University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Dr. Margaret McMillan, associate professor of earth science, won the 2008 Kathleen Thomsen Hall Charitable Grant, awarded annually to support a member of the UALR faculty in their efforts to contribute to or enhance their own capacity in the arts, sciences, or education, Provost David O. Belcher announced today.

McMillan was awarded the grant to support her proposal, “Assessing the Sensitivity of Water to Surface, Soil, Rock and Cave conditions in Fitton Cave, northern Arkansas.” Earth Science Assistant Professor Amelia Robinson was co-author of the proposal.

Funding from the grant will allow McMillan and Robinson to evaluate water quality as it travels through a karst aquifer. Since this is typical of Arkansas’ geological structure, this research will make an important contribution to water resource management in Arkansas. UALR faculty from nine departments submitted 21 proposals in this year’s Thomsen Hall grant competition.

The Kathleen Thomsen Hall Charitable Trust Grant is competitively awarded annually to full-time faculty and professional staff at UALR in any academic field. This grant is administered by UALR on behalf of the trust, the sole purpose of which is to support scholarly activity in the arts and sciences.

Dr. Beth McMillan, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, received the College of Science and Mathematics Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching.  Congratulations!

Drew Westerman, MSISM student received the Karst Waters Institute’s William L. Wilson Memorial Scholarship in Karst Science for 2008!  The award and a plaque will be given at a banquet on March 29th!  Congrats, Drew!

The UALR Department of Earth Sciences and the Arkansas Geological Survey will co-host the South-Central Section Geological Society of America Meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas on March 30 - April 1, 2008. Professional Geologists and students from the South-Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas) will present research and attend field trips and workshops. More information about the meeting can be found at:
http://www.geosociety.org/sectdiv/southc/08mtg/

Congratulations to geology major Casee Lemons who was selected to participate in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SLUI) Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory this spring semester. This highly competitive program will allow her to do research with some of the best scientists in the world. Casee will be working on the hydrology and geochemistry of sediments from the Hanford Nuclear Site.

Meetings are held in SCLB 156 at 1:00pm.

Click here to see what Dr. McMillan’s class has been up to along Coleman Creek

Faculty Members (#) and graduate(+) and undergraduate(*) students in the Earth Sciences Department present at the Fall Geological Society of America meeting in Denver, CO. Abstract Titles and days presenting given below:

SUNDAY

SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE CHANGE FROM LATE ORDOVICIAN δ18O DATA, BROMIDE AND VIOLA SPRINGS FORMATIONS, OKLAHOMA, USA
by Nicholas Rosenau*, Stephen Leslie, and Achim Herrmann

THE GREAT DIVIDE BASIN: A TRANSIENT SPLIT ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
by Elizabeth McMillan#, Paul Heller, Neil Humphrey, and Peter Beland#

WHAT TO DO? PALGARISM AND ORIGINALITY IN ONLINE GEOSCIENCE COURSES
by William Jay Sims#

MONDAY

THE BATHYMETRY AND SEDIMENT ACCUMULATION HISTORY IN LAKE MAUMELLE, CENTRAL ARKANSAS
by Drew Westerman+, Elizabeth McMillan#, and Forrest Payne
TUESDAY

THE SALISBURY TUFF, DOMINICA, LESSER ANTILLES
by Nikki Killingsworth*, S. Schneider, K.Deuerling, G. Daly, and A. Smith

Department of Earth Science students and faculty, along with the Arkansas Geological Survey, will present information and educational materials related to Earth Science Week at the UALR Donaghey Student Center Monday through Friday 10:00AM - 2:00PM and on Saturday at the Little Rock River Market. This year marks the tenth annual Earth Science Week. 2007 Earth Science Week activities promote public and professional awareness of the status of earth science in education and society. More information about Earth Science Week can be found at: http://www.earthsciweek.org/ .

Come and support some of faculty, staff and students during the Race for the Cure.