GEOLOGY ALUMNI NEWS


NAME, EMAIL ADVANCED DEGREES EMPLOYMENT


1952

William A. Berggren 
wberggren@whol.edu
M. S. 1957 - Univ. of Houston 
Ph.D. 1960 - Univ. of Stockholm 
D. Sc. 1962 - Univ. of Stockholm
Retired - 1993 from Woods Hole
    Active in research on principles of Stratigraphy; Paleocene/Eocene boundary studies in Egypt.  Working with Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution on late Neogene history of Panama;  evolution of Paleogene Planktonic foraminifera; received the R.C. Moore Medal in Paleontology from SEPM in April 2000 at annual AAPG/SEPM meeting.  Received the Mary Clark Thompson Medal in Paleontology and Stratigraphy from the National Academy of Sciences (1982) for integrated studies on Cenozoic Time Scales.  Elected to the U. S. National Academy of Sciences in 1989.  Received the Cushman Award for Excellence in Foraminiferal Studies in 1995 and made an honorary member of the Geological Society (London in 1993) and the SEPM in 1997.  Honorary Doctorate (Doctorate Honoris Causa), University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (March 2001).  Distinguished Visiting Professor of Geology at Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ (January 2001).  Looking forward to my visit to the campus in early June.
 
Hugh H. Doney 
hhdoney@earthlink.net
M.S. 1954 - Univ. of Pittsburgh 
Ph.D. 1966 - Univ. of TX-Austin
Retired - 1998
    I retired after teaching Geology 40 years, 6 years at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX and 34 years at Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM-Univ. of Louisiana at Monroe).  I am still involved in several research projects in Geology and enjoy the free time, but I miss the interaction with students. 

1961

Watson M. Lohmann, Sr. 

Course work at St. Joseph's Univ. in Math 
& Chemistry 
Retired - Owens Ill. Inc. & Anchor Hocking Corp. 
Glassboro NJ
    Although I didn't pursue geology as a profession, I used aspects of it in my work and in the community as well as teaching geology merit badge to the Boy Scouts and in environmental work.
 
Ron Page 
pagegolfer@aol.com
M.S. 1963 - West Virginia Univ. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation 
Service 
Washington DC
    I presently manage a Natural Disaster Recovery Program which assists landowners and units of government with technical and financial assistance. 

1964

Merritt (James) Aldrich
jaldrich@lanlgov
M.S. 1966 - Lehigh University
Ph.D. 1972 - University of New Mexico
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mail Stop D-462
Los Alamos NM 87545
    In January 2001, I returned to doing science after 6 years as Group Leader of the Geology and Geochemistry Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  I very much enjoyed the group leader job because of the great diversity of work done in the group.  We were involved in the Laboratory's Environmental Restoration (ER) Project, the Nevada Test Site ER Project, the Yucca Mountain Project (high-level radioactive waste repository), CO2 sequestration, geothermal energy studies, national security work for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the On-site Inspection and Verification Program (of nuclear detonations), concrete geochemistry, volcanic hazards investigations, Seismic Hazards Program for the Laboratory, investigations of contaminant uptake in wetlands, and development of a miniature XRF and XRD instrument for planetary exploration.  While this list isn't an exhaustive list, it gives a good idea of the wide variety of work performed by the Group.  Currently I am working on a test of fluid transport in the unsaturated zone in a specially-built underground facility at Busted Butte on the Nevada Test Site.  The facility was mined into the same stratigraphic section as at Yucca Mountain to investigate fluid movement below the planned waste repository.  I am also involved in program development, looking at new ways to support the national defense needs of the Department of Energy and military needs of the Department of Defense with our capabilities in the geosciences.

FIELD TRIP TO WESTERN VERMONT, FALL 1969 

L-R - George Lee (sitting), Jean Colwell, Nancy Spence, Molly Flower, Dr. Vernon, Kathy Lee

1968

Thomas V. Hoffman
tomhoffman@consolenergy.com
M.S. 1971 - University of Wisconsin
Vice President - Investor & Public Relations
CONSOL Energy Inc.
1800 Washington Road
Pittsburgh PA 15241
    I was present almost at creation of the Department.  My senior thesis advisor was the late Henry Hanson.  Somewhere there might be an old wave tank we built.  Got hooked my freshman year by Bill Vernon.  Of course, he hooked quite a few in his day.

1969

Rudy Slingerland  
sling@geosc.psu.edu
M.S. 1974 - Penn State Univ. 
Ph. D. 1977 - Penn State Univ. 

Professor of Geology 
Penn State University 
State College PA

ALASKA TRIP, 1970

L-R standing:  Jack McGarry, Paul Florenz, Jan Whiffen , Kathy Millious, Karen Engle, Hank Hanson, Scott Laird, Molly Flower, Jay Layman, Noel Potter 

Sitting:  Kingsley Greene, Chris Moser

1970

Nancy (Spence) Haile
nhaile@ccpl.carr.org 

Tom Whitcomb 

M.L.S. 1977 - Univ. of Maryland Carroll County Public Library 
115 Airport Drive 
Westminster MD 21157 
 

Retired - Pa. Dept. of Env. Protection - Bureau of Mining Reclamation 

Kathryn (Lee) Wilson
wilson4601@erols.com
M.A. 1982 - George Mason University
M.Phil. 1985 - George Washington University
M.S. 1992 - Johns Hopkins University
Retired Cost Analyst
    Spending my time on a wildlife hotline and transporting injured/orphaned wildlife.  Also gardening - a rock garden!

1971

H. Scott Laird 
h_scott_laird@urscorp.com
M.S. 1974 - Univ. of Massachusetts URS Corporation 
1400 Union Meeting Road, Suite 202 
Blue Bell PA 19422
    Past director of PA Council of Professional Geologists (1995-1999)
 
W. David Menzie 0 
dmenzie@usgs.gov
M.S. 1974 - Penn State Univ. 
M.A. 1977 - Penn State Univ. 
Ph.D. 1977 - Penn State Univ. 
U.S. Geological Survey 
991 National Center 
Reston VA 20192 

Johns Hopkins University 
Adjunct faculty


DICKINSONIAN, APRIL 2, 1971
NINE STUDENTS SPEND VACATION STUDYING FLORIDA BAY SEDIMENTS

Nine students are back on campus after having spent spring recess in the Florida Keys wallowing in mud, scuba diving and skimming over the waves in a small airplane at 300 feet, all in the name of science.  The nine, students of geologist Henry Hanson, traveled south to better understand geological phenomena which Professor Hanson explained can not be found north of the sunshine state. 

They examined sedimentation in Florida Bay, visited the Everglades to study vegetation and swam underwater looking at off-shore coral reefs.  Professor Hanson noted that geological formations in the Carlisle area indicate it was once similar to the sites visited in Florida.  Vacationing in Florida was Prof. Kenneth Laws, who made his plane available for flights over the Keys to observe them "from a different perspective," noted Hanson.  One discovery from the air was that pollution is never far away.  "The Gulf Stream was very nearly outlined by oil slicks," said Professor Hanson.

Students participating in the expedition were:  Herbert T. Black, Michael Gang, Richard G. Mohrfeld, Jon T. Raab, Geoffrey R. Schmidt, Heath E. Warren, Bonnee L. Wendle and David and Carolyn Menzie.


VERMONT TRIP, 1972

L-R (sitting) - Tim Konkus, Sue Truitt, Paula Balcom 

(standing) - Bruce Silverman, Dave James, Russ Pfeil, Blair Goodlin

1972

Anne Bacon 
M.D. 1977 - Univ. of Virginia Arthritis Specialists of Winchester 
1730 Amherst Street 
Winchester VA
    I am active practicing Rheumatology and raising my 2 children - Rebecca (age 9) and Matthew (age 6).  I am also a Girl Scout leader and active in the local Quaker community.  My geology skills come into play when I help out with the "rock" unit in the 2nd grade at my children's school!
 
Lisa (Lepofskey) Callahan 
Hbosch1@aol.com
M.S. 1978 - Clemson Univ. Windsor Forest High School 
500 Washington Avenue 
Savannah GA 31405
    After I finally graduated from Dickinson (2 years behind my class), I received an M.S. from Clemson (soil genesis and morphology). From there I went to UGA for a year to work on a doctorate, but didn't like the program.  I wound up married and living in Savannah, where I have been for the last 20 years.  I have also been teaching high school chemistry and physics for 20 years, and, believe me, it's a total blast and a real hoot!  Never a dull moment, to say the least.  My husband is a civil engineer, and I have a 14 year old son.  For fun, I have taken up tap dancing, birding, and protracted schmoozing with family, friends, and acquaintances.  Savannah is a nice place, and we have really enjoyed the warmth and the ocean.
 
Randall E. Wallett 
wallett@mindspring.com
Vice President 
Martin Marietta Aggregates 
246 Stoneridge Dr., Suite 102 
Columbia SC 29210

GEOLOGY MAJORS AT MORGAN ROCKS


(L-R) - Anne Bacon, Jan Whiffen, Karen Engel, Kathy Millious, Molly Flower


1973

Janet (Whiffen) Jones 
M. Ed. 1993 - Winthrop Univ. Fox Elementary School 
545 NE 106th Street 
Kansas City MO 64155
    Our lives continue to be shaped in large measure by higher education.  The family moved to Missouri in 1997 when Ray was offered a position at William Jewell College, a small liberal arts school with many similarities to Dickinson.  Ray is overseeing marketing and communications.  He has been very busy this year re-orienting various public relations activities to take better advantage of the web site.  Fall 2000 brings the start of senior year for our daughter Connie, who will be 22 in November.  She is majoring in Spanish at Dartmouth College, and has had several opportunities to travel, including language study in Argentina and Spain and internships in Washington DC and Costa Rica.
    Our son Kyle, 19, grew up in South Carolina and has become our official in-house Southerner.  He wanted to return "home" for college and starts his sophomore year at Wake Forest University this fall.  He appears headed toward a major in business and marketing.  He plays drums in the marching and pep bands at Wake, and really enjoys ACC sports.
    During our previous life in Pennsylvania, I taught earth science for five years and then spent several years as a geology lab instructor at Dickinson.  After moving South in 1991, I went back to school to prepare for a new career as an elementary school media specialist.  I now work in the North Kansas City School District, which is close to our home in Liberty.  Liberty is a historic area which at one time served as the main staging area for settlers proceeding west on the Santa Fe Trail.  It is about 40 miles from St. Joseph, which was the jumping off point for the Pony Express.  The town of Independence, site of Harry Truman's homestead and presidential library, is just a few miles away.  Kansas City offers a lot in the way of arts, culture and sports, so there is always plenty to do.  We do, however, miss the greenery and mountains of Pennsylvania!
    Ray attended his 30th reunion in June 2000.  It is hard to believe so much time has passed so quickly.

THE EVENING SENTINEL - FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1974
14 STUDENTS FOLLOW LEWIS, CLARK TRAIL

Fourteen Dickinson College summer school students are following the historic 1803-06 journey of adventurers William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, tracing their steps along the Lewis and Clark trail as part of a summer course offered initially this year.

After a week's preparation, the students departed the campus June 12 by car.  For 21 days they will follow the entire trail, from Missouri to Washington and back.  Camping out, they plan to visit artifacts of the original expedition in St. Louis, the Missouri River where they'll backpack briefly into Montana wilderness areas, study the mining district in Butte, Montana, stop at Yellowstone National Park and Ft. Clatsop, Oregon, the Pacific terminus of the Lewis and Clark trail where the explorers spent the winter of 1805.

Accompanying faculty are Dr. Charles A. Jarvis, a historian with interests in 19th century American and Westward expansion and Dr. Noel Potter, Jr., geologist concerned with conservation and environmental geology.  Following are the participating students:  Mariann T. Ciampa, Patricia A. McCommon, Ellen M. Weber, Deborah Topp, Hato Rey, Janie F. Konigsberg, Kenneth J. Berman, Leona Gingrich, Lisa Angelozzi, Richard W. Moore, Anna Bryan, Susan Haskin, Neil Gordon, Bradford Landon, Lynn Forrer.


1974

Sharon (Allshouse) Rich 
frich@bulloch.net
M.S. 1984 - Penn State Univ.
Department of Geology & Geography
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro GA 30460-8149
    Yes - I'm a geology professor now, believe it or not!!  In regards to the photo at the end of the newsletter, Yes, I know where he was going and in addition, I know where it came from.  Randy Wallett, J. Tim Raab and I built it and started the whole sordid saga.
 
Geoffrey Coe 
toetap@earthlink.net
Other 1975 -  Johns Hopkins Univ. Sun Microsystems' 
Global Operations Processes 
    I'm a senior tech writer writing documentation to support about 15,000 Sun employees.  I'm still writing music, of course--mostly choral arrangements--but the tech writing gig definitely pays the bills.
 
Susan Duffield 
elmdale@gateway.net
M.S. 1979 - West Virginia Univ. 
Ph.D. 1982 - Univ. of Waterloo
Severn Trent Systems 
20405 State Highway 249, Suite 600 
Houston TX 77070
    I finished reading "Chesapeake Invader" by C. Wylie Poag of the USGS, about investigating a meteorite crater near Chesapeake Bay.  It's a fascinating story of solving a geologic puzzle through multidisciplinary studies.  As for me, I am still a technical writer in software development.  Chip took early retirement from Amoco when they were bought by BP, and he is now a paleontological consultant.  Kate is 10, and Christy is 27.
 
Barbara Faulkner
blfaulkner@msn.com
M.S. 1980 - SUNY - Stony Brook
ExxonMobil Production Company
396 West Greens Road
Houston TX 77067-4530
Russell W. Pfeil  
rpfeil@value.net
M.S. 1977 - Virginia Polytechnic Inst. Consulting IT Project Manager 
Wells Fargo Bank 
155 5th Street 
San Francisco CA 
    After corporate downsizing in the oil industry in 1995 and in the environmental consulting industry in 1999, I have successfully transitioned into the information technology area as a project manager.  I continue to enjoy the quality of life that the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer.  I have three children.  The oldest, my daughter Gretchen, graduated from Reed College in Portland  May 2000.  My son, Shawn, is a freshman at UCSD and is doing well.  The youngest, my daughter Sarah, is turning 11 and moving into 6th grade and middle school.
 
Sandy (Quittman) Walker 
caw@airmail.net
Director, Teacher 
Dallas Cooperative Preschool

CELEBRATING FALL - 1975

(L-R) - Betsy Slugg, Harry Whitney, Midge Wormer, Sue Haskin, Rob Graham, Mary Rose Cassa, Doug Blaze

1975

Sara (Heller) Baldwin
OranSaraBaldwin@msn.com
Ph.D. 1980 - West Virginia University
    After 15 years of teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, I began a second career: raising three beautiful children (Oran-8, Mary-6, and John-4).  This career is far more rewarding, but rather less lucrative.  Nevertheless I am definitely enjoying myself, and really don't know if I will ever go back to teaching full-time.  Other than children, I also raise tropical fish, teach knitting classes for the local community school, play cello in an orchestra, and sing with a wonderful 20th-century acapella choral group, Vox Aeterna.

1976

Mary Rose Cassa 
mcassa@earthlink.net
M.A. 1980 - SUNY-Binghamton CA Environmental Protection Agency 
Department of Toxic Substances Control 
700 Heinz Avenue, Suite 200 
Berkeley CA 94710
    I'm overseeing cleanup and closure of former Navy bases in the San Francisco Bay area.  There is a great deal of interest on the part of local governments and developers to get the land turned over to civilian uses, but concerns about toxic wastes demand a thorough evaluation. Swords to plowshares is a noble concept, but not easily implemented.  I enjoy the "detective work" involved in learning about the history of the military facilities, so that environmental impacts can be evaluated.  Quite often the military bases are showcases for new and emerging technologies that can be applied to investigation and remediation.  I very much enjoy working with the various interest groups - military, local government, other regulatory agencies, community members.  It's fun to explain a concept like groundwater contamination and migration to different audiences.
 
Christine (Dusel) Straw
estraw@worldnet.att.net
M.B.A. 1983 - Temple University
    Currently homemaker & Mom.  "Retired" in 1997 to raise 2 daughters.
 
Neil Gordon
Gordon@BostonKids.org
Masters in City and Regional Planning 1981 - Kennedy School of Government -
Executive Vice President
The Children's Museum
300 Congress Street
Boston MA 02210-1034
    I have four kids -- son Web 12, twin daughters, Sarah and Kate, 10, and son Cam, 2 years old.
 
Gregory Griffith 
gjgriff@yahoo.com
M.B.A. 1982- Univ. of So. California Financial Systems Manager 
General Dynamics WTS 
1450 S. Academy Park Loop 
Colorado Springs Co 80910
    At our five-acre "ranch", Heidi and I live with our six children, five goats, four rabbits, two cats, and one dog.
 
Elizabeth (Slugg) Lonergan 
lonerbeth@aol.com
B. Architecture 1993 - Univ. of Arizona Lonergan LLC 
residential architecture

1977

Bruce Geller 
M.A. 1981 - SUNY-Binghamton 
A. M. 1981 - Harvard Univ. 
Ph.D. 1993 - Univ. of Colorado
Self-employed consulting mineralogist 
Advanced Geologic Services 
700 Vista Lane 
Lakewood Co 80215
    My recent consulting projects involved fossilized dragonflies; gemstone studies on turquoise, metavariscite, topaz, foltite, and gaspeite; and decorative stone projects in Brazil and Quebec.  The latter resulted in three days of field work plus a chance for a lot more involvement!  The wholesale/retail jewelry and mineral specimen business has been O.K.  Last year, I recently developed a reliable source for nice tanzanites.

1978

Robert M. Cohen 
rcohen@hsigeotrans.com
M.S. 1982 - Penn State Univ.
HSI GeoTrans Inc. 
46050 Manekin Plaza, Suite 100 
Sterling VA 20166
    Greetings to all!
 
Philip Brent Hover 
phover@idt.net
J.D. 1981 - New York Law School Philip Brent Hover, Esq. 
103 Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale NJ 
2710 Cecile Dr., Yorktown Heights, NY 
80 Beaverbrook Rd., Weston CT
    Who's Who - 1999-2000.  Children - Lindsey, age 6; Christopher, age 1.  Wife - Lora Hoffmonn Hover '78.
Website:  affordablelaw.econgo.com 

1979

David Hildebrand  
davening@aol.com
M.A. 1987 - George Washington Univ. 
Ph.D. 1992 - Catholic Univ.
Self- employed musician (performing, teaching, recording, consulting)
    My wife and business partner is Ginger Houpt Hildebrand ('83).  We'd welcome visitors at www.colonialmusic.org
All's well, thanks!
 
Keith Parker 
Chemistry technician 
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station 
Forked River NJ
    Married Jackie Kimack (Class of '81-Anthropology) in 1982.  We became avid birdwatchers and have traveled throughout North, South, and Central America; also Scotland, Hawaii, and the Caribbean while looking for birds. Jackie is a mechanic at OCNGS and is a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, while I remain a couch potato. 
THE EVENING SENTINEL, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1979
STUDENT WILL GIVE TALK ON ROCK FIND

A Dickinson College senior has developed a way to determine if some sandstone deposits are really fossil beaches.  Holly C. Garrow, formerly of Wellesley, Mass., will present a paper on her findings at the second Conference on Scientific Research in National Parks.  She studied the sands in the flat areas behind the sand dunes on the barrier islands of Padre Island in Texas and Assateague Island in Maryland.  Henry Hanson, her geology professor at Dickinson, said Garrow's project started in a fairly typical way.  "We had taken a field trip to Assateague Island early in 1978 and then in November of that year went down to West Virginia to look at some sandstones there," Hanson said.  "I was telling the class that the markings on the rock meant that the sands in the stone had been deposited by a river and Holly asked, "why couldn't it have been deposited by waves on a beach?"  I didn't have a good answer.

During storms, waves surge through sand dunes and deposit sand in low areas inshore of the dune.  As waves receded, the sand settles out in a certain pattern, which is the same for Atlantic beaches with high tides and gulf beaches with lower tides.  Garrow's trenches uncovered that pattern, which is the subject of her paper.


1981

Dr. Charles Herzig
cherzig@elcamino.cc.ca.us
M.S. 1985 - SUNY, Stony Brook
Ph.D. 1991 - Univ. of CA-Riverside

1982

Joe Ford 
Joe_Ford@USA.net
Sodexho Marriott
    I have spent 8 years overseas since graduating (Zaire, Switzerland, UK, France).  I have spent the last 11 years building a career in information technology but I still love geology as a hobby.
 
Susan (Scott) Gamble 
M.S. 1987 - Penn State Univ. Lecturer 
Recreation Parks & Tourism Sciences 
Texas A&M University
Victoria A. Porto 
Geotechnical Engineer/Geologist 
Penn Dot - Bureau of Construction and Materials 
Materials Testing Lab 
1118 State Street 
Harrisburg PA 17120
Leonard B. Smith 
5 Oak Glen Court 
Simsbury CT 06070 
lbsmith@home.com
M.S. 1986 - Colorado School of Mines Director of Marketing 
The Ensign-Bickford Company 
660 Hopmeadow Street 
Simsbury CT 06070
Betsy M. Strachan 
strachan22@aol.com 
M.S. 1986 - Tulane Univ. 
M.B.A. 1999 - Tulane Univ.

MARINE FIELD TRIP TO FLORIDA - MARCH 1983

Jeff Niemitz pointing out  a sinkhole to Anne Vogel and others.

1983

Sally Jones 
joness@mail.rfweston.com
M.S. 1986 - CA State Univ.-Long Beach 
M.B.A. 2000 - Rutgers Univ.
Vice President 
Roy F. Weston, Inc. 
101 Fieldcrest Ave., Suite 2B 
Edison NJ 08837
John Kastrinos 
jrk@haleyaldrich.com
M.S. 1985 - Penn State Univ. Hydrogeologist 
Haley & Aldrich Inc. 
465 Medford Street 
Boston MA 02129
    I am married to Margot Denoie ('84), who is the Latin American trade representative for the Massachusetts Port Authority.  We have a 15-month old son, Ian Stewart.  We are avid skiers and hikers.
 
Thomas J. Rossbach 
tjrossbach@mail.ecsu.edu
M.S. 1987 - Univ. of North Carolina 
Ph.D. 1992 - Univ. of North Carolina
Department of Geosciences 
Campus Box 971 
Elizabeth City State University 
Elizabeth City NC 27909

FIELD GEOLOGY CLASS AT RHEEM'S QUARRY - FALL 1983

(L-R) - Reid Allan, Dave Graham, Dave Murray, Gigi Dean, Marty Mastovich, Jeff Hoffer, Andy Lindsay

1984

Laurie (Bacon) Meister
LMBM61@aol.com; meister1@rpcs.org
Middle School Science Teacher
Roland Park County School
Baltimore MD 21210
    Chip ('84) and I keep busy by teaching middle school students and raising our 6 1/2 year olds, Will and Sam.
 
Ed Figelman 
ed.figelman@mciworld.com
M.B.A. 1989 - Hofstra Univ.
Self-employed 
Fig Tree Marketing 
Export Management Company 
(Specializing in weather and environmental technology)

MARINE FIELD TRIP - MARCH 1983


(L-R) - Anne Vogel, Nancy Jarvis, Jan Cortelyou

Jeff Hoffer
jeff@hofferconsulting.com
M.S. 1989 - Penn State University www.hofferconsulting.com
Nancy (Jarvis) Mueller 
M.S. 1987 - SUNY
    I am enjoying life at home with Christopher (5), Elliott (3), and Vivian (1).  I am also busy with the Onondaga County Council on Environmental Health and the New York State Federation of Lake Associations, Inc. 

1985

Douglas H. Bitterman 
dbitterm@ch2m.com
M.S. 1989 - Stanford Univ. Environmental Consultant 
CH2M Hill Inc. 
13921 Park Center Rd., Suite 600 
Herndon VA 20171
    First child (Alexander) born January 21, 1997.  Second child born in September, 2000.
 
Margaret (Burgess) Teichmann
friedrich.teichmann@aon.at
M.S. 1988 - Univ. of Maine
    I have three girls, Elizabeth 7, Caroline 5, and Frances 3.  They keep me busy, but living so far away I find myself reflecting on my years at Dickinson.  My husband, Friedrich, is a geochemist and has a large student following - following his Ph.D. at University of Rochester.  Geology is our mainstay!  I always have plans for myself but have to wait until the girls are older.  Nice greetings to all! 

1986

Camille L. Worsnop 
clwpa@aol.com
J.D. - 1993 - Nova, Southeastern Univ. 
LLM - 1994 - University of Florida
President/Attorney 
Law Offices of Camille L. Worsnop 
305 South Andrews Ave., Suite 810 
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301
    Opened law office in 1994 and for the past two years I have also began teaching as adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University Law School.  Teaching corporate taxation and wills/trusts, while continuing to work in my private practice. 
(L-R) - (Kneeling) - Paul Gorman, Meryl Katz 
(Back) - Paul Evans, Tania Brice, Rich Werner, Paul Racenet, Toby Roberts


 

1987

Tania (Brice) Coffin
coffin@cheshire.net
M.S. 1999 - Penn State University
    I left Central PA and hydrogeological consulting at GeoServices, Ltd. seven years ago when I married Peter Coffin and he took me off to the wilds of the White Mountains of NH.  Last year we moved to Keene NH, 3.25 hours and two USDA hardiness zones south.  We have Matthew (3 years) and Laura (born January 2001).  I am a full time Mom at the moment, but have heard that the local college may need instructors.  This could be fun!
 
Caitlin Mullen 
mullen@homer.stx.com
Ph.D. - 1994 - Old Dominion Univ. Raytheon, Lanham 
MD
    Still planning to be an astronaut!!
CALEDONIAN RECORD, ST. JOHNSBURY, VT. - August 29, 1987
LOCAL RESIDENT ANALYZES SOIL FOR CLUES TO PAST CLIMATES

Paul Racenet of St. Johnsbury spent his summer sifting dirt.  Not just any old dirt, however.  He sifted and analyzed Antarctic glacial deposits gathered earlier in the year on a geologic excursion.  Working with Professor Noel Potter, Racenet sifted the sediments in order to divide them into different particle size categories.  According to Racenet and Potter, sediment size is indicative of past glacial behavior.  Large particles indicate that a glacier was cold and did not move much.  Large particles resulted from little scraping or grinding.  By contrast, small particle size indicates that a glacier had melted enough to allow glacial mobility and scraping of the particles to occur.

Potter said that a common misconception is that all glaciers are cold and immobile.  "Everybody thinks that a glacier should be cold, but there are different gradations of cold."  Racenet and Potter hope their analysis of the Antarctic sediment samples will help them to understand past climate and past climate changes.  "If we know about cycles of climatic change far enough back in time, then perhaps we can predict future climatic behavior, and perhaps foretell if there will be another ice age," Potter said.  Racenet added, "I've definitely sharpened my research skills, just from the practical experience of getting used to the research procedures".


1988

Richard S. Werner 9 
rwpops@aol.com
M. S. - 1996 - Drexel University President/part owner 
Environmental Consulting, Inc. 
1232 Forty Foot Road, P. O. Box 1345 
Kulosville PA 19443-1345
    Nice to be working for yourself.  Tracy and I have two great kids - Emma Ruth who is now 3 and Matthew Brian who is 1.  Few weeks ago threw the first nine strikes (bowling) and choked in the 10th frame.  Sent Paul Racenet an email (after 12 yrs.). 

1989

Peter Atwell  
patwelldc@hotmail.com
D. C. - 1996 - Life College Holly Springs Chiropractic 
125 Holly Springs Road, P. O. Box 908 
Holly Springs NC 37540
    Over the past few years I've enjoyed becoming very active in my community.  Served as chairman of Chamber of Commerce last year and last November was elected to 4 year term as Town Commissioner.  My wife, JoAnn and I celebrated the birth of our first child - Lauren Nicole, on April 15 (she joins her canine sister Katie). 

1990

Abigail (Wood) Pascual
apascual@mde.state.md.us
Maryland Department of the Environment
2500 Broening Highway
Baltimore MD 21224
    After graduating I spent 5 years working for various environmental consulting firms (or, as I like to call them, Phase One Sweatshops).  I then spent 4 years doing environmental contracting - much better than consulting, but handling hazardous wastes gets old.  Now I work for MDE in the scrap tire section and I love it.  My husband, Michael, and I live with our 2 babies - Reva is a 10 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Sally is a 6 year old Boxer/Lab mix.

1991

Gretchen (Dockter) Hancock 
gretchen.hancock@ae.ge.com
The Jet Center 
Santa Barbara-Garrett Aviation 
495 South Fairview Avenue 
Goleta CA 93117
    After nine years as an environmental consultant, I made the "big jump" to industry.  I work for the Jet Center, a facility owned by GE that does interior completions of the Boeing Business Jet, as their Environmental Health & Safety Manager.  My husband Derrick and I live in a great condo 1 mile from the beach in Carpinteria CA.  Life is good! UPDATE:  Recent news with the Hancocks is that we're moving...to Cincinnati.  You can imagine the transition from Paradise to the core of the industrial rust belt.  The new position is the Manager of Environmental Programs for GE's Aircraft Engines/Engine Services Division. 

1992

Rolf V. Ackermann 
tagg@texas.net OR 
rvacker@upstream.xomcorp.com
M.S. - 1994 - Rutgers University 
Ph.D. - 1997 - Rutgers University

Senior Research Geologist 
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company 
Houston TX 
    Moved from Dallas to Houston in February 2000 with the merger of Exxon and Mobil.  Still doing dominantly research in the areas of structural geology, experimental modeling, spatial/fractal statistics and projection.  It seems there is a pod of Dickinsonians in Texas, and a semi-active alumni bunch in Houston.  There are two other Dickinsonians at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company!  Suzanne Kairo and Barbara Falkner - it was so great when I got here, there was an email from them welcoming me!  How neat!  Socially, still hanging out with Matt Baker ('92) in Austin and Ally Lighthart ('92) in San Antonio, and see Andy Judd ('93) when home in New Jersey.
 
Matthew Baker
baker@stratfor.com
M.A. - 1994 - American University
Director of Analysis
Stratfor
Austin TX
    I was a double major at Dickinson, in Geology and Political Science.  While I followed the Poli Sci after college, and it led me to my current job, I have had frequent opportunities to call on my geology training in international analysis and consulting--in such disparate areas as fresh water and the desalination industry in the Caribbean, coal development in the American West, and oil exploration the world over.  I still stop at road cuts when I get the chance, and can spot a trilobite a mile away.  Even my experience driving the geology field trip vans has come in handy for my SCCA road racing hobby, as I find myself driving through dirt and gravel (i.e., off track) all too often...  My classmates and fellow geology majors, Rolf Ackermann and Alyson Lighthart, are here in Texas and we hang out when we can.  And I've begun studying geology from an agricultural perspective, as my next career goal is to establish a vineyard and winery.
 
Steven Lev 
slev@towson.edu (work) 
slev@worldnet.att.net (home)
M. S. - 1994 - University of Cincinnati 
Ph.D. - 1998 - SUNY at Stony Brook
Dept. of Physics, Astronomy & Geol. Sci. 
Towson University, 8000 York Road 
Towson MD 21252-0001
   My wife, Kristine, and I welcomed our first child, Hannah Jeannette Lev, on June 11, 2000.
 
Alyson Lighthart
rockdoc@satx.rr.com
Ph.D.-2000 - Tulane University
Lecturer
University of Texas
San Antonio TX
     Two years ago, I moved to San Antonio from New Orleans to begin teaching, two very busy years in advance of finishing my dissertation (which I finally submitted to the graduate school in April 2000!).  During my first days in San Antonio, I met my mate, Vadim Ponomarenko, a mathematician at Trinity University here in San Antonio.  We'll be marred on the first Saturday in January, 2002.  We have a house together in the city, which we share with two cats, Rhyolite and Enclave, and a dog, Lucy.  Rolf ('92) and Matthew ('92) are also here in Texas, stalking me!).  Actually, it's wonderful having them nearby, especially now that my time is no longer Tulane's.  In short, life is good.  And finally, as I like to have my students shout during sleepy morning classes, "YAY GEOLOGY!"

1993

J. Stephen Opp
j-stephen.opp-1@usa.dupont.com
jamesopp@hotmail.com
DuPont
West Virginia
    I am currently working for DuPont in West Virginia.  Still employed as a geologist!  All is well here, I love West Virginia.  I am residing in the western part of the state and working in WV, PA, and VA.  Work is fantastic, I am doing some extremely interesting geo, hydro and technology related projects.  I am also currently looking into buying an old farm down here.  Hopefully soon I will have a place to call home.

NEW ENGLAND END OF YEAR TRIP - 1993


L-R - Pete McAlenney, Andy Judd, Mark Zuck, Susan Millspaugh, Steve Opp


1994

Ronald Arcuri 
rarcuri@ermsw.com
M.S. - 1998 - Wright State University 
Professional Geologist's License - 1999
Environmental Resources Management 
Houston TX
Jennifer Atkins 
jatkins@thermoretec.com
M.S. - 1999 - Tufts University Environmental Engineer 
ThermoRetec Consulting
    I do remediation engineering for the oil, railroad, and utilities industries mostly.
 
Juliane (Bowman) Brown 
jbbrown@cnr.colostate.edu
Currently enrolled as a Master's candidate in Watershed Science Part-time contractor 
Johnson Controls Inc. 
Midcontinent Ecological Science Center 
USGS 
Fort Collins CO
    Colorado is a wonderful place to live, though the distance from family (all back East) is the biggest problem.  CSU has proven to be a challenge and I'm dually pursuing watershed hydrology/water quality and GIS in my studies and research.  My husband is beginning the process of earning his teaching certificate, so we'll both be students soon.  No kids -  2 cats and 1 dog.
 
Trent Harrison
trent_harrison@msn.com (home) 
harrit@danbury.k12.ct.us (work)
M.S. 2000 - Univ. of Bridgeport
Rogers Park Middle School 
21 Memorial Drive 
Danbury CT
    Currently I am a 7th grade science and math teacher.  I was selected to start a new program to teach an integrated science and math course for 7th and 8th grade students.  It is all hands-on/experiment based learning.  It is the first time this has been tried in the Danbury School system, or in the state of CT for that matter.  I am really excited.  I continue to rock and ice climb, hike, sea kayak, and I just took up whitewater kayaking.  I will be traveling to Iceland this summer to explore and to get ideas and samples for educational lessons.  I live about one mile from an old silver/gold mine, and the bedrock by my house is a Garnet Schist...makes for lovely rock gardens.
 
Norma Luke
nluke@vwrsp.com
VWR Scientific
Ken Wolfe, Jr. 
knjw@supernet.com
Premier Optical, Inc. 
2625 W. Cumberland Street 
Lebanon PA 17042
    Jill and I were married on July 13, 1998, on the beach in South Carolina.  We bought a farmette in November 1998 and are doing our best Bob Vila impersonation.

GEOLOGY CLUB TRIP - HANCOCK MD. - APRIL 1, 1995

(L-R) - (Front) - Greg Kozlowski, (Middle) - Andy Chang, Stefanie Comastro, Melissa Russo, Meredith Robertson, Laurea Salvatore, (Back) - Steve Edlavitch, Arika Updike, Jon Gourley 

1995

Ian McLeran 
mcleraiq@cannondale.com

Cannondale Corporation 
16 Trowbridge Drive 
Bethel CT 06801
Susan Millspaugh 
susan@mdsoftware.com
Micro-Designs Software 
Ridgefield CT 06877
    Well, since graduation I have been searching for the "perfect" job.  I spent two years teaching Earth Science to middle school girls at a private school in New Jersey, but I quickly became disenchanted with traditional schooling.  I spent some time in Maine running a sailing program at a little club.  Currently, I am working for a software company doing database work and a little bit of programming.  It keeps me thinking and satisfies my desire to learn.......for now.
 
Jared Volpe  Master's candidate in Resource Management and Admin.-Antioch Self-employed consultant
    I recently visited a Cree village about 350 miles north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada called OujE Bougoumou.  While experiencing Cree bush life I, with another colleague, was taken to a lake district near the old Cree community site at DorE Lake.  Recently fish exhibiting abnormalities were taken from the lake.  While there, we witnessed what I assume to be waste rock and/or tailings used for the construction of the access roads to nearby mine sites.  We wrote a proposal to the Cree Nation that involves starting a sampling program designed to document the potential contaminant sources in Cree waters and soils.  Talk about full circle - ALLARM and Geology rolled into one.  We'll see what happens. 

GEOLOGY FIELD TRIP SUMMER 1996 NEVADA, DEATH VALLEY, GRAND CANYON

L-R - Greg Kozlowski, Steve Edlavitch, 
Ken Brophy

1996

Andrew Chang 3 
andychang@dellnet.com
Applying to medical school
     I finished the post-bac program at Temple.  I guess when I enrolled in the program, I thought about the possibility of applying to med school, but my original intentions were to strengthen my science background.  I realize that medicine is a very tough field in many respects but I have decided that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.  I have a sister in the field who is a third year surgical resident and I have gained much insight about the field.  She thinks that I'm CRAZY for wanting to go to med school but that hasn't stopped me a bit.
 
Matthew Davis  
Matthew_Davis@antiochne.edu
M.S. 2001 Env. Studies -  Antioch New England Graduate School
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
      I am building a 32 foot boat with 7 high school students from the Middlebury High School as an internship.  I'm currently living just a mile down the road from Jared Volpe.   My focus is developing curriculum that integrates boat building into academic programs.
 
Steven Edlavitch
s005sre@yahoo.com
M.S. 1999 - Wright State University

Geomet Technologies Inc.
DSCR-WEP
8000 Jefferson Davis Highway
Richmond VA 23297
    I'll be getting married on September 1, 2001.
 
Jonathan Gourley 
jonathan_gourley@hotmail.com
M.S. 2000 - CA State-Fresno 
Ph.D. candidate in Structural Geology at Univ. of CT
    Starting Ph.D. program Fall 2000.  My research project is on seismo-tectonics of southern Taiwan.
 
Gregory J. Kozlowski  
gkozlow@tulane.edu
Ph.D. candidate in Earth & Ecosystems Science at Tulane University Dept. of Geology/IEES 
Tulane University 
Dinwiddie Hall 
New Orleans LA 70118
Melissa Russo 
melisrus@hotmail.com 
1999 - Western Medical Herbalism 
Rocky Mountain Center for Botantical 
Studies
The Boulder Plaster & Stucco Co., Inc. 
Boulder CO 
(We do residential plaster, stucco, and adobe, preferably on "alternative" homes)
    I disliked the GIS scene, so I dropped the whole "geology career" thing.  Since then, though, I've thought about some aspect of geology every day in a much more personal manner.  Obviously, geology is important in our business in as much as the materials we use come from the earth.  Geology is also important in other aspects of my life: jewelry making (metal smithing and beading with minerals and semi-precious gems), stained glass work (using agate slices and crystals), and healing (minerals can have very strong healing properties).  I'll be in Scotland in June meeting the rest of my family - Yeah! 

CELEBRATION OF 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GEOLOGY DEPT., DECEMBER 1997

L-R (front) Sarah Jablonski 

(middle) - Jon Cox, Tara Jones, Meredith Robertson, 
Gale Blackmer, Tim Seiple 

(back) - Anthony Rossignoli, John Zbell

1997

Stefanie Comastro 
scomastro@toast.net

Boys' Latin School of Maryland
    I spent over two years working in the field of outdoor environmental education, which I very much enjoyed.  Education is an excellent way to use a degree in Geology!  Fostering an appreciation and understanding of the earth sciences among the staff and 3rd-7th grade students was a fun job along with developing earth science curriculum.  In August 2000 I accepted the Community Programs Specialist position at the MD Science Center.  My responsibilities include: researching, writing, and presenting programming to girl and boy scouts, families, kids interested in science, and adults; training and supervising a small staff; and teaching on an occasional basis.  I will have lots of flexibility in developing new programs.  I would love to hear from any other Dickinson Geology Dept. alumni who are doing experiential education at an OEE center, museum, park or nature center!
 
Jonathan Cox
jon.cox@qwest.com
Qwest 
Denver CO
Derek Peachey 
dmpeachey@prodigy.net
1999 - Part-time M.B.A. program at TCU Neeley School of Business Forth Worth Country Day School 
4200 Country Day Lane 
Ft. Worth TX 76109-4299
    I am loving the Fort Worth lifestyle.  My duties at Forth Worth Day School consist of Asst. Director of Admissions, Geology teacher, and asst. varsity basketball coach.  My geology class keeps me in close contact with the Geology Dept. at TCU.  Marcus' and Jeff''s notes are helping me tremendously with prep on a daily basis!  Planning a collaborative geology field trip with Marcus Key to New Zealand in December 2000.  I am wondering when Jon Cox is going to give me a call!
 
Mrs. Arika (Updike) Hunt 
arika_u@hotmail.com
Inside Sales Engineer
Pacific Liquid and Air Systems
    UPDATE - I got married a few months ago to a wonderful man I met in the Army.  He's a Captain in the Infantry.  I also got promoted to Captain last winter but then just recently I got out of the Army and moved to Hawaii with Bryan who is now stationed here.  I had about a 2 month break, but just found a job with an engineering company that sells pumps and motors to the Hawaiian Islands.  I basically handle customer service by researching the pump applications and determining what pump and motor will work the best in the given situation.  Definitely not Geology, more like physics and electrical engineering, but it's pretty interesting stuff at least for a couple of years.

SED. FIELD TRIP, 1998

L-R (front) - Lindsay Thompson, David Caplan, Jerry Blustein, Karen W., Chris Junium 

(middle) - Marcus Key, Fred Knight, Maria Ejzak, 
Stephanie Bacon, Kent Andres 

(back) - Mike Tomlin, Catherine Jamet, Lynn Hamilton 

(top back at power structure) - Don Hartman 
 

1998

Emily (Gaskin) Sitch  
e.s.sitch@durham.ac.uk
M.A. 1999 - (Archaeology) University 
of Durham 
Manufacturing Group 
School of Engineering 
University of Durham 
South Road 
Durham DH1 3LE England
    Married Corin Sitch,  a Physics Ph.D. student at Durham University on 22 July 2000.  I'm now working for the University of Durham in the School of Engineering.  I'll probably only be in England until January 2002 when my husband and I will move back to the states.  I love living in England, although we can't travel about much due to Foot & Mouth Disease.
 

Susan (Herrgesell) Zimmerman 

M.A. 2001
M.Ph. 2003
Ph.D. projected 2005

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 
Route 9W 
Palisades NY 10964
Time has flown by in the last 2 years since my thesis proposal and last web update! That phenomenon is partly due to the immediacy of a defense date for my Ph.D. - hopefully only a year away, about the time Noel officially retires. It's also partly due to the birth of my daughter, Grace Elizabeth, last July 13 (Marcus' birthday, among others!). In preparation for that, Jack and I bought our first mortgage, on a 2-bedroom apartment in Nanuet, NY, right across from exit 14 on the NYS Thruway - stop by anytime! My thesis has acquired a major paleomagnetic component as I try to pin down the age of the Pleistocene lake sediments at Mono Lake, gateway to Yosemite. I hope to submit that chapter for publication this summer and move on the finishing the climate proxy work, with my defense due next summer. My advisor and I have 8 or 10 prjects lined up for my post-doc, and also (fortunately) a couple of year of funding!
 
Sarah Jablonski 
sjablonski@usgs.gov
USGS
Woods Hole MA
    I've been working for a year and a half at the USGS in Woods Hole MA and I love it!  I'm working on sediment geochemistry in the carbons lab.  I analyze marine sediment from cores and grab samples taken from Long Island Sound and NY Bight for total, organic, and inorganic carbon using Coulometer and CHN Analyzers.  We are interested in organic carbon because it serves as a binding site for contaminant metals and its abundance controls many diagenic processes.   Normalizing contaminant data to the percent organic carbon allows for the distinction of specific anthropogenic sources.  I had the opportunity last October to go on a research cruise in Long Island Sound to collect cores and grab samples along predefined transects.  We spent 3 days in the sound and had a fantastic time.  In addition to my lab work, I've developed a webpage site including all of the research we do in our labs, how we do our analyses, why we do research, what equipment we use, etc.  Check it out http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/sedimentlab/gosnoldlab/
and let me know what you think.  On the personal side of things, Sam and I got married in October in Jamestown.  Also, I know many of you received Tim's and my invite for the geology reunion and I just wanted to let those that could not attend know that we had an awesome time!  There were about 15 of us throughout the weekend, but among those who attended were Tim Seiple, Sam Kelsey, Susan (Herrgesell) and Jack Zimmerman, Tara Jones, Lynn Hamilton, Jerry Blustein, Jessica Ustick (and her fiancé), and Jeff Roth.  It was so great to see all of them and catch up on everything.  We had lots of laughs and lots of beer, played frisbee in the sunshine, explored the island where I grew up, crawled all over the rocks in the state parks, walked on the beach, looked at pictures, and enjoyed each others company.  I hope we can do something like that again next year because I miss you guys!  Enjoy life and keep smiling!
 
John Pusey 
40 Lovell Court, Apt. A-3 
Wayne PA 19087 
jtpjr 1933@aol.com
Earth Engineering, Incorporated 
1717 Sweede Street 
Blue Bell PA 19422
    I am a geologist at Earth Engineering.  I excel as a soil engineer evaluating various sites in the Philadelphia area.  I enjoy conducting geotechnical investigations for potential business parks, housing developments or office buildings.
 
Laurea Salvatore
lsalvato@teksystems.com
Tim Seiple 
seiple@geologist.com
Environmental Scientist
HDR Engineering, Inc. 
Pasco, WA
tseiple@hdrinc.com
    At work - Primary duty: Total Dissolved Gas Studies, Data Management, Reporting.  Secondary duty: Design and build automated water quality monitoring systems. Company profile: generally a civil engineering firm but Environmental work is growing.  The use of GIS is also growing company wide and across all disciplines.  HDR is based out of Omaha, has offices in every state and can be explored at http://www.hdrinc.com.
    At home - The beautiful semi-arid Columbia Plateau (or basin depending on one's perspective) of Washington State has been my home for nearly two years now.  For those that have never been to the northwest it is a collage of geographic niches rich in geological, archeological, and paleontological history.  Washington is composed primarily of micro-continents that have collected along the ancient western coastline of North America which barely intersects the northeast corner of the state in the form of the Northern Rockies.  Amazing to think that the west coast of long ago is now 4 hours east of Seattle. Much of the existing basement rock east of the
Cascades has since been covered by massive outpourings of basaltic lava creating one of the largest volcanic plateaus in the world.  I live pretty much in the central portion of the this area.  Noel Potter taught me about this place in Geomorphology one day with some slides of carved canyons and overgrown sand bars.  He was telling us about the Bretz Floods.  I never knew such a place existed and never in a lifetime did I expect to actually see first hand the same structures that Noel brought back to Dickinson to show a kid from Pennsylvania.  Flying over the Channeled Scablands as I entered the Tri-Cities for the first time really connected what I had learned to the real thing. Thanks Noel.
    My first impression of the Plateau from the ground was quite different.  I soon felt that I was living in a desolate, brown, dry, lifeless landscape that harbored the ghosts of forgotten nuclear power plants.  Over time I've learned to "see" the openness and began to love the
subtle variations in color, smell of sage, and 300 days of sun annually.  My job provides me with an opportunity to travel extensively throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.  This is when I truly experience the NW. Driving for only a few hours, in some cases a few minutes, I can see the landscape change dramatically.  Standing on my porch, facing north by northeast I can make out the Palouse hills one of the best prairie environments I have ever seen with reliable cycles of exquisite flowers in the spring, long, hot, dry summer days during which I ride my road bike for hours without being disturbed except by wildlife, and winters that cover the rolling hills with crusted snow that absorbs every vibrating wave so that when you stop skiing for a minute the silence make your ears ring.  Directly to the east
are the granites of Idaho that foster a somewhat sub-alpine environment that keeps snow through late June.  Just to the south are the Wallowa and Blue Mountain Ranges that contain countless wilderness areas, incredible summits, and pristine subalpine environments hidden in hanging valleys from glaciers past.  To the immediate west along the foothills of the central Cascades are dozens of streams and rivers that are the eastern drainage from the mountains to the mighty Columbia river which starts in Canada.  These waters provide world class fly fishing for salmon, steelhead, and trout.  Only Montana and central Idaho can pry me from such rivers as the Deschutes, Klickitat, Yakima, Cowlitz, Lewis, and Hood.  Of course further to the west are the Cascades which are broken by the Columbia River near the
Oregon border to form the Columbia River Gorge.  The peaks of Baker, Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Hood, and others dominate the horizon, especially when flying out of Seattle; early morning vistas are the best because of the colors. From atop small hills near my house I can spot some of these volcanoes which are nearly 200 miles away.  These places are what surround me.  My dear friend Ruth Allen will surely remember these same places since she grew up in Richland.  Who could have guessed that we would share this strange connection in addition to attending Dickinson.  Funny how small the world can be.  It has taken my entire time here to explore the few places I
described above.  Beyond this there are endless unique places to visit within a few hours driving including Olympic National Forest and the Coast.  My list of things to do will keep me here a while longer and will likely be my home again some day.
    So what does one do with all of this diverse nature.  Rock climbing, backpacking, and mineral and fossil collecting are my top three.
When there is time, a scenic drive to a new area is always welcome.  I try never to waste a single day and use road biking and hiking to fill in gaps during the week.  With landscape like this, road biking is more like rapid hiking.  Skiing, fishing and soon enough hunting are stuffed in when possible. My other favorite hobby is reading.  There are always geology books open or bookmarked around the house but I also love to read books by people who have lived in the NW their entire lives and want to share their knowledge and experiences.  Ever since my first backpacking trip out here I have wanted to become saturated with the NW to know its history and to experience the lifestyle that it offers.  The hardest part for me is choosing a spot that is close to as many of my favorite activities as possible but then I can only think about the special places that I have to leave behind.  it seems that the more of the NW that I see the more heart wrenching it becomes to stay in one location.
    Geology may not be what I get paid to do but it has allowed me to see the earth in a unique perspective and for that I am grateful.  The NW seems to be an ideal place to reinforce my earth studies.  My old textbooks have proven to be more invaluable now than in college as I compare books to rocks each day.  As much as I love it here I do not discriminate against any rock or landscape so I hope to spend some time in the south west and Alaska.  But when I am older I think Washington's mix of winter and summer, steep and level terrain, and wonderful wines will better suite my tired and worn out body.  God bless the geology staff at Dickinson for changing my life and the
way I understand what I see through my eyes.  And depending on your personal beliefs, thank God or nature that we have retinas that are stimulated by electromagnetic waves ranging from 700 nm to 400 nm in order to enjoy the color and forms of the earth.
    To all, feel free to come visit me.  Ruth and Parke Welcome home.  Congratulations Maria E. and Jabby on recent engagements but not to each other.  Good luck Geno on your move south, don't let them know you're a Yankee they still love the confederate flag down there - ask Meredith!  Jonesie Baby see you at Jablonski's.  Zbell, I've tried calling you but you must still be in a van down by the river. Mr. Cox...MIA still?  Emily Gaskin, I heard you're off the market - so who is this guy.  Has Niemitz repainted that well house yet?  Thanks Jeff, Gene, Marcus, Noel, and Pat.
 
Jessica Ustick  
ustick.jessica@adlittle.com
M.S. 1999 - Univ. of Edinburgh Geologist 
Arthur D. Little 
Cambridge MA
    My masters was in Research in the Natural Environment with a concentration in geology.  I returned to the states in January 2000 after 1.5 years of living in Scotland.  Since the beginning of May, I've been working for Arthur Little in their Global Environment & Risk division.  For the moment, I'm still living at home with my family.
 
John Zbell 
jzbell@lbghq.com
LBG, Inc. 
126 Monroe Turnpike 
Trumbull CT 06611
    I am still working at Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. Professional Ground-Water and Environmental Engineering Services.  I was promoted to Hydrogeologist II and have become involved in many key jobs at the firm.  In particular, I am currently working on remediation and monitoring programs for contaminated gasoline stations and shipping terminals owned and operated by a fairly large petroleum supplier in the northeast.  Hope everyone is doing well!

PALEONTOLOGY  STUDENTS AT WORK - SPRING 1999

1999

Ruth Allen  
callen3772@aol.com
Masters candidate Univ. of Nairobi, Kenya
    In the Fall of 2000 I will begin graduate studies thanks to a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship.  I will be in East Africa for one year and look forward to exploring the geology of the Rift Valley region.
 
Susan Bachman 
sbachman@paulweiss.com
Litigation legal assistant 
Paul Weiss Rifkin & Wharton Garrison 
New York NY
Adam Tagliamonte 
adamtags@hotmail.com
Self-employed musician, freelance environmentalist
    I've been working the sales end of the recording industry at this hip Portsmouth shop, and recently landed a new job with a local non-profit mental health center as a counselor...Portsmouth is a wonderful, supporting place for artists, musicians and progressives.  The people are great, if not a bit city-centered, and there's lots of places to play music right downtown.  The summer is tourist season, and I look forward to the opportunities there! (Plus living sustainably outside and working the local organic farm/distributor.)  Keep on chasin' that dream and don't forget to enjoy the adventure!

2000

Christopher K Junium
Graduate Student
Department of Geosciences
Pennsylvania State University
    I have found my way to Penn State to pursue a degree in geochemistry and paleoclimate. I have not decided yet whether to get an M.S. or go
straight for the Ph.D. My project will be an investigation of early Cretaceous high latitude paleoclimate. My advisor and I have our sights set on field work in Svalbard and hopefully ODP leg 107...but we need to get it funded first.  School has been intense, but great. You will also not be surprised to hear that my tendency to stay up late has not changed.  If you are rolling through State College, drop me a line.
 
Melissa Shannon
mshannon@craworld.com
Conestoga Rovers & Associates
559 Uwchlan Avenue, Ste. 120
Exton PA 19341
    Since graduation I have been working for an environmental consulting company.  I was hired as a Geologist, and I mainly do fieldwork like environmental sampling (soil and groundwater) and monitoring well installation.  It's a really fun job, and all the outdoor work keeps me quite happy! 

 

MINORS AND FRIENDS OF THE DEPARTMENT


NAME, ADDRESS,EMAIL ADVANCED DEGREES EMPLOYMENT


1989

Paul Gorman
NAMROG69@aol.com
Pitney Bowes, Inc.
100 Oakview Dr.
Stamford CT 06902-6829
    I get to indulge my geology hankerings 2 to 3 times per year with visits to my sister in Denver.
 
Jennifer (VanPelt) Sisk
jsisk@ecri.org
M.A. 1991 - Physical/Earth Science West Chester Univ. Senior Clinical Writer/Health Technology Assessment Group
ECRI Inc.
5200 Butler Pike
Plymouth Meeting PA 19462

1990

Cheryl (Altschuler) Hart
clhart@exchange.ml.com
M.A. 2000 - Asian Studies 
Seton Hall University
Graduate Certificate  2000 -  International Business 
Seton Hall University
Supervisor, AVP, Benefits & Investment Solutions
Merrill Lynch & Company

1992

Susan (Schmeling) Butterfield
schmelbo@cs.com
M.A. 1998 - Teacher of Social Studies
Teachers College, Columbia Univ.
World History and Latin American Studies teacher
Passaic High School
Passaic NJ 07055-4895
    Believe it or not, geology comes in very handy in teaching world history, and my students have become used to my "one-minute geology lectures" in our class discussions.
 
Kristina M. Wilson
kwilson@neighborhoodamerica.com
Operations Manager
Neighborhood America
4380 Gulfshore Blvd. N, #808
Naples FL 34103

1993

Amy (Dinkins) Allen
aedallen@hotmail.com
Arthur Andersen LLP
33 West Monroe Street
Chicago IL 60603-5385
    I have actually managed to utilize my degree in Political Science to the minor in Geology by focusing on environmental compliance.  I spent approximately five years with Woodward-Clyde Consultants (now URS Greiner), followed by two years in environmental management for a manufacturing facility. Just recently, I started with Arthur Andersen's Environmental Services Division.
 
Nancy Grim
NRGrim@hotmail.com
Masters of Public 
Administration - 2000
Kutztown University

Lehigh Cement Company
7660 Imperial Way
Allentown, PA 18195

  Yes, although I was a geo minor, I somehow wound up working for a cement company! Granted, I'm in their information technology department, but I do get out to the plants on a regular basis. The geologists in the company are often taken aback when they find out one of the corporate computer persons can actually discuss the geology-side of cement with them. Having the background definitely makes my job easier and more interesting!
 

1996

Thomas Blaser
tblaser@bdlaw.com
J.D. 2000 - Vermont Law School Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
1350 I Street, NW, Ste. 700
Washington DC 20005

1998

Julie Olivier
jo_bluejay@hotmail.com
Wilderness Aware Rafting
P. O. Box 1550
Buena Vista CO 81211

If anyone knows where Henry drove this "house", let us know!!!!!


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