Late Summer and Fall at USF have been exciting! Two of our faculty, Len Vacher and Costanza Bonadonna, will receive national awards at the annual GSA meeting in Denver. Read on!
The Department welcomes Dr. Costanza Bonadonna as a new member
of the Faculty. Dr. Bonadonna is a physical volcanologist specializing
in modeling the effects of volcanic eruptions. She is currently working
on projects in New Zealand, Nicaragua, and at Mt. Etna, Sicily. Dr. Bonadonna
received her B.S. from the University of Pisa, Italy, and her Ph.D. from the
University of Bristol, UK. She comes to USF from the University of Hawaii,
where she was a SOEST Fellow, perhaps the most prestigious Fellowship
awarded by that University. In November, Dr. Bonadonna will receive the
Geological Society of America Outstanding Young Woman Geoscientist Award
at the annual meeting in Denver. Following that meeting she will head
for the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the
Earth's Interior meeting in Chile. There she will receive the
Outstanding Recent Graduate Award in recognition of her outstanding
contributions in volcanology made as a doctoral candidate at the
University of Bristol. This award goes to the PhD in the last three
years who has made the most significant contributions to volcanology.
Be sure to welcome Dr. Bonadonna to our department!
Dr. Bonadonna is not the only member of the faculty to receive a
prestigious award at the national GSA meeting this year! Dr. Len Vacher will receive the
Neil Miner Award for excellence in Geoscience education from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers
at their annual luncheon. As many of you
realize, Dr. Vacher has led a spirited campaign to improve the level
of quantitative thinking among all geology majors. This has resulted
in new courses (Computational Geology), new ways of thinking
about undergraduate education in Geology, and ultimately recognition at
the national level for his work in quantitative literacy (even though
I note that Len does not strive for - and perhaps actively avoids -
this recognition!). Len Vacher's column in the Journal of
Geoscience Education casts the lessons he has developed over the years
in a way that other geoscience educators appreciate and can pass on to their
students. This column is a huge contribution to geology because it promotes
a beautiful and fresh way of thinking about our science.
Need a fresh look at Florida paleoclimate? Dr. Greg Herbert is just
the ticket! Dr. Herbert is joining our faculty this Fall as a
Visiting Assistant Professor. Dr. Herbert is a specialist in
Florida Neogene paleontology, having just arrived from the University
of California at Davis, where he studied Floridian fossils. Having
recently arrived on the right side of the continent, we anticipate an
explosion of paleontological research in Florida quarries. While visiting
USF, Dr. Herbert will be teaching Historical Geology and Sedimentary
Record-3. Take his courses and discover more about the geology underfoot!
As usual, our graduate students are on the move! Dr. Ivan Savov successfully defended his PhD this summer. In September he will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Dr. Savov will continue his studies of volcanism at an active collisional boundary in the TransCaucasus, continuing a project he participated in at USF under the auspices of a NATO grant. Graduate students Kevin McCarthy and Steve Guggino also successfully defended their Master's theses this July. Each of these graduate students received a $2000 cash award from the Department for successfully defending outstanding theses.
Our faculty are on the move too! Professors Sarah Kruse and Tom Juster have returned from their one-year sabbatical in Costa Rica. Professor Jeff Ryan continues at the National Science Foundation as Program Director in Geoscience Education. Professor Rick Oches continues his appointment this Fall as Interim Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Professor Rob Watts continues his appointment in Geology as a Visiting Assistant Professor, teaching Solid Earth I and Physical Geology this Fall.
Chuck Connor, August, 2004