| NOVA Annandale | Geology | Bentley | Interests |  |
Geology DC-area geology, and more broadly, the geology of Virginia, and more broadly still, the geology of the Appalachian mountain belt. (Subtopics: Assembly of Rodinia, breakup of Rodinia and opening of the Iapetus Ocean, Assembly of Pangea, breakup of Pangea and opening of the Atlantic Ocean, & local fossils.) I worked as the "Geoscientist in the Park" for the C&O Canal National Historical Park, helping to develop some learning materials related to that park's geology, which encompasses almost every episode of mid-Atlantic geologic history. Also, I regularly attend meetings of the Geological Society of Washington, and have served as an officer in that organization. Our meetings are free and open to the general public. West coast geology: specifically California's checkered ancient past as a subduction zone (I did my geology master's thesis research (photos) in the Sierra Nevada, the roots of a magmatic arc that has been elevated to great heights (and then glaciated into some gorgeous terrain). Rocky Mountain geology: As I worked on my second master's degree (in Science Education) through a series of field courses (photos), I piqued my interest in the story of the Rockies over time. Accordingly, I organized a new Regional Field Geology of the Northern Rocky Mountains class for NOVA, which takes place each summer. Structural geology: The study of deformed rocks in the Earth's lithosphere. I'm particularly interested in the evolution of rock fabrics in ductile shear zones, though I've also got an affinity for columnar jointing, plumose structure, the many varieties of folding, and boudinage. Snowball Earth: the controversial hypothesis that the entire planet froze over, all the way to the equator, in the Neoproterozoic era of geologic time. (I teach a course on this topic in alternate summers.) Climate change: if our society chooses to attempt to prevent it from continuing, it's going to be a huge challenge. I attempt to stay up on the latest research from a scientific perspective, as well as taking action to prevent climate change (from the perspective of a citizen). For instance, I helped to organize the NOVA Climate Change Symposium in early 2008 for the College's Green Committee. (I serve on the College's Green Committee too.) Building stones: We make buildings out of rocks. Inadvertently, sometimes the buildings end up as good as a museum for showing different features. DC is particularly good as a showcase for many different building stones. The history of science, including evolution of scientific thought on issues like plate tectonics, mass extinctions, and natural selection. Intersections of geology and human history, like how sea level rise during the Bronze Age may have begat the flood stories of many religious traditions, or how the eruption of the volcano Tambora (in Indonesia) in 1815 indirectly triggered the writing of Frankenstein in 1816. |
Non-geology Geologic education: what techniques are most effective, and why? Emerging technologies: blogs, podcasts, distance learning, virtual field work, gigapans, Google Earth Information design: good Powerpoint vs. bad Powerpoint, graphing, the works of Edward Tufte, Prezi. The outdoors: camping, cycling, caving, birding. Art: cartooning, woodcut block prints, photography, sculpture.
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