2002-2003 Geology Newsletter

After decades of happily following the effective leadership of Don Easterbrook, Chris Suczek, Jim Talbot, Ned Brown and Thor Hansen, I am now occupying room 240A and attending Dean's Advisory Committee meetings. The transition from faculty member to chair has been blessedly easy because the department is pretty much the same as it has been for years. Chris Sutton is still doing all the complicated management work while Vicki, Russ and George keep everything else running smoothly. A congenial and highly competent faculty also makes the job of chair a pleasure. Speaking of faculty, Doug Clark and Bernie Housen were awarded Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor. Also there will be a really big change next year as Dave Engebretson phases out his classroom teaching. At this point we don't know whether we will be able to replace his position. We do know that we will never be able to replace his unique lecture style and passion for teaching. A couple of other changes worth mentioning are that we have implemented a new summer field geology course that is team taught by Doug, Bernie and Dave Hirsch at various locations from the Sierra Nevada to Southern British Columbia. We are also anticipating the arrival of a new state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive element mapping capability. This should provide several new research opportunities for geology faculty and students. Thanks again for your continuing alumni contributions to the Geology Unrestricted Fund. This has made a significant difference in the quality and teaching and research that we are able to accomplish.

SCOTT BABCOCK: My main effort this year was to keep a new administrative appointment from ruining my lifestyle. Thanks to the support of the geology faculty and staff, I can tentatively report that it's not that bad being Chair. The worst part is teaching fewer classes--however, I did get to teach Geology 414 this summer for the 24^th straight year. Marca and I also got a chance to do geology and natural history on an expedition cruise from Plymouth, England, to Reykjavik, Iceland, via the Hebrides, Shetlands and Faroe Islands. I may need another such trip next summer to recover from the fun of organizing and implementing the new College of Science and Technology.

MYRL BECK: What's new from Myrl Beck. Well, not much. The past year has seen me play a lot of golf, write a few papers, work out in the gym fairly regularly, and travel. The latter is my main news: through the good auspices of Scott Babcock I got a slot as a lecturer on an Antarctic cruise - two of them, in fact. The first trip started in Punta Arenas, Chile, and went to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, then to Elephant Island and on to the Antarctic Peninsula. From the Peninsula it went back to S. America (Ushuaia, Argentina) across the famous Drake Passage. The second trip went from Ushuaia across the Drake to the Peninsula, then back again. It was early in the season (November - early December) so ice and fur seals prevented landings at some desirable spots, but what we did see and do was wonderful. S. Georgia is one of the wonder spots of the world - think 50,000 King Penguins on the same beach, and elephant seals sprawled on the beach like soft driftwood. At 69 I was a little old for some of the stuff they expected me to do, but at least my lectures were good. I'd do it again, for sure.

My other main obsession, golf, has been less kind to me. I can just about break 100 on an easy course, but these "challenging" courses my friends want to drag me to reduce me to sobbing blubber. But still I persevere - I am too fat and tired to hike much anymore, and golf at least gets me out in the fresh air. I am waiting for Jimmy Diehl to retire and move to Bellingham; he used to play a lot and has promised to give me lessons.

After travel to Europe three years in a row we find ourselves looking at small numbers in the bank accounts, so this year we are pulling in our horns. We are doing a house exchange in Santa Fe in September, and I am going to Alaska to wreak havoc on the salmon population sometime in August. Otherwise I will be in Bellingham, writing papers, playing golf, and enjoying our new kittens.

DICK BERG: taught his courses for the Geology Department and then disappeared to his house on Camano Island -- rarely to be seen the entire summer. Basically he did a little more work on the GIS course, but mostly simply "kicked back" reading a lot of low quality fiction, crabbing, tennis, playing with the grandchildren and doing some painting around his cabin.

CLARK & PATTY (COMBS) BLAKE: PC sez: Now that I'm again on my feet after my back surgery, we are once again back on the road! With the exception of the holidays, Clark spent most of last winter at the condo in Arizona to help his PNW allergies. I commuted back and forth with trips in October/November and for a month in February. I turned the big six-oh this year (with only minor trauma connected!) and we had some frequent flyer tickets, so my celebration trip (in late April) was to the east coast. Flew in and out of Washington, DC, and stayed in Alexandria, VA, thanks to the hospitality of Lynne Stauss. We also traveled to various other areas nearby, visiting friends, seeing new territory, and just generally being tourists! Though it was a great trip, we were happy to get back to our relaxed Bellingham/Lummi Island lifestyle! Clark spends the bulk of his time on genealogy and birding, with an occasional attack of geology-itis. I am, as always, happiest when I'm playing in the dirt and my gardens reward me well for my efforts.

We're staying (fairly) close to home for the rest of the summer, after which we'll head south in early October to get Clark set up for the winter. Depending on house sitters, I'm hoping to spend a couple of months down there this year. As I write this, I am preparing to head out on a one-week west coast road trip with Lynne Stauss! Look out!!! After that I'm off to Colorado for 5 days ... one of the Boulder Babes is getting married, after which I'll spend a couple of days with the Frasse family who escape Singapore summers and play in Colorado. So, as you can see, we're not letting the moss grow on us yet and we're continuing to have some fun. I may have said it before, but ... life is good!

NED BROWN: This past year we spent our first winter in our cabin in the Arizona desert near Tucson. Not certain about how I would spend time there, I brought along many file boxes of geologic reference materials as backup in case I needed a geology project to keep myself busy. But I'm happy to report that I hardly cracked those boxes. Construction projects on the house as well as daily adventures in the desert and explorations in Tucson amply filled the time. Since returning in April however, I've become engrossed in Northwest geology again. I've completed a draft of a compilation and synthesis of NW tectonics, to be published by the DNR as a companion document to the recently published "Geologic Map of Washington - Northwest Quadrant". And I've become involved in San Juan Island geology. In the Fall last year, former student Tom Lapen, now in the PhD program at University of Wisconsin-Madison, carried out Ar dating of micas from Lopez Island that I had sent him. The ages came out at 125 Ma, 25 million years older than fossils previously used to set a maximum age of San Juan Island metamorphism. So, I've spent much of the Spring and Summer this year in the field on Lopez and in the Department working on this problem - very interesting. Our conclusion is that the metamorphism was acquired by subduction long before thrust emplacement of the terranes in the San Juan Islands. Now, in mid-summer, Linda and I are already thinking about next winter in the desert. We hope there are some good summer rains there so the cactuses and critters are feeling fresh when we arrive in late October.

RUSS BURMESTER: 'Twas a hectic year, or so it seems. The departmental computer lab got extensively renovated with some very nice flat panel monitors on new Gateway computers and some very capable Macs. Of course, they are all obsolete now. Also got a faster server with more space and graded operating system, and a color laser printer to replace the old inkjet. Now, if only the rate at which new stuff comes out would slack a bit, we might get more work done with this equipment instead of just working to keep it up to date.

The paleomagnetism lab continues to be productive and stimulating. It's difficult to believe how long Bernie and the new setup have been here, except that we're due to replace parts of the cryogenic magnetometer that expire after 5 years. Wonder why when Myrl and I are no older. Or maybe I am? Or is it just that the hills in Idaho are steeper, the rocks heavier and maps cover larger areas than they used to? Now, after taking a break to write this item at the last minute after Chirs's timely reminder, back to Idaho for more research into the origin and evolution of the Belt Supergroup. Beware, though, there's probably going to be a new color or map pattern on northern Idaho maps. It is increasingly difficult to gain access to private land. Because we can't get to the rocks, larger and larger areas will be blank, solid black, or marked with "there be dragons". Dragons, by the way, can be considered a euphemism for what would otherwise be censored.

BOB CHRISTMAN: Another year has passed and the erosion is barely perceptible. However, I found that it took a minute longer to jog (not run) 5K. Otherwise things seem to remain the same. For the Washington Science Teachers Association, I am still registrar and editor (publishing 4 journals per year since 1980...currently working my 95^th issue). This will be my last year as Executive Director for the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (a volunteer position I have held since 1991). I am still working with the Boy scouts, gardening and doing cross-country skiing. I just took out a loan (that will come due when I am 107 years old...the credit union is more optimistic than I) to purchase and renovate the historic Fire Station in Fairhaven. This year's summer trip will be to Alaska. And most important, Bess and I just celebrated our 50^th Wedding Anniversary.

DOUG CLARK: The big news in my life last year was that I finally achieved that grand-poobah of rewards for taking the academic route: TenureÉjob for life! Sounds kind of terminal, doesn't it? Actually, it seems a bit strange to me to have finally gotten it, after having it as this distant, somewhat abstract, but supposedly lofty goal for so long (somewhere around 14 yrs, if you include my time as a Ph.D, post-doc, and faculty here and at IUPUI). I still feel pretty much the same as last year: stressed, behind in nearly everything, and trying to find a balance between work and my outside life. Well, maybe just trying to find an outside life. Lots of folks have been asking me "Now that you have tenure, you get to slow down some, right?" The problem is, looking at my work load, I can't figure out anywhere to cut back. I enjoy everything I do, and can't imagine slacking off on it anywhere. I'll just have to take the normal tact: concluding that sleep is overrated!

Needless to say, with being up for tenure, my year was marginally out of control. I started last summer working with some great undergrads on glacial research in the Albion Range, south-central Idaho, as part of a Keck Consortium undergraduate geology project. The students were great to work with, especially the three working with me on coring a series of alpine tarns: Niki Bowerman (WWU), Dan Cadol (Whitman College), and Paul Bovet (Colorado College), collectively known as "Team Mud." Niki developed her part of the research into a senior thesis, and is now going to be one of my new MS students, working in the Sierra Nevada.

My MS students and I have continued our investigations of Late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation in the North Cascades and Sierra Nevada through detailed mapping and lake sediment coring. Brandi Molitor successfully defended her thesis Spring quarter, and three others (Ben Cashman, Alex McKenzie-Johnson, and Eric Bilderback) are on the verge of defending theirs. Ben is writing up what is the most comprehensive study yet developed of Holocene glaciation in the B.C. Coastal Mountains; Alex, my one non-glacial student, will be collecting his final set of GPS movement survey data for the Swift Creek landslide this summer, on Sumas Mountain in Whatcom County; and Eric Bilderback is finishing up his work on the glacial-lacustrine record in the Enchantment Lakes basin. I will be spending much of the summer in the Sierra Nevada with Alison Gillespie on the Palisade Glacier to test whether ice cores from such small, mid-latitude glaciers are viable sources of paleoclimate data. Should be fun!

I have two new MS students coming in next year: Niki Bowerman, and Jeremy Miner. Niki will be working on a lake coring study adjacent to the Palisade Glacier, to try to augment Alison's ice core results. The combined results of both studies may be much more powerful than the simple sum of the parts. Jeremy will be attempting to extract an ice core from the summit dome of Mt. Baker, both to look at the potential for paleoclimate information, but also for records of aerosol fluxes related to industrial pollution. We already collected samples from a shallow test core, and the results look promising. There seems to be no shortage of volunteers for field assistants on this project.

Much of my own time, other than helping my students, has been focused on preparing for leading a field trip along the east side of the Sierra Nevada as part of the International Quaternary Association's (INQUA's) Quadrennial meeting (the first in the US since 1965). It's sucking up way more time than it should have, and once again, I have sworn off leading another field trip. We'll see how long that lasts this time. In addition, I have had two articles accepted for publication (one in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, detailing the sedimentary record in a 100,000 yr-old bog near Lake Tahoe, with Bernie Housen; and one in the Journal of Geoscience Education, introducing our new "Build your own Delta" geomorphology lab, with Scott Linneman).

The other part of my early summer was consumed with teaching the first two weeks of WWU's summer field camp (Geology 410). I took the students out to Mono Basin, and had them mapping the Pleistocene moraines along the east side of the Sierra Nevada near Yosemite for the first week, then working on smaller Holocene moraines, trim lines, striations, and bedrock geology near Mt. Conness for the second half. The students seemed to enjoy both projects, and markedly increased their ability to accurately locate, map, and interpret geologic relationships in that short time. Hopefully Bernie and Dave H., who are teaching the second and third parts of the course will feel the same.

Finally, but not least, my family is doing well. Meg continues her work, mostly from home, with Microsoft. She's down to only two accounts, which has cut back on her travel a bit, and we're hoping it will stay that way. Jessa (6) is sweet as ever, loves to read, run, jump rope, ride her new (used) bike, and generally explore life. Much to her father's chagrin, she also wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up (Yikes!). Emma (almost 4) is her sister's best friend and constant companion, and is always striving to keep up with her. She also seems poised to pass up Jessa in height in the coming couple of years; this kid definitely got the height genes! Both are outgoing like their mom, so say hi when you see them running around the department. Hope you all have a great year, and stop in and say hi when you're in the department.

JULIET CRIDER: It has been another fun year at Western! Last September, recent graduates Joel Cornwall and Mike Hall joined me and a couple of USC graduate students for the third year of GPS surveying in the Grabens of Canyonlands National Park. We had some spectacular thundershowers, one that nearly left us stranded in the backcountry. With the help of graduate student Justin Brooks, I am beginning a new project on the paleoseismology of the 1872 Washington earthquake. Very little is known about this earthquake, apart from accounts in local newspapers. New work by USGS folks suggest that the epicenter was near the south end of Lake Chelan and over the next few years students and I will be looking at local seismology, geomorphology, and lake-sediment cores for more clues about the earthquake. Winter quarter I had fun leading a seminar on landslides, another important geohazard in the region. If any of you have some good landslide case studies to share or recommendations for field trips, please let me know! This spring I joined the ranks of parents in the department, with the birth of my daughter Lucie. Eric and I are enjoying this new adventure immensely.

VICKI CRITCHLOW: Nothing new here. Same ol' stuff in the geology department. Keeping the geology faculty and students in line is a very full time job but I do enjoy it! As usual, I'm away from the office during the summer and will be quite busy babysitting while one daughter-in-law attends summer school and the other one is expecting her second baby in August. I plan to play some golf with my grandson and my ladies league, visit the lakes and the pool with all the grandchildren, bike-ride with the two oldest, take some trips out in the bay in my son's boat, take some short jaunts with my two sisters from Bellevue and visit with friends. I'll try to fit in the mowing and the gardening somewhere in this schedule! In August, we'll have our 5^th annual Critchlow family picnic which is actually a Cragin family picnic since it consists of the four Cragin sisters (me being one of them) and their extended families, some as far away as New Jersey, and North and South Carolina. This year there will be 46 of us (maybe 47 if the baby arrives on time!) at my son's house on the beach and since he and his wife are the ones expecting the baby and they will be in the middle of remodeling their house, I will be in charge of the whole thing. Then, all too soon September will be upon us and it'll be business as usual in the geo department. P.S. The baby did arrive the morning of the family picnic, it rained off and on for probably the 2^nd time all summer, but a joyous time was had by all.

SUE DEBARI: I am writing this on a plane coming home from a National Science Foundation panel meeting. I've just spent the past three days reading proposals until my eyes were crossed. All I can muster right now is to read Harry Potter and stare out the window.

This year has passed by very quickly, and as usual it has been very busy. Dave and I have two very strong-willed little girls now, and they keep Dave and I busier than I could have ever imagined. Nina is 3 and Grace is 1. They have just started to figure out that they are sisters, but can't decide yet whether it is more fun to play together or to torture each other.

The whole family traveled to Hawaii last September because I had a NSF-sponsored research workshop to attend. The workshop was in a hotel on the beach in Waikiki (really, not kidding). Dave got to play with the kids on the beach, and I stayed inside and talked about magma evolution in the Izu-Bonin arc. Actually, I'm not sure who had more fun. It was a fabulous workshop. I also got to spend my 40^th birthday there, which was also the 10^th anniversary of Hurricane Iniki (which was how I spent my 30^th birthday on a kayak trip with Dave on our first date -- but that's another story....). From there we all went over to the Big Island and visited friends and of course went right up to the edge of the active lava flow at night. It was spectacular.

I am chair of the Education Division of the Geological Society of America this year, so that means I went to Denver for the Annual Meeting in October. And then I went to the American Geophysical Union in December where graduate student Andrew Greene presented a poster. In between, I did manage to teach classes and do some (a little) research. This spring was quieter, except for being on the search committee for the founding Dean of the new College of Science. We do by the way have a new Dean and a new College ready to start on September 1. Andrew Greene defended his thesis in May, and gave a fabulous talk to the department. Within the month he had his thesis ready for publication and it is now submitted to the Journal of Petrology. We have submitted his thesis for the WAGS (Western Association of Graduate Schools) Outstanding Thesis Award, and hope to hear some positive news soon.

Graduate student Dave Tucker survived his year as head TA for Geology 101, and is now ready to tackle his last summer of field work in the wilderness of the Hannegan caldera. He might still be looking for field assistants, so let him (or me) know if you want any geological mountaineering experiences this summer!

DON EASTERBROOK: Whoever thought that retirement means lots of time to sit in a rocking chair and contemplate obviously has never tried retiring. Lot's of things going on this year, the most time consuming of which was coordinating 17 field trips all over the country for INQUA, editing a 450-page volume Quaternary Geology of the U.S., (available on-line from the GSA website), writing two field trip guides, and leading a 4-day field trip through the Pacific NW and a 3-day field trip at the upcoming GSA meeting in Seattle.

The GSA national meeting in Seattle in November will have lots of interesting opportunities for folks interested in Quaternary geology: (1) a pre-meeting, 3-day field trip in the Puget Lowland, North Cascades, and Columbia Plateau looking at the late Pleistocene history of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, alpine glaciation of the North Cascades, and the remarkable museum of glacial landforms and Missoula flood features on the Columbia Plateau, (2) a Pardee symposium on abrupt climatic changes, (3) and a symposium on glaciation of Washington.

This is the year of the formal launching of EPIC, (Easterbrook Photo/Image Center located at the University of Washington) sponsored jointly by GSA and the UW. It will have available on-line many thousands of outstanding digitized photos and images from the classic collections of John Shelton, Dave Rahm, Austin Post, Ken Hamblin, Lee Mann, Dave Evans, John Dohrewend and others, plus computer-enhanced color satellite photos of many areas in North America. Sets of images for teaching and individual photos will be available at the Seattle GSA meeting and from GSA on-line this fall. Stop by Booth 1102 in the exhibits area at the Seattle meeting and see some fabulous geologic images.

DAVE ENGEBRETSON: It's been an interesting and challenging year. It sure has been great to have David Jr. and Jeni back in town. Deb is still working in the Political Science Department. I went to a month-long guide dog training school in Boring, Oregon, and have a wonderful friend and guide named "Fritz". He's a beautiful Yellow Lab and fits right into our lives (he takes me everywhere). One of Fritz's favorite places is the Geology Office where he gets to visit with his good buddies Chris and Vicki.

THOR HANSEN: After stepping down as chair at the end of the summer, I taught classes during Fall Quarter and then went on sabbatical for winter and spring. One of the highlights of the year was a trip to Berlin to present a paper at a conference. The meeting was held in the Berlin Natural History Museum which is in what used to be communist East Berlin. The "east" suffered from much neglect during the Cold War and, while West Berlin is gleaming and modern, the east is kind of shabby and undergoing a great deal of reconstruction now. One wing of the Berlin Museum is in ruins; a result of still unrepaired bomb damage from WWII. Most of the older city buildings still have bullet holes around the ground floor windows and doors. Then in early summer I took a road trip to collect shells on east coast beaches for a research project. I started out in North Carolina and then drove a total of 5,500 miles going first to Saco, Maine, and then traveling down the coast all the way to Key West, Florida, and then up the gulf shore of Florida to Pensacola and then back to North Carolina. I visited 56 beaches in 16 days. Ate much seafood occasionally interspersed with barbecue. If you want information about beaches, forget the travel agents, I can tell you where to go (hint: Florida). I know that I have finally arrived when Maury Schwartz tells me he is jealous.

DAVE HIRSCH: My second year in the department has been one of really settling into my life here in Bellingham and my position as a faculty member. I have now taught all but one of my courses at least once, and have worked hard to refine and improve my teaching of those courses I teach often, Mineralogy and General Geology. General Geology in particular is rewarding to teach, as I get the chance to convey to students of all stripes the enthusiasm I have for geology. Most recently (as of September), I taught part of Field Camp (along with Doug Clark and Bernie Housen) which was fantastic, albeit extremely warm. We were in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, and temperatures frequently exceeded 100°F. One very hot day, we were relieved to experience the cooling effect of a dense cloud of smoke from a nearby forest fire!

Things have been moving forward on the research front as well. I have been analyzing the samples of rocks containing large porphyroblasts which I collected last summer. I found garnets ranging up to about 30 cm in the Picuris Mountains of New Mexico. Figuring out what causes these large crystals may shed light on what controls crystal size in general for metamorphic rocks. One of my graduate students, Shannon Petrisor, has collected a detailed data set this summer at the New Mexico site, which should help shed light on this thorny problem.

This summer has been quite busy for Heather and me. I had an opportunity to participate in a two-week cruise along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, discussing the geological history of the area, particularly the active volcanoes. This was an amazing experience in a part of the world few of us get to see; photos are posted on my website (www.davehirsch.com). There has been some family time as well, adn now we are moving into our first house, but not without doing some renovations first (we are going to be expert tile setters by the time we move in!).

BERNIE HOUSEN: 2002-2003 was another typically busy year. On the teaching front, Intro Geology is always fun to teach, and a new "theme-oriented" suite of 101 lecture sections is being planned by the department. The other big change was taking part in a team-taught version of summer field camp. Along with Doug Clark and Dave Hirsch, the students got to experience three separate two-week projects, taking them from the Sierra Nevada, to the California coast, and then to the Okanogan belt in British Columbia. All in all, the experience was a great one for all involved. Students are also enjoying some excellent opportunities to take part in research projects as part of upper-division courses in paleomagnetism and applied geophysics. We are working on a variety of surficial geology problems using geophysical methods, including some fun projects using Ground Penetrating Radar. The 2001 paleomagnetism course's class project on the Mt. Stuart Batholith, with some additional work by Russ Burmester, Tammy Fawcett, and Gary Petro, was published in the American Journal of Science. More class-related research projects will follow, so stay tuned. Research work continues on a variety of projects. The NSF-funded coastal terrane project (with Noel Liner, Kris Addis, and Kirk Heim) should be finished later this year (along with their theses), despite some truly difficult paleomagnetic behavior on the part of the rocks. Work in the North Cascades is ramping up, with Gary Petro working hard to cover every base in his Black Peak tectonics thesis. Among his important contributions will be redefinition of several important rock units, based on new geochronologic data. New projects on Eocene rocks in the Cascades are underway, started as part of last year's paleomagnetism class. On the soft-rock front, Linda Donohoo should be preparing to present her thesis as you read this, so soon we'll know more about the paleoclimate and magnetostratigraphy of the Chuckanut Sandstone. The two NSF-funded projects in southern California continue, with winter field work in Anza-Borrego park and areas near the San Andreas fault. Andy Lutz, a MS student at the University of Oregon, spent August in the paleomagnetic sauna, collecting some very interesting data for part of his thesis project. Amy Fluette has also joined the paleomagnetism group; she will work on either a structural/block rotation or magnetostratigraphic aspect of the Salton Trough project for her thesis. Continuing the deformed sediment theme, Nick Hayman, a University of Washington PhD student, continues his collaboration with me, delving into preferred-orientation fabrics in fault rocks from Death Valley. Mike Hutchinson is in the final stages of his thesis on utilization of Ground Penetrating Radar as a tool to delineate active landslides, which will more than likely pave the way for increased use of this technique in geotechnical investigations. On the homefront, this fall all three kids are now in school (how the time flies); so our mornings are sort of hectic! We also traded in our previous old (1910) house for a bigger, older (1902), and more challenging house in the same neighborhood. Beth and I spent much of the summer refinishing floors, installing plumbing fixtures, tearing out walls, putting up sheetrock, building fences, cutting big holes in walls, filling the big holes with windows, and using lots of fun power tools.

SCOTT LINNEMAN: In last summer's newsletter I described a number of projects, mostly in science education, that I was hoping to get off the ground. Here's a flight report.

First, Geology. In September of last year I traveled to Erzurum Turkey to participate in an international workshop on the tectonics of Eastern Turkey. The workshop was sponsored by NSF and run by the crustal dynamics group from Cornell University. My involvement centered on the Quaternary volcanism in the extensional basins along the North Anatolian Transform Fault. I made some wonderful contacts (even some geophysicists!) and continue to collaborate with a couple of Turkish geologists on the timing and genesis of the magmatism.

In the fall, I worked with a great team from WWU Science Education Group to write a proposal to NSF's Math-Science Partnerships Program (MSP). Our proposed North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership would bring together faculty from WWU, four community colleges, and 26 rural school districts to improve science teaching and learning in grades 3-10. Our proposal advanced to the finalist stage and, although we are waiting for final word from NSF, prospects look good that this five-year, $12.5 million project will be funded. This project could begin in September of this year.

I recently received funding from the Fulbright Alumni Association to collaborate with a South African colleague to develop some common curricular modules for our pre-service science teachers. The idea is to use the HIV/AIDS story to illustrate how scientific research works while at the same time promoting some vital understanding of the biology of the disease. Prof. Paul Webb from the University of Port Elizabeth will come to WWU this fall to work on the modules, meet some of our students and give some seminars. In the winter, I will travel to Port Elizabeth to remember what the sun looks like and begin piloting the materials with his students. Our goal is for our students to collaborate on certain aspects of the module and thus learn a little about each others' culture.

In June I submitted a proposal to NSF's program for Graduate Teaching in K-12 Education. If funded, the project would pay new and existing graduate students from WWU's Biology, Chemistry and Geology departments to work with me in the middle schools of three local school districts. Though not as complicated as the MSP, the GK-12 proposal required extensive coordination between the science departments, the graduate dean and the science teachers at the eight middle schools. The goal of the program is to help future scientists understand the challenges and rewards of teaching science in the K-12 setting. This project would begin in 2004.

All of this proposal-submitting means that I have also been reviewing a lot of proposals from NSF and, in June, was a panelist for the Geoscience Education Program. I continue to serve on the board of the Washington Science Teachers Association (whose annual meeting we hosted in April), the Washington Science Assessment Leadership Team (writing and reviewing items for the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in Science), and the Steering Committee for NSF's MARGINS program.

I'm happy to report that grad student Janna Juday has been making progress on her study of the community awareness of volcanic hazards posed by Mount Baker. Janna presented results of her survey at the Cordilleran GSA meeting in Puerto Vallarta and at the Cities on Volcanoes meeting in Hawaii (Glacier = City?). She was also chosen to participate in a weeklong NSF-funded workshop on evaluating volcanic hazards (as part of the Cities on Volcanoes conference). Grad student Michelle Malone received funding from GSA and WWU to support her thesis work to rigorously test whether Geology 101 students who use interactive animations come to understand concepts related to mountain building better than those who have static images. Finally, I'm looking forward to having new grad student Tovah Bayer join the department from North Carolina. Tovah will likely continue our work on the Swift Creek landslide, possibly focusing on the production and fate of the fine-grained component.

On the personal front, my wife Becky and I love living in Fairhaven. We are having a great time watching 8-year-old Charlie and 6-year-old Dory learn about school dynamics, watercolor techniques, no-look passes, and entertaining a 130 pound puppy.

BOB MITCHELL: The biggest event this past year was the birth of our son Liam Robert. He was born September 28, 2002, two days after classes started. Kathryn and I now have two beautiful children-our daughter Frances turned 3 in May. I have been busy this summer, but I have managed to get out on my road bike on a regular basis. Our family vacation will be spent at Holden Village in August.

Some very talented students made teaching a success for me this past year, and I am making progress with research. I have graduate students that are modeling watershed processes, unraveling the hydrostratigraphy of Lummi Island, and investigating nitrate contamination in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer. I am hoping that a few of them will be finishing this year. I also had the opportunity to experience a 4-day INQUA field trip in northwestern Washington led by Don Easterbrook in August. It was great fun and informative.

It was nice to visit with some of you at the Hydrogeology Symposium in Tacoma, WA this past April, and I hope to chat with more of you at the GSA meeting in Seattle in November.

GEORGE MUSTOE: I don't have the kind of life that makes for a flashy "all the stuff I accomplished this year" story. Instead, I'm going to continue my tradition of simply sharing some notes from a summer's day. I'm sitting in a plaza at Granville Island in Vancouver as an interlude in a rambling bike tour of the city, slurping down a bowl of Hot and Sour Seaweed Soup that I purchased from a Chinese food vendor. My mealtime entertainment is an outdoor concert that's part of the annual Vancouver Jazz Festival. The quartet is led by an electrified harmonica player, and features a Chinese tenor sax free-jazz performer who energetically liberates his solos from melody, harmony, meter, and other confining restrictions. The group has a surprising enthusiasm for basing their avant garde improvisations on Jewish folksongs. In a nearby plaza, a middle-aged guy in a tuxedo is alternating love songs sung in flawless French with Brazilian samba tunes performed in Portugese. A bit earlier that stage was occupied by a former rock musician who'd traded in his Fender Stratocaster for a new career as a classical guitarist. He rendered virtuoso performances of Beethoven's "Moonlight" and a Chopin prelude. I'm awed by the abilities of these street musicians who have technical skills that have taken decades to acquire, yet depend on the undependable generosity of passers-by for their livelihood. I talked with an Ecuadorian folk musician who plays half a dozen instruments with dazzling skill, and who supports his wife and two small children by playing every day at Granville Island Public Market. Today his take was thirty dollars. It makes being a geologist seem so absurdly easy. I'm fond of Vancouver as a great city for bicycle adventures. The last time I was here, I got the idea to go to the outdoor produce markets in Chinatown to buy one each of every kind of exotic fruit I could find: durian, mangosteen, rambutan, dragon fruit, and several strange-looking botanical entities that seemed to have no name in English. Today I'll make an early evening trek along the coastal bike path, but I need to get home before dark because of new-found responsibilities: I have to fix supper for a possum that's been living under a bush in my yard. He was probably planning on bugs for his dinner but last night I gave him a banana and a peanut butter sandwich, which he liked just fine. In recent years I've evolved into a fairly serious yoga student, which I like as much for peace of mind as for the physical benefits. The yoga tradition stresses both compassion and kindness, and that seems to me to include serving supper to possums. This year marks my 30^th year as a geology technician at Western, not much of a record of professional advancement. But I've grown attached to this job and the people I work with, and the luxury of only working 9 months a year. Like the possum with his sandwich, I've learned that it doesn't take much to make me happy.

LIZ SCHERMER: This year started with another wonderful September field 318 course, with the usual perfect weather and beautiful Cascades scenery. Much as I love teaching this course, I am looking forward to a break this fall, as we have decided to teach the class only every other year. Spring field camp was also great, with a pretty small class of dedicated, hardworking, fun-loving students. The flowers in the desert were the best I've ever seen them; even places that are usually nearly barren were carpeted with all kinds of flowers due to the wet winter/spring. I feel so lucky to have a job where I can show students all of the beautiful places we go on spring field camp! This summer I'm trying to get some papers rewritten/written, advising grad students in the field, and scheduling the structure and tectonics abstracts for the GSA Seattle meetingÑthis last is a job I volunteered for in a weak moment! The big excitement comes in a huge remodel on my house, and a trip to Russia in August to climb Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe at 5642m-18,510ft. I'm going with Mo Smith, a WWU alum, who has the goal of climbing the highest peak on every continentÑafter Elbrus, only Everest will be left on her impressive "to do" list! I'm looking forward to visiting a place I've never been, as well as the climb. And of course I get to go on lots of climbing trips this summer with a good excuseÑI'm in training!

MAURY SCHWARTZ: In what was an otherwise uneventful year, there were two special highlights.

Last February I made my fifth trip to Cuba, and gave two talks at the UN sponsored conference held at the National Aquarium; one talk dealt with the effect of sea-level rise on Caribbean islands beach erosion, and the other an overview of beach nourishment projects in the USA. Both talks were delivered again a few days later in a more informal setting at the Oceanographic Institute. All of this was followed by a field trip to the Varadero resort area, where I have witnessed their beach erosion maintenance projects over the years on my past visits. Now, instead of costly repeated renourishment, the official policy is to renourish as necessary in front of developed vegetated berms, with legislated removal of all older buildings located too close to the beach and designated set-back limits for all new structures, a plan that has been adopted widely at other coastal sites around the world.

This past summer, after almost four years of compiling and editing, I was finally able to turn all of my coastal encyclopedia material over to Kluwer Academic Publishers in the Netherlands. Imagine correcting a mix of 310 term papers and theses! The publishers will now make up galley-proofs from which I will develop an index, and some day the volume will actually appear on library shelves. I take the academic view that as long as I keep publishing I won't perish.

The academic year that we are entering holds promise of some Caribbean island-hopping and other good coastal things. But news of all that will have to wait for the next issue of this newsletter.

CHRIS SUCZEK: It feels odd to be on campus in July after having taught summer field camp for the past three summers. I miss Montana and Idaho and the field work. But I'm enjoying having free time this summer to get caught up on things both at work and at home. At home, I'm gardening, hauling away massive amounts of weeds and trimmings to the city's compost center. (There is far more than my home compost pile can cope with.) I'm reading some of the many unread books that have accumulated in my bookshelves and spending time with my granddaughter, who just turned two. I was able to be at her birthday party this year for the first time. At work, I'm reorganizing bookshelves and weeding out books I no longer use, since some shelves are on the point of collapsing! In fact, last week I had to take all the books off one shelf after it began making ominous groaning noises. Geology 212 has a new edition of the textbook, so the lab manual must be adapted to fit. And the Strat/Sed lab manual and sample trays need to be rewritten and reorganized, respectively. Once all this is done, I'll be heading to Italy on vacation.

CHRIS SUTTON: Only 13 more years until retirement. So I guess I'll be writing a few more newsletters (unless one of the faculty decides they want to take over the job). Thanks to all of you who have contributed this year. My life is much the same. Holding down the fort and making sure faculty and students get what they need as often as possible. Our house is still in various stages of remodeling and we still have too many animals (2 dogs and 3 cats that belong to us, 1 Great Dane who is staying with us for an extended period of time and 1 stray cat who lives in the car port and has decided he owns us). I have taken up making jewelry and turned out to be fairly good at it. I have had two sales (with a third coming up in November) and made back some of the money I've invested in beads. Its not geology but I still get to play with rocks - they're just polished with holes in them.

JIM TALBOT: stops by once in awhile, he reports he has been traveling to see his grandchildren and trying to put together a family history.

As a kid growing up on the east coast, I wasn't really into rocks, or even much of an outdoorsy type. It took moving first to northern New Mexico for high school, and then to California for college, to get me to realize that summers were for hiking in the mountains, and you didn't get drenched in sweat just from walking out the door! In college I experimented with several majors, including physics, English, and electrical engineering-this one I realized wasn't going to work when I had to drop out of a core course because the professor wouldn't let me reschedule exams so they wouldn't conflict with ski racing! I discovered geology in sophomore year at Stanford, when I took a course from Bob Compton, who most of you know from the field course textbook. Bob's course was at 8 am, and it's a testament to his great teaching that I didn't miss a single lecture that term, and the room was almost always full! It was my first experience doing science outdoors, since almost every lab involved a field trip, and of course since it was California, the weather was always great. I loved it, and decided to be a majorÑbut since I was already a junior by that time, and had nearly finished my English degree, I just decided to go for a second major. Stanford's program was excellent, and I especially remember the challenge of structural geology and field camp. These were the classes I struggled in the most, but in the end found so fascinating that I became a structural geologist! I have to give a lot of credit to Elizabeth Miller, who was definitely a role model and accomplished amazing things with the Stanford summer field program.

After graduation, I still couldn't believe that you could actually get paid to use your brain and work outside in beautiful places, so my ambitions were simply to make enough money to be a ski bum for a couple of years, then think about grad school. Those plans got interrupted by David Howell of the USGS, who hired me to compile the Circum-Pacific terrane mapÑmy first real foray into regional tectonics. One great thing about this job was getting to research the geology of all kinds of exotic places around the Pacific Rim, which certainly whet my appetite for travel. The other great thing was that I could still live in Tahoe part time and be a ski bum in the winter. My mentors at the USGS, including the terrane mafia--David Howell, Davey Jones, and Clark Blake, were really instrumental in getting me fired up about regional tectonics, giving me lots of responsibility and freedom in my work, and not making me do too much grunt work (xeroxing, drafting, sample processing) like typical student employees. After a couple of years at the USGS, I decided to get a new view on tectonics by going to the opposite coast to MIT for grad school. The rocks in New England are not nearly as exciting or well-exposed as in the west, so most people at MIT don't actually do their research in New England. My advisor, Clark Burchfiel, encouraged me to look pretty much world-wide for a thesis project, and I ended up in Greece, near Mt. Olympos for several wonderful summers of field work and ouzo-drinking. Going to MIT was definitely a character-building experience, one that while I was in it, I wasn't sure I'd survive. Now that I look back on it, however, I realize what great opportunities I had and how much I learned. Plus I got to travel all over the world to look at rocks!

About the time I finished my Ph.D., the bottom dropped out of the job market. Oil and mining company cutbacks and government budget cuts left lots of unemployed geologists looking for the same jobs I was. My original hopes of going back to the USGS were dashed by huge cuts and a hiring freeze. I knew I didn't want to work for big oil or big mining, but I really didn't know if I wanted a university jobÑthe little teaching I'd done in grad school seemed really hard! But I applied to dozens of teaching positions and got dozens of rejection letters. My dad (a physicist) was so upset that I couldn't get a job with a Ph.D from M.I.T. that he begged a friend of his from Sandia labs to hire me! (And, as Myrl will be happy to hear, he said "well you should have been a geophysicist!"). I accepted a post-doc position at UC Santa Barbara, where I spent most of my time in the field mapping ugly metavolcanic rocks instead of learning to surf and other important pursuits. I applied for my WWU job since I knew several former students, and Dave Engebretson from my Stanford days. Everyone had raved about life here, but I'd never been to Bellingham and was worried how I'd adjust to all the rain. Fortunately, I got the job, and more fortunately, I discovered I loved teaching. I still haven't gotten used to all the rain (why do you think I go to the desert every springÉ.) As far as I can tell, this is the best job anyone could have. I certainly never thought it would be the only one I would have-I'd heard about all the "lifers" on the faculty, but now I can see why they came and stayed.

Geologists have such exciting lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave Tucker gave me permission to publish this letter he sent out to the geology department. I thought you all would find he and Gary's adventure interesting.

September 29, 2003

To the WWU geology community:

Last week you received a list serve message from Vicki announcing that Gary Petro and I [Dave Tucker] were overdue from a field trip to Ruth and Icy Pks. Thanks to all who responded to that message with advice on my sampling plan and offers to help the search. Here's the story, if you are interested. If not, hit delete and have a beer.

On Saturday, Gary and I cramponed over the Ruth Glacier, and traversed Ruth Mountain en route to the final unmapped corner of the Hannegan caldera [my thesis project]. The descent on the south side includes a couple hundred feet of narrow rock and heather ledges, with considerable exposure above a nasty gully. We camped that night in the saddle on the ridge connecting the two glaciated peaks. The irrepressible Gary collected some paleomag samples, and I collected a pluton for U-Pb geochronology. Another pair of climbers camped near us, heading for Icy. We could see that recent glacier recession on the NW flank of Icy would allow to traverse on slabs beneath the glacier, so we cached our rope, harnesses, and samples.

Sunday was murky and wet. Our neighbors silently stole away, back to warmth and dryness. We finally broke camp at 2 PM and traversed for 2 hours, south below the ice. The slabs were wet but we had pretty easy going, despite poor visibility. We camped that night at 5800' on the steep narrow, heather covered west rib of Icy, rising out of the fabled Nooksack Cirque. All night, we could hear crashing ice avalanches from the glaciers rimming the cirque.

Monday was nice. We left camp, ascended the rib, and then traversed SE across the southern slabs and talus of Icy's south flank. There is much less ice here than shown on the 1985 topo and aerial photos. We mapped the contacts between the caldera filling ignimbrite and the Nooksack Cirque pluton that intrudes it. After a couple of hours, we gained the crest of the SE ridge of Icy Peak. We descended it only a short distance and came upon a marvelous contact between the caldera fill and the schist forming the wallrock. This was the primary goal of the trip-find the caldera margin. A knife sharp gully crossed the ridge, filled with a 1.5 meter wide felsite dike, a classic dike-filled ring fault that formed as the caldera subsided. We could see the fault etched across the landscape for a kilometer to the west, and a similar distance to the NE. Very cool, indeed. World class volcanic structure. We collected samples and headed back, detouring for a jaunt out the ridge that runs south from Icy to Cloudcap Pk ["Seahpo" on the maps]. The contact was not exposed there though; it's under the ice, and up the precipitous south ridge of Cloudcap Peak somewhere. Back to camp to finish off our beers, amid the ongoing thunder from the icefalls. I was excited- I'd done what I wanted, and we could pack out Tuesday, a day early.

Oops. We'd hardly hit the rack when our eardrums and eyes were assaulted by simultaneous thunder, real thunder, and lightning flashes. This continued for a couple of hours [or at least so it seemed in the dark tent]. We were well below any high points, but that kind of electricity is always a little dismaying. Before that storm passed, we were hearing frozen rain on the tent. We slept poorly, needing to pound on the tent walls to knock off the accumulating sleet, and then snow.

All was white when we looked out Tuesday AM- heather, sky, and tent. We debated- could we cross those slabs, and get back over the narrow ledges leading up to Ruth? We gave it a shot. It was not too hard to get around on the slabs, but bad visibility and poor memories got us into the wrong spot; we returned in the sleet and camped in the same spot on the west rib, wet. We managed to steam dry ourselves in the tent that night, and have a good dinner.

Wednesday, we decided to descend the rib, find the climbers' route over the cliffs at its base, and gain the bottom of Nooksack Cirque. After a night of more snow, the accumulated 8" made traversing the slabs beneath the ice, and then the steep pitch up to Ruth, problematic. We didn't want to chance getting wet and then getting hung up on thin snow covering the icy Ruth Glacier. We knew we could pretty easily walk out from the cirque floor. Several times in the '70's I'd climbed Icy via that route. I may be old, but my long term memory hasn't failed; at least, not completely. I couldn't remember the important part: how or where the route climbed out of the cirque onto the rib. We walked down slick, snowy heather, but couldn't get over the cliffs. We made like Tarzan and tried the cedar limb rappel technique to get over some vertical ground, but found ourselves on the brink of a precipice- with 'hallelujaland' just 100' below us. We were wet and cold from the bushes, and it was beginning to rain again. We struggled up through the overhanging, tightly spaced cedar limbs, which is much more difficult with big packs then descending. I whined and thought I was going to die. We camped at 4800', a lovely flat meadow complete with bubbling brook, a view down the Nooksack River for several miles, and a big pile of bear shit. That was encouraging-bears are lazy, and if they could get up to

the restricted meadow country, we could get down! More rain. Sadly, we were out of beer.

Thursday morning, I was awakened from one of those brief naps you get in an anxiety-ridden tent at 0430 in the pitch black when the tent ceiling smacked me in the face- knocked over by a wind gust. We sat up and quickly braced the front corners of the tent before it blew over again. Bent or broken poles would be a serious problem in the driving rain and wind. Hypothermia is not fun, although death is fairly painless, a friend tells me. [She's still alive, what does she know?] We reached outside and lashed the poles together where they crossed; I saw that the fly was ripping near my lashing. While Gary handed me sewing needles charged with dental floss, I leaned outside in the driving rain and sewed up the fly with the ugliest stitching in history. It did the job, although the fly leaked on me from then on. We crouched in our respective tent corners like punch drunk fighters, almost constantly bracing the walls and roof-arch stay against the vicious gusts. That went on for 10 hours- we occasionally could use a free hand to nibble

on gorp. We were pretty beat by the time the weather let up. We were now overdue; I'd told my sweetie Kim we'd be home Wednesday night. I didn't really expect a search to be underway on the first day, and the weather was too miserable for an aerial recon. I wanted to refill water jugs and check tent pegs without getting wet clothes in the drizzle. In typical Tucker style, that meant going butt naked; hell, skin is waterproof! Gary worried that a chopper might come by and see me out there, and fly away in horror. It was great to get the stove cranked up and eat a huge dinner. We were warm, dry and fed, but knew the folks at home would be worried. We sliced up 4 red stuff sacks and stitched them into a 3' square, in the event a chopper came by on Friday, and we were still there. The tent was nondescript grey, and probably not very evident from the air. A calm night.

Friday we laid out the red square, and left camp to recon another descent route. We found it very quickly. We returned, packed up and left our idyllic place; another time, I'd love to camp there again. The descent route was the typical Cascadian gully: wet, loose, steep, and slabby. Though overcast, the weather was dry. We were soon in the cirque, and headed out. That afternoon, about two miles from the road, we met two guys from Mountain Rescue packing in to look for us. They joined us and we hiked out to the Nooksack Cirque trail head, and caught a lift with our own Kurt Parker up the Hannegan Road. There was a big crowd in the parking lot at the Hannegan trail head: Parkies, a sheriff's deputy, volunteers, family, friends, with fried chicken, potato salad, and fruit. The ever-hungry Gary demolished it. A USGS colleague brought beer. Four Park Service backcountry rangers were at that time crossing over Ruth's summit, but fortunately got recalled by radio before they dropped out of range.

Many volunteers had put there heads and gear together, including from the Geology Department. I'm glad we didn't need any assistance, but its good to know that competent, well-intentioned, and intelligent people are out there. Geez, all that to look for a couple of smelly and tired grad students!

Thanks to everyone! Now I need to go back and collect the ropes and samples.

Dave Tucker

Gary Petro

*****ALUMNI NEWS*****

Beth Addington (BS'96) is a Principal Scientist at the Earth Satellite Corporation. Beth received her MS from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1999. Beth met husband Dave at school and they moved to the Washington DC area. Dave works for USGS. Beth recommends students take as many GIS courses as possible to have marketable skills. Beth and Dave are hoping to move back to the West coast and Bellingham is on the top of their list for places they would like to live.

Mark Allen (BS'01) On 1/11/03 of this year Mark got on a plane to Chile to travel for three months in South America. When he returned, he went back to his job at the American Alpine Institute.

Kris Alvarez (MS'95) is still working on computers in the Spokane area.

Duane Bays (BS'77) completed his MS at Huxley College. Duane is working as a GIS and IT Support Specialist at BLM/Remtech in Tonopah, Nevada.

Andy Buddington (MS'90) during 2002 took over the position of section president for the Northwest Section of NAGT. He has finished his second year as earth science department chair at Spokane Community College. His wife Teresa has moved up into teaching 2^nd grade after 13 years as a kindergarten teacher. They will be traveling to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland for five weeks during the summer.

Matt Burgess (BS'00) is working as a geologist on trenching and geotech jobs in San Diego.

Chris Cass (BS'00) stopped by the office. He and his cousin Jason Cass (BS'99) are working at Environmental Associates, Inc. in Bellevue.

Marc Chartier (BS'00) is working for Pennoni Associates, Inc.

Monica Clement (BA'75) is a geology instructor at Kansas State University while she completes her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction in Science Education.

Phil Cohen (BA'72) is the Surface Water Manager for Island County Public Works. Phil reports he and wife Debbie Amos started a family recently. They had twins, Benjamin and Roslyn. The family is enjoying a more rural lifestyle in Anacortes after 19 years in the Seattle area.

Joel Cornwall (BS'02) is working for BCI Engineers and Scientists, Inc. in Lakeland, Florida. Joel & Kelly are proud parents of Rhianon Glory, born in August.

David Cox (BS'00) reports: After spending the summer of 2002 in Colorado on the Hayman Fire rehabilitation project, we have just made the move north to Alaska. I have just recently been employed as the Minerals Team hydrologist for the Tongass National Forest.

Ralph Dawes (BS'83) is an earth sciences instructor at Wenatchee Valley College, near the center of Washington State, surrounded by a well-exposed variety of fascinating geology. Ralph lives with his wife, Cheryl Dawes, who received her B.S. in geology from a competing institution (UW) and keeps him on his toes.

Allison Dean (BS'95, MS'02) reports: I am a Geophysicist working in the Acoustics Division of the Naval Oceanographic Office. I determine bottom characteristics based on sound wave propogation. I go to sea a lot and get to visit foreign countries. Looks like I might start teaching SCUBA again in the near future. Mississippi isn't so bad. I have lots of pets... cock roaches, fire ants, crickets, geckos, lizards, a big black (non-poisonous) snake that likes to go into my dryer vent when I get too close... I live in a mini-orchard with about 10 pecan trees, a fig tree and a pear tree.

Thank you Bernie for sending me on the Ocean Drilling Program!!

Neil Duffin (MS'02) when last heard from had just returned from a two month trip in the Philippine Sea, having come from Korea and Okinawa. That trip followed a 5 1/2 month trip up the east coast, then to the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and the Bahamas. He is now working for the nautical charts division and getting to see the world.

Juddy Ellison (BS'01) started his own company in Mt Vernon, Mountains North West Bike & Ski.

Steve Evans (BS'85) continues to work for PNG Environmental, Inc. doing environmental work including a lot of litigation support (somtimes I think an accounting minor would have been helpful!). His occasional mountain climbing adventures have become ever less frequent as free time is occupied by family, including Michael (9) and Alicia (6). He is now assuming the identity of Coach Steve for his son's 4^th grade basketball team.

Tammy Fawcett (MS'01) reports she has accepted a fulltime, continuing position teaching 9^th grade physical science in the Shoreline School District. Shorewood High School even offers Geology 101 so maybe someday she will be able to teach that also. Congratulations!

Tory "TFox" Fox (BS'00) is working as a geologist for TriHydro in Laramie, Wyoming. Tory is working with Matt Jones (BS'00). Tory says outdoor activities around Laramie are plentiful.

Ric & Jeanne Frasse (MS'81) Ric survived the merger of Chevron and Texaco with the new position of Asia Regional Manager of International Gas for Chevron/Texaco. The new posting sent the family from the jungle island of Sumatra to the civilized island of Singapore in 1/02. It also has Ric traveling quite a bit to places like Seoul, Beijing, Perth, Jakarta, and back to the US as well. They are enjoying their new surroundings and the new opportunities that were lacking in the jungle. Jeanne is enjoying the shopping opportunities, shuttling kids to activities, and working on her golf game. The children are also enjoying the variety of opportunities for sports and activities to choose from and making lots of friends. (There are almost 3000 children in the American School in Singapore compared to 80+ in Indonesia in the whole school.)

Lea Gilbertson (MS'94) reports: I just started my first full-time job as a geology lecturer at Indiana University-Kokomo (no, that stupid Beach Boys song is not constantly in my head-at least not anymore). It is going well, although one of my biggest challenges is getting used to the semester system!

Rich Godbey (BS'96) reports: I'm continuing to work as a material scientist for Chemical Lime Company. I specialize in mortar and stucco and we work mostly in support of our marketing staff developing new mix designs for the construction industry. We also are responsible for work at the national level writing standards for ASTM.. I'm a voting member of C07 (lime) and C12 (masonry). Boy, there is something they don't teach you in school...ASTM International is the organization that writes all the standards for all the materials that go into everything mined, manufactured and produced in the US. If anyone would like a shore course on the subject, please email me at: richard.godbey@chemicallime.com (hurry though, because I dislike corporate politics and I tend to change careers every few years.)

Ned would be proud of me, I've co-authored 3 papers for 3 different national symposia and I presented at the 9^th North American Masonry Symposia this past June. He always told me that presentations were never too rough as long as you are prepared..I followed his advice, swallowed my nerves and got a great response with many questions. It was fun, considering the crowd was mostly PhD's and I knew more than they did in my subject area. Hey, half the battle is just acting like you know what the hell is going on (this, too, they don't teach you in school).

We are enjoying our new house and my wife Kay and kids James and Kaitlin are doing well. I'm a Cub Scout leader and we enjoy living in Sin City. I spend most of my time driving around town as Joe Taximan for teenage and under group...for fun we go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion and points in between. That field course really makes it fun for me because we (geology students) spend a fair amount of time in this area and I can lie to my kids about how all stuff sticking up out of the ground formed...see those rocks over there kids? Did you know that one time they were at the equator during a time when it rained a lot? Before that they were just dust in the wind and before that, dust in the cosmos...I usually quit when their eyes start to glaze over, but if I am feeling particularly fiesty, I threathen them with yet another stop at some road cut.

Amanda Graves (BS'02) is working as an Environmental Technician for Environmental Resolutions in Tukwila, WA. She and Pat were in the process of buying a house when we heard from her.

Theresa Henson (BS'86) is the Manager of the Natural Resource group at Barghausen Consulting Engineers. Theresa reports she now has three grandchildren. She recently married an old high school friend. Theresa continues to write road logs detailing the geology, plant communities and other data on all of her travels.

Janis Hill (BS'98) stopped by the office to say hello. She had just come back from six months of travel and study and was happy and healthy.

Michael Hoffman (BS'97) is still working as a Hydrogeologist for CDM, Inc. in California. For fun since living in California Mike has learned to surf, jumped out of a plane twice, got scuba certified, taken up rock climbing, rekindled his skateboarding skills, and done thousands of miles of mountain biking.

Michael Hutchinson (BS'97) is still living and working in Tacoma. He will finish his MS fall 2004.

Geoff Klise (BS'98) and Kate Klise (BS'00) Geoff reports: Kate and I are living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment" or land of entrapment as some would say because once you're here for a few years, you don't leave. We'll see about that...Anyways, we are both attending graduate school at UNM. Geoff is in the Water Resources program and Kate is in the Earth and Planetary Sciences program (fancy for "geology"). It was quite a transition from living in the Pacific NW for most of our lives, but we like it here and the programs are highly regarded. If any of you are looking at grad school, check out the Water Resources program at UNM. It is the only interdisciplinary program in the U.S. dealing with water resource issues. I never thought I would be taking law classes...they're not as bad as one would think.

Benjamin Konshak (BS'95) is working for Blackhawk Geoservices in Golden, Colorado. Ben reports his job title as Field Gypsy/Client Pleaser. He says he is doing mostly cleanup of ordinance in former/present day military sites both domestic and international.

Ryan Kopp (BAE'00) is working for Nooksack Natural Resources.

Tom Lapen (MS"98) is at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geology and Geophysics with plans to finish his Ph.D. in 2004. He and Erica purchased a house and are fixing it up. The last owner was a cousin of Ronald Reagan and lived there for over 50 years.

Garrett Leque (BS'01) took a year off to teach English in Qinhaungdao, China. When he got back, he scored a job as a Staff 1 Geologist for GeoEngineers in Tacoma.

James Luker (BS'82) is a Project Manager for Gale Associates. He recently became a registered geologist in New Hampshire and continues site restoration work in soil and groundwater. James says he is living in the outwash down on Cape Code and that he hopes to relocate to Arizona someday. He and his wife Kathleen would like to move to Sedona.

Juani MacKenzie (BS'80) teaches science to grades 6-8 at Baker Middle School in Denver. She is attending school at DU to get a Type D license to become an administrator.

Treela McKamey (BS'96) was working as a Scientific Instructional Technician at Green River Community College when last heard from. Her plans included graduate studies in TESOL (hopefully at UH) and studying Spanish in South America.

Pat Mohondro (BA'92) Continues to work at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Incinerator in the environmental compliance department. Recently completed facility construction and is working on startup..at this point it seems nothing could be more challenging! On the homefront - no change, still have a dog, cat, wife and a strong desire to retire.

Nathan Molsee (BS'00) reports: Hello to everyone back in the states. I somehow ended up in Baghdad with the Army's 3^rd Inf. Dif. and am doing fine. Hopefully I will be home this summer. It's been a long spring. I was surprised to find how the area between the Tigress and the Euphrates is very beautiful but unless you like sand it's not worth the trip. I enlisted as a Topographic Analyst and ended up being a Radio operator for the duration of the conflict in Iraq. What you see on the news did not and does not do it justice. Iraq is in desperate need of infrastructure. Their existing infrastructure was old, decrepit, and in need of repair before the US conducted operations in Iraq. I was never for the war but I ended up helping these people rebuild their country. I think that in the end, the effort and lives will be worth it.

Travis Montgomery (BS'02) just got a job as a geophysicist for SJ Geophysics in Vancouver, BC. The job promises to have him traveling all over the world.

Scott Morgan (MS'81) reports: Ed McMahon told me I might not get any more sweepstakes mailings from Publishers Clearing House if I didn't order a magazine, but I didn't pay any attention. Then, after 20 years of ignoring his warnings, the mailings abruptly ended. So, when after 10 years of being told I needed to contribute something to the newsletter or face being shut out, I decided I needed to take it seriously.

Several years after my 10-plus year stint with Exxon Research in Houston, I worked as a consulting sequence stratigrapher to various oil industry companies. In the midst of that episode in my life, I took the opportunity to study something that didn't require my living in a pathetic excuse for a city like Houston - I chose to study law. I picked law in large part because lawyers could work anywhere. But that was true of shoe salesmen, too. I also chose law because I'm naturally argumentative, and that didn't seem like something well suited sales.

For a few years after law school I continued working as a consultant, including stints in Venezuela and Indonesia, where I got to spend time with Ric & Jeanne Frasse. I finally relocated to California in 1999. Eventually, I decided to work for the State, and landed a job as staff counsel with the Department of Water Resources, the folks who built and operate the State Water Project, which keeps LA golf courses green.

After a short time here in California, I met the woman who was to become my wife. We were married a year ago at a winery up in the Sierras just downhill from the Giant Sequoia National Forest. We selected the location based on its proximity to Tulare, California, which is where both of us were born. We both have family in the area.

My wife (Gayle) is now expecting our first child, who is due in late January. We're both looking forward to his arrival (we know it's a boy). And, yes, we know it will change our life forever. I live in the Sierra foothills and take a bus to the office, which gives me about 2 hours each day to read, which I've been doing fairly consistently. I love my new job and career, which presents me with novel problems each day. And I'm out of Texas. Basically, I haven't been this happy since graduating from WWU.

That is not to say I didn't enjoy being a geologist, professionally. (Actually, I still am; I consult for a local environmental firm.) And a career change in mid-life definitely isn't for everyone. But it was just the ticket for me. I'm just happy to have a hobby for which I've been extensively, and expensively trained. I wouldn't change a thing.

Scott's wife Gayle gave birth to son Willian Zane Morgan on January 30, 2003.

Ian Mynatt (BS'02) is pursuing a MS at Stanford University.

Tom Nanevicz (BS'01) is working as a staff geologist for The Riley Group in Seattle.

Jan (Vorobik) Nauman (BS'75) currently lives near Blaine with geologist husband Clynton and two teenagers.

Meg Palevich (BS'96) is attending graduate school at Northern Arizona University getting her master's in Paleontology. She is working as a computer support person at the USGS Field Center to pay for school. Last summer she helped dig up Pleistocene aged animals from Terapa Mexico, and a mammoth in southeastern Utah.

Paul Pittman (MS'98) and Marcie (Martin) Pittman (BS'95) Paul says: In a nutshell - these are the headlines, although there is so much more...We have a new daughter (as of February 21, 2003) named Makenna, by far the greatest thing to happen in my life. I am very excited about a life of adventures with this new person. My dog, Arlo, is still my best friend and he is looking forward to a summer filled with hiking and sailing. We acquired a sail boat which is my dream boat and will be the avenue for island exploring with the whole family (Makenna, Marcie, Arlo and me) and friends (Ned B, Dave E., Matt Nelson) - not all at once as it is a small sailboat. I am still doing geology work for Whatcom County - good stuff (alluvial fans hazards, sediment buggets, etc.). Life is very good.

Paul Rady (MS'80) reports: I am Chairman and CEO of Antero Resources Corp. I led two public oil and gas companies as CEO through the 1990's. We sold the most recent one, Pennaco Energy, to Marathon Oil for $500 million, after only 2 1/2 years of building it. After a year of retirement, I've started anew. We have 2 older sons, 24 and 20; and two daughters 6 and 4, from China, with a 3^rd on the way-actually we'll travel next month to pick her up! We are happy and healthy in Denver - have been here 22 years now.

Kate Richards (BS'00) is attending graduate school at New Mexico Tech in their hydrology program.

Lynn (Hefty) Ringstad (BS'94,MS'95) husband Matt, and son Liam, welcomed their second son, Hans Kristoffer Ringstad into the world on April 19, 2003.

Chuck Sawyer (BS'78) is an Exploration Business Leader in Denver.

Bill Sayre (BS'76) says: I'm still at the College of Santa Fe, now spending most of my time as Director of Institutional Research. My wife, Pat Roberts, and I moved to White Rock, NM (a suburb of Los Alamos) for the excellent schools. Adam is now in third grade. And, really, the lab's low level nuclear waste facility is at least a mile away!

Gretchen Schmauder (BS'01) reports she moved to California and has been teaching at a local high school for the past year and a half. She was accepted to graduate school at the Mackey School of Mines, part of the University of Nevada at Reno. She was accepted into the Center for Research in Economic Geology (CREG) and received full funding for the next two years while she pursues her degree in economic geology and geochemistry.

Stephen Slaughter (BS'02) is pursuing a MS degree in geological sciences at Central Washington University. He was one of the 2003 Kleinman Grant for Volcano Research recipients.

Alison (Armstrong) Stanley (BS'99) graduated (December 2002) from the University of Washington with a MS in Engineering with a specialty in Geotechnical Engineering. She is working as a Staff Geotechnical Engineer at Hart Crowser, Inc. in Seattle.

Ben Stanton (BS'02) has been working for Joe Dragovich, finishing the Darrington Mapping project from last summer. At the end he will have two maps and a paper with his name as co-author. He also coached Alpine ski racing at Steven's Pass weekends and managed to get in some ice climbing and rock climbing.

David Stasney (BS'96, MS'00) After working for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality he started his own consulting business (DVS Environmental Inc.) and music business (David Vaughn). David has produced a CD and is playing a lot of local venues including Boise State University.

Bruce Taggart (BS'80 & MS'84) is supervising a publications section and a surface-water studies section and teaching Leadership Intensive courses at the USGS. His wife Raquel is working for the UMass Medical Research Center. Their youngest child is just entering second grade, their middle child is starting fourth grade, and their oldest is a sophmore in high school, which or course keeps life very interesting.

Lewis Venard (BS'96) is a Transportation Engineer for The Transpo Group where he got to work on the signal and illumination design for WWU's south entrance. Lewis and wife Bridget had a baby boy, Michael Franklin Venard, September 4, 2002.

Stacy Weber (MS'01) says: Brent and I finally made our much anticipated move to Durango, Colorado. Our introduction (the first month and a half) to Durango was the experience of living 4 miles from the nationally known "Missionary Ridge Fire". In spite of this, along with a record drought, we love it here. I can actually see the geology without wading through so many trees! As of October 2002, I am officially an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. I was hired on as a hydrologist. The fact that I am getting paid to perform work I completely enjoy still keeps me in a state of shock.

Jessica Williams (BS'02) after graduating she returned to work as a wildland fire fighter for Olympic National Park through November. Jessica has gone to work for SECOR International Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Redmond as a staff geologist.

Bart Wormington (BAE'79) is a Science Teacher for Millard Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska. He helped fight off the "Intelligent Design" modifications of the state science standards. Was selected for NASA Educator's Workshop and the High School and Middle School Chess teams are repeat state champions (Nebraska is not a deep chess pool.). His daughter Jessica is a Junior at North Park University in Chicago and rows on their crew team. Son Ben, 19, is a forward observer with the U.S. Marine Artillery. Barts says: Don't let your middle schools go for "Integrated Science": It causes teachers to cover subjects outside of their fields.

H E L P ! ! ! !

I can't write the Newsletter without news from you! There are 1,184 names on the mailing list so there should be plenty of you to provide information about yourselves for next year's newsletter. Please return the form at the back or email me (geology@cc.wwu.edu) with what is going on with you. Make sure to include your current snail-mail address. An informative, quality Newsletter is more about what you send in than my putting it together. Even if you don't send news, return the page with your updated address, email, and current employment status so that I know you still wish to receive the newsletter. Please also let me know if you don't wish to receive the newsletter. Thank you, I can't do the job without your help!

Chris

Geology Unrestricted Fund

Peter Barkman

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Whidbey Pebble Pushers

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