DELTA SEES unites five departments across campus to study how mud deposition can curb sea-level rise.
G&G Professor
Sam Bentley, Billy and Ann Harrison Chair in Sedimentology, knows a thing or two about mud. As the senior co-investigator for the "DELTA SEES: Changes in actual and perceived coastal flood risks due to river management strategies" research project, he's studying how mud could be used to curb the consequences of sea-level rise on deltaic coasts worldwide.
The NASA Astrobiology Program has produced several graphic novels to commemorate 50 years of Exobiology and Astrobiology at NASA. The graphic histories tell the story of some of the most important people and events that have shaped the science of Exobiology and Astrobiology.
Issue #5 of
Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe explains how astrobiologists explore analog environments on Earth in order to better understand environments that could support life on other worlds like Mars.
G&G Professor Peter Doran's character makes an appearance on page six!
Over the course of the fall and spring semesters G&G graduate students Jeff Bomer, Caroline Broderick, and Ben Krogmeier have been a part of the EnvironMentors program through LSU. Throught the program they helped A'Shonte Reed, a sophomore at Scotlandville Magnet High School, develop an environmentally focused research project. After some deliberation, they decided to focus on how the Mississippi River impacts the environment and surrounding communities as it evolves through time. Using access to LSU resources, they were able to find literature and other sources of information about the channel migration of the Mississippi River and how it impacts Louisiana.
A'Shonte presented at LSU EnvironMentors Science Fair on April 18th where she took 1st place out of 15 competitors. A'Shonte has been invited to present her research in Washington D.C. with her classmates who took second and third place. There they will compete at the national level this June.
A'Shonte is a very bright student who plans to go to college in Louisiana and eventually law school.
EnvironMentors is a great program open to graduate students at all levels. Mentors spend every Monday afternoon (~2-3 hours/week) helping design a project for their students and building their experiments. This program also offers field trips to various places such as the Stennis Space Center and Audubon Insectarium and Aquarium over a few weekends.
Scholarship News!
With the generous support from alumni and corporations, the faculty of Geology & Geophysics plan to award more than $50,000 dollars in scholarship funds to undergraduate and graduate G&G majors for the 2016-2017 academic year. In addition, we work with the New Orleans Geological Society and nominate awardees for four NOGS scholarships that are designated for LSU G&G students!
The faculty that serve on the scholarship recipient selection committee routinely comment on their difficult (so many qualified students) and pleasant (giving students needed funding) task. The scholarships will support more than 50 students during the academic year and did support 13 students at field camp this summer. We could not award this number of scholarships or these amounts without your help. Thank you!
AASP - The Palynological Society Undergraduate Award
We would like to congratulate Patrick Baudoin for winning the AASP - The Palynological Society Undergraduate Award at LSU. This award recognizes Patrick's performance in a course with significant palynological content.
The AASP is the largest palynological society in its field, with members from all around the world.
