| THE | |||
| HISTORY OF GEOLOGY | |||
| DIVISION | |||
| Volume 32, Number 1 | http://gsahist.org |
FEBRUARY 2008 | |
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IMPORTANT NOTE: The Nominating Committee is seeking nominations (including self-nominations) of individuals who are willing to serve as History of Geology Division officers/committee members. Please consider serving your profession in this way. To submit your name or that of a colleague, contact the 2008 Nominating Committee
Chair, James Dawson (2008) james.dawson@plattsburgh.edu;
or Rex Buchanan (2008-2009) rex@kgs.ku.edu; or Renee
Clary (2008-2010) rclary@geosci.msstate.edu.
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DIVISION SEEKING A VOLUNTEER
Due the increasing complexities of organizing the annual meeting activities at GSA, i.e., doing both the academic sessions and the logistics of setting up for the reception, the meeting rooms, and the booth, the Management Board feels that the duties should be divided. The Division Chair will continue to organize the academic sessions, select topics, organize speakers, etc., while the logistical side of the planning will be done by another person. That person, a Meeting Coordinator, will work closely with both the Chair and the Secretary-Treasurer and preferably should be willing to continue in the role for several years, hence not be one of the officers under term limits. For the Denver meeting, Steve Rowland volunteered to do that work, and First Vice-Chair Yildirim Dilek is handling those duties for the Houston meeting. But we need someone to assume those duties who is willing to continue for several years thereafter. Based upon past experience, it will take at least two meetings to become familiar with all the ins and outs of organizing the catering, getting tables and chairs for the booth, and so on. We are seeking a volunteer from our members to assist the Division in this very important role. If you are willing to help, please contact Steve Rowland, History of Geology Division Chair, at steve.rowland@unlv.edu so you can work with him on setting up the Houston meeting.
BIG PLANS IN THE WORKS FOR THE 2008 GSA ANNUAL MEETING IN HOUSTON
Your Division officers are planning an exciting program of topical sessions, a history of geology field trip, a short course/workshop, and other activities for this year's GSA Annual Meeting. Details will be announced in the next newsletter. Remember that this year's meeting is a bit earlier than usual (Oct 5-9, 2008), and also the abstract deadline is early (June 3). Please plan to attend, and consider presenting in one of our sessions. Contribute to the vibrancy of your Division.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE SYLLABUS SAMPLER -- VOLUME III
The History of Science Syllabus Sampler volumes I (1992) and II (2001) have provided an invaluable resource to faculty members wishing to extend, enrich, and improve their approaches to history of science in the classroom. The Committee on Education announces the creation of a third sampler volume, building on and updating the strong tradition established by Sampler I and II, Henry Steffens, editor.
The third volume will be online, rather than a print or "hardcopy" project. This will allow the syllabi to be readily available and easily cross-indexed. It will also eliminate printing and shipping costs and will allow for the inclusion of many more syllabi than a print version could accommodate.
The Sampler III project will include syllabi and syllabi sections for three broad categories of courses:
Majors: History of Science Courses for History of Science Majors
Minors: History of Science Courses as Enrichment in Other Majors
Harmonics: History of Science Content for Non-History of Science Courses
Submissions will be evaluated by a referee committee. Those selected will be published as pdf documents accompanied by brief statements on course philosophy and organization by their authors. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2008.
Please consider submitting your own syllabi, and encourage your colleagues, teachers, and students to submit their own.
All inquiries and submissions should be directed to the Editor:
Julie R. Newell
HSS Committee on Education Chair 2007-08
jnewell@spsu.edu
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ELLIS YOCHELSON
Ellis Yochelson loved celebrating anniversaries of institutions and organizations. Whether it was the Diamond Jubilee and soon the centennial of the National Museum of Natural History, the sesquicentennials of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution, or the upcoming 25th anniversary of the History of Earth Sciences Society, he was always prodding the powers that be to publish a book, hold a symposium, throw a party, and celebrate the rich history of that organization. The Paleontological Society is a non-profit corporation registered under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your donation is fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Enclosed is my check for __________________________ for the Centennial Fund Named Award for Ellis Yochelson.
Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Checks should be made payable to The Paleontological Society with a notation of Centennial/Yochelson in the corner. Please mail your contributions to:
Dr. Mark E. Patzkowsky, Treasurer, The Paleontological Society, Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-2714
Questions? E-mail Mark Patzkowsky mep12@psu.edu or Abby Yochelson ayochelson@hotmail.com.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN ELLIS’S MEMORY
UPCOMING SECTION MEETINGS
CORDILLERAN-ROCKY MOUNTAIN JOINT MEETING
19-21 March 2008 University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Contact: Rod Metcalf, University of Nevada, Dept of Geoscience, Las Vegas, NV
89154-4010; 702-895-4442; rod.metcalf@univ.edu
NORTHEASTERN
27-29 March 2008 Hyatt Regency Buffalo, NY
Contact: Gary Solar, SUNY-College at Buffalo, Dept of Earth Sciences and Science
Education,
1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222-1004; 716-472-7015; solargs@buffalostate.edu
SOUTH-CENTRAL
30 March-1 April 2008 Hot Springs Convention Center, AR
Contact: Jeff Connelly, Univ. of Arkansas, Dept. of Earth Sciences, 2801 So. University
Ave, Little Rock, AR 72204-1099; 501-569-3543; jbconnelly@ualr.edu
SOUTHEASTERN
10-11 April 2008 Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte, NC
Contact: Andy Bobyarchick, Univ. of North Carolina, 9201 University City Blvd,
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001; 704-545-1337; arbobyar@email.uncc.edu
NORTH-CENTRAL
24-25 April 2008 Casino Aztar, Evansville, IN
Contact 1: Paul Doss, Univ. of Southern Indiana, Dept. of Geology, 8600 University
Blvd, Evansville, IN 47712-3534; 812-465-7132; pdoss@usi.edu
Contact 2: John P. Szabo, Univ. of Akron, 64B Crouse Hall, Univ. of Akron, Akron, OH
44325-4101; 330-972-8039; jpszabo@uakron.edu
JOINT TECHNICAL PROGRAM REPRESENTATIVE
Julie Newell has offered to serve as our division’s Joint Technical Program Rep for 2008, which means that she will be the lead person scheduling the Division’s technical program for the Houston meeting.
DIVISION CHAIR’S MEETING REPORT FROM JULIE NEWELL
There is a push by GSA divisions to protect historically and scientifically important exposures ? being referred to as “Geoantiquities." A white paper has been prepared which will be distributed to division chairs. There is a sense that the U.S. has been slow to pay attention to this topic, compared to many other countries. Both public and private lands are involved. This is an opportunity for our division to work with other divisions. Steve will advance this initiative during his term as division chair.
GSA will contribute $200 for each Division chair to attend the division chairs meeting (first weekend of May, 2008) in Boulder, CO. Julie pointed out to the other Division chairs that our Division serves all of the Divisions. Our student award, for example, can go to a student working in any area of geology.
Divisions are being encouraged to be more active at section meetings. Our Division has been active in the Northeast Section; North-Central has a history of geology session in the planning phase (papers needed). Julie proposed that our Division should have at least one session in at least one section meeting each year, and that the 2nd Vice-Chair should take on this task, so that during his/her year as chair there is a history session that he/she helped organize ? thus providing about 18 months of lead time. Vic Baker, incoming 2nd Vice-Chair, will be asked to begin now to promote the organization of at least one HOGD session at a section meeting during his term as chair in 2010.
The Divisions unanimously supported a Pardee session on workforce issues (e.g., cyclicity of employment), possibly for the 2008 meeting in Houston.
The 2008 meeting will be a joint meeting with the "tri-societies" (Agronomy, Soils, and Crops), which meet together regularly, and also with the Gulf Coast Geological Society. Deadlines will be earlier than usual for everything associated with this meeting: December 4 deadline for proposals for fieldtrips, topical sessions, etc.; early June deadline for abstracts (to be reviewed in late June).
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANET EARTH
2008 is the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). GSA has asked each Division to organize at least one session that is related to an IYPE theme. For our Division, the most appropriate IYPE theme is "Outreach ? bringing earth sciences to everyone." Steve will work on a session relating to this theme for the Houston meeting. This item was not actually discussed at the Executive Committee meeting, but Steve got an e-mail about it after the Denver GSA meeting.
FINANCIAL REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Bill Brice reported that we are financially in good shape. Our operating budget contains approximately $4500.
Bill offered the advice that any personal funds expended by the Division chair or other officers, and not reimbursed by GSA, are tax deductible as a donation to GSA; receipts should be submitted to GSA, and GSA will provide a letter documenting the donation.
Getting money out of the GSA Foundation is often a slow process, even when it is our division’s money. "History of Geology Division Operating Fund" should be written on the check if the money is to go to our Division.
The Rabbitt fund is now approximately $198,000. We are in a position to start using these funds. We can provide more support for the spring Division Chair’s meeting in Boulder, CO. GSA now contributes up to $200 for each Division Chair to attend, which currently covers lodging. Our division can reimburse the airfare.
We discussed the idea of raising the student award to $1,000. The consensus was to keep it at $500 for now, and try to solicit more applications. Julie will work to make this award more visible, for example by getting it announced in the newsletters of other Divisions. There was a consensus that the winner of the student award need not be a student at the time the paper is presented at GSA, as long as (s)he was a student when the paper was written.
MORE TIME IN THE PROGRAM FOR RABBITT AND STUDENT AWARDEES
Julie scheduled 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion for the talks presented this year by our Rabbitt Award winner and also the student award winner. There was a consensus that this is a good idea. Also, Sally suggested that the Rabbitt awardee should be invited/encouraged to submit an abstract and present a paper at the meeting at which he/she receives the Rabbitt Award (as this year’s awardee, Ken Taylor, has done). Everyone agreed that this is a great idea.
CALL FOR GSA FELLOWSHIP NOMINATIONS
GSA is actively seeking nominations, through its Divisions and Sections, of GSA Members who have not been nominated in the past and who are deserving of Fellowship rank in the Society. The nominee should be an individual GSA Member who has offered significant contributions to the science of geology. While Fellowship Nominations are due 1 February 2008, and therefore will miss this year’s nomination cycle, nominees will be called for during the 2009 nomination cycle. It is encouraged that you keep this opportunity in mind. For complete information and the procedure in recommending a colleague, as well as how to access the correct nominating form, kindly navigate the web site listed here http://www.geosociety.org/members/fellow.htm and click open the link NOMINATE A FELLOW. You must be a GSA Fellow to nominate a GSA Member for Fellowship rank.
DARWIN DAY CELEBRATION – FEBRUARY 12, 2008
This is an event that should be of interest to many. If you would like to organize a Darwin Day celebration please go to this web site http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html for event ideas and guidelines. If you already have plans for a Darwin Day please go to http://darwinday.org/NEWlang/regevent/index.php to register and advertise your event.
Now, on to the new developments. In order to increase its resources and impact, the Darwin Day Celebration (DDC) has become part of a larger organization. Existing DDC volunteers, such as founding president Bob Stephens, will stay involved, but Darwin Day will now be run as a distinct program within the Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS). The Institute for Humanist Studies http://www.humaniststudies.org is an international educational nonprofit that promotes reason and humanity. IHS shares the vision of Darwin Day as a way to honor Charles Darwin, to promote understanding of evolution and the scientific method, and to provide a new global holiday that transcends separate cultures and religious traditions. The Darwin Day Celebration will continue to support, promote and coordinate Darwin Day events organized across the world. To this end we will be improving the Darwin Day website and increasing media outreach in the coming months and years. Please send any suggestions for improvements to me at MCherry@DarwinDay.org.
As you probably know, February 12, 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. While promoting D Day for 2008 we will also be working on making 2009 a global celebration that draws unprecedented attention to Darwin’s life and legacy, and that also establishes D Day as a major annual holiday. Many people are already planning bicentenary events. If you have already developed plans for Darwin Day 2009 please go to http://darwinday.org/NEWlang/regevent/index.php to register and advertise the event. If you are looking for ideas for a Darwin Day celebration please visit http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html. We promise not to flood you with emails, but as you know the months leading up to Darwin Day are our busiest time of year, so you can expect a handful of updates between now and February 12th.
Sincerely,
Matt Cherry Institute for Humanistic Studies
Executive Director
http://humaniststudies.org
HISTORY OF GEOLOGY DIVISION -- 2007 NECROLOGY
A brief moment of reflection for the passing of our colleagues who have so ably served the profession . . .
Ralph S. Cannon, Jr. Woodstock, IL -------------------
Rhodes W. Fairbridge New York, NY November 8, 2006
Henry M. Morris Santee, CA --------------------
William R. Reynolds Oxford, MS December 6, 2006
Kurt Servos Menlo Park, CA April 29, 2007