Fall 2024 Message from the Chair
Alumni from our department frequently tell me that some of their best memories as geology majors are from the New Mexico Summer Field Camp.
Awards: Spring 2023 – Fall 2024
Faculty Dr. Joe Meert was awarded a Fulbright Nehru Scholarship for upcoming work in India (2024-2025). Dr. Ellen Martin was honored as an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow 2023 for her work in Ocean Sciences. Dr. Jon Martin was awarded as a UFRF Professor for 2023 and inducted into the UF Academy of Distinguished Teacher […]
“It’s Joever”: Joe Meert’s last field camp excursion
A brief history of summer field camp: In the summer of 2024, Dr. Meert concluded his role as field camp coordinator and instructor after more than two decades of dedicated teaching. Back in the early 2000s, the University of Florida (UF) was contemplating discontinuing its field camp program.
Read more "“It’s Joever”: Joe Meert’s last field camp excursion"
Unraveling Coupled Hydro-Bio-Geochemical Interactions in Karst Hydrology
Sean Yoon, a physical hydrologist, investigates how groundwater flows through the subsurface and transports dissolved substances, impacting everything from ecosystems to human society. These flow and transport processes govern the quantity and quality of water resources, regulate nutrient cycling that impacts ecosystems, and influence the fate of contaminants.
Read more "Unraveling Coupled Hydro-Bio-Geochemical Interactions in Karst Hydrology"
What are glaciers like in the icy world of Svalbard?
To answer this question, scientific expeditions have traveled to the Svalbard Archipelago, home of the northernmost year-round settlement in the world, Langerbyen, since the 18th century. In March of 2024, I, followed those expeditions to join a field course at the University Centre in Svalbard.
Read more "What are glaciers like in the icy world of Svalbard?"
Dr. MacKie’s Research Team wins the Pioneering Research with HiPerGator Award
Congrats to Dr. MacKie, Michael Field, Niya Shao, and our undergrad Nathan Schoedl for winning the Pioneering Research with HiPerGator Award for team research using HiPerGator!!!
Read more "Dr. MacKie’s Research Team wins the Pioneering Research with HiPerGator Award"
Was there ever life on Mars and could there be some form of life today in its deep subsurface?
Astrobiologist Amy Williams’ search for answers is terrestrially based. Through her work on two Mars rovers – NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance, Williams is part of a team that combs the rocks of the red planet, looking for evidence of water and carbon, two key chemical ingredients for sustaining life.
AI Undergraduate Research: Dr. MacKie
Dr. Emma “Mickey” MacKie has fostered undergraduate research experiences with AI including: developing a unique “AI-CURE” (or AI Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience), advising the Women in High Performance Computing Club, and mentoring students in her geoscience lab to leverage neural networks as they map topography under glaciers.
AI across the Curriculum: Dr. MacKie
In her course Data and Machine Learning Methods in the Geosciences Dr. Emma “Mickey” MacKie empowers future scientists.
Paloma Olarte Caceres was selected for two GSA Awards
Paloma Olarte was selected as a recipient of the 2024 GSA Gretchen L. Blechschmidt Award and the Donald R. Coates Award.
Read more "Paloma Olarte Caceres was selected for two GSA Awards"
Dr. Bianchi receives CLAS Distinguished Professor award
Dr. Bianchi was named Distinguished Professor which is among the most prestigious honors awarded by the University of Florida each year to faculty for career achievements in teaching, research, and publication.
Read more "Dr. Bianchi receives CLAS Distinguished Professor award"
The UF Water Institute awarded Prakhin Assavapanuvat one of the Summer 2024 Water Institute Travel Awards!
This award will assist the awardees in presenting their water-related research at an international or national conference.
Dr. MacKie awarded 2024 AI Rising Star Award
Mickie MacKie has been instrumental in enhancing UF’s AI education by designing two AI courses: Data Science and Machine Learning Methods in the Geosciences, and Quest 2:AI in a Changing Climate.
Humans shape the journey of mud, study reveals
Mud can be surprisingly clear. A global team of scientists has uncovered a hidden truth: Human actions are shaping the journey of mud. Over the course of decades, our activities have wielded significant influence over the movement and dispersion of mud, affecting carbon storage and cycling worldwide.
Dr. Jonathan Martin inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars
Two professors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida have been named Distinguished Teaching Scholars by the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars, an advisory board that aims to elevate teaching excellence and celebrate faculty who go above and beyond for their students.
Read more "Dr. Jonathan Martin inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars"
Dr. Joseph Meert awarded Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship to India
He will be teaching and conducting research at the University of Rajasthan (Jaipur, India) and Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi, India).
Read more "Dr. Joseph Meert awarded Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship to India"
Astrobiologist Amy Williams shows young women in STEM that the sky is the limit
Lying in the bed of her parents’ pickup truck in 1990s South Carolina, marveling at meteor showers across the night sky, a grade-school Amy Williams would often wonder: “Is there another variety of little girl out there, looking back and wondering if she’s also alone in the universe?”
Read more "Astrobiologist Amy Williams shows young women in STEM that the sky is the limit"