Monthly Archives: May 2012

Scovel Hall lecture room renovations begin (periodically updated)

Mark Wilson May 31, 2012 3:42 pm

Our beloved Scovel Hall lecture rooms are finally being updated. The fixed seats in Room 105 endured by generations of student behinds are headed to the dumpster (including their 1985 color scheme) and will be replaced by tables and movable … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: a trilobite burrow (Upper Ordovician of Ohio)

Mark Wilson May 27, 2012 1:43 am

This is one of my favorite trace fossils. Rusophycus pudicum Hall, 1852, is its formal name. It was made by a trilobite digging down into the seafloor sediment back during the Ordovician Period in what is now southern Ohio. It … Continue reading →

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Forbes lists Geology as 7th in its “15 Most Valuable College Majors”

Mark Wilson May 26, 2012 12:59 pm

Sure it is intellectually stimulating, adventurous and fun, but geology is also an important field for the present and future according to the latest issue of Forbes magazine. Geology is ranked as number 7 in the most valuable college majors, … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Corkscrew shells from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Mark Wilson May 20, 2012 1:15 am

Steve Dornbos (’97), now a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and I found these intricate shells by the hundreds in the Nicosia Formation (Pliocene) of Cyprus during his Independent Study field work. (We published this study in 1999.) They … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Intricate networks of tiny holes (clionaid sponge borings)

Mark Wilson May 13, 2012 1:28 am

The most effective agents of marine bioerosion today are among the simplest of animals: clionaid sponges. The traces they make in carbonate substrates are spherical chambers connected by short tunnels, as shown above in a modern example excavated in an … Continue reading →

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Theory to Practice: An Early GSA Abstract

mpollock May 11, 2012 10:15 am

This semester, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching a special topics lab course in geochemistry. Given our new lab facilities, I decided to approach the class as an analytical geochemistry course. We explored sampling strategies, data quality, and the theory … Continue reading →

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Behind the Scenes at the Smithsonian

mpollock May 9, 2012 10:15 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Guest blogger: Lindsey Bowman (’12). As part of CUR’s Posters on the Hill event, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. National Meteorite Collection at the Smithsonian. Our host was Dr. Cari Corrigan. Next, we toured … Continue reading →

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Presentations on Capitol Hill

mpollock May 7, 2012 8:42 pm

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Students and faculty aren’t the only audiences for Wooster I.S. presentations. This year, two Wooster students were selected (out of 850 applicants) to represent the best in undergraduate research at CUR’s Posters on the Hill event. Congratulations … Continue reading →

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A rite of passage: Geology Junior Independent Study presentations

Mark Wilson May 6, 2012 7:33 pm

WOOSTER, OHIO–The College of Wooster requires an Independent Study (I.S.) thesis (or performance) from all of its graduates. These are not just extended literature reviews, but unique research projects crafted for and by each of our students. We devote three … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A giant oyster (Eocene of Texas)

Mark Wilson May 6, 2012 1:30 am

It’s no ordinary oyster, of course, because it comes from Texas. It certainly is the largest oyster I’ve ever seen. Wooster received it as part of a large donation in 2010. (You can see students studying it in this previous … Continue reading →

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