Summer 2024 GEONEWS

TRINIT Y

Ear th and E nv ironmen ta l

SUMMER 2024 GEONEWS GEOSCIENCES

PHOTO BY TEDI DEL PRETE, '24

Greetings from the Chair

Days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting warmer, and we’re in the midst of a great summer of field trips, undergraduate research, and a break from the academic calendar. Students in majors’ field trip just returned from their adventure in Big Bend National Park, and faculty and students are planning field and lab research here at Trinity in Marrs McLean as well as at spectacular locales in China, Utah, Minnesota, and Arizona.

The department continues to be strongly supported by our generous alumni, which allows us to leverage our strengths to support students in the classroom, lab, and field. Importantly, we are about to launch the public phase of a fundraising campaign to fund a field and technology endowment in honor of Glenn Kroeger and Diane Smith, who are retiring at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. This new fund will enable us to engage our students more deeply as they strive toward more complete understandings of the geosciences here at Trinity and in their careers that follow.

Read more about this fundraising effort in Department News.

Back in the early 1990s, Trinity Geology became Trinity Geosciences, a reflection of the departmental transition from more traditional geology to include other related disciplines, such as geophysics. Faculty research, student interests, and curricula have evolved since then, and we have come to focus on both classic earth sciences and environmental disciplines within the broader geosciences. In response, the department recently made the decision to modify our name to make explicit all that we do – we are now the Department of Earth and Environmental Geosciences. On and off campus, though, we plan to continue to informally identify as “Geosciences.”

Perhaps most importantly, we ask you to consider joining us for our spring 2025 Alumni Fieldtrip! Tentatively scheduled for February 21-23, 2025, we would love to have a great turnout from across the decades, visiting Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, the Canyon Lake spillway, or other Hill Country sites.

As the page turns to the 2024-2025 academic year, we continue to be amazed at the generosity of our donors. Our parents and alumni donations have made it possible for our students to participate in opportunities that few schools our size can match. With your support, our students have shown us their ability to think critically, to communicate well, and to engage in scientific research from the class project level to senior theses and peer reviewed publications. They continue to succeed in internships, graduate school, and as working professionals across a wide range of geoscience fields.

I wish you all the best!

Sincerely,

Ben Surpless, Department Chair

SEALAN LEDAT, '23 @ WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT DURING THE 2023 MAJORS' FIELD TRIP (PHOTO BY GEORGE BRADLEY, '24)

Like the new look for our newsletter? Ben designed and laid out this newsletter in Adobe InDesign using text and photos from faculty, students, and staff. For a printed version of the newsletter, contact geosciences@ trinity.edu, and we'll print a copy for you in the department.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Trinity University and the department continue to evolve, with the establishment of schools within the University, a new Dean system, new faculty joining the department, and the growth of the Earth and Environmental Geosciences major. We have healthy numbers in classes at all levels, and faculty-student research is thriving, supported by a range of funding sources, including from endowments established by alumni and from external sources like the National Science Foundation. The number of declared Earth and Environmental Geosciences majors reached 41 this spring, with 16 sophomores, 15 juniors, and 10 seniors. The sophomore and junior classes are the largest back-to-back classes in the department since the classes of 1982-1984 (18, 18, and 17 majors in those classes, respectively), which is a great sign for the future of the department.

The newly named D. R. Semmes School of Science includes the departments of Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, Psychology Biology, Computer Science, and Earth and Environmental Geosciences. David Ribble (Biology) is the School’s inaugural Dean, and with the extraordinarily generous naming gift from the Semmes family, the School is in the enviable position of charting a new course for our students and faculty in what is an interesting time across higher education. We will keep you updated on School news in future newsletters.

In the department, Tracy Berg keeps things running smoothly as our department operations specialist, and Richard Silver, our lab and field technician, continues to make sure that all aspects of class, lab, and field activities run perfectly. Cait Livsey, an environmental geoscientist, has been a dynamic addition to the department as a visiting assistant professor, and Kurt Knesel, a volcanologist, is our new assistant professor.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, Graham Edwards will join the faculty as an assistant professor. Graham is finishing up his post-doc at Dartmouth College.

If you haven’t visited the department recently, donations from generous alumni have allowed us to install new exhibits on 2nd floor Marrs McLean. These include PaleoRoy, our saber-toothed cat skeleton replica (donated by Evelyn Oefinger, ’82), an interactive video wall, which allows students to explore a range of global datasets visually, a spectacular 160 lb. meteorite sample from the Canyon Diablo crater (Sunset Crater in Arizona), generously loaned to the department by Phil Mani ('80), and a sparkling minerals display loaned by Scott West ('78).

Finally, we are about to officially launch a campaign to raise funds for the Diane R. Smith and Glenn C. Kroeger Geosciences Endowment. This endowment will support Trinity Geosciences students in their efforts to leverage the knowledge, skills, and confidence that are required to become successful leaders after Trinity. The endowment will support field work in the geosciences and the purchase of equipment and software. The Diane Ruth Smith Field Award would support fieldbased initiatives including but not limited to field trips, field research by faculty and/or students, and field camp attendance by students. In addition, the Glenn C. Kroeger Technology Fund will support the purchase of technological equipment and software that are so vital to the success of Trinity Geosciences students’ learning and skill-building.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the department, school, or University!

You can contact us any time at geosciences@trinity.edu.

In spring 2023, 13 Geosciences majors traveled with faculty leaders Dan Lehrmann, Brady Ziegler, and Les Bleamaster to west Texas and southern New Mexico to explore and learn about the geology of the region. Richard Silver, as always, provided amazing field planning and support. In spring 2024, Kurt Knesel and Ben Surpless led a group of 20 students to west Texas to learn about the geology and evolution of the Marathon uplift and the geology of Big Bend National Park.

In spring 2022, Brady’s Hydrogeology class traveled to the Ed Roy Jr. Groundwater Training Center in east Texas. The Center, the brainchild of David Shiels (‘83), offers students the opportunity to conduct field work on a real-world aquifer, taking what they’ve learned in the classroom and putting it into practice.

PHOTO BY BRADY ZIEGLER

STUDENT NEWS

We start our student news by celebrating the majors who have won departmental awards and honors over the past two years; these students have demonstrated achievement in the classroom, the lab, and the field. Our generous alumni have provided extraordinary support for everything from academic scholarships to lab and field support and support for student-faculty research. We start by celebrating Maia Dykstra (‘23) and Audrey Davis (‘24), who won

the top departmental awards over the past two academic years. On the following pages, we list the students who have won other awards, leaving their mark on the department. The faculty have always been impressed by the efforts and achievements of Geosciences majors - the last two years of awardees continue a long tradition in academic excellence and deep engagement in the geosciences.

OUTSTANDING SENIOR STUDENT AND TINKER FAMILY GEOSCIENCES AWARD

Maia Dykstra (‘23) hails from Asotin, a small town in eastern Washington state. When she came to Trinity, Maia knew she wanted to pursue a field within the natural sciences, but she didn’t know which one. Maia visited Trinity as a prospective student and talked with Kurt about doubling with geosciences/biology. Once on campus, she extended that conversation when Maia took Solid Earth Processes from Kurt in 2020. She realized how much she liked the geosciences courses she was taking as cognates for a biology degree - Maia soon declared Geosciences as her second major.

When asked about why she loves the geosciences, Maia states, “I just really like standing in roadcuts.” Her favorite part about studying geosciences (and natural sciences, in general) is how much insight those sciences give you about the world around you and how the Earth has evolved to this point. Understanding the processes that make Earth the way it is and the connections between different systems, biotic and abiotic processes, is, to her, the best thing ever. Maia says that she didn’t take a single geoscience course that she didn’t like but that structure and hydro are up there for her favorites.

As Maia finished at Trinity, she decided she needed a change of scene, and what better time to move abroad than for a Masters? Maia felt that having the opportunity to do what 6 year old Maia wanted to do for a living was a pretty golden opportunity. James Cook University is in one of the best locations in the world to study marine sciences, so she says it was an easy decision. Maia is excited to start thesis work next year, and she has loved finding others in her cohort with a geoscience background who are also losing their minds over coral reef geomorphology!

Audrey Davis (‘24) tells us that being involved in the Geosciences department has truly been the most formative element of her time at Trinity, not only because of the wealth of knowledge that has been provided but also because of the supportive, tight-knit community provided by the professors, her fellow Geoscience students, and the support of alums who walked the halls of Marrs McLean discussing rocks and minerals long before current students.

Audrey graduated from Trinity with a B.S. in Environmental Geosciences and a minor in Chemistry. However, she has enjoyed the opportunity to delve into a wide range of connected subjects like environmental engineering, public policy, and environmental studies courses. Taking courses in a range of interconnected topics has continually reinforced the vitality of her liberal arts education in developing strong critical thinking skills for multi-disciplinary comprehension and cooperation.

After taking a gap year to gain work experience and refine her thesis to submit for publication, Audrey plans to begin graduate school in Fall 2025. She believes a vital part of the scientific process is communicating the work we do in order to expand scientific comprehension of climate and the environment at the individual and community level. She intends to do her PhD in a program where she can continue environmental geochemistry-related research to help develop solutions for environmental issues, coupled with garnering experience in policy and science communication to advocate for such solutions.

Maia in the field

Audrey in the lab

ED ROY JR. OUTSTANDING RESEARCH IN GEOSCIENCES

In 2023, the department awarded Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill and Mark Nickels these research awards. Both Nathaniel and Mark wrote senior theses, working closely with their advisors Dan Lehrmann and Brady Ziegler, respectively.

In 2024, the department awarded Audrey Jennings and Remi Kurita these awards. Audrey was advised by Ben Surpless and wrote a senior thesis. Remi worked closely with Kurt Knesel and Dan Lehrmann on two separate research projects.

ED ROY JR. IMPACT AWARDS

These awards celebrate students who have had a positive impact on the department academically and socially. To the right, we include student awardees from 2023 and 2024.

2023

Logan Crews

Joelle MacDonald

Sidney Strickland

2024

George Bradley

Tedi Del Prete

Paige Langford

Josi Tesauro

ROBERT LOWELL FREED SCHOLARSHIPS

The Freed Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in the study of earth materials. The scholarship was established to honor the impact of Bob Freed (Emeritus) upon the department and the students who excel in mineralogy and petrology. The students shown at right were awarded these scholarships during the 2023 and 2024 awards ceremonies. The 2023 recipients were Remi Kurita and Paige Langford, and the 2024 recipients were Anna Heikes and Cate Shaffer.

EDWIN ECKERT SCHOLARSHIPS

These awards celebrate students in the department who have had excelled academically. To the right, we include student awardees from 2023 and 2024.

2023

Audrey Davis

Audrey Jennings

George Bradley 2024

Demi Durham

Morgan Gingerich

Olivia Saari

SOUTHWEST GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIPS

Awards from the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society celebrate students in the department who have had displayed academic achievement in the geosciences. To the right, we include student awardees from 2023 and 2024.

2023

Jude Hardee

Josi Tesauro

2024

Zoe Frausto

Jude Hardee

SOUTH TEXAS GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIPS

The South Texas Geological Society (STGS) awards one scholarship per year to a rising Trinity junior. The Harold D. Herndon Scholarship then provides funding to help support that student for the remainder of their time at Trinity. This scholarship recognizes academic achievement in the geosciences. The first Herndon Scholarship was first awarded in 2022 to Josi Tesauro (‘24). In 2023, Miranda Noren (‘25) received the scholarship award, and in 2024, Anna Heikes (‘26) received the scholarship award.

THE AIPG NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

The American Institute of Professional Geologists awards fewer than 20 national scholarships to undergraduate students who demonstrate academic excellence and potential to become a professional geologist. This year, the AIPG awarded Anna Heikes (‘26) the national scholarship. AIPG board member Roger Lee traveled to San Antonio to personally present the award to Anna.

SIGMA GAMMA EPSILON EARTH SCIENCES HONOR SOCIETY

The Society of Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) was established to recognize academic achievement and professionalism in the geosciences. The Trinity chapter of SGE, Delta Xi, was established in 1980. The photograph below shows the SGE officers reading from the SGE student initation script. The script includes “appear-

ances” by key figures in the history of geological thought, from Agricola to Mary Anning (from left to right, Paige, Tedi, Taylor, Audrey D., George, and Audrey J play their roles). The “performance” lays out the ethical and professional standards of the honor society.

2023 SGE Members:

Zoe Baker

Jade Bondy

Timothy Bradford

George Bradley

Logan Crews

Audrey Davis

Sarah Davis

Teruko Del Prete

2024 SGE Members:

George Bradley

Meredith Brashear

Audrey Davis

Teruko Del Prete

Demi Durham

Elizabeth Edwards

Sadie Eidson

Jacob Doolittle

Maia Dykstra

Sadie Eidson

Audrey Germany

Jude Hardee

Audrey Jennings

Austin Klein

Taylor Kotfas

Remi Kurita

Laura Fitzsimon

Zoe Frausto

Audrey Germany

Morgan Gingerich

Haley Hamel

Jude Hardee

Anna Heikes

Audrey Jennings

W.A. TARR AWARDS

Paige Langford

Sealan Ledat

Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill

Cody Loewenstine

Joelle MacDonald

Adam Mann

Taylor Miner

Jasper Neath

Mark Nickels

Michael Kohl

Remi Kurita

Paige Langford

Cody Loewenstine

Charles Long

Adam Mann

Taylor Miner

Luke Moreton

Each year, students in Sigma Gamma Epsilon select one of their classmates who has had a positive impact on the department. The awardee for 2023 was Joelle MacDonald, and the awardee for 2024 was Audrey Davis.

Ava Peinhardt

Maria Perez

Avery Puig

Isabella Schag

Charles Sheppard

Sidney Strickland

Caroline Strong

Josephine Tesauro

Miranda Noren

Ava Peinhardt

Maria Perez

Olivia Saari

Benjamin Schyma

Catherine Shaffer

Josephine Tesauro

Photo credit: Richard Silver

GEO CLUB

In our time in Trinity University’s Geology Club, first as members and later, as officers, we’ve watched as the club evolved from the limitations of our remote semesters during uncertainty of the start of COVID-19 to returning to its original form as a source of community and camaraderie. This club has served as a connection amongst not only Geosciences majors and minors but also for others interested in Earth sciences across campus, such that this year, the number of active members in the club is the highest it has been in our time at Trinity.

The Earth and Environmental Geosciences Department is unique in that the work we do, in the field and in our labs, coupled with the smaller department size creates close knit friendships out of classmates. As such, a club meeting effectively equates to a gathering of friends. During the 2023-2024 school year, we worked to create those social opportunities in the face of students’ busy schedules and Trinity’s academic rigor. Geology Club this year has looked like board game nights in Majors’ Lab, geoscience trivia for neat mineral sample prizes (kindly donated by Dr. Diane Smith), and taking a field trip to the Witte Museum to enjoy dinosaurs and walk along the San Antonio River.

A particular favorite of this year was hosting S’mores & Scheduling nights, where club members came together to roast s’mores over the Murchison fire pit and exchange advice about course registration. These events helped connect upper and lowerclassmen who otherwise may not have overlapped in their Geoscience journey, as they found common interests and shared their experiences about making their way through college at Trinity. Ultimately, these s’mores nights came back in many forms throughout the year even outside of registration season, like s’mores with a pre-eclipse guest lecture from Dr. Les Bleamaster. There’s little else that

draws in geoscientists quite like sitting around a fire at dusk talking about geoscience with friends, even when the majority of that time is spent trying to get the fire started and keep it lit in a recently rained-on fire pit. But isn’t that part of the bonding experience?

Next year, we plan to respond to the shifting composition of our department with a name change of our own, moving from Geology Club to Geo Club. We feel that this modified name would honor the roots of the club, while shifting focus to the population the club serves now, which is a growing cohort of those interested in how Geosciences engage with other disciplines, truly reflecting the liberal arts nature of our university. In the last few years, we’ve added two positions to the Geo Club officer roster: that of an event coordinator (added in Fall 2021) and an outreach chair (beginning Fall 2024). Through these positions, we hope to continue building connections with other student organizations across campus and beyond, like reaching out to alumni and others interested in engaging with Geo Club to talk about opportunities, experiences, and more.

Next year in Geo Club, we are planning to continue classic activities such as going to the Witte, s’mores nights, and rock painting. On the horizon are movie nights, outreach in the community, and collaborations with other student organizations such as Outdoor Recreation and EcoAllies. We have the biggest leadership group so far and are excited to continue making Geosciences fun for everyone! Geo Club hopes to continue building on the strong sense of community that currently exists in the department to foster a welcoming club for majors, minors, and anyone else who shares a love of rocks and the environment. Follow our journey on the Geo Club instagram @tugeology!

Audrey Davis ('24) and Meredith Brashear ('25)

Geo Club visiting the Witte Museum

MAJORS’ FIELD TRIP

Many alumni have fond memories of their experiences on majors' field trip. Although we have some amazing geology in the heart of Texas, only by traveling to other parts of the country can faculty and students observe and learn about the geologic evolution of the North American continent through geologic time.

The trip is a true bonding experience, as faculty, students, and staff live together, eat together, sleep in suburbans, and binge on gas station snacks as one big, mostly happy family. Majors' field trip is the most rewarding but expensive activity that the department engages in - alumni support in the form of the Ed Roy and Tinker Family endowments continues to make these experiences possible.

In spring 2023, we traveled to New Mexico and West Texas, investigating the Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands National Monument, and the spectacular geology across the region. Dan, Brady, and Les led the trip, with Richard aiding in all aspects of planning for and executing the trip west. Many of the photos from this trip are sprinkled throughout this newsletter.

This year, Kurt, Ben, and Richard planned and executed our trip to the Marathon uplift and Big Bend, investigating the Ouachita orogeny, depositional environments of the Western Interior Seaway, and the volcanism and structural geology so spectactularly exposed in Big Bend National Park.

Next year, in spring 2025, Dan, Brady, and Richard will lead a trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin, investigating everything from Precambrian rifting to glacial deposits to hydrogeology.

Majors' Field Trip in West Texas, Spring 2024 (photo by Richard Silver)

TRINITY GEOSCIENCES MAJORS

Below, we list our majors by year. The number of students in the department has remained healthy over the past decade, and we've recently seen a spike in declared majors, especially in the classes of '25 and '26. If this trend continues, we may reach numbers similar to what the department had back in

Class of 2022

Matthew Anderson

Ryan Alford

Elizabeth Beauchamp

Chris Goldmann

Tanner Lacy

Class of 2023

Jack Avolio

Logan Crews

Maia Dykstra

Sealan Ledat

Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill

Joelle MacDonald

Class of 2024

George Bradley

Elliott Conely

Audrey Davis

Tedi Del Prete

Laura FitzSimon

Spring 2024 Department Photo

Emma Morgan

Josh Morgan

Anna Shockley

Luke Stuart

Natalee Weis

Jasper Neath

Mark Nickels

Isabella Schag

Charles Sheppard

Sidney Strickland

Caroline Strong

Audrey Jennings

Michael Kohl

Remi Kurita

Paige Langford

Josi Tesauro

the early 1980s. This increase in majors appears to be tied to our efforts to emphasize to students the wide range of applications of their degree to disciplines across the geosciences, extending from mining and oil & gas industry careers to careers in hydrology, clean energy, and across a range of environmental fields.

Class of 2025

Meredith Brashear

Emily Brodie

Demi Durham

Sadie Eidson

Zoe Frausto

Haley Hamel

Jude Hardee

Uriel Huerta

Class of 2026

Zach Anderson

Isabel Garcia

Rose Garrett

Morgan Gingerich

Joey Gurule

Anna Heikes

Charlie Long

Luke Moreton

Violet Koppenhaver

Cody Loewenstine

Taylor Miner

Carter Nicol

Miranda Noren

Andrew Phillips

Olivia Saari

JP Palmer

Erin Rodriguez

Bella Rueda

Cate Shaffer

Sophie Shipman

Sumaya Tandon

Landon Vaughn

Wyatt Kenny

FACULTY NEWS

The past two years have been fantastic for the department, with faculty at different stages of their careers excelling in their teaching, research and service. As we approach 2025, the department will continue to evolve as Glenn Kroeger and Diane Smith enter the last year of their phased retirements and we welcome new faculty to Trinity. Students continue to be the reason we do what we do, and now that we have distanced ourselves from the COVID pandemic, I think that we have gained new appreciation for how important in-person learning in the field, in the lab, and the classroom is to our lives and general satisfaction as faculty members at Trinity.

On the following pages, faculty past and present review their lives since our last newsletter. Diane and Glenn will teach their last courses as faculty in the 2024-2025 school year, and we will welcome our newest faculty member, Dr. Graham Edwards, a glaciologist and planetary geologist. Kurt Knesel, who has been a dynamic teacher and researcher in the department, is now an Assistant Professor, teaching courses like Earth Materials, Earth Resources, and Oceanography and executing physical volcanology

research. Congratulations to Brady, who earned tenure this spring and is now an Associate Professor! We're also lucky to have Visiting Assistant Professor Dr. Cait Livsey, an environmental geoscientist, teaching a wide range of courses in the department next year - she has been a fantastic addition over the 2023-2024 academic year. Next year, we will be searching for another environmental geoscientist to support our fantastic students. We still hear from Bob Freed, Tom Gardner, and Walt Coppinger, our emeritus faculty, all of whom significantly contributed to building the dynamic department we have today.

Over the past decade, our students have become increasingly interested in working with faculty to perform directed research, and we don't see this trend changing in the near future. Our alumni have made this increasing student engagement in research possible through their donations to the department. Without that support, Trinity Geosciences Faculty would not be able to engage in the range of projects that we have. We truly appreciate the real, lasting impact our alums have on everything that we do.

Diane leads her Soild Earth Processes class on a fieldtrip to Enchanted Rock in fall 2023.

Photo by Richard Silver

Les Bleamaster

Let’s see… what’s been going on in the Trinity bubble lately? Well, we have a new department name, part of the newly named D. R. Semmes School of Science (I am now the Director of Operations), there’s a new strategic plan in the works, and a revised campus master plan (a committee which I chaired) awaiting alignment with the strategic plan. But let me tell you, none of that compares to the awesomeness of experiencing not one, but two solar eclipses passing right through central Texas. Well, maybe the size of the check that came with the school’s naming, but it’s a close call!

I will admit, before these past two eclipses (October ‘23 and April ‘24), I had never been that mesmerized, and that’s something coming from a planetary geologist. I vaguely remember seeing some sort of eclipse in middle school, but beyond that, I never paid much attention or understood all the hoopla. Even the 2017 eclipse, when most of the physics department (and Glenn) traveled to the path of totality and returned with tales of wonder, it still did not really pique my interest. But all of that has changed now, and I guess I would call myself a true eclipse junkie.

I think my new fascination has a lot to do with how involved I was with Trinity’s two “Space Weeks,” and how both brought so many disparate people together for a common experience. Along with a committee of enthusiastic partners, we put together two interdisciplinary programs that included distinguished lectures, panel discussions focusing on humanistic/cultural and business/ entrepreneurial aspects of space, three viewing parties, and what’s Space Week without a Space Jam featuring Space Jazz from the Trinity jazz ensemble?

While all events were fantastic, my top highlights included co-organizing the Annular Eclipse Party on October 14th with Jennifer Steele from Physics & Astronomy (see photo above, left). With heaps of help from Geosciences

and Physics students (many of them taking Planetary Geology), we transformed upper campus into an activityfilled, scaled model of the Solar System. Between campus and community participation, we estimate close to 1000 people gathered to experience the Ring of Fire (cue Johnny Cash, I mean literally - we played it!).

For Space Week Two, Dr. Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian, accepted our invitation to give the Walter F. Brown Family Distinguished Scientist Lecture (see photo above, center). Ellen and I have collaborated on several Venus projects but hadn’t seen each other in well over a decade, so it was great to catch up.

And finally, the culminating event, the Total Eclipse viewing at Knibbe Ranch. Despite the weather not playing nice in the end, students, colleagues, friends, and their families embarked on 11 buses at 6AM to enjoy a day of… for lack of better words, not giving a darn! Over 300 Tigers headed north up 281 seeking totality (see photo of Jana and me, above, right). What was not entirely expected was to be greeted by a natural wonder and historical treasure trove. Trekking along the stream, birdwatching, hayride tours of the ranch, poetry writing with Jenny Browne, and some subtle eclipse education materials thrown in, were the perfect distractions from hectic April life at Trinity and a fitting prelude to the big show. For those with high expectations, a cloudy totality may have fallen short. However, for me, the guy who never gave eclipses much thought, when the clock hit 1:33.38 (as predicted) and night descended over the ranch, and ALL fell silent – catching many off guard – an already beautiful day was crowned (no we didn’t see it) with an emotion I’d never experienced before. And it was mostly because I felt connected to everyone at the ranch, and even those spread across Texas and elsewhere, as we paused to share this fleeting moment together. I can’t wait to do it again!

Cheers, Les

Walt Coppinger (Emeritus)

Hello to all of our “older” friends and colleagues, as well as to alums and students!

This is a MILESTONE YEAR for Roberta and me. It was 50 years ago this fall that I was invited to join the Geology Department at Trinity University as an Assistant Professor. I had two job offers: one from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and one from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Alaska was tempting, but Trinity had what I wanted. A small department (4 professors), and faculty dedication to teaching high quality undergraduate courses, including practical experiences in field work, handson lab work, and a commitment to work directly with students and guided by student interests. Plus, I was impressed with the faculty that I would work with: Don McGannon (Chair), Edward C. Roy, Jr. (Ed), and Robert (Bob) Freed. Each was a unique and impressive character – as any student who worked with them soon discovered. Legends and stories would abound over the years, mostly true – a few, perhaps embellished a bit. But the group worked well together as Trinity continued to evolve.

In 1974, Trinity was advertised as “The University in the Sun.” It was considered a “regional” school with mostly Texas students and an impressive Division I Tennis team. Academic rankings were not spectacular. Then Administrative goals changed and so did the university. Trinity dedicated itself to becoming a nationally-ranked undergraduate institution. It was a long process and not always comfortable or kind.

We soon added the first of two Distinguished Professors, Perry Roehl, a sedimentologist and stratigrapher. Following Don’s death, we hired Diane Smith, an igneous petrologist. Her role in the department and later Trinity’s administration is well established. She is a cornerstone upon which the existing department is built. She inspired many of her students to successful careers in geology.

Recognizing the need for geophysics and more quantification in our program, we hired Glenn Kroeger to provide that field plus adding additional expertise in computer science and applications to the curriculum. After Perry retired, we hired Tom Gardner. By this time, I had progressed to the position of Department Chair.

One of my first chores as Chair was to shepherd the proposal to change our name from Geology Department to Department of Geosciences to better reflect the disciplines across the department; the faculty quickly voted in the name change.

Ed Roy was appointed as our second Distinguished Professor when he stepped down as Vice President of Academic Affairs and returned to teaching duties. Shortly after this, we were permitted to do a new search for an entry-level position. This was my last duty as Chair. We had several very good candidates but were most impressed with Kathy Surpless, an outstanding candidate in all respects. We were thrilled to have her accept our offer. Kathy’s husband, Ben Surpless, soon followed and was also added to the staff. And here we are. Still growing and changing for the better.

A quick summary of T.U. Geology, excuse me, I mean Geology, then Geosciences, and now Earth and Environmental Geosciences, over our past 50 years.

We are well, and our children are all grown and successful. We still love Montana but miss the Texas winters! We would do it all again! T.U. was a great adventure for us and we hope for you as well. Keep up the good work.

Our best to everyone!!

Walt and Roberta Coppinger

Walt and students at Pedernales Falls in the 1990s.

Graham Edwards

Hello Earth and environmental geoscientists of Trinity! I am an incoming Assistant Professor in the department, starting in Fall 2024. I am really excited to move to San Antonio and join and meet members of the Trinity community. Please say "hey!" and introduce yourself if you run into me! In the meantime, here's a little about me...

I grew up in Wisconsin, at first near the city of Madison and then in the lesser-known town of Sturgeon Bay, where the post-glacial landscapes instilled my fascination with ancient ice sheets. From there, I moved to Brunswick, Maine for my undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College, where I majored in Earth & Oceanographic Sciences and minored in Classics. I fell in love with the liberal

arts and studying records of natural history to tell stories about Earth's past. After finishing college, I worked as a server, a bartender, a substitute teacher, a wildland firefighter in the U.S. Forest Service, and a curatorial intern at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum. Then, I started my PhD research at the University of California Santa Cruz, where I studied isotope geochemistry and learned how to use the chemistry of rocks to reconstruct past Earth and planetary processes. Through geochemistry, I got to study past ice sheet processes in the Arctic and Antarctic as well as the high-temperature evolution of Earth and asteroid interiors. Now, I'm preparing to move to San Antonio from the "Upper Valley" of the Connecticut River between Vermont and New Hampshire, where I have been a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College and kept a foot in both the planetary/ astronomy worlds.

I am super excited to develop research projects and collaborations with Trinity students to explore stories of ice sheets, soils and groundwater, solar system evolution, and environmental histories.

This Fall, I'll be teaching Global Climate Change and setting up a computational and analytical geochemical lab in the Department of Earth and Environmental Geosciences. What does building a lab look like? How and why do climates change? How will this new geochemistry lab study climate processes? I'm looking forward to meeting you all and answering these questions and more!

Tom Gardner (Emeritus)

Hello to all the alums, retired and current faculty and staff, and current students,

I’m now in my seventh year of retirement and doing well as are all the Gardners. Aside from entering my 4th quarter (75th birthday in January at Joshua Tree National Park) this year brings some very big and exciting news. First, Blair, our youngest son, got married to Megan Frost, in upstate New

York in October of 2022. Perfect Fall weather and the “after ceremony” oysters were fantastic. Second, Susan and I are now grandparents. Can you believe it. Sofia Gardner was born on September 10, 2022 to Nathan and Ragen Keck here in San Antonio. Let me tell you she is a real Texas pistol, too. Here’s a picture of her at the Trinity Tiger statue. She had just finished running up and down the practice soccer field by the Bell Center. This summer we plan to teach her to swim at the Trinity outdoor pool.

Susan and I continue to do our summer travels: it just keeps getting hotter and hotter here in San Antonio, so we head north. In 2022 we did the California coast for 2 months travelling from San Diego to Monterey Bay. It never got above 80 degrees. Whoopie!! If you ever get a chance to visit the Channel Islands National Park, do it. Fantastic islands.

In 2023 we did another 2 month trip to Quebec Province, circled the Gaspe Peninsula, hopped over to Prince Edward Island (for more oysters) and then down through Acadia National Park to Portland Maine (for even more oysters). Only one day in Montreal was the temperature over 80 degrees. I would include a few travel pictures like I did in the 2022 newsletter, but I think Ben said only one picture. So you get Sofia, which is better anyway.

For 2024 we are going to circle Ireland along the coastal roads, and then head over to the Outer Hebrides Islands in Scotland and on to the Lake District National Park in western England, ending in Eryri National Park in western Wales. Both of those are World Heritage Sites.

I hope all of you have a great 2024. Be safe and best wishes.

Tom and Susan

Tom and Sofia with LeeRoy on Trinity's campus.

Kurt Knesel

Greetings to all. I’m happy to report a few exciting developments since our last newsletter. Most notably, in spring of 2023, I transitioned into a tenure-track position, while welcoming a new member to the Perlingeiro-Knesel family. Knox is now 12 months old, and his big brother, Kyle, is approaching eleven way too fast. Gabi and I have our hands full, but we are thrilled to be new parents once again.

Beyond adjusting to life with a newborn, I’ve been busy expanding our program for volcano research at Trinity. Our new Raman microscope was installed in the chemistry superlab at the end of last semester and is ready to support research that will be undertaken this summer by two of our brilliant students, Em Gingerich and Charlie Long. Em will use the microRaman to detect and quantify nano-crystals in volcanic glass, which may have an outsized influence on suspension rheology. Charlie will investigate melt molecular structure and its governance of rheological properties, such as melt viscosity,

fragility, and the glass-transition temperature. These new Raman projects will complement our ongoing work using Trinity’s scanning electron microscope to characterize mineral and glass chemistry. Most recently, Remi Kurita has built on the micro-chemical work started by Chloe Campo (‘20) and furthered by Isabella Schag (’23) to better understand the role magma chamber conditions have in dictating volcanic eruption style. Remi presented her findings at the Annual GSA meeting in Pittsburgh, and we are currently developing a manuscript we hope to submit this summer before Remi heads off to graduate school in Austin.

In addition to teaching some of our staples over the past couple years (Oceanography, Volcanology, Solid Earth Processes and Earth Materials), I am offering a new course in Mineral Resources this spring. Although it has been a lot of work putting the course together, I’ve learned a great deal in the process. And, as the semester draws towards an end, I am eager to see what our students have discovered in their critical mineral projects. I’m also thrilled to be heading back to Big Bend this May for our major’s field trip. Not a bad way to kick off the summer!

Best wishes to all.

Kurt teaching Earth Materials on the outcrop (photo by Richard Silver)

Glenn Kroeger

Two years have passed since the last newsletter, and I am two years into my three-year phased retirement. I am teaching only in the spring while Diane teaches in the fall. Last spring I taught GIS and Remote Sensing and the second iteration of our Senior Capstone Seminar. I am teaching GIS and Remote Sensing and a section of Oceanography this spring. On one of the Oceanography field trips in early April, I realized that I have made over 80 trips on the UTMSI RV Katy in the last 37 years with three captains and half-a dozen or more naturalists.

Still, every trip and trawl is a new adventure. Teaching GIS this semester has been more challenging than usual as, after 15 years, I am migrating the course and assignments from the traditional ArcGIS desktop applications (ArcCatalog, Arc-Map, etc.) to ArcGIS Pro. ESRI is discontinuing academic licensing of the old applications this May as they continue to push users to their latest software. As is typical with new software, this brings exciting new capabilities that I have leveraged in the course along with a basketful of new bugs and problems.

In addition to integrating ArcGIS Pro into my course, I am also introducing it into my research. I am adapting the terrain correction algorithm that Aaron Price and I developed to run in ArcGIS Pro and to do forward modeling of free-air gravity anomalies with variable density terrain. This is essential to understanding the gravity data I have for the grabens in Canyonlands NP given the significant density contrast between the loose sandy sediment fill and the sandstone and limestone of the horst blocks.

Karen and I have been able to travel more extensively the last two falls. I finally have the freedom to spend many weeks following and photographing fall foliage (see photo, left). So far, I have concentrated on the San Juan mountains of Colorado, the Tetons and the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains in Utah. I have gotten some portfolio grade images of the hat trick in the San Juan’s and Wasatch, snow, aspen and clouds in the same shot. The drought in 2022 caused the aspen in western Colorado to change at wildly different rates. Some classic locations like Dallas Divide were barren. The Wasatch are spectacular as they combine the yellow-orange aspen with spectacular red maples. Next fall I am heading to Ireland, Germany and then the Cascades. The target for the fall of 2025 is Japan so I am learning conversational and (a little) written Japanese.

Karen continues to substitute teach special education classes at her discretion. Jennifer is in her third year of her Ph.D. program in the Center for Industrial Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment. She has gotten a paper published and presented at an international conference in the Netherlands last summer. She is currently completing her written qualifying exams and will complete her oral qualifying exam soon.

This summer will be busy. Karen is getting a shoulder replacement soon, so we won’t be traveling in early summer. I plan to use the time to get most of my 38 years of accumulated stuff out of my office. If anyone wants some textbooks, drop me an email!

Dan Lehrmann

Hello all! It has been a productive and enjoyable two years! I continue teaching Paleontology, Basin Analysis, History and Evolution of Life, and Geology Resources and Environments of China. I am preparing to lead our study abroad course “Field Geology in China” this summer co-taught with Les Bleamaster (Geos, Trinity), Josie Liu (Comm Trinity), and Xiaowei Li (Guizhou University). We will take 12 Trinity students to work with Guizhou University students for a 3-week study abroad course traveling across Guizhou and Yunnan.

Over the last two years I have continued work on our NSF funded project on the mechanisms for regional dolomitization of carbonate platform strata in south China. Last summer we conducted a 6-week field season in Guizhou with a Trinity undergraduate student (Madison Sears), University of Wisconsin Green Bay professor and undergraduate student, Penn State University professor and graduate student, and Guizhou University professor and graduate students. This summer we will conduct additional field work in China, with Trinity undergraduate students Cody Loewenstine and J.P. Palmer.

Trinity students Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill, Josi Tesauro, Madison Sears, and George Bradley have completed an impressively diverse range of laboratory analyses for the dolomite project including standard and cathodoluminescence petrography, fluid inclusions geothermometry, conodont color alteration index, SEM imaging and EDS elemental analysis, elemental and stable isotope geochemistry and synthesis of data to bear on the problem. All of the students

have presented research at national or regional Geological Society of America conferences. I continue to be involved in local research on the Cambrian marine strata in the Llano area, on the dinosaur track horizons and the environments for track preservation in the Cretaceous Glen Rose Formation, and on Permian, Wolfcampian age turbidites in the Marfa Basin.

Publication with co-authors has continued to rock over the last few years and I am looking forward to crank out papers during academic leave this fall! Papers that have come out since the last newsletter include a diverse range of topics from the soft tissue anatomy of the Triassic marine reptile Keichousaurus, dinosaur tracks of the Glen Rose formation at Davenport Ranch, and Eocene carbonates of southern Italy, to the recognition of synsedimentary slumping in epicratonic seas (Eagle Ford), evolution of Permian foraminifera, patterns of biotic recovery from the end-Permian Mass extinction, and dolomitization of carbonates in south China.

Mei and I are doing well. Mei has taken up hiking with a club and is excited to be getting in shape for hikes in China this summer as she will be an instructor assistant for the study abroad course, and also participate in the field work this summer. Our daughters Dinda and Asmara are doing very well. Dinda (Trinity BA 2020, MAT 2021) lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she works as the Education and Programs Coordinator at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Asmara (Trinity BS 2019) continues working on her graduate studies at the University of Houston where she is studying Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. We hope you all are doing well!

Best wishes from Dan, Mei, Asmara, and Dinda!

Dan teaching about the geology of China to Chinese and American students (photographer unknown)

Cait Livsey

Hello, everyone! I just finished up my first year in the department as a Visiting Assistant Professor and I am excited that I will be back next year in the same position. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Trinity students and community over the past year and I understand where the Tiger pride comes from!

Since I have not had the opportunity to get to know many Trinity geoscientists besides the current students, 2024 grads, and Trinity alums who attended the AGU meeting this December, I figured I would introduce myself a little bit. I grew up in Austin, where I graduated from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in 2008. I headed up to chilly Central New York to attend Hamilton College where I played NCAA field hockey and was a Geoscience major. After a year of travelling/working abroad, I went to Penn State for an MS working with Dr. Tim Bralower on PETM foraminifera assemblage research. I subsequently moved across the country to Davis, California where I completed a PhD in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at UC Davis. My doctoral research centered around Arctic paleoceanography, more specifically using the geochemistry of planktic foraminifera to reconstruct how the Arctic Ocean responded to meltwater input throughout the last deglaciation.

I finished my PhD remotely during the height of COVID in 2021 and decided to focus on teaching for a few years. I accepted a Visiting Assistant Professor position in the Geoscience and Water Science programs at Northland College and once again moved across the country to Ashland, Wisconsin to spend two years on the stunning south shore of Lake Superior. During my time at Northland, I realized that I loved teaching undergrads and the student-centered model of small liberal arts colleges. I was elated to see this job opening at Trinity- not only an amazing department and school, but close to family and friends in Austin!

This year I taught sections of each of the intro courses at Trinity (Volcanology, Earth’s Environmental Systems (EES), and Oceanography), and was so impressed by the

rigor and motivation of the students here at Trinity. We lucked out with weather on almost all of our field trips this spring-- highlights included visiting the Natural Bridge Caverns with EES and trawling in the Gulf of Mexico with Oceanography. I am looking forward to teaching EES and Oceanography again next fall! I am also excited to get some research started with students looking at some recent oceanographic changes indicated in Gulf of Mexico sediments.

I thank everyone for a warm welcome into the Trinity community this year and I look forward to another great year of Earth and Environmental Geosciences.

Richard Silver (lab and field technician)

Hello all, I am nearing the completion of my ninth year at Trinity University working as Lab and Field Technician for the Geosciences Department. Trinity continues to be a very friendly work environment with many opportunities to Discover, Grow, and Become.

As Geosciences Technician, I have been privileged with the task of assisting with setting up physical models for lab activities; for instance, “Slope Failure Simulation Boxes” to help students understand hillslope/landscape evolution, Emriver Em3 Stream table for modeling stream channel dynamics, and also groundwater storage columns to demonstrate the mechanisms associated with groundwater flow from unconfined and confined aquifers in order to examine storage parameters, understand pore pressure and effective stress, and also compressibility and compaction associated with confined conditions.

Additional activities have included supporting faculty and students with course and research related soil analysis with the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, helping with the setup of microscopes at the Trinity University table at the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society’s 62nd Annual Fiesta of Gems, and assisting in the planning of Majors’ Field Trip 2024 to Big Bend National Park.

Last September, some Geosciences students and I attended the 8th annual Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop located at Cave without a Name near Boerne, TX; at the workshop I presented a module indicating various techniques for identifying rocks

in the field, in addition to a mineral identification contest. In April, I participated in Professor Brady Ziegler’s GEOS 3411 Hydrogeology field trip to Kaufman, TX to the property of Trinity Geosciences Alum David Shiels to perform slug tests on a monitoring well, calculate hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, and to conduct alkalinity titrations. As member of the Bexar Grotto, Chapter of the National Speleological Society, I have recently been asked to lead Karst Survey Projects on a ranch near Cascade Caverns by Boerne, TX to look for, dig on, survey, explore, and document any caves and sinkholes significant to the continued development occurring in the area.

Lastly, during Spring Break last March, as a way of serving the San Antonio community, our United Way - Days of Caring/ Service was held at the Salvation Army where Trinity’s rich tradition of service was continued in support of the United Way with our time, talent, and treasure. Volunteers sorted non-perishable food items, cleaned various interior areas, helped prepare for upcoming events, and assisted with yard work.

Richard using his X-ray vision to detect approaching danger on a 2023 Basin Analysis field trip (photo by Tedi Del Prete)

Mineral specimens that Diane purchased department collection. Left - vanadinite top - malachite (Demo. Rep. of Congo); on calcite (China); center - aquamarine

Diane Smith

Greetings to everyone! I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well! Here I share some highlights since our last newsletter.

In early summer of 2022, I co-taught a course on Iceland along with TU geos alum Les Bleamaster and Maria Pia Paganelli (Professor of Economics). The landscapes are some of the most beautiful on Earth (IMHO) and we had unusually warm and sunny weather. It was my fourth visit and I hope to return in the future. I am on phased retirement, so I taught only in the fall semesters of 2022 and 2023. I will teach two sections of Volcanology this fall, which will be my last semester. The “phased” process has been a great way to transition to retired life, which I am greatly looking forward to!

This year I co-authored a paper with Adrian Wackett (2013 TU Geos alum) and two professors from Keck Geology Consortium colleges (John Garver, Union College and Cam Davison, Carleton College): New geochemical and geochronological insights on forearc magmatism across the SanakBaranof belt, southern Alaska: A tale of two belts, 2024, Geosphere, v. 20, p. 451–475: https://doi.org/10.1130/ GES02642. The paper is an outcome of a Keck Geology Consortium research program in which Adrian participated as a Trinity student.

She loves her work and enjoys southern California, especially the weather!

I still attend GSA and AGU meetings, where I have connected with some Trinity GEO-alums. Last February I went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral show for the first time. It was amazing – I felt like a kid in a candy store! I acquired some nice specimens to add to the departmental collection (see below, left). If you haven’t been to it already, I strongly urge you to attend the show! I plan to make it an annual event.

purchased for the vanadinite (Morocco); Congo); right - barite aquamarine (Pakistan)

Last summer, I spent nearly three weeks in Minnesota visiting family and friends. I was very involved with organizing my high school class’ 50th reunion, which was quite the hoot. My home town was small and there was only one school, so we all pretty much grew up together. About a third of the class attended, which was a great turnout. And the weather was a lot nicer than in Texas! The last two summers were brutal and this one is shaping up to be more of the same.

Both my daughters are well. Carrie (now 33) moved from Austin to Minneapolis a year ago. She’s still working (now remotely) for Google and is loving the cooler weather, lower cost of living, and more relaxed pace in Minneapolis compared to Austin. Joanna (now 29) finished her Ph.D. in biostatistics from UCLA in 2023 (see photo above). She took a job with a data analysis company in Los Angeles that contracts with pharmaceutical companies to run thirdparty statistical analyses of drug trial data.

But my big news is that I am getting married this summer. I’ve known David Cooke since 1979 when we were both graduate students at Rice University. He knew Chip and he and his wife had kept in touch with us over the years. He lost his wife to cancer a year before Chip passed. Long story short, we reconnected, found love late in our lives, and can’t believe how lucky we are. Our distance relationship is a little complicated – David is a space physicist (civilian) at the Air Force Research Lab in Albuquerque, but still has a home near Boston where he was first hired by AFRL; his two adult sons currently live in the house. He’s also the executor of the family ranch near Abilene. So, we’ve been going back and forth between San Antonio, Albquerque, the ranch, and Massachusetts – never a dull moment! After I’m fully retired from Trinity in 2025, we’ll settle in Albuquerque until he retires in ~2027. After that, we’re not sure where we’ll end up! We officially “tie the knot” on August 17 in Lexington, Massachusetts, in a church across the street from historic Lexington Battle Green, where the Revolutionary War began. Stay in touch! I hope to see many of you at the Alumni gathering in February 2025!

Carrie, Joanna, Diane, and David Cooke at UCLA for Jo’s Ph.D. commencement

Ben Surpless

The past two years have been a whirlwind of teaching, service, and research. In the classroom and lab, I’ve been thrilled to interact with engaged students in Structural Geology, Global Climate Change, and Earth Surface Processes. In addition, at the end of spring 2023, Kathy handed over the departmental reins to me, so I’ve been learning to “Chair” over the past year. We’ve been deeply involved in revising our curriculum to better meet the needs of our students in the context of Trinity’s transition to a 4-4 student curriculum, and we’ve engaged in faculty searches to make sure that the department remains strong in the future.

This spring, Kurt and I have worked with the Majors’ Field Trip class to learn about the geologic evolution of west Texas, focusing on the Marathon uplift and Big Bend - we really enjoyed our time in the field with students!

On the research front, my NSF-funded work with students continues to be challenging, rewarding, and a source of energy that keeps me excited to be part of such a dynamic and involved department. In the summers of 2022 and 2023, I have led and will lead (in 2024) Keck Geology Consortium Advanced Projects to southern Utah to explore the Sevier fault zone near Zion National Park. I’ve worked with Jasper Neath, (‘23), Audrey Jennings (‘24), Demi Durham (‘25), Isabel Garcia (‘26), and seven students from colleges across the country to perform field and lab research into the development of the fault system and related fracture networks. The photo to the left shows the summer 2023 research crew. Students have been fun to lead in the field and lab, and all of them presented excellent posters at the annual Geological Society of America meetings in Denver (2022) and Pittsburgh (2023). This year, I’ll be leading Demi, Isabel, Lila Ryter (Beloit College), Ariel Montalvo (Whitman College), and Sydney Costa (West Chester College) on another field and lab research adventure!

In 2022, I published a paper with Caroline McKeighan (‘19), in the Journal of Structural Geology, and this year, I published a paper with Wanda Taylor (UNLV), elucidating the evolution of the complexly segmented Sevier fault zone.

At home, the girls are growing up fast - Kayla will attend Grinnell in the fall, and Daria will be a sophomore. Kathy and I cheer the girls on in all that they do, trying to keep up with their hectic schedules. Kathy and I hope to see you at the Alumni Fieldtrip in spring 2025, but if you can’t make it, be sure to drop us a note!

Kathy Surpless

Hi, all! Last time I wrote my newsletter news in spring of 2022, I had recently started a project studying the Galice and Mariposa Formations in the Klamath and Sierra Nevada mountains, respectively, using the sedimentary record within these forearc/intraarc basins to better understand the complex and changing tectonics of the U.S. Cordillera during the Late Jurassic Period. Now I’m wrapping up that project after three field seasons, four data-collection sessions at the LaserChron Center at the University of Arizona (and one more planned for this July), and lots of mineral separations and sandstone petrography! Eight Trinity Geosciences majors took part in this project (three are still actively working on it), and all of them presented their research results at GSA Connects meetings in 2021, 2022, and 2023. One paper resulting from this work was published in GSA Bulletin last year, and we’ve submitted another this spring to a GSA Special Volume.

As I wrap up one project, I’m gearing up for another one. I recently got NSF funding to pursue a collaborative project with researchers at the University of Arizona, Purdue University, and Montana State University. Our first field season will be in summer 2025, working across four transects in western Canada and the U.S. to study subduction polarity during the complex Jurassic-Cretaceous evolution of the North American Cordillera. This new project will involve another six Trinity undergraduates over its 3-year duration, and my students will be working with undergraduates and PhD students from the other three institutions. I’ve got plans for several other projects in Oregon and even locally here in

Texas, but I’ll see how those develop over the next couple of years before reporting on them here.

I finished up my 6 years as Department Chair in June 2023, and I’m very much enjoying my return to the regular faculty. In addition to the greater attention to research, I’m also teaching more. Even as I approach 20 years at Trinity, I still have “new preps,” which prompt deeper thinking about my pedagogy and goals for my students. Last year, I taught a FirstYear Experience course and developed an upper-division Geosciences seminar course “Evolution of the Earth,” in addition to courses I’ve been teaching for a while. This year, I’ve revised (again) my Solid Earth Processes course, and I’m teaching our Senior Capstone Seminar for the first time. Teaching one of the very first courses our intended majors take (Solid Earth Processes) and one of the last courses our graduating seniors take (Senior Capstone) in the same semester has been really fun – it’s great to see how our seniors are integrating multiple semesters of Geosciences so that they can make connections across disciplines and not only read but also evaluate the primary literature.

Outside of teaching and research, I will continue to serve on Council for the Geological Society of America for another two years. It’s been fascinating to see behind the curtains of this fantastic organization, and I’m enjoying playing my small part to keep GSA thriving. I’ve also been involved in the “visioning” stage of developing Trinity’s next strategic plan, and I think the future of both Trinity Geosciences and Trinity University is very bright.

On a personal note, both of our daughters attend the International School of the Americas high school here in San Antonio, but not for much longer. Kayla is headed to Grinnell College in August, and Daria will become the only child at home. I’m not quite sure how I’ll navigate having the first one leave the nest, but I’ll let you know all about it when the next newsletter comes out. Until then, please keep in touch!

All the best, Kathy

The "Galice Crew" poses with hand lenses in 2023 (photo by Cal Barnes, Texas Tech)

Brady Ziegler

Greetings to all! Time continues to fly by at Trinity. The most exciting update I have to share is that I was awarded Tenure earlier this spring! It was a pleasure to use that time to reflect on all that has happened since I began at Trinity six years ago, but I will limit myself here to what has transpired since the 2022 newsletter.

I continue to teach two upper-division courses regularly, Hydrogeology and Environmental Geochemistry, along with the introductory-level Earth’s Environmental Systems. One of the highlights of my year is getting to spend a weekend field trip to the Ed Roy, Jr. Groundwater Training Center with my Hydrogeology students at David (class of 1983)

together to learn why, in fact, some people believe some really weird things. I am happy to say that I will get to teach the class again in Fall 2024.

and Carol Shiels’ ranch (see Brady and David in the photo above). One of the most gratifying parts of this job is watching students have that “ah-ha” moment, where they get to see the real-world application of the abstract concepts we study in class. Our April 2024 trip was full of them!

One new development in the past year was that I cotaught the Department’s seminar course with Ben for the first time, where I had the truly full-circle experience of hosting one of my undergraduate professors, Dr. Kevin Theissen from the University of St. Thomas, as a guest seminar speaker. I also taught for the first time a First-Year Experience class called “Why People Believe Weird Things”. This was undoubtedly a step outside my comfort zone, but it was a blast. It was so fun engaging with students in their first semester at Trinity, where we worked

On the research front, I continue to study groundwater quality and contamination, with an emphasis on trace element cycling, and I have started dabbling a bit into microbiology to better constrain the microbial vs abiotic impacts on the mobilization of trace elements from native aquifer sediments. I have ongoing research projects investigating the biogeochemical evolution of a crude oil-contaminated aquifer, the origins of manganese in groundwater in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, and uraniumcontaminated aquifers in California and the Midwest. With the help of some superb coauthors, Katherine Jones (class of 2020) and Audrey Davis (class of 2023), a paper was published last year in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry that documents the mobilization of trace elements from aquifer sediments due to secondary reactions triggered by petroleum bio- degradation. A new paper from the manganese study with co-author and TU alum Christopher Goldmann (class of 2022) was published recently in Environmental Geochemistry and Health. I hope to submit a paper on the uranium project with co-author Mark Nickels (class of 2023) in the very near future.

I continue to stay active in GSA, where my research students regularly present their research results. I find myself at the point in my career where research meetings are starting to be peppered with the faces of former students. If you plan on attend a meeting, please let me know so we can find a time to meet up and chat! I love having an opportunity to catch up with alumni and hear about the exciting things going on in your lives.

My partner and I recently adopted a San Antonio street dog whom we have named Seymour. He certainly keeps us on our toes. We have also tried our hands at growing a vegetable garden to varying degrees of success. In my spare time, I enjoy exercise, reading, traveling, and trying to find the best coffee in San Antonio.

FACULTY-STUDENT RESEARCH

Over the past two years, faculty and student research has remained an exciting part of what we do in the department. In the above photo, Glenn and students investigate coastal processes on a spring 2024 trip to the Texas coast for his Oceanography class. However, Trinity faculty also engage students in their disciplinary research outside of a course framework, too.

In the past, students often didn't engage in research with faculty until the end of their junior year. However, within the last decade, that has changed; we now commonly have sophomores, juniors, and seniors engaged in research with faculty.

Faculty research includes a wide range of geoscience disciplines. Below, we include examples of the research undertaken by our faculty:

Kurt Knesel and his students have used petrographic analysis, SEM microscopy, and computer modeling to learn more about the dynamics of volcanic magmatic systems, which have implications for volcanic hazard analysis.

Dan Lehrmann and his students have investigated mechanisms for regional dolomitization of carbonate platform strata in south China, and he has also worked with students on local projects, focusing on

the Cambrian marine strata in the Llano area, on the dinosaur track horizons and the environments for track preservation in the Cretaceous Glen Rose Formation, and on Permian, Wolfcampian age turbidites in the Marfa Basin

Ben Surpless and his students have worked to document and constrain fault geometries and fault damage zone development in Utah, which has implications for subsurface fluid flow and geothermal energy production.

Kathy Surpless and her students have focused on detrital zircon analysis and geochemistry to constrain the tectonics of the western US during Mesozoic time.

Brady Ziegler and his students have used a variety of geochemical techniques and modeling to investigate the mobilization and attenuation of chemical species in an aquifer systems.

On the following pages, we include information about the wide range of research projects that faculty and students have engaged in between 2022 and 2024. In addition to Senior Theses and publishing research results in peer-reviewed journal articles, Geosciences faculty and students present their work at national and regional conferences every year.

Glenn and students discuss coastal processes on the Texas coast (photo by Richard Silver)

SENIOR THESES

Every year, students pursue their research from the hypothesis stage, to data collection and interpretation, to answering their fundamental research questions in a Senior Thesis. Below, we include students who completed senior honors theses from 2022-2024:

2022 Senior Honors Theses

Ryan Alford: Changes in provenance of the Galice Formation, Klamath Mountains, CA and OR: Implications for evolution of the Cordillera (Advisor: Kathy Surpless)

Christopher Goldmann: Assessing manganese concentrations in groundwater across the Shenandoah Valley, VA (Advisor: Brady Ziegler)

2023 Senior Honors Theses

Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill: Mechanisms for Regional Dolomitization of the Triassic Yangtze Platform, Guanling Area, in the Nanpanjiang Basin of South China (Advisor: Dan Lehrmann)

Mark Nickels: Spatial and Statistical Analysis of Groundwater Contaminants in Shallow and Deep Aquifers of the Central Valley of California(Advisor: Brady Ziegler)

2024 Senior Honors Theses

Audrey Davis: Geochemical mechanisms of trace element mobilization and attenuation in a crude-oil contaminated aquifer (Advisor: Brady Ziegler)

Audrey Jennings: Spatial and Statistical Analysis of Groundwater Contaminants in Shallow and Deep Aquifers of the Central Valley of California(Advisor: Ben Surpless)

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

(undergraduates in bold)

Altiner, D., Payne, J. L., Lehrmann, D. J., Görkem, S., and Özkan-Altıner, S., in press, New foraminifera from the Changhsingian (Upper Permian) of the Taurides (southern Turkey) with remarks on their evolutionary origins: Journal of Paleontology.

Crossingham, T., Ubide, T., Vasconcelos P.M., and Knesel K.M., 2023, Petrogenesis of the Hoy lava field, a long-lived continental mafic volcanic province in eastern Australia: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 70:8, 1139-1158, DOI: 10.1080/08120099.2023.2234971.

Ferrill, D. A., K. J. Smart, D. J. Lehrmann, A. P. Morris, and R. N. McGinnis, 2023, Synsedimentary slump folding: Examples and consequences of an under-recognized process in epicratonic basins, Marine and Petroleum Geology, Volume 152, doi. org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2023.106274.

Ferrill, D. A., K. J. Smart, D. J. Lehrmann, A. P. Morris, and R. N. McGinnis, 2023, Slump Folding Versus Tectonic Folding in the Cretaceous Eagle Ford and Equivalent Boquillas Formations, Southwestern Texas: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions v. 72 (2023), p.

267-272.

Godet, A., Suarez, M. B., Price, D., Lehrmann, D. J., and Adams, T., 2023, Paleoenvironmental constraints on shallow-marine carbonate production in central and West Texas during the Albian (Early Cretaceous): Cretaceous Research, Volume 144, doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105462.

Hinkle, M.A.G., Ziegler, B.A., Culbertson, H., Goldmann, C., Croy, M.E., Willis, N., Ling, E., Reinhart, B., Lyon, E.C. (2024). Manganese exposure from spring and well waters in the Shenandoah Valley: Interplay of aquifer lithology, soil composition, and redox conditions. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01987-4.

Jones, K.L., Ziegler B.A., Davis, A., and Cozzarelli, I.M., 2023, Attenuation of barium, strontium, cobalt, and nickel plumes formed during microbial iron-reduction in a crude-oil-contaminated aquifer: Earth and Space Chemistry, v. 7, no. 7, p. 1322-1336.

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Kelley, B. M., Yu, M., Lehrmann, D. J., Altiner, D., Jost, A. B., Li, X., and Payne, J. L., 2023, Pattern and timing of reef recovery following the end-Permian extinction in the oldest-known Triassic platformmargin reef: Geology, v. 51, n. 11, p. 1011-1016.

Li J, Lehrmann DJ, Luo Y-m, Adams TL, Yu M-y, Liao J-l, Qin Y-j, Li Y-l, and Wang Y., 2023, Soft tissue preservation in the Triassic pachypleurosaur Keichousaurus hui: evidence for digestive tract anatomy, diet, and feeding behavior: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; Sec. Paleontology, Volume 11 – 2023; doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1186354.

Morabito, C., Papazzoni, C.A., Lehrmann, D. J., Payne, J. L, Al-Ramadan , K., and Morsilli, M., 2024, Carbonate factory response through the MECO (Middle Eocene Climate Optimum) event: Insight from the Apulia Carbonate Platform, Gargano Promontory, Italy: Sedimentary Geology, v. 461, ISSN 0037-0738.

Romero, M.C., Orme, D.A., Surpless, K.D., and Ronemus, C.B., in revision, Age and provenance relationships between the basal Great Valley Group and its underlying basement: Implications for initiation of the Great Valley forearc basin, California: Journal of Sedimentary Research.

Surpless, K.D., Alford, R.W., Barnes, C., Yoshinobu, A., and Weis, N.E., 2023, Late Jurassic paleogeography of the U.S. Cordillera from detrital zircon age and hafnium analysis of the Galice Formation, Klamath Mountains, OR and CA: GSA Bulletin, doi.org/10.1130/B36810.1.

Surpless, B., and McKeighan, C., 2022, The role of dynamic fracture branching in the evolution of fracture networks: an outcrop study of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, southern Utah: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 161. DOI: 10.1016/j. jsg.2022.104664.

Taylor, W., Surpless, B., and Scheifelbein, I., in press, Complex fault segment linkage within the Sevier fault zone, southern Utah: Lithosphere.

Tesauro, J. E., Sheppard, C., Adams, T., Godet, A., Price, D., Sharpe, J., Suarez, M., Lehrmann, D. J., 2022, Sedimentologic and geochemical analysis of dinosaur track sites of the Davenport Ranch, Bandera County and comparison with other dinosaur track sites in the Lower Cretaceous Glen

Rose Formation of central Texas: South Texas Geological Society Bulletin, v. 63, n. 1, p. 10-25.

Wackett, A.A., Smith, D.R., Davidson, C., and Garver, J.I., 2024, New geochemical and geochronological insights on forearc magmatism across the SanakBaranof belt, southern Alaska: A tale of two belts: Geosphere, v. 20, p. 451-475; https://doi.org/10.1130/ GES02642.1

Photo: Demi Durham ('25) taking field notes in Utah (photo by Ben Surpless)

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

(undergraduates in

Adams, T. L., Price, D., Davis, C., Newman, J., Lehrmann D. J., Lehrmann, A., Altiner, D., Sharpe, J., Godet, A., Suarez, M. 2022, No Swimming Dinosaurs Here: New Insights on Manus-Dominated Dinosaur Tracks from the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Annual Meeting, November 2-5, 2022, Toronto Canada.

Alford, R., Surpless, K.D., Weis, N., Yoshinobu, A., and Barnes, C., 2022, Late Jurassic evolution of the Galice basin, Klamath Mountains, CA and OR, from detrital zircon ages: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 54, no. 1.

Bradford, T., and Surpless, B., 2022, Structural and lithologic controls on fracture development within a segmented normal fault zone, southern Utah: Geological Society of America, Cordilleran/Rocky Mtn. Sections Joint Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brodie, E., Nicol, C., Surpless, K.D., Yoshinobu, A., Barnes, C., 2023, Detrital analysis of the Galice Formation, Klamath Mountains, CA and OR: Understanding the Late Jurassic Nevadan orogeny: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 55, no. 6, doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-391563.

Chakraborty, M., Goldmann, C., Ziegler, B.A., Lyon, E., Hinkle, MA., 2023, Probabilistic mapping of high-hazard zones of dissolved manganese and iron in groundwater of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Pittsburgh, PA.

Contreras-Joya, Y., Heikes, A., Nickels, M., Mirales, H., Nelson, A., Mine, A.H., Ziegler, B.A., 2023, Spatial and

)

statistical analysis of uranium in the High Plains Aquifer in comparison to the Central Valley aquifer: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Pittsburgh, PA.

Cozzarelli, I.M., Ziegler, B.A., Jones, K.L., Lacey, Z.M., and Schreiber, M.E., 2022, Secondary effects of hydrocarbon sources and waste materials in the environment: Mobilization of arsenic and trace elements. Goldschmidt Conference. Honolulu, HI.

Davis, A., Ziegler, B.A., Cozzarelli, I.M., Jones, K.L., 2022, Mobilization and attenuation mechanisms of geogenic trace elements in a crude oil contaminated aquifer. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Denver, CO.

Fryar, A.E., Schreiber, M.E., Pholkorn, K., Srisuk, K., Ziegler, B.A., 2023, Controls on arsenic and manganese occurrence in the Mekong River alluvial aquifer (Thailand). Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Pittsburgh, PA.

Godet, A., Price, D., Sharpe, J., Davis, C., Sheppard, C., Tesauro, J., Adams, T., Lehrmann, D., and Suarez, M.B., 2022, Dinosaur track and subaerial exposure surfaces in the Albian Glen Rose Formation of central Texas, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 1, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022SC-373866

Goldmann, C., Ziegler, B.A., Lyon, E., Hinkle, M.A., 2022, Assessing manganese concentrations in groundwater across the Shenandoah Valley, VA: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Denver, CO.

Photo: Audrey Jennings ('24) presenting her poster at GSA (photo by Ben Surpless)

bold

Hayton, P., Surpless, B., and Grambling, T., 2023, The role of fault damage zone development in structurally controlled landscape evolution, southern Utah: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Pittsburgh, PA.

Hilbert, A., Saxby, J., Tesauro, J., Ledbetter Ferrill, N., Li, X., Rasbury, E., T., Henkey, G., Wooton, K., Lehrmann, D., and Luczaj, J., 2022, Mechanisms of dolomitization of the Lower Triassic Anshun Formation of the Yangtze Platform: a case for regional high temperature dolomitization in the Nanpanjiang Basin, south China: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-378801.

Jennings, A., and Surpless, B., 2022, Modeling faultrelated fracturing associated with a segmented normal fault: implications for geothermal energy potential: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Denver, CO.

Jennings, A., and Surpless, B., 2023, Modeling faultrelated deformation and implications for geothermal energy potential: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Pittsburgh, PA.

Kelley, B., Yu, M., Lehrmann, D., Altiner, D., Jost, A., Li, X., and Payne, J. L., 2022, Gradual and long-term development of complex marine benthic ecosystems in the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction in the most stratigraphically extended Middle Triassic reef: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-382355.

Knesel, K., 2023, Using bubbles and microlites in obsidian to assess factors governing the eruption and emplacement of rhyolite , Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 55, No. 6, 2023, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2023AM-395636.

Koeshidayatullah, A., Payne, J., Stolpe. D., Turner, A., Michele, M., Lehrmann, D., Singh, P., Al-Ramadan, K., 2024, Revisiting the Impact of Diagenesis across the Permo-Triassic Boundary: Insights from the Khuff Carbonates, Saudi Arabia: EGU General Assembly.

Kurita, R., and Knesel, K., 2023, Pre-eruptive heating may aid magma outgassing and reduce the risk of explosive volcanic eruptions, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 55, No. 6, 2023, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2023AM-394807.

Langford, P., MacDonald, J., Strong, C., Surpless, K.D., Barnes, C., and Yoshinobu, A., 2022, Detrital zircon provenance analysis of the Mariposa Formation, California: A record of the tectonic evolution of the Late Jurassic continental margin: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 54, no. 5.

Ledbetter Ferrill, N., Tesauro, J., Hilbert, A., Saxby, J., Li, X., Wooton, K., Rasbury, E. T., Henkes, G., Luczaj, J., and Lehrmann, D., Mechanisms for dolomitization of the Triassic Yangtze Platform in the Nanpanjiang Basin, south China: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-377753.

Photo: Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill ('23) presenting his poster at GSA (photo by Ben Surpless)

Mirales, H., Nelson, A., Heikes, A., Contreras-Joya, Y., Ruiz, S., Mine, A.H., Ziegler, B.A., 2023, Evaluating geochemical and microbial influences on uranium mobilization in Central Valley, California: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Pittsburgh, PA.

Mrachek, J., Surpless, B., and Eddy, M., 2023, The origin of circumferential faulting on the flank of Alba Mons, Northern Tharsis Region, Mars: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Pittsburgh, PA.

Neath, J., and Surpless, B., 2022, Modeling the segmented Sevier normal fault: 3D analysis and validity testing: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Denver, CO.

Nickels, M., Ziegler, B.A., Mine, A.H., 2022, Spatial and statistical analysis of groundwater contaminants in California’s Central Valley: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Denver, CO.

Nishimoto, M., Surpless, B., and Monecke, K., 2022, Analyzing normal fault-tip damage zones: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Denver, CO.

Nishimoto, M., Surpless, B., and Monecke, K., 2023, Investigating normal fault damage zone development using virtual outcrop models: a case study of the Sevier normal fault, southern Utah: Geological Society of America, Southeastern/Northeastern Sections Joint Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Reston, VA.

Saxby, J., Hilbert, A., Tesauro, J., Ledbetter Ferrill, N., Mobasher, N., Li, X., Rasbury, E., T., Henkey, G., Lehrmann, D., and Luczaj, J., 2022, Analysis of carbonate diagenesis on the Great Bank of Guizhou (south China) using geochemical, geothermometric, and geochronological techniques: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2022AM-379397.

Shaffer, C., Surpless, K.D., Yoshinobu, A., Barnes, C., Brodie, E., and Nicol, C., 2023, Growing public interest in geosciences: Non-technical field guides concerning the Galice Formation, Klamath Mountains, CA and OR: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 55, no. 6, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2023AM-389516.

Sharp, M., Surpless, B., and Pogue, K., 2023, The evolution of fault damage zones within the Sevier normal fault system, Utah: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Pittsburgh, PA.

Sharp, M., Surpless, B., and Pogue, K., 2024, Fault damage zone development on the Sevier normal fault system, Utah: Geological Society of America, Cordilleran/Rocky Mountain Sections Joint Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Spokane, WA.

Singh, P., Ferre, J., Del Viscio, G., Cantrell, D. L., Al-Ramadan, K., Morsillli, M., Lehrmann, D., and Payne, J. L., 2022, A 514-million-year record of skeletal content in marine limestones: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380902.

Photo: Audrey Jennings ('24) presenting her poster at GSA (photo credit: Ben Surpless)

Photo: Remi Kurita ('24) presenting her poster at GSA (photo by Ben Surpless)

Surpless, B.E., and McKeighan, C., 2022, Dynamic fracturing in fault tip damage zones? An outcrop study of the Sevier fault zone, southern Utah: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Denver, CO.

Surpless, K.D., Alford, R., Weis, N., Barnes, C., and Yoshinobu, A., 2022, Paleogeography of the Late Jurassic Klamath arc from detrital zircon hafnium analysis of the Galice Formation, Klamath Mountains, OR and CA: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 54, no. 1.

Surpless, K., Barnes, C., and Yoshinobu, A., 2023, Deciphering the tectonic evolution of the Late Jurassic continental margin from detrital zircon provenance analysis of the Galice and Mariposa Formations, Oregon and California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 55, no. 4, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2023CD-386930.

Tesauro, J. Davis, C., Adams, T., Price, D., Sharpe, J., Godet, A., Suarez, M., Altiner, D., Lehrmann, D. J., 2022, Sedimentologic and geochemical analysis of a dinosaur track site, the Davenport Rach, Bandera County and comparison with other track sites in the Glenn Rose Formation of central Texas: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 1, doi: 10.

Tesauro, J., Ledbetter Ferrill, N., Hilbert, A., Saxby, J., Li, X., Wooton, K., Henkes, G., Rasbury, E. T., Luczaj, J., Lehrmann, D., 2022, Environments and timing of dolomitization and carbonate diagenesis in the Triassic Yangtze Platform in the Nanpanjiang Basin,

south China: : Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2022AM-377804. 1130/abs/2022SC-373600.No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-377753.

Weis, N., Orme, D.A., Surpless, K.D., Colliver, I., Sweet, E., and Ross, C., 2023, Younger than anticipated maximum depositional ages of sandstones found in the Great Valley forearc reveal lengthened unconformity between the Coast Range Ophiolite and basal Great Valley Group, Del Puerto Canyon, California, USA: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 55, no. 6, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2023AM-393706.

Yoshinobu, A., Gates, K., Barnes, C., and Surpless, K., 2023, Nevadan orogenesis redefined: Mid-crustal migmatization, contractional deformation, and source region de-footitation above an east-dipping subducting slab, CA/OR: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 55, no. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2023CD-387639.

Ziegler, B.A., Nickels, M., Mine, A.H., 2022, Modeling the formation and distribution of aqueous calcium-uranium-carbonate complexes in the Kings Groundwater Basin, Central Valley, California: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition. Denver, CO.

Photo: Anna Heikes ('26) presenting her poster at GSA (photo by Ben Surpless)

ALUMNI NOTES

We love to hear from our fantastic alumni! If you have news for us to share in our next newsletter, don’t hesitate to call or email us at geosciences@trinity.edu!

1960s

Jack Downing ('66) writes that "After a successful career in the oil industry, I finally retired about 12 years ago. I worked with several smaller oil companies and finally settled with a subsidiary of Transocean, the largest offshore drilling company in the world. The subsidiary was Challenger Minerals, Inc where my last position was VP of the Southeast Asia operation. This position required much international travel, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My most memorable trip was to Vietnam in 2002 and again in 2004. I had mixed emotions about this since I had been there in 1969-1970 as a First Lieutenant with the First Air Cavalry.

I was one of the graduates responsible for getting the Rock Garden, dedicated to the founder of the Geology Department at Trinity - Dr. Ed McGannon - established. I unofficially visit the garden on occasion as it brings several memories about my experiences at Trinity. I hope to join the class at the Alumni Field trip next February 2025."

Raymond Herrero ('69) As most of us from that iconic graudation year, I retired in 2013 from Baker Hughes' Drilling Fluids. My last position, after several International Regional VP positions, was to set up and grow the Environmental Services Division. Since then, I have consulted and built facilities for recycling offshore drilling waste. The largest one is located in Port Fourchon, La. Nowadays, we live between Houston and Guatemala, but we are travelling often to Scotland where we have two grandkids and Spain to visit family. I also go to Plano often, to visit my granddaughter. So, we are in that do-little phase, enjoying life but not interested in sea cruises. Best regards to everyone!

1970s

Michael Pattarozzi ('73) says that, "I still use geology when teaching elementary and middle school sciences. I have fond memories of field work."

Kinney Simon ('74) retired in 2012. He and his wife of 48+ years live in San Marcos. He remains active in disaster

relef and jail ministry in Hays County. He and his wife stay busy going to their grandchildren's sports events and other activities. His grandchildren include a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl in College Station and a 9-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy in New Braunfels. Kinney and his wife also spend time in Red River, New Mexico. He continues to hunt, ski, motorcycle, and off-road in his Jeep.

Richard Sepulvado ('74) retired from the oil and gas industry in 2015. He moved to Shreveport, Louisiana in 2021 where he enjoys spending time with family and friends.

John Snedden ('77) continues as a research professor at The Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas. In 2023, he was honored with the Donald R. Boyd Medal of Excellence in Gulf Coast Geology by the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. Earlier he cowrote a paper on Mexico geology with Zach Sickmann, TU Geosciences class of 2012. John and his wife Peggy split their time between Texas and Colorado.

1980s

Jacqueline Lambrichts ('81) "moved last fall from the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Port of LA area of Los Angeles to 5100 feet in the Los Padres National Forest. Stop in to visit at 15512 Mil Potrero Highway and/or mail PO Box 6760, Pine Mountain Club, California 93222. Jon and I traded in Sunken City, pelicans, the largest slow creep inhabited landslide (featured numerous times on national news) for the San Andreas fault brown bears and 3 Ponderosa pines in our front deck. We are ecstatic!

Jon still commutes to Sacramento on alternate weeks and reaches the 40 year milestone with the State of CA on water quality this July. There are geology employment opportunities with the recent oil and gas group on impacts to drinking water aquifers and the still hot on the burner groundwater basins storage protection. Jon will speak in Singapore this Fall at the World Ocean Congress on November 14th.

Our daughter Katherine graduated in 2022 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Architectural Engineering after finishing at Miss Porters high school. Katherine works in Seaport as a preconstruction engineer and lives in "southie" (South Boston.) We are all Swifties. I just finished Ms. Adventure, J Franklin's A Wild Idea on the creation of the South American parks featured twice in National Geographic in the last 3 years and am deep in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge with Braving It. Pass on any fun geologic, nature reads or novels you have written. Jon loves science fiction. He introduced me to the Planetary Society."

Steve Balsley ('82) just passed the 20 year mark as Director of the IAEA Safeguards Labs in Austria. Retirement is coming next year, which means Mary and Steve will repatriate back to the USA (she has been in Austria >30 years!). Santa Fe is our landing target, where they plan to stay busy establishing a new home, finding some part-time work, and reengaging with the beautiful northern New Mexico culture, geography and GEOLOGY!

Scott Tinker ('82) "After 24 years as Director the Bureau of Economic Geology I fired myself! Last day was January 2, 2024. I’m still on a partial appointment at the Bureau; Chairman and founder of the Switch Energy Alliance, which is doing national and international energy education, film and TV; CEO of Tinker Energy Assoc-iates speaking to many diverse audiences; and sitting on several boards. It’s nice having a bit more time with family and friends, but retirement may be the wrong word!"

John and Shirley Corkill ('83) have retired after 30+ years in Washington, DC and are back in Texas living in New Braunfels. They are now Texas Master Naturalists and have focused their work at Bracken Cave Preserve with Bat Conservation International. Along with working with the Mexican free tailed bats, John has been working with the Trinity University Biology Department’s study on the Black crested titmouse at the preserve.

1980s (continued)

Bob Stewart ('83) says, "Greetings from Arlington, Virginia! I am happy to report I retired in 2022. I was fortunate to have spent most of my career working as an environmental scientist. My wife, Ann (also a geologist), and I will be celebrating 29 years married this year. I keep busy with one eye on our teenage daughter while also reading, maintaining our old house, traveling, and still playing music (Anyone remember our Trinity geology-major ‘rock’ band, Orogeny?)."

David Harvey ('85) tells us that, "After many years of working in the field of earth sciences, I have opted to retire. Interestingly, I am now vigorously pursuing a passion that I acquired from Trinity University in the late 1970's under the guidance of art professor Phil Evett......stone carving. I believe it to be an appropriate pasttime for a "senior" geologist."

Chris Szopa ('85) "After moving back to Texas (Houston) from Southern California in 2010, I've migrated farther east. Relocated to Atlanta in 2021. I'm currently the Chief Commercial Officer and Corporate Counsel at 36th Street Capital Partners. Married to April CyrSzopa and have four children...only one still living at home (the three oldest are still in Texas). Rachel (26), Erik (24), Jason (22) and Kai (13)."

Eric Radjef ('86) "My career has taken an exciting turn. Since Statoil departed Austin and exited the US onshore business, I have been working with the great people at the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology! So, I am back to correlating and mapping, and for the first time in my career actually working Texas geology. So many rocks, so little time... A word to our early-career folks – when opportunities to serve, or even join, geoscience associations present themselves, take them. The relationships you build will not only bring satisfaction to whatever you are working on today, they may serve you well on down the road."

Kelly Bender ('87) "Just celebrated my 30 year anniversary at ASU, where I continue working on NASA mission operations for the Mars 2001 Odyssey camera system. Enjoying a renewed interest in mineral collecting with my husband and son. Love spending time with my 3 grandkids, one of whom is a fanatic for all things space related. Still managing to endure the Phoenix summer temperatures (110 to 122), and happy for the wonderful 'winter' temps (in the 70s). "

1990s

Greg Wimpey ('91) "I've now lived in Denver for over 30 years. That doesn't seem possible! After a brief interlude in early 2023, I'm still working at Google as a systems development engineer, now in Google Cloud. I went on a short vacation to Iceland in March, where I was impressed by the dramatic glacial/ volcanic landscape. From Reykjavik, I was able to see the glow of the eruption near Grindavik from a safe distance. I also traveled to Texas for the first time in over 10 years to see the total solar eclipse from north Dallas. Staying with the science theme, I serve as committee chair for the Denver Astronomical Society's dark sky site and also serve on their scholarship committee. I guess I'm keeping myself busy!"

Keri Powell ('94) "Last September, I started a new job with the Southern Environmental Law Center as senior attorney and leader of their Air Program. I live in the Atlanta area with my husband, Dan, and our two younger children, August (16) and Zachary (11). My oldest, Skyler, is about to finish her first year at Vanderbilt University. August is taking marine science in high school this year, and I asked her if she had learned about plate tectonics. She said yes, and then I asked if she'd heard about magnetic striping of the seafloor and how Harry Hess had used "geopoetry" to share his ideas about seafloor spreading. She had not--but declared that maybe I should teach her marine science class. I definitely paid attention in Dr. Kroeger's oceanography class 30 years ago!"

Ana Unruh Cohen ('96) "In 2023, I closed out an incredible chapter in my professional career and embraced a new one. In January I wrapped up

nearly 4 years as majority (Democratic) staff director of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis where I was deeply involved in the passage of the historic climate, energy, infrastructure and technology legislation during 2021 and 2022. Thinking I would take a break from government, I joined Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in February but by May I was back in government, this time at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m currently the Senior Director for NEPA, Infrastructure and Clean Energy at the White House Council on Environmental Quality where I focus on making federal permitting more effective and efficient to help meet President Biden’s climate and clean energy goals. In November 2023, I was honored to be chosen by Time for their inaugural list of the 100 most influential climate leaders in business.

I am currently working with my CEQ colleagues to update and modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations after it was amended in June 2023 as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and to advance innovation and the use of technology in permitting efforts across the federal government. It’s gratifying to play a role in the deployment of clean energy across America, especially helping with the emerging offshore wind and hydrogen sectors. If you are coming through DC, please get in touch! "

Iska Rushing Wire ('97) "I am closing in on four years at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as the Director of the Office of the Chief Philanthropy Officer. Still living in Houston after all these years with a sophomore and a junior. In my spare

PHOTO: 1982 TRINITY GEOLOGY FIELD TRIP (PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN)

time, I volunteer with Girl Scouts and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Hope everyone is doing well! "

Stacey Robertson Maurice ('97) "My eldest son is now a first year student at Trinity! He is loving it and we enjoy getting to visit him in San Antonio. "

Matt Behred ('99) "Using my geology training as a Principal Archaeologist in Redlands, CA "

Sarah (Newland) Pearce ('99) "I'm working as a geomorphologist for the San Francisco Estuary Institute (my 23rd year) primarily on two main topics. 1) Beneficial sediment reuse. Working towards regional solutions for reusing dredged/removed sediment to help meet the needs of bayland restoration. 450 Million cubic yards of sediment is needed to help the Bay's existing marshes and planned restored marshes keep up with sea level rise. 2) Wetland monitoring and assessment. I am California's coordinator for the California Rapid Assessment Method for streams and wetlands- a method that determines the health (or condition!) of aquatic resources. This method is used for permitting impact/restoration/ mitigation projects, by large regional monitoring programs (e.g. the SF Bay Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program), and for ambient assessment of condition and tracking change in that condition.

Despite working in California, I'm living in Golden CO (where I grew up!), with my husband Justin (geomorphologist with the Risk Management Center for the USACE), eldest kiddo Tye (high school junior), youngest kiddo Soren (high school freshman), and dog Chloe. I'm still playing soccer 3 times a week, but also can be found at high school hockey games or at the taekwondo studio."

2000s

Lela Prashad and JD Godchaux ('00) Lela and JD are living in Houston and working on data science projects. They are having fun with their 6 year old, enjoying camping, kayaking, and getting to the beach as often as possible.

Danielle Haley ('01) got married in January.

Marina Suarez ('03) "The year 2023 was a rough year for me and my family. I made a number of trips to San Antonio to deal with an ailing parent and sadly, my father passed in Aug. of 2023.

On the professional front, in the blink of an eye, I am now into year 5 of my position as Associate Professor at the University of Kansas! 2024 has started out exciting in that I had the unique opportunity to

join a colleague in a research expedition to James Ross Island, Antarctica. The geology was amazing! We were focused on recovering fossil plants (Cretaceous) and it was a great success dare say I'd even consider returning!"

Annie (Covault) Treverton ('04) "Happy to share that my husband, Raoul, and I welcomed our second child, Austin, in early March. Two-year-old sister, Melodie, has been enjoying discovering more rocks as our snow finally melts up here in Anchorage!"

Emily Beverly ('08) "I moved to start a new job at the University of Minnesota in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department. Loving it so far, but very glad it was a mild winter for my first in Minnesota. "

Evan Kochelek ('09) "Currently working as Lead Geologist at Formentera Operations in Austin, TX"

Adrienne Love ('09) "My family and I relocated to Richmond, VA where I am working at the Virginia Department of Transportation as a NEPA specialist and PG. "

2010s

Allison Teletzke ('10) "Hard to believe, but I’m going on year 12 of my career at Chevron and living in Houston, TX. It’s been an exciting decade plus working a variety of exploration projects around the globe. Outside of work, I’ve delved into the world of ceramics, mostly enjoying it for creative expression, but enjoying the connection of clay and glaze science back to crystallography and chemistry #udernerb. Roadtrips exploring back roads in our trusty truck

camper are the favorite form of travel for my husband and I the past couple of years. Last summer we ventured all the way from Houston to the Pacific Northwest. One of our favorite stops was visiting YBRA field camp in Red Lodge, MT where we first met and became friends during my Trinity days. We’re gearing up for another trip this summer and looking forward to exploring a new route between Houston and Oregon."

Landes Randall ('11) "I work for the newly established Gulf Research Institute for Highly Migratory Species at Texas A&M University at Galveston as the program coordinator. Our goal is to understand the movement, life history, and population connectivity of migratory fishes like tunas, billfishes, sharks, and tarpon in the Gulf of Mexico. "

Zach Sickmann ('12) "I started a job as an assistant professor in geosciences at UT Dallas in the fall of 2022. My wife and I have a toddler and another baby on the way this fall. "

Brandon Radoman-Shaw ('12) "I received my PhD in Geological Sciences after Trinity doing research with meteorites and the planet Venus. I am now a full time geology lecturer at Texas State University teaching Earth Materials, Planetary Geology, and Sedimentology and Stratigraphy."

Clayton Freimuth ('14) "After spending a few years in the mining industry, I've taken a job out at the NNSS as a senior geologist working in nuclear nonproliferation. In addition, I started an exploration consulting company which serves small junior exploration companies in the mining industry. "

PHOTO: 1990s TRINITY GEOSCIENCES EARTH MATERIALS FIELD TRIP (PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN)

2010s (continued)

Leanne Stepchinski ('15) "I completed my Ph.D. in Geology at the University of South Florida, and am currently an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center."

Nicola Hill ('15) Nicola has been living in North Carolina for eight years, and is currently working with HDR as a water management consultant. She and Connor Amoruso ’15, are over the moon about welcoming their very first "mini Trinity Tiger” in early August!

Elizabeth Hartson ('16) "Other geoscience alums may be interested to hear that University of Texas is offering a 12-credit hour graduate certificate program focused on AI and machine learning applications for geoscientists. It would be an interesting opportunity to learn about geosciencespecific applications for this emerging technology, particularly for those already skilled in modeling and GIS. Admissions for non-UT students will open in fall 2025. More information here: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/ academics/graduate/degrees-offered/ machine-learning-certificate/"

Yvette (Muniz) Gonzalez ('17) "I have been living in Eagle River, Alaska for the past 3 years. During the summer of 2022, I worked as a science educator for Denali National Park and have been teaching 6th grade for the Anchorage School District ever since. I love learning about Alaska's geology and teaching about it!"

Alyssa Alvarado ('19) "Currently, I am working for Apple Maps as a GIS Editor. This is my second contract with Apple."

Asmara Lehrmann ('19) "I recently transferred to the University of Houston to continue my PhD. I am shifting focus from the paleoceanography offshore Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica, to studying the glacial retreat through facies analysis and geomorphology. There are many years ahead of me until I finish my PhD, but I am glad I am doing it in a city that also has many of my Trinity University Geoscience cohort members!"

Caroline McKeighan ('19) "I am coming up on 2 years as a Geologist at Diamondback Energy!"

Sarah Thompson ('19) "I started working for USGS, defended my thesis, and completed my Masters degree in hydrology at University of NebraskaLincoln in 2022. I transferred to a USGS

office in New Mexico and met the love of my life--he is coincidentally also another hydrology nerd from Texas who went to school in San Antonio (albeit not at Trinity sadly). I now work as a physical scientist for the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for cleaning up legacy contamination and waste from atomic and nuclear weapons production such as radionuclide and VOC plumes in groundwater. We spend our spare time hiking, wood working, and rock climbing (and rockhounding of course). "

2020s

Marco Guirola ('20) "Trinity Geosciences opened the doors for me to explore the Energy and Earth Resources program at UT Austin which offered courses ranging from subsurface interpretation to energy policymaking. I went on to graduate from that program within which I unexpectedly landed on a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) graduate researcher position inside the Gulf Coast Carbon Center. Since then I have worked at big E&P companies like Exxon interpreting seismic datasets to inform decisions about well paths for oil production in Guyana, and more recently at bp developing our first CCS

2009 EXPLORING EARTH FIELD TRIP (PHOTO BY BEN SURPLESS)

projects in the GOM area. I continue to apply so many of the things I learned throughout my Geology path at Trinity which solidly cemented the foundations to grow my skills in Earth Science. I remember fondly all my professors, peers, and experiences I had while at Trinity. Although my life at Trinity was full of rock description, lab work, and field trips, lately my life revolves around CO2, desktop work, data analytics, and thinking about the energy transition and energies of the future which is very exciting. I hope everyone is taking care of themselves, enjoying work or studies, and having fun! Regards, Marco."

Mica Jarocki ('20) Mica graduated with her M.S. in Hydrology from the University of Arizona in August 2023. She also started working for Jacobs Solutions as a hydrogeologist in Redding, California that same month.

Matthew Anderson ('21) "I interned with Fugro this past summer and I am about to graduate with a master's in geophysics from Texas A&M University."

Nina Bowness ('21) "I recently began studying at the University of Western Australia where I am pursuing the Master of Hydrogeology."

Monica Garay ('21) "Thank you to the Geoscience department for teaching me amazing research skills. I apply them to my new job as Program Manager in biopharma. I also recently got married in November 2023!"

Elliott Glass ('21) "Currently working along the Dolores River and its tributaries monitoring, treating, and removing invasive plants. Working for Southwest Conservation Corps and living in Farmington, NM."

Rose Gremillion ('21) "I do indeed have a few updates: I’m still working as an environmental consultant at Modern Geosciences in San Antonio, where I’ve recently been promoted to a Project Scientist position. I also passed the ASBOG Fundamentals of Geology exam in the fall and am now a certified Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) with the TX Board of Professional Geoscientists. As more of a pasttime, I’m currently training to be a Texas Master Naturalist with the program’s Alamo Area chapter. :) It’s been a big year!"

Zoe Lacey ('21) "In the last year, I’ve started working for the TCEQ."

Natalee Weis ('22) "I am graduating with my master's degree from Montana State University Bozeman in May 2024! I'm

excited to move back to Texas and begin searching for geology or environmental science related jobs after I graduate. Hope everyone is doing well!"

Chris Goldmann ('22) "I am now working as a field hydrologist with the Texas Water Development Board (a state agency); I travel to numerous groundwater wells throughout the state to monitor aquifer levels and collect samples for water quality analysis."

Nathaniel Ledbetter Ferrill ('23) "I have been doing great in my PhD program at Western Michigan University! I’m teaching an earth materials course and an advanced earth materials course with a focus on lab techniques (e.g. XRD,

SEM), taking courses, and beginning my research on spatial patterns of dolomitization of the Byron Formation of the Michigan Basin. While it’s very busy, I’ve found my time here so far to be very rewarding and fun!"

Isabella Schag ('23) "I have been really enjoying life this year! I moved to Washington, D.C., which is an exciting place to live. I am working for the U.S. House of Representatives, and applying for federal research fellowships. On weekends I hike in Rock Creek Park and on portions of the Appalachian Trail in MD. Hope everyone is doing well! If life is feeling hard right now, hang in there."

1990s TRINITY GEOSCIENCES MAJORS' FIELD TRIP (PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN)

JOIN

US FOR THE SPRING 2025 ALUMNI FIELDTRIP!

Save the date! We're in the process of planning our Spring 2025 Alumni Fieldtrip, and we'd love for you to join us! We've set the dates as February 28-March 1, 2025, with an on-campus reception on February 28, the fieldtrip to the Hill Country on March 1, and a dinner and reception that evening at Bombay Bicycle Club. Re-

connect with classmates and faculty, enjoy the Texas outdoors, and celebrate the careers of Glenn Kroeger and Diane Smith! We will send more information in the early fall as we prepare for the trip to Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, Canyon Lake, or other local field trip favorites. We hope to see you there!

Fall 1976 Trinity Geology Enchanted Rock Fieldtrip (photographer unknown)