


Dear alumni, friends, and supporters of CMU’s Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, Another year filled with learning, activities, and exceptional student accomplishments has passed. As we begin the 2024-25 academic year, we feel fortunate to welcome Amanda Suchy, Frank Hall, Collin DeYoung, and Matt Tuftedahl to the EAS faculty. At the same time, we sadly say goodbye to Dr. Zach Johnson who is entering a new and exciting phase of his career.
After eight years as the department chairperson, Larry Lemke is stepping down and Wendy Robertson will take the helm of our remarkably rich and diverse learning community. We are both excited about the future of our department and confident that the overarching commitment to our students’ success that characterizes EAS will continue under Dr. Robertson’s leadership.
In addition, we are profoundly grateful for financial and in-kind support from our alumni and friends that helps us provide immersive experiences such as the generous field trips, independent research, and discipline-specific professional development opportunities for our students. Your contributions really do make a difference in the growth and motivation of our students throughout their educational journey – thank you!
Cheers!
Larry Lemke
Professor and Outgoing Chair
EAS Department
Wendy Robertson
Associate Professor and Incoming Chair
EAS Department
Students, faculty, and staff across the CMU campus enjoyed the remarkable opportunity to view the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Viewers in Mount Pleasant witnessed 93% occlusion of the sun on that day.
EAS provided certified eclipse viewing glasses to every student in all its classes and to many other people at CMU and schools in the surrounding community.
A fortunate few of us were also able to travel south into the path of totality for a spectacular experience that we will never forget!
New faces around the CMU Climate and Severe Weather Group are always a great thing, and during the last year we were joined by Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Subhadarsini Das, and Ph.D. students Kaleb Clover and Aaron Zeeb.
Subhadarsini and Kaleb are working on projects supported by the National Institute for Standards and Technology to build climate change impacts on severe weather into the next generation of design standards and codes and hopefully contribute to the next American Society of Civil Engineers standard.
Aaron is part of a project with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln that is looking at the often neglected left-moving supercells (cells that move to the left of the mean flow in the atmosphere as they rotate) which are thought to regularly produce large hail over the United States.
Our group was well represented at the AMS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, with presentations by Alan Rosales, Dr. Deepak Gopalakrishnan, and Carlos Cuervo-Lopez, focusing on validating atmospheric model datasets and future projections of how severe weather may change.
Marty Baxter developed and taught two new undergraduate courses this year. Advanced Weather Forecasting featured a visit to the National Weather Service, along with students trying their hand at creating a wide range of forecast products from Tornado Watches to Small Craft Advisories to Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts. Introduction to Meteorological Data got our firstyear students creating weather maps using Python for the first time, with big hopes for what they will do with these new skills through the rest of the program.
Marty advised senior undergraduate Lauren Harvey on her Honors Capstone project, which focused on assessing students’ tornado preparedness on campus. Lauren is off to the University of Oklahoma for a Master’s degree in the Fall.
Additionally, Marty continued to advise Mid-Mitten Weather View in its second year. The group was recently featured in a news story from ABC 12 in Flint. The experience students have gained from this group has prepared them for a new internship writing a twiceweekly weather column for MLive. com. Marty worked with MLive to set up this opportunity as an exclusive partnership with CMU’s meteorology program.
Several faculty in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences were honored for their outstanding academic achievements this year.
Mona Sirbescu was elected to Fellowship in the Geological Society of America in recognition of her sustained record of distinguished contributions to the geosciences. Mona’s work to advance our understanding of lithium-rich pegmatites and her extraordinary efforts to train and inspire the next generation of geologists were cited in her nomination for this high honor.
Anthony Chappaz received the 2024 College of Science & Engineering Award for Outstanding Research, which recognizes significant achievements including publications and grant awards. Anthony is a molecular geochemist whose research focuses on trace element geochemistry and stable isotope analyses with applications to environmental processes in modern and ancient environments.
Jason Keeler was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Jason’s research focuses on understanding and predicting mesoscale boundary layer processes in the atmosphere. At CMU, Jason has successfully garnered external research funding, outfitted a mobile mesonet, and engaged undergraduate and graduate students in exciting meteorological field work.
The STARLAB has become a large research group with many padawans walking the path of trace element molecular geochemistry. The greenest are EAS undergraduate students majoring in ENS, GEL, or MET, while the more experienced are postdoctoral researchers. Currently, there are 8 postdocs, 9 PhD students, and 5 undergraduate padawans who are part of the STARLAB. This includes graduate students and postdocs I co-advise from other institutions/countries who usually spend a few months per year at CMU.
This year I want to highlight two padawans: Dr. Masha Tashakor and Carmine Sabatini
Mahsa spent a year at the STARLAB working on an NSF-funded project examining the geochemistry of trace elements interacting with iron sulfur phases in sedimentary systems. During that time, she wrote several research papers for top ranked geochemistry journals. Such publications enhance the scientific reputation of researchers who have reached her level. I wish she could have stayed longer but people from some countries must deal with challenges that many of us are not even aware of. Her path has been difficult, yet Mahsa has overcome every roadblock (scientific or administrative) she encountered to become an outstanding geochemist. I am thrilled that Mahsa has secured a new position at the University of Pau & Pays de l’Adour (France). The good news is that we’ll keep working together!
Carmine finished his junior year pursuing a major in environmental sciences with a GIS minor. He is also part of the first CSE INSIGHT cohort. For more than a year now, Carmine has been a STARLAB research assistant acquiring tons of new skills related to trace element analysis. STARLAB manager Aurélie Dhenain commended him for his rigor and commitment which is an achievement by itself considering Aurélie’s standards for meticulousness in the cleanroom. In July, Carmine will join a research cruise on another NSF-funded project that will collect long cores from the Great Lakes to reconstruct their history. He will sail for two weeks and then join a team of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs from five US institutions who will process these precious samples at the Continental Scientific Drilling Repository in Minnesota. When you start a major with us you never know where it may lead you…
This past year, I published academic papers on seasonal hurricane forecasting and climate impacts on water resources. You may have seen me in the media discussing the El Niño impact on this past winter in Michigan. An El Niño favors warmer and drier wintertime conditions in Michigan, which we clearly saw. Compounded by climate change, the warmer and drier weather greatly impacted winter sports in Michigan. I also taught several classes, including Quantitative Environmental Data Analysis, Climatology & Climate Change, and Atmospheric Modeling. It's been a fantastic academic year, but I am embarking on a career change this summer.
As I prepare for a new chapter in my career, I want to express my gratitude to you all. I am grateful for the amazing memories I garnered as a professor, working alongside brilliant faculty and teaching motivated and talented students. The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science has been my second home, allowing me to scratch that intellectual itch and providing me with lasting friendships. To my students, both past and present, thank you for challenging, inspiring, and allowing me to share my passion for weather and climate. Your enthusiasm has inspired me to be a better educator and mentor.
I am shifting to an industry role as a Climate Risk Advisor for a government contractor in international development. International development is the process of improving the economic, social, and political conditions of developing countries by reducing poverty, promoting sustainable growth, and enhancing the well-being of people. As we know climate change impacts all of these elements. I think climate change will become the greatest challenge of this century and beyond, and many countries need to be equipped to mitigate these changes and become more climate resilient. My career transition will help address climate risk in developing countries, something I am deeply passionate about. Thank you all for your support, and please keep in contact.
Behind every successful department is a highly effective office professional and EAS is no exception! In recognition of her outstanding work ethic and compassionate attitude toward others, Mary Valkos was selected to receive a 2024 CMU Staff Excellence Award.
Mary serves as the EAS office professional and executive secretary. She is responsible for administrative and clerical support including budgets, inventory, supplies, scholarship applications, departmental events, expense report reconciliation, and oversight of our student classroom and office assistants, to name a few of her many duties.
Mary also displays a passion for planning and executing special events that bring joy and a sense of community to our department. She is a talented videographer who helped
to film several videos in support of our annual departmental food drive competition. Her enormous behind-the-scenes efforts to produce those videos contributed to an atmosphere of camaraderie among our faculty and students.
Perhaps most importantly, Mary is responsive and warm in her interactions with everyone around her. She is the ‘go-to’ person for our students who come to her with questions, concerns, and ideas. Our faculty rely upon Mary when they need help finding something or managing their expenses. And, of course, Mary answers our phone and countless email inquiries every week. Her demeanor when communicating with parties outside our department is invariably professional.
Mary Valkos’ contributions to the daily operation and long-term success of our department are deeply appreciated. While it is an honor to be nominated for consideration, it is a considerable feat to be chosen for this award. Congratulations, Mary, for this well-deserved recognition!
Rachael Agardy’s Sedimentology & Stratigraphy students visited MGRRE and worked with the delta simulator in the lab. By learning to integrate depositional environment concepts with physical models, seismic data, and core, CMU geology students build a predictive model of the subsurface. These skills will aid them in investigations of environmental science, energy exploration, and carbon capture and storage.
courtesy of CMU alumnus
Scott Pratt who gave us a tour of the most recent remedial operations there. And in the lab, they simulated a contaminant breakthrough curve by running iced tea through a packed sand column.
Marty Baxter’s Advanced Weather Forecasting students visited the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids. Students learned from multiple
Hydrogeology students visited Deerfield Park in Isabella County where they observed artesian wells on opposite banks of the Chippewa River and formulated conceptual models based to determine if they were completed in the same aquifer based on well drilling records and present-day observations. They also visited the Velsicol Superfund Site in St. Louis, MI,
NWS forecasters about their forecast processes, how they communicate with partners, the tools they use, and how they establish a practice of continuous improvement through education and training
The MET 470 students also enjoyed a networking lunch with CMU meteorology alumni.
CMU alum Colton Cichoracki took his Broadcast Meteorology students to the WILX studio in Lansing where they received a tour of control room, watched a live broadcast, and spoke with the WILX news anchors and chief meteorologist.
GEL 550 Economic Geology students spent four days in the Upper Peninsula visiting a copper mine, meeting exploration geologists, networking with EGLE and MGS staff, and exploring the gold-zinc-copper deposit at the Back 40 Project in Menominee Co. CMU alum Nolan Gamet was instrumental in helping to organize their trip.
Students from GEL 270 Field Methods joined the GEL 310 Mineralogy/Petrology students on a fall trip to the UP where they studied diverse geologic formations from the Archean
Mona Schist in Marquette to a post-Ordovician kimberlite near Crystal Falls. They conducted geologic mapping around the banded iron formation deposit in Republic and visited the famous Jasper Knob BIF outcrop in Ishpeming.
Geology, Environmental Science, and Meteorology majors worked together in MET 301 Climatology and Climate Change to explore the properties of carbon dioxide gas and its behavior as a greenhouse gas.
Bill Henderson’s ENS 307 Environmental Field Sampling and Laboratory Analytics class visited a farm in Mecosta County where they drilled soil borings,
installed a groundwater monitoring well, and collected soil samples for laboratory analysis with pXRF and ICP-MS back at CMU.
It was a fun and productive year in the Keeler group, with good news to share on teaching, research, and overall career fronts. As a mesoscale dynamicist, it was a joy to teach Mesoscale Meteorology for my first time in Fall 2023! Based on my own research in this area, course materials related to sea breezes, urban heat islands, lake-effect storms, and convection in winter storms were expanded. This was also reflected in the diverse range of phenomena represented in students’ outstanding case study presentations.
I’ve also enjoyed continuing to work on research with recent alumni Dr. Christian Boyer (Ph.D., 2023) and Brian Rakoczy (B.S., 2023), including two publications
currently in review. My research on instability maxima on the cool side of airmass boundaries has continued, with a focus on determining the climatology of this phenomena and processes responsible for its development on the cool side of sea- or lake-breeze fronts.
In major research-related news, I am thrilled to announce the NSF-funded Maritime to Inland Transitions Towards ENvironments for Convection Initiation (MITTEN-CI) field campaign, which I will lead in July 2024, along with collaborators at the University of Illinois, Texas Tech, CU Boulder, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In short, MITTEN-CI will result in new knowledge of Lake Michigan’s influence on if, when, and where thunderstorms develop in lower Michigan. Active preparation for the campaign is underway; stay tuned for an overview of the campaign in next year’s newsletter.
Lastly, in career-related news, I am pleased to share that I have been granted tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, effective August 2024. Thank you to all alumni reading this who have contributed to my growth as an educator and researcher at CMU!
During the 2023-2024 academic year I continued studying changes in North American snowfall climatology, modeling of long-term Great Lakes precipitation and hydroclimate, and Great Lakes meteotsunamis. I was able to present preliminary results from a Lake Michigan meteotsunami at the 2024 Annual AMS meeting.
In a funded project led by Dr. Wendy Robertson, several of the faculty spent time at U.S. DOE laboratories over the last year to develop more collaborative opportunities, which resulted in a visiting scientist appointment at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to work on climate modeling over the Great Lakes.
Through a NOAA Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training grant, led by Dr. Rod Lammers (Engineering) and including Dr. Robertson, we have been developing Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for high school students to help build community flood resiliency, especially in light of climate change.
I was selected to participate in an NSF-funded workshop to help develop an Atmospheric Science Education Research sub-discipline and I spent the last year conducting research on alternative grading in the atmospheric sciences in support of this goal. I also presented on the topic of alternative grading practices at the AMS Annual Meeting and am continuing to work on several projects along that line of inquiry.
I took a sabbatical during the spring 2024 semester, in which I focused on climate informatics.
The past year was exciting, and it went by all too fast! Notable highlights for me and my research group include:
Attending the October 2023 GSA Connects national meeting in Pittsburgh with an incredibly motivated group of EAS students and faculty. We connected with many CMU alumni in the Steel City and enjoyed a generous dose of Earth science content and culture. I gave a presentation on integrating virtual and boots-on-the-ground field trips in our Structural Geology class.
Teaching MET 301 Climatology and Climate Change class for the first time. New course preps are hard work, but this class, which is required for meteorology, geology, and environmental science majors alike, was special! The knowledge of atmospheric processes, climate variation over deep time, and systems science contributed by the MET, GEL, and ENS majors, respectively, created a synergy that motivated all of us to explore one of the most pressing challenges of our time with greater scientific rigor.
Co-mentoring undergraduate student Emily Satawa on a geochemistry research project with Anthony Chappaz. Emily investigated lead and cadmium in a sediment core she collected from an inland lake in south central Michigan. She learned field methods, lab analysis, and how to successfully manage two professors who served as her co-advisors! Emily’s project culminated in a poster presentation at the 2023 GSA meeting in Pittsburgh and she is entering the Water Resource Policy M.S. program at Grand Valley State University this fall.
Eleanor McFarlan’s McNair Scholar/Honors Capstone research project. Eleanor’s work on PFAS migration across a groundwatersurface water interface in Kent County, Michigan earned multiple honors including best CMU S.T.E.M. Honors Capstone Project and the 2023 GSA Geology and Health Division Undergraduate Student Poster Competition Award. Her first-author manuscript is in review for Science of the Total Environment. Eleanor will start an M.S. degree in geology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison this fall.
Dr. Robertson and her group had a productive and exciting year! Some highlights include:
Sarah Krzemien’s honor’s thesis on the ecohydrology of forested to herbaceous wetland transitions following emerald ash borer invasion is now a first-authored publication in Hydrological Processes. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.15117
Dr. Robertson’s game, Hydrologic Cycle, had a successful crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter! Selected as a Project We Love by Kickstarter Staff, Hydrologic Cycle raised over $7,500 and will be making its debut with updated art, a 2-sided board, and expansion packs for Climate Change and Human Abstraction at GenCon in Indianapolis this August. Copies of the game and the accompanying Curriculum Guide, for implementation in K-12 and university classrooms, will be available through the Central Michigan University Press’ website this summer.
Supported by her recent U.S. Department of Energy grant, Dr. Robertson and CMU colleagues received a loan of AquaBOT from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. An unmanned aquatic surface vehicle, AquaBOT allows researchers to collect water quality data, including pH, DO, temperature, conductivity, and nitrate concentration, with high spatial resolution in rivers, lakes, and streams. AquaBOT will be traveling around Michigan this summer, making visits to Beaver Island & the CMU Biological Station’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, to several coastal deltaic systems along Lake Michigan, to the Shiawassee State Game Area, and more. If you see AquaBOT, be sure to say hi! Special thanks go out to Drs. Natalie Griffiths and Eric Pierce at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for facilitating the loan of AquaBOT and training CMU researchers on operations.
Dear alumni and friends, Meldrum, who is graduating this August, Joy Youngblood, recipient of a SPAR summer research scholarship, and Noah TenHagen, our newest team member. Together, we made great strides this May, searching for more lithium pegmatites in Northern Wisconsin. Looking back, I've advised over 50 student projects since 2003. With research mentorship mastered, there's no way I'm stopping now!
Other accomplishments include Clara Brennan’s (B.S. 2017, Ph.D. 2023) spodumene paper in Ore Geology Reviews, which received a lot of praise. We've also continued our collaboration with Brazilian soil scientists, and a paper on compost, first authored by my Fall 2023 Brazilian guest and analyzed in our lab, is already published in the highimpact journal Waste Management So yes, I do research beyond just pegmatites. Thank you deeply for helping our programs wherever you are and however you can, and please don’t be strangers!
The past year was enjoyable and productive for my research group and the students I taught. A highlight was our Economic Geology field trip to the UP at the end of Spring 2024. During this 4-day adventure, we had the unique opportunity to visit the Upper Peninsula Geological Repository near Marquette and explore the gold-zinc-copper deposit at the Back 40 Project in Menominee Co. We also attended an excellent and relevant presentation at Northern Michigan University, went underground in the historic Quincy copper mine, and dug for minerals in mine tailings. The trip concluded with an overview of orogenic gold mineralization around Marquette. Besides being exposed to geology, the students benefited immensely from networking with EGLE, MGS, and exploration geoscientists. A big thank you to Nolan Gamet (B.S. 2020) who helped with the logistics!
Our fantastic CMU Lithium team delivered strong presentations at the 2023 GSA-Connects in Pittsburgh last fall. I'm incredibly proud of Jacob
In a new twist, EAS challenged the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to a food drive competition last fall. Consequently, all of our ENS, GEL, and MET students worked together with the EAS faculty and staff to defeat the much larger group of CHM students and faculty in true David-vs-Goliath fashion!
Although CHM got off to a fast start, EAS surged in the final weeks to win the competition by a substantial margin, collecting 6.023x1023 individual beans, kernels, grains, noodles,
and spaghetti O’s, which spilled over onto an adjacent pallet. We are happy to report that the coveted Pork-n-Beans trophy continues to reside in the EAS Department office for another year!
Together, we collected 1893 pounds of nonperishable food and personal care products that were donated to the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen and the CMU Student Food Pantry. Way to go CHM and EAS!
I had several research projects going this semester. One project has been exploring greenhouse gas (CH4 and N2O) emissions from Great Lakes coastal wetlands. We are finding the coastal wetlands have higher CH4 but lower N2O emissions than the open water environment. This study also included winter sampling of greenhouse gasses- data forthcoming!
I also have a project beginning this summer with Dr. Rod Lammers in the School of Engineering and Technology exploring the ecosystem services provided by Shiawassee State Game Area. We are looking at the role this wetland plays in flood mitigation, nutrient retention, greenhouse, gas emissions, and providing bird habitat.
Julia Shablin (Environmental Science major) completed a project exploring the effects of vegetation on accumulation of microplastics in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. She presented this work at several CMU events and at the International Association for Great Lakes Research conference in Windsor, Ontario.
Another strong year at the Geophysics and Geomechanics lab included the following highlights:
The first PhD student, Adedoyin Adeyilola, successfully defended his thesis on reevaluating the petroleum potential of the Devonian Antrim Shale in the Michigan Basin.
An undergraduate student, Julia Daniel, completed their Senior Thesis on testing the sensitivity of a new lab setup for volumetric gas adsorption measurements.
I developed and successfully taught a new course on Engineering Geology (GEL 305), which included students from the Geology, Environmental Science, and Environmental Engineering programs.
A grant application with Western Michigan University, Michigan Geological Survey, and Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education was selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy. The multi-faceted collaborative project focuses on Advancing Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in the Michigan Basin. The CMU contribution will center on a geomechanical evaluation of caprock units in the Michigan Basin for geological storage of carbon dioxide. It will provide additional research and training opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students in at the EAS department in the next two years.
At the recommendation of our Geology Alumni Advisory Board (GAAB), EAS has established a new account that will be used to broaden participation of CMU geology, meteorology, and environmental science students in professional organizations aligned with their field of study (such as Geological Society of America, American Meteorological Society, National Association of Environmental Professionals, or the American Geophysical Union).
We know that active involvement in professional societies is an effective way of exposing students to professional practices in their discipline while providing valuable networking opportunities. To that end, the new EAS Student Professional Development Fund will subsidize student memberships and provide partial funding for travel to attend regional and national meetings of these organizations, regardless of whether students are making a presentation.
Of course, we will continue to use the Meteorology Student Travel Fund, Environmental Science Student Travel Fund, and Alumni Geology Student Travel Fund to support our highest achieving students who are presenting their own research at scientific meetings, but the goal of the new fund is to send larger cohorts of students to these events, particularly when they are within driving distance. This objective is consistent with Priority One of the CMU Strategic Plan, which includes a SMART goal of providing EVERY undergraduate student with an immersive experience within 5 years.
We are grateful to GAAB member Scott Pratt (B.S. ’97) for a generous donation used to establish this fund. Like the Edmore Meteorite Undergraduate Research Fund, the EAS SPD Fund is set up as a ‘spendable’ account. This means that contributions to the fund can be used to provide immediate support to our students.
Please make a donation to the EAS Student Professional Development Fund and help us to grow...
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Thank you to all of the alumni and friends who helped support the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences over the past year!
Ms. Theresa Barnard
Dr. Marty Baxter
Ms. Brandi Boyd
BP Foundation Inc.
Mrs. Emily Brandner
Mr. Nathan Brandner
Mr. Eric Branum
Mrs. Lindy Columbini
Ms. Amber Conner
Dr. Melissa Crider Andrea
Mr. Loren Curtis
Mrs. Daria Wubbels Devantier
Mr. Jeffrey Devantier
Mrs. Cam Moore Ellis
Mr. Jeffrey Ellis
ExxonMobil
Mr. Daniel Figac
Mr. Tom Godbold
Mr. William Henderson
Ms. Kristin Herndon
Mr. Mark Jeffery
Dr. Jason Keeler
Mr. Paul Keiper
Mr. Jonathan Kolak
Mr. Ryan Krueger
Mrs. Vicki Krueger
Dr. Larry Lemke
Mrs. Wendy Lemke
Dr. Donald Marks
Mrs. Patricia Marks
Mr. Mantez McDonald
Geoinge Foundation
Mr. Cory Paliewicz
Mr. Scott Pratt
Mrs. Mary Riordan
Shell Oil Co Foundation
Mrs. Mary Donnelly Simon
Dr. Mona Sirbescu
Dr. Emily Steinbis
Mr. Terence Stevens
Mr. Scot Striffler
Mr. Shawn Teagan
Mr. Derek VanDam
Dr. Jordan Watts
Ms. Barbara Yantis
Mr. David Youngquist
CMU Geology, Environmental Science, and Meteorology Alumni – Where are you now? What are you doing? We genuinely would like to know!
Please send a letter to the department or an email to our chair (rober2w@cmich.edu) and fill us in on your whereabouts, your career, and your achievements. Let us know if you would like to share your experiences during Alumni Career Day or if you are interested in serving on one of our Alumni Advisory Boards. Thank you for helping us to keep in touch!