely of the Central Washington University Department of Geological Sciences has been selected as the 2015 Geological Society of America Thompson Distinguished International Lecturer. Lisa is planning a lecture tour that includes South American universities in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru in November 2015; and a second tour to Mexico, central America and the Caribbean in March, 2016 ...more...
The Great Washington ShakeOut
On October 15, 2015, at 10:15 am, the state of Washington will hold its annual "shakeout" event, a statewide earthquake drill. The primary goal is to raise awareness across the state of the potential risks associated with a large earthquake and to help citizens be more prepared to be safe during an earthquake.
The Cascadia Hazards Institute and the department of Geological Sciences are organizing a set of ShakeOut events ...more...
Nick Zentner To Receive NAGT
James Shea Award at 2015 GSA Meeting
Nick Zentner will be awarded the 2015 James Shea Award this November in Baltimore at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America. ...more...
Outstanding Senior Awards for 2014-2015
The annual CWU Geology Spring Potluck was held at Lind Hall on June 3rd. This year we had nice weather, so it was an indoor/outdoor affair. There was a great turnout of faculty, staff and students. Along with chowing down on good food, they had an opportunity to congratulate this year's Outstanding Senior Award winners ...more...
Spring Break in Hawaii!
Hawaii Spring Break — Geology Style: Wendy and Lisa led a CWU Geology fieldtrip to the Big Island of Hawaii over the 2015 Spring Break. And grad student Kevin DeLano captured the good times in a video, now posted to YouTube.
Chris Mattinson Awarded NSF Grant for Qaidam UHP Terrane Study
Chris Mattinson has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the processes responsible for the deep (>100 km) burial and exhumation of continental crust, as recorded in rocks of the North Qaidam ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane, western China, where UHP rocks and a long-lived (>30 Myr) collisional history are well documented. ...more...
Andy Menking Receives Distinguished Thesis Award
The CWU School of Graduate Studies has announced the Dale and Mary Jo Comstock Distinguished Thesis Award recipient for this year, and the winner is Geological Sciences MS graduate Andy Menking ...more...
Anne Egger elected 2nd Vice President of NAGT
Anne Egger has been elected Second Vice President of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. This is a three-year track that leads to the office of NAGT President in the third year ...more...
Geology Department's Rex Flake in Flow
Rex Flake on Film in Flow: Rex Flake manages a wide variety of tasks for the Geology Department, PANGA and CHI (his web page needs an update) but he's also known for his crazy enthusiasm and skill at biking and snowboarding. Now a bit of that has been captured in Flow, a short film that has won notice and awards at a number of film festivals, including the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
Research in the Islands of the Four Mountains, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Field Work in the Islands of the Four Mountains, Aleutian Islands, Alaska: CWU Geology graduate student Frances Griswold and Geology Professor Bre Macinnes will be part of a cross-disciplinary team of researchers working in the Islands of the Four Moutains, in the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska this summer.
Science Phase II construction groundbreaking ceremony May 1, 2014
Please join us for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Science Phase II building on the CWU campus. This new building will house the Geological Sciences, Physics, and Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education programs, and will serve as a center for interdisciplinary learning on campus. ...more...
Effects of Dam Removal on the Elwha River
Field Work on the Elwha River Before and After Dam Removal: CWU Geology graduate student Bryon Free and Geology Professor Lisa Ely are investigating the impacts of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history: The removal of two large dams on the Elwha River in the Olympic National Park in western Washington.
Kevin Knapp awarded 2014 Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Kevin Knapp has been selected as the 2014 winner of the Robert D. Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Kevin! A 2010 graduate of Bothell High School, Kevin plans on pursuing an advanced degree in geology after he graduates from CWU in 2015. ...more...
Bre MacInnes and Colleagues Awarded
NSF Grant for Aleutian Islands Study
Breanyn MacInnes has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study historical and paleo-tsunamis in the Islands of the Four Mountains region of the central Aleutian Islands ...more...
SOURCE 2014 Abstract Submission and Event Info
SOURCE is approaching. Abstract submissions from March 3rd to April 11th and the Symposium on May 15th at the CWU SURCE in Ellensburg ...more...
Paul Winberry and Audrey Huerta Awarded
$2.5M NSF Grant
Paul and Audrey have been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to develop seismic instrumentation suitable for deployment in remote ice covered environments like Antarctica ...more...
Laura Abe receives NAGT Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Laura Abe has received an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) ...more...
Wendy Bohrson elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America
Wendy has been elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. Fellows are recognized for their distinguished contributions to the geosciences. Election as a Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed by the GSA. ...more...
CWU and The Great Washington Shake-Out
The Great Washington Shake-Out, a statewide earthquake drill, will be happening at 10:17am on October 17, 2013.
Central Washington University's Geological Sciences department and the Cascadia Hazards Institute is coordinating several events in conjunction with the statewide event ...more...
Grad Students Win Research Funding from GSA and others
CWU Geology graduate students have been awarded funds to support their reseach by the Geological Society of America, the Sigma Xi Research Society and other organizations. Here's a quick run-down of the research and funding ...more...
Rose Borden awarded 2013 Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Rose Borden has been selected as the 2013 winner of the Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Rose! A native of Maple Valley, Washington and a Dean's List student, Rose plans on pursuing an advanced degree in geology after she graduates from CWU in 2014. ...more...
CWU partners in Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program
Central Washington University will participate in a $625,000, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) EarthScope program (www.earthscope.org) to train educators in the seaside communities of Washington and Oregon about the region’s earthquake and tsunami hazards: the Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program. These educators will also teach others, including tourists and visitors to parks and museums, about these very real dangers. Oregon State University, the lead institution, will receive $315,000 of the grant funds while CWU will receive $194,000 and the University of Portland will receive $116,000 ...more...
CWU and The Great Washington Shake-Out
The Great Washington Shake-Out, a statewide earthquake drill, will be happening October 18, 2012.
Central Washington University's Geological Sciences department is coordinating several events in conjunction with the statewide event ...more...
Anne Egger wins Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction from Science journal
The AAAS journal Science announced that Anne Egger has won its Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction for her teaching module "Seismicity and Relative Risk". Congratulations Anne! ...more...
Brad Pitcher receives NAGT-USGS Internship for Summer 2012
Brad Pitcher received a summer 2012 NAGT-USGS Internship. He will work with Dr. Jake Lowenstern at the USGS in Menlo Park, CA and in the field at Yellowstone. The project is entitled "Quantifying Past and Present Output of Magmatic Volatiles at the Yellowstone Volcanic System." ...more...
Rock the Space III
April 6th was a memorable night in downtown Ellensburg. Thanks so much to all who came down to Rock The Space III at Raw Space. Thanks to Geology Club President Brittany Fagin and club members for making the event happen. ...more...
Jesse Walters awarded Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Jesse Walters has been selected as the 2012 winner of the Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Jesse! In addition to winning the Bentley Award, Jesse has been accepted into both the Science Honors Research Program and the Douglas Honors College for his senior project on metamorphic phase diagrams under the direction of CWU professor Chris Mattinson. A native of Klickitat, Washington, Jesse plans on pursuing advanced degrees after he graduates from CWU in 2013. ...more...
Susan Kaspari secures funding from the Washington State Water Resources Center, the USGS and the NSF
Response of River Runoff to Black Carbon in Snow and Ice in Washington State is a project funded by the Washington State Water Resources Center and the United States Geological Survey.
Susan also received funding from the National Science Foundation for acquisition of a portable ice core drill. This drill will enable Susan to focus on recent changes to glaciers and the chemistry of the atmosphere, and do reconnaissance studies that will identify potential deep ice core drilling sites. ...more...
Anne Egger is co-PI in NSF-funded InTeGrate program
Anne Egger is a co-PI on a grant, called InTeGrate, recently funded through the National Science Foundation. InTeGrate stands for "Interdisciplinary Teaching of Geoscience for a sustainable future", and it is a five-year community effort to improve geoscience literacy and build a workforce prepared to tackle environmental and resource issues ...more...
Outstanding Senior Awards for 2010-2011
The annual CWU Geology Spring Potluck was held in the hallways of Lind Hall on May 26th. A second year of indoor picnicking due to the cool and rainy weather we've been having so much of this spring.
There was a great turnout of faculty, staff, students and even emeriti for the event. They had an opportunity to congratulate this year's Outstanding Senior Award winners ...more...
Geology graduate students awarded research funding from GSA and Sigma Xi
Grad students Meilani Bowman-Kamaha'o, Michelle Harris, Eliya Hogan and Tabitha Trosper have been awarded funding from GSA and Sigma Xi in support of their thesis research. ...more...
Brittany Fagin awarded Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Brittany Fagin has been selected as the 2011 winner of the Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Brittany! In addition to the Bentley award, Brittany has been active in CWU's Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP), the Association of Environmental Engineering Geologists (AEG), and our CWU Geology Club. A native of Morton, Washington, Brittany will be a senior here at CWU next year with a strong interest in volcanology. ...more...
AEG Student Chapter at CWU, the First in Washington
Congratulations to the department’s new Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) Student Chapter, the first in the Washington Section of AEG.
Four students, Eliya Hogan (past Geology Club President), Greg Handmacher (current AEG Student Chapter President), Brienn Cain-Purdue (current Geology Club President), and Becky Mulkey (Geology Club Vice President), led the effort to establish this chapter.
CWU geology students attend Washington State AEG section meetings in the Seattle area where they learn about practical applications of geology and establish contacts among professional AEG members. For more information about the chapter and future AEG meetings, please contact Eliya Hogan (everymile@hotmail.com) or Greg Handmacher (handmacg@cwu.edu).
Zoe Futornick and Matt Jenkins Awarded Puget Sound Energy Fellowships
Congratulations to Zoe Futornick and Matt Jenkins, who are the 2010-2011 recipients of the Puget Sound Energy Fellowship. Zoe and Matt were chosen for this distinction because of their outstanding progress on research topics that address natural hazards in the Pacific Northwest ...more...
Meilani Bowman-Kamaha'o Awarded AGI Scholarship
CWU Geology graduate student Meilani Bowman-Kamaha'o has been awarded a $500 scholarship by the American Geological Institute, Minority Participation Program ...more...
Aaron Mayfield Receives American Federation of Mineralogical Societies scholarship
CWU Geological Sciences graduate student Aaron Mayfield was awarded a $4000 scholarship from the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) to spend as needed on his graduate research. ...more...
Outstanding Senior Award Winners for 2009-2010
A rare spring downpour moved our annual CWU Geology Spring Potluck to the hallways of Lind Hall this past May. ...more...
Susan Kaspari receives NSF grant for Single Particle Soot Photometer
Central Washington University Geological Sciences Assistant Professor Susan Kaspari was recently awarded a grant for $187,000 through the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program for acquisition of a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). ...more...
Sarah Nagorsen receives Honorable Mention for Best Paper at GSA Meeting
Congratulations to Sarah Nagorsen for receiving an Honorable Mention for the Best Paper award for her talk at the 2010 GSA Meeting. Sarah presented her findings on Fault kinematics in the Western Mina Deflection: field studies in the Adobe Hills, California. ...more...
Graduate students heading on to Ph.D. studies
Graduate students Caitlin Orem, Holly Rotman and Tina Dura will be continuing their studies next fall in Ph.D. programs in Arizona, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. ...more...
Brad Pitcher awarded Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Brad Pitcher has been selected as the 2010 winner of the Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Brad! In addition to the Bentley award, Brad has recently been admitted to CWU's Science Honors program to work on magma chamber processes associated with recent eruptions from Mt. Etna (Italy). Brad is also a member of the Douglas Honors College. ...more...
Graduate students receive GSA Graduate Student Research Grants
Congratulations to Rachel Hunt, Matt Jenkins, Aaron Mayfield, and Sarah Nagorsen, whose GSA Graduate Student research proposals were funded. GSA funds will support Rachel's and Aaron's research on the geochemical evolution of the Aeolian Islands volcanic chain, Italy , Matt's research on concentrations of black carbon in an ice core recovered from the Tibetan Plateau, and Sarah's research on the timing of young faulting and fault slip rates in the western Mina deflection. ...more...
Brett Shurtleff receives NAGT-USGS Internship
Congratulations to Brett Shurtleff, who has been accepted into the NAGT-USGS internship program. This program is 45 years old and is the longest running internship program in the earth sciences. The top student from our summer field geology course (G489) is eligible to apply for this internship. Brett was the top student in the 2009 summer field course.
Brett will work with USGS scientists Dr. William Schulz and Dr. Rex Baum mapping active ...more...
Sarah Nagorsen receives 2009 AWG Brunton Award
Congratulations to Sarah Nagorsen, who has been awarded the 2009 Association for Women's Geoscientists Brunton Award. This award "promotes the future of field mapping and data acquisition."
During the summer of 2009, Sarah embodied the criteria for this award by spending nearly three months in the field, a testament to Sarah's goal of developing excellent field geology skills ...more...
Dr. Lisa Ely honored as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America
Professor Lisa Ely has been elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in recognition of her research on flood hydroclimatology and global change, her professional service, particularly to the Geological Society of America, and her involvement with students. Fellowship is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Society on members of the geologic community. Congratulations Lisa!
Undergraduate Gale Vasquez awarded GSA-Subaru Student Scholarship
Earth Sciences major Gale Vasquez has been awarded the GSA-Subaru Minority Student Scholarship in recognition of his enthusiasm for becoming a teacher, his work ethic, his integrity, and as a retired member of the Navy, his service to the country. Gale will receive his award at the Geological Society of America meeting in Portland, Oregon in October. Congratulations Gale! Well done! ...more...
Jackie Langille awarded 2009 University Distinguished MS Thesis
Congratulations to Jackie Langille, who has been awarded the University's 2008-2009 Distinguished MS Thesis Award! The title of Jackie's thesis is Middle Crustal Ductile Deformation Patterns in Southern Tibet: Insights from Vorticity Studies in Mabja Dome. She completed her work under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Lee. ...more...
Jeff Dermond awarded Robert D. Bentley Scholarship
CWU Geology major Jeff Dermond has been selected as the 2009 winner of the Bentley Scholarship. Congratulations Jeff! In addition to the Bentley award, Jeff has recently been admitted to CWU's Science Honors program - plus he will serve as a teaching assistant for the 2009 edition of GEOL 210 in Bishop, California. ...more...
Dr. Jeff Lee and Dr. Charlie Rubin elected Fellows of the Geological Society of America
Congratulations to Charles Rubin and Jeffery Lee! Both were were elected as Fellows of the Geological Society of America. Fellows are recognized for their distinguished contributions to the geosciences. Election as a Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed by the GSA.
This is a fantastic accomplishment for both Charlie and Jeff. They both have made substantial contributions to their respective disciplines through their publications, training and support of students, and service to the profession. Congratulations Jeff! Congratulations Charlie!