WOOSTER, OH – So the meteorites didn’t exactly fall from the sky today, but our GeoClub speaker let us see some samples from his own meteorite collection. Dr. Ed Young, UCLA Cosmochemist and Wooster Geology Alum (’81), gave a fascinating talk today on his research, which uses oxygen isotopes in meteorites to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system. He took us through the complicated taxonomy of meteorite classification and gave us a primer on oxygen isotopes before blowing our minds with supernova explosions, star formation, and uniqueness of our own solar system. I think the talk is best summarized by a quote from one of our current majors, “Now all I want to do is be a grad student and go to Antarctica and collect meteorites.”
Dr. Ed Young ('81, on the right) with his favorite TA and fellow Wooster alum, Dr. Mark Wilson (left).