Department of Geology and Geophysics

Newsletter No. 29

2003

Greetings from the Chair

This past year was one of comings and goings. We welcomed Jim Sickman to the Department in the fall. Jim is a biogeochemist who comes to us from the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Among Jim's recent projects is the study of nutrient chemistry of snow in the Sierra Nevada. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that Jim might have some local snow to study, particularly around August. Jim is the fourth new faculty member to join us in the past two years, making quite a few new faces and new projects around the Department.
The retirement of Gary Allen was among the goings of the year. It was marked by one of the all-time great farewell parties at SidMars. Not only was it an opportunity to thank Gary for all those years of serving on all those University committees, but it was a chance to visit with alums from the recent to relatively distant past. Plus, everyone got to see Gary's employment application picture. (See cover photo.) It was scary how young he looked.
We were all saddened by the death of Pat Craig on January 1st (2004). During Bill's last decade at UNO, it seemed like Pat held a full-time job working with him. Keeping Bill fed and awake, might be a major chore for anyone, but on top of that Pat was his chief field-trip organizer, accountant, and source of good humor for all in the Department. Some of my best memories were when Pat would be laughing (or trying to hold it back) to the point of tears running down her face. With Bill around, those occasions came up on a regular basis.
There also were administrative changes at UNO during 2003. Gregory M. St. L. O'Brien stepped down as Chancellor after 16 years and was replaced by Tim Ryan, formerly Dean of the College of Business Administration. The Department made substantial advances during Chancellor O'Brien's tenure; however, we also faced significant financial challenges. As the new administration takes charge, they are focusing their attention on the academic departments and changes that will accompany more restrictive admission standards in 2005. The focus on academics is refreshing and with the help of alumni and friends, we look forward to meeting the challenges that lie ahead.
As always, we welcome the chance to talk or meet with you. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by. If you have Googled every last thing you can think of and need a break, drop us a line. Faculty are notoriously easily distracted, and we would love hear from you.
 
Jazz Band
Jazz at Gary Allen's retirement party, featuring
our own grad student Ray Heitger on trumpet.


Jim Sickman Joins Us

 
We are join this year by Jim Sickman, a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara (2001) Prior to his appointment at UNO, Jim was employed by the California Department of Water Resources as a Senior Environmental Scientist. At UNO, he heads the Watershed Biogeochemistry Laboratory at the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences. Jim is a watershed biogeochemist specializing in the application of environmental isotopes to study terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. For more than 20 years he has investigated the effects of acid rain, climate change and nitrogen deposition on high-elevation lakes and watersheds of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. More recently he has embarked on studies of carbon cycling, water quality and ecosystem restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Coastal Louisiana.
Since arriving at UNO last August, JIm has submitted five research proposals totaling $1,200,000. Two of these proposals were aimed at improving the analytical capabilities of UNO and included replacement ion chromatographs and a state of the art isotope ratio mass spectrometer for biogeoscience research. The mass spectrometer proposal was a joint initiative between UNO scientist and researchers at Tulane University and would greatly expand the use of stable isotope measurements throughout the Louisiana University System. The three remaining proposal are: 1) a $100,000 request from CREST to study nutrient uptake mechanisms at the Caernarvon Diversion, 2) a $800,000 proposal to develop land-use indicators for rivers impacted by agricultural runoff of nutrients and pesticides and 3) a $100,000 project to trace atmospheric sources of phosphorus that are responsible for eutrophication of mountain lakes in the western U.S.
The Watershed Biogeochemistry laboratory houses or will soon house: 1) a state of the art CO2 extraction line for preparation of samples for 14C dating, 2) a system of size exclusion columns, rotary evaporators and a freeze dryer to prepare dissolved organic matter for isotopic analysis, 3) a scanning spectrophotometer for colorimetric analysis of dissolved nutrients and for measuring optical characteristics of dissolved organic matter.
Jim is teaching classes for students in the Environmental Science and Policy degree program at UNO. These classes include EVSP 2100: Introduction to Environmental Policy and Institutions and EVSP 1100: Introduction to Environmental Science. Jim is also developing upper-division courses on Biogeochemistry and Watershed Science.
Alumni should feel free to contact Jim at jsickman@uno.edu.


Penland Directs PIES

An area of tremendous growth for our department in recent years has been coastal geology, beginning with the addition of Shea Penland. Shea is now serving as director of the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences. PIES fosters interaction among UNO professionals with expertise in basic and applied environmental research on the coastal zone and facilitates research with other academic institutions, government agencies, and environmental organizations. Multiple members of Department of Geology and Geophysics are joined by biologists, engineers, geographers, and ecologists.
The institute consists of eight laboratories, which include the: 1) Nekton Research Laboratory; 2) Coastal Ecosystem Laboratory; 3) Coastal Plant Science Laboratory; 4) Estuarine Research Laboratory; 5) Coastal Research Laboratory, 6) Laboratory for Coastal Restoration Science, 7) FMI Center for Environmental Modeling, and 8) Watershed Biogeochemistry Laboratory. These laboratories combine rigorous scientific analysis with education, outreach, and planning in order to develop practical solutions to environmental challenges found in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as other global coastal ecosystems.
 
View of the UNO Research Park from over
Lake Pontchartrain looking down Elysian Fields.
This area used to be Pontchartrain Beach.


Gary Allen Retires

 
After 35 years service at UNO, Gary Allen retired in December. Gary received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1968 and joined the UNO Department of Earth Sciences at that time. His numerous accomplishments include serving as Chairman of the Board of Regents Faculty Advisory Council, UNO Representative to the LSU Board of Supervisors, President of the Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates, Coordinator of Radiation Safety for the LSU System, University Senator, Business/Higher Education Council Legislative Committee Member, Treasurer of the UNO Federation of Teachers, Departmental Graduate Coordinatory, Departmental Undergraduate Coordinator, and many other positions of service.
In recent years, one of Gary's biggest undertakings was the creation of a new major in the College of Sciences-Environmental Science and Policy. Gary coordinated its proposal, shepherded the documents through the system, and served as its director. This new interdisciplinary major is quickly growing in popularity, a fitting tribute to Gary.
Perhaps most importantly, we will miss having Gary's ready smile and calm demeanor in the Department. We wish him, Ruthie, the kids and grandkids, happy times ahead.


Donors

Geology and Geophysics Foundation: Exxon Mobil Foundation, Inc. Susan Bathke, Carolyn Green, William Ranson, Jeffrey Schneider, Stacy Smith
William W. Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund: Matching gift from Chevron Oil Company for Ellen Clark, Frank C. Shepard
Jennifer Miller Memorial Environmental Geoscience Scholarship: Bernese Ummel, Dorothy Moran, Marina Pita, Sheri Richardson


Scholarships and Awards

Sigma Gamma Epsilon W.A. Tarr Award: Pamela Rein
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Scholarship: Brian S. Giller, Morgan Masau
Department of Geology and Geophysics Jules and Olga Braunstein Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship: Ibrahim Al Kassim, Ibrahim Al Makrami, Abdulazziz Al Saad, Karla R. Clayton, Kimberly A. Owens, Rachel E. Robertson, Robert L. Vaughn, Raymond C. Young
Jennifer R. Miller Memorial Environmental Geoscience Award: Anna L. Strimas
National Science Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship for Diversity in Earth Sciences: Robert E. Colbert, Ty M. Collins, Derrick D. Floyd, Errol J. Hamilton, Kimberly A. Owens, Yvonne A. Paisant, Christina A. Quijano, Leo J. Williams IV
New Orleans Geological Society Jules and Olga Braunstein Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship: Chelsea L. Core, Leah A. Johanningmeier, Yvonne Paisant
New Orleans Geological Society Memorial Foundation Graduate Scholarship: Jeffrey G. Lewis
Shell Foundation Undergraduate Geoscience Scholarship: Ty M. Collins, Sean T. Poche, Pamela E. Rein
William W. Craig Memorial Geoscience Education Award: Iris M. Totten


Recent Graduates

Spring, 2003
B.S. in Geophysics: Mark P. Barthelemy
M.S.: Brian S. Giller (Simmons)
M.S.: Matthew A. Jurik (Totten)


Summer, 2003
B.S. in Geology with Honors: Pamela E. Rein (Honors thesie: Simmons)
B.S. in Geology: Christopher A. Spring
Fall, 2003
B.S. in Geology: Noelle C. Richard
M.S.: Mosa Nahid Nasreen (Easley)
M.S.: Kimberly Smith-Jones (Serpa)
M.S.: Anna Strimas (Stoessell)


Faculty News

Bill Busch

Thinking back, trying to remember what happened last year, I come up with many of the same old memories: summer-hot, fall-watching for hurricanes, and most of the rest of the year-trying to keep ahead of the chair's paperwork. There were a few breaks from the norm. It was another good trip to New Mexico for the Field Geology 1 class. Last year it was a little wetter than previous years. We even had a respectable snowball fight on Picuris Peak. It makes everything a lot easier and more accessible when you don't have to worry about starting fires wherever you go. New Mexico was followed by a quick trip to Oregon where I performed my duties (nonexistent) as a conference spouse. While in Oregon, we checked out some new trails on St. Helens. It is now easy to get some pretty good views of the crater and dome. The extent to which the remnants of the big eruption are still intact is impressive.
Much of the rest of the year I worked on finishing up projects from my last cruise. We had our post-cruise meeting in Urbino, Italy, in October. Why an equatorial Pacific cruise would choose to meet in an out-of-the-way Italian hill town is not immediately obvious. Barb came along, and we toured the countryside after the meeting. We took in a lot of great food and quite a few steep, narrow streets. We sat on some good looking turbidites while watching the sunset along the Mediterranean, but I managed to restrain myself and focused on the wine.

Kraig Derstler

The Department and University are in great shape, the best in years! Our new chancellor is making a huge difference. My own work has been going smoothly for the past several years. I continue to lead summer expeditions into the Western Interior, although I've shifted locale and am now studying the dinosaurs from the Uppermost Cretaceous in North Dakota and Montana. My research is proceeding on dinosaur skin and I've expanded to dinoskin fossilization worldwide. I've got several graduate students now, two finishing projects (duckbill necks and Triceratops sinuses) and a third beginning study of sauropod ribs. On the home front, Darwin passed away last November and I am raising a new yellow lab puppy-Benjamin Franklin Derstler. He is an energetic bundle of joy. I am also actively rebuilding the cycad collection that maybe-you-know-who destroyed during my never-ending divorce. Meanwhile, I congratulate Gary Allen upon his retirement and mourn the passing of Pat Craig. I miss them both and am grateful for their years of service to our department.

Dale Easley

It has been a quite year for me at UNO. The goings-on in the administration has had minor effects. However, one has left me more optimistic than I was previously-the new provost was supportive of me taking students to Haiti, a radical change from his predecessor's opinion. Unfortunately, unrest in Haiti has forced me to postpone going. However, receiving some trust and encouragement from the administration is nice. For me, a pat on the back is a lot better motivation than a kick in the butt.
My new colleagues added to the Department in recent years have been another source of optimism. I was getting a bit tired of being the youngest member of the Department. I think you alumni will be quite pleased when you meet them.
Family life dominates my time away from UNO. Ananda is in first grade at Hynes Elementary, a good public school near City Park. Tess, 4, is in speech therapy there, as well. Both are progressing amazingly well. We're rereading the five Harry Potter books right now. Jamie continues with organic gardening and running the kids places.
This spring I'm sitting in on a class on science and religion at Loyola. A Jesuit priest who is also a physicist is teaching it. Good material. If nothing else, I'll be better equipped to help my freshman non-majors get through Physical Geology while bumping up against their religious backgrounds.
It was great to see such a large turnout of alumni at Gary Allen's retirement party. Good food and good times. I hope you all will stay in touch.

Mark Kulp

As I sit here on Lundi Gras pondering whether the rain will let up in time for parades to run I am truly amazed that yet another year has passed by so quickly. It has been a very busy but fun-filled last 12 months with lots of fieldwork, research, and interaction with great students.
Soon after the 2002 newsletter reached your hands we (students and staff of the Coastal Research Laboratory) embarked on a very busy summer. It started with a visit from University of Kentucky students on a week-long field trip through the Mississippi River valley and into coastal Louisiana. I met the group in Cocodrie and spent 5 days with them touring delta plain and barrier island geology, and discussing wetland loss, shoreline change, and coastal restoration programs. This was the second time in three years that a UK group ventured to Louisiana and once again they loved it. Not surprising that they probably considered the trip highlights to be an immense boil we had while camping on the Grand Isle beach, the day we spent looking at the geology and history of New Orleans, and the night they spent "studying" the French Quarter.
At about the same time our involvement began in a NOAA and Edward Wisner Donation restoration project next to Port Fourchon in Lafourche Parish. This project is the largest community-based restoration in the country and involved the placement of approximately 1.5 miles of dune fencing along the beach east of Port Fourchon, the planting of several thousand black mangroves, and reconstruction of several acres of submerged marsh with sediment from a nearby borrow site. Although many different people and volunteers contributed to the project, we led the way by identifying the character and distribution of sediment used for marsh restoration, coordinating the placement of sand fencing, and transporting volunteers to the restoration sites with our fleet of boats. Since that time we have been monitoring the area and assessing how the dune fencing and plants have helped to trap sand and limit the amount of shoreline land loss.
Following our Fourchon work we began a huge summer field campaign, in cooperation with the USGS, on the central Louisiana coast. Things were progressing smoothly until a very unexpected visit from Tropical Storm Bill. The storm set up and moved inshore very quickly, with a predicted trackline toward us we packed up most of our equipment and the majority of the team headed back to New Orleans. A few of us remained in the hopes the storm would dissipate and we would be able to get back to our work. It was not to be. At 5 am the next morning our person on storm watch noted that water levels had risen nearly a foot in the last hour and that the LUMCON parking lot at Cocodrie was flooding, quickly!! We jumped out of bed and plowed through miles of water-covered roads back to UNO. We ended the summer fieldwork in August after collecting nearly 200 vibracores and 150 miles of high-resolution seismic reflection data with the USGS R/V Gilbert and UNO R/V Greenhead (UNO now has its own vibracore barge). These datasets form the foundation of several projects and student theses including, but not limited to: 1) tidal-inlet stratigraphy and processes in a highly transgressive regime, 2) the distribution of Holocene paleo shorelines and flooding surfaces, 3) the role of subsurface stratigraphic architecture on surface marsh elevation and health, and 4) the impact of dredged sediment borrow sites on adjacent barrier islands.
Fortunately I found enough time in August to road trip back to my birthplace in southeastern Pennsylvania. Relatives back home were very pleased to see me roll in with two coolers of ice-packed Louisiana shrimp and crabs. I also made it into the White Mountains of New Hampshire during this venture. I had been there several times before on geotrips but had never explored the backcountry in much detail. It was a fantastic trip that I spent caressing hard rocks, climbing many of the Presidential Range peaks, and tenting in isolation in remote parts of the forest.
Students within the group are doing fabulous right now. Casey Mobley is wrapping up his work on shelf-margin deposits between the Mississippi Canyon and the modern Birdfoot depocenter. Casey was extremely successful this past year in acquiring funding and received research awards from GSA and GCAGS to support his work. Elizabeth Petro is steamrolling through her research on the distribution and textural character of lithosomes within deltaic headlands and how they might influence patterns of headland deterioration once the source distributary has been abandoned. Mike Miner, the Ph.D. student of the group, was awarded a stipend (summer months included!) and tuition support through a Board of Regents "Enhancing Recruitment and Quality of Out-of-State Doctoral Students" grant that I put together last spring. He is now working diligently to define his dissertation research, which will focus on the distribution and timing of flooding surfaces within the Holocene delta plain. Chandra Dreher is just getting started and will be looking at foraminifer within modern deltaic depositional environments. We are working with Dr. Charlotte Brunner at the University of Southern Mississippi to secure funding for the project and if all goes according to plan Chandra will be doing a significant part of her summer research at the Stennis Space Center.
In the midst of all this activity I continue to find some time for the exploration of the south-central U.S. I've realized how accessible the Ouachitas are and have taken several trips there in the last year for outdoor activities and of course, the wonderfully complex geology. Fishing the Louisiana marshes and investigating the crevices and restaurants of New Orleans also continue to be high on my list of things to do. Life is good!!

Terry Pavlis and Laura Serpa

We're both hanging in there, even though we are both into our second half centuries. Serpa has been on a physical fitness kick for the last two years, so she could probably beat Pavlis at arm wrestling. Pavlis is still able to keep up with the field classes, so he isn't too geriatric yet.
We continue to be involved with teaching the high school field trip every spring. It has really gotten to be fun. Last year Andrea and Linda (the high school teachers who work with us) even let us help decide who goes on the trip-Laura had been banned previously because of some of her choices! Last summer we went to New Mexico and Colorado on a shorter trip than in the past, and we thought that actually worked a lot better. It also saved some money, which was important since the program has become very successful and we need every dime we can get for student scholarships.
We have both continued to rack up the frequent flier miles on various things. Pavlis has continued working in Alaska. His latest project is near Valdez and two new students are working on the project. Both of these guys are really fit, so this year was one of the first years he's been with people in the field who he had trouble keeping up with-or maybe that was turning the half century mark? Project is pretty interesting looking at a deep crustal down-plunge section of a strike-slip shear zone. It may be the best example in the world of a structure like this. We stumbled on it working on other problems related to high-T metamorphism driven by ridge subduction. Anyway, stay tuned for future developments. We're also trying to get a megaproject funded to look at the neotectonics of the St. Elias Orogen in southern Alaska. That project involves 9 different universities and it takes a lot to get a $5M projected funded through NSF. Pavlis spent many days working on the proposal this fall. He hadn't worked that hard on something since he was a graduate student, and whined about it for weeks. Hope something comes of it.
Serpa also continues working on her various projects, but she has also really gotten into working with the minority students and working with teachers. She got a big grant to work on that kind of stuff with Dr. Frank Hall a couple years ago, and that has really taken a lot of her time. The latest additions are anticipated to be an archeological geophysics program where 7 grade through Ph.D. students conduct research on local cemeteries, possible slave burial sites, and other significant archeological sites in the vicinity of New Orleans.
We've also begun building a vacation house in Tobago. We have been planning it for a long time so it has been fun to get it started, but stressful. Things don't always work as you might expect in the Caribbean, so sometimes it is frustrating. Nonetheless, it will be a really cool thing to have when it is finished. We plan to use it as a place for a getaway, but also plan to rent it out to try to make some money off the place. Hopefully we won't have another thing like 9-11 to scare people away from traveling-that was pretty devastating for the Caribbean with all the tourist trade. Let us know if you want a vacation spot in the Caribbean (we'll work out a deal...)
We survived the last tropical season by only getting hit by a minor tropical storm. It put water in our yard but nothing even close to the house-unlike the previous year when Isidore put 2 feet of water in our downstairs. Hope this year is comparably kind; we don't want to replace sheet rock and scrub out the downstairs again...

Denise Reed

There were major developments in coastal restoration in 2003 and, in addition to our ongoing field research activities, I spent a lot of time working with Corps and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources on a major planning process. Essentially, I worked as part of a large team, of scientists running models of all kinds to provide some idea of what the effects of different restoration actions might be. My job was to take all the model output and develop easily understood metrics that could be used to distinguish among various restoration options. This entailed many meetings with the agencies and the scientists to make sure this ‘bridge' between the science and the policy was effective. I also worked with Enrique Reyes, Ioannis Georgiou and Alex McCorquedale of UNO to provide a basic assessment of how the position of barrier islands within Louisiana estuaries affects fish and wildlife habitat. All this was very time consuming but quite productive-except that our efforts have not yet been released to the public. We are hoping that will change in 2004 and we'll be able to build on the 2003 work to provide a solid foundation for future restoration.
In the field we spent some time late summer trying to relocate some sites I had established back in the mid-1990's near Port Fourchon. After a few days in airboat we found 15 of 18 sediment-erosion table (SETs) locations and now have the sites well marked with GPS! These add to our growing network of SETs across the coast-these base stations and our repeated measurement of them provide really valuable information on how the marshes in Louisiana respond to subsidence. Getting measurements of a 6-7 year interval is really useful as it provides a perspective we don't usually get with 1-2 year graduate student studies. Hopefully though, a grad student can put all the data together and really explain what the data mean.

Ron Stoessell

Another year, and another step closer to retiring! This past year Anna Strimas finished up her M.S. thesis on nutrient removal at the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion and is still here in New Orleans! Some girls just don't know when to leave! We have a paper submitted to Estuaries on her results, and our fingers are crossed that it will soon be in print. Meanwhile Lesley Prochaska is working with me on salt-water intrusion in Baton Rouge for her M.S. thesis. She has a lot of energy and already has her samples and should be finished by the end of spring or summer semester, 2005. Lesley and I have a paper undergoing review in Geohydrology Journal on salt-water intrusion all along the BR-DS Fault System in the Florida Parishes, and this spring I will be looking at salt water intrusion further west along a continuation of the Fault System in Southwest Louisiana.
Last year, I taught volcanology and environmental geology in Costa Rica and did 3 field trips into the jungle interior in the Yucatan to work on my project to explain the chemistry of the saline water underlying the freshwater lens. The "legendary " cave diver Jim Coke is my field guide y bebimos mucha cerveza after working all day in the jungle. I'm set to go back 3 more times this year, ending with the Quintana Roo Cave Diver's Annual Meeting at Playa del Carmen in September. The Yucatan is a great field area to disappear into and get away from the stresses of civilization.
My responsibilities at UNO are becoming less, freeing up more time for research. I resigned from being Graduate Coordinator (Good Luck Chris!) and will be on sabbatical for the fall semester. For the next three years I have a reduced teaching load due to being a Research Professor. I'm hoping this will be the most productive research time in my career. And then-Retirement at the end of three years!
Londi and I are still working with Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary up in Tylertown Mississippi. She does everything from run bake sales at the Trailhead in Mandeville, doing raffles for airline tickets, etc. to putting out a newsletter. If you are interested, just Google the name of the organization and see what pops up. I work there on the weekends once or twice a month, and Kraig Derstler and Jim Sickman have helped at times for which I'm eternally grateful. Outside of our ongoing interest in SFAS, Londi and I are trying to build a free spay and neuter clinic in Mandeville. We hope to have this up and running in some form by the end of the year. If we don't build the clinic, we'll set up a public fund to use for spaying and neutering and getting shots for pets. We really feel that is the only way to end the problem of having to destroy so many unwanted animals at shelters each year. Organizations like SFAS can only take in so many animals before they fill up because too few are adopted.
Meanwhile, Londi has sold Piffany Oaks and has become a builder. Her company is called Chateau Nouveau. She is also starting a small (20 acre) woodsy (environmentally sensitive) subdivision this spring. She wants to be both the developer and builder. Her development is called "Old Mandeville Woods" and it is along Soult Street, north of Hwy 190, in Mandeville. The area was annexed into Mandeville in order to enforce wildlife variances without using a Homeowners Association. David, my son, finished his architectural engineering degree in December at UT in Austin and is doing land development in that area. Eventually, the plan is that he will help Londi with future developments, assuming the first development goes OK. As for me, I'll be at the beach bar in Akumal. Look for me under the sign "Unknown Local Species." Caballeros! Hope to see you there!

Matt and Iris Totten

Thanks to Dale for keeping this newsletter alive. Getting our faculty to submit anything at the same time is probably like herding cats. And because I am one of the culprits (he has to ask me multiple times), this one will be short!
Iris is doing well, she finished her chemo in August, and all of her surgeries are behind her. I am especially proud of her for completing her doctorate in December. With all that has gone on this year it would have been easy to not finish, but she did. Science Education is quite a hot field right now and her unique background makes her very marketable. This semester she is busy working with Laura Serpa and Frank Hall as a post-doc. She just submitted a paper and is working on her follow up outcrop grant.
Kids are all great. Nate won his Air Force wings last month. I got to pin them on at the ceremony. Louise and Matt are at Oklahoma, both in Geology. Louise is in grad school, while Matt is a freshman. They keep hearing stories about me that I had forgotten. On the other hand, I get updates on their progress! Becky, Cody and Wyatt are still at home, doing well, and have been an immense help through the trials of last year.
As of today, I only have 8 more chemo treatments left. I am looking forward to a return to normal. I have a couple of papers submitted this Spring, one more grad student to finish, and a grant proposal due this summer. Cancer causes you to reassess your career priorities, and I realize how much I enjoy investigating sedimentary rocks, and how little I enjoy departmental politics.

Bill Ward (faculty 1970-1995)

The past year we've been back to New Orleans more than usual, but unfortunately just for very quick trips. Last April we made the spring crawfish boil, which was on the day before my 70th. Well, I knew I must be getting old, because my former students are retiring. Glenn Hebert will be retired from Exxon by the time this newsletter is printed.
We enjoyed seeing so many alumni at the spring party. Some of them we hadn't seen in a long, long time. And it was fun to have the Old Farts well represented by Allen, Simmons, Snowden, Stephens, and me. We also enjoyed a side trip to Bay St. Louis to visit with Homer and Dougie Hitt, very special people. And it was nice to be the guests of Dale and Jamie Easley, some other very special people.
Then we made even a quicker trip in September for the opening of the Homer Hitt Alumni Center. That was followed by a trip to attend Gary Allen's great retirement party out at West End. More alumni I hadn't seen in too long. And good New Orleans food! Thanks for arranging that, Dale, and thanks for paying for it, Bill!
At the end of 2002 we spent Christmas in cold Madison, Wisconsin, because our older daughter Laura received her PhD in soil science from the University of Wisconsin a few days before Christmas. Laura's older son, our oldest grandkid, is now at NYU. Speaking of our offspring, last summer we had a great trip to southeastern Connecticut to visit son Bruce and his wife Abby. Saw a lot of the Hudson Valley and spent a day in Manhattan with Broadway play.
Jim and Sue Deister came by to visit on one of their trips to visit their son in graduate school at UT-Austin. It's always a pleasure to see them.
Emily Taylor stopped for the night going and coming from her trip to Alpine, Texas. Thank goodness Emily hasn't changed a bit.
We hated to miss Kay Plavidal's open house in December, but I had to go to a dissertation defense at the University of Northern Illinois. Kay has a new house south of Austin.
Saw Diane Hyatt at Luis Pomar's talk at UT-Austin in January. Sharp lady!
We all are sad about Louie Nugent's recent loss. There will never be another UNO student quite like Louie. We all benefited from knowing him. He was one of the many rewards of teaching at UNO during the 1970s. You have no idea!
We are looking forward to hiking the Grand Canyon with Don O'Neill and his wife this spring. I told him to bring his handlens. Lou Fernandez might come too if he can get away.
Last May I was fortunate to get to go to the Pyrenees northwest of Barcelona with my friend Luis Pomar and some other Spanish geologists. Nice country! I earned my keep by doing some petrography on the Upper Cretaceous rudist-coral buildups we were studying. We're going back to that part of Spain this May so that Kathy can see what she missed last year.
Just before our Spain trip, I'm scheduled to help lead a Texas A&M field trip to Yucatan. I don't expect the Aggie bunch to be as interesting (nor as smart) as the UNO students I've taken down there. Do some of you remember when Marshall Vinet fell into the camp fire at Nisuc?
My new mission in life seems to be teaching adults of the Texas Hill Country about limestones, on a freshman-geology level of course. The main reason for this is to give them some understanding of the fragility of the limestone aquifers from which the growing population of the Texas Hill Country continues to pump vast amounts of water. For 2004 I am scheduled to give "geology workshops" at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne, Master Naturalist training sessions in Kerrville and Junction, and Nature Quest. Of course all that earns me zero money and actually costs me a few bucks, but maybe it's worth it.
Would love to have a visit from any of you traveling west on I-10.


Homer Hitt Alumni Center Opens

The Homer L. Hitt Alumni and Visitors Center officially opened on September 5, 2003. It is a wonderful addition to the main campus of the University of New Orleans. The new Hitt Center pays special tribute to Homer L. Hitt, UNO's founding Chancellor. Dr. Hitt's significant contributions, his vision, dedication and leadership, laid the foundation for the University of New Orleans as it exists today.
 
WPA photograph of the old naval airbase.
The Alumni Center is built around three buildings from the old naval airbase, including the old smokestack. The Center contains a conference room and banquet facilities, the credit union, and Alumni Association offices.
Through the years, Dr. Hitt has been a special friend of the Department of Geology and Geophysics. Congratulations to him for this great memorial.
 
Homer Hitt Alumni Center



Alumni News

Richard Barr MS 76
News: Hard to believe another year has come and gone! Our daughter, Kristen, will graduate in March from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago. Brandon, our son, is a Junior at the University of Texas in Austin majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. Beverly and I are starting our new home in the Boerne area near San Antonio (I plan on looking up Dr. Ward in Boerne and catching up on old times!!). Although I will be working out of the house, I will keep my same landman partner of 15 years, and will continue working SE New Mexico as Wilson and Barr. Although I will miss the desert and the sandstorms, we will try to adapt to the "Hill Country" way of life with rain and trees. We plan to move in spring of '05.
Eric Barton MS 79
Present Job: Consulting geologist-LUKoil
News: I've been working as a consulting geologist for LUKoil in the Timan-Pechora Basin in Russia for the past year or so. I am based in the small town of NaryanMar on the balmy shores of the Barents Sea (68 degrees north latitude), just west of the Ural Mountains. I work on a 30/30 day rotation basis.
My primary focus is evaluating the stratigraphy of Devonian carbonates to generate drilling prospects (surprise!) in the 17 license areas in the basin operated by LUKoil. The Russians still want to drill structural highs, and I am fighting an uphill battle to convince them that facies analysis is a much more effective tool when prospecting in a carbonate province.
Michel Bechtel BS 70, MS 74
Present Job: President-Bechtel Exploration Co., Blue Moon Exploration Co.
News: Continued success in exploration. Enjoying ranch. Marshall Vinet and his son visited ranch and both shot their first deer.
John K. Bellis MS 90
Present Job: Sr. Explorationist-Davis Offshore
Ted Benson MS 90
Present Job: Geophysicist-NuTec Energy
News: The year 2003 was a busy one for me... I got married in July to a wonderful woman, Melissa, and I have a new son (3 years) Nicholas. They both moved into my home in Houston where I have lived for four years now. We are also expecting our second child in July.
I just had my two year anniversary with NuTec Energy, a boutique seismic processing firm-I get to intepret and QC data as well as build velocity models for prestack time and prestack depth migrations. After 12 years with Texaco I decided that it was the right time to move on to a different opportunity.
This year will be just as busy as we are building an addition to our home and I am currently trying to do a startup company. Best wishes to all.
Suzanne Bernhardt Smith BS 80
Present Job: Geophysicist-BP
News: Still mapping after 24 years; still at BP after the mergers.
Irion Bordelon, Jr. BS 81, MS 88
Present Job: Sr. Staff Geologist-Dominion
News: Presently working as Exploration Geologist for Dominion E&P here in New Orleans.
Tonya W. Bordenave BS 96
Present Job: Formation Evaluation Specialist-ChevronTexaco
News: 2003 was pretty quiet until mid year when I began working in the Deepwater Exploration Business Unit for CVX. In September, Jeff and I found out that there would be a new addition to our family, due in May '04. This one's a boy; now I have my set, and I can quit. Jordan is 3 years old already, growing faster than we can keep up, and it looks like a move to Tejas may be in store for us later this summer... I guess I can kiss my 8 minute commute (in traffic) to work goodbye ;(
Brian Bothner MS 88
Present Job: Earth Scientist-ChevronTexaco
News: Nothing new to report at the moment, but change is inevitable. I'm still working for ChevronTexaco as an Earth Scientist. My key job responsibilities are to develop and teach 3D Visualization interpretation techniques and data flow processes for exploration and development geology. The division I am attached to will be re-locating to Houston this summer, but I'm hoping to transfer to the division which will remain in New Orleans. The kids are getting older ( I refuse to...). My daughter will be in college in a few years (if we survive algebra!). My son is cruising to middle school, and my wife Stephanie is still a neonatal nurse.
Ronald Brignac BS 73
Present Job: Geologist-MMS
News: Thirty years in the oil business and probably a few more. Still with MMS and still in Mid City. Enjoying the return of Endyminon. Coaching high school cross country and track at Cabrini High School.
David P. Broadbridge BS 81
Present Job: Petroleum Geologist-Kimsu Oil
News: Kimsu Oil Co. is 12 years old. Still looking for that black gold... only now using 3-d. What ever happened to paper maps? Let me know if any one needs a Prospect.
Thomas Burns MS 74
Present Job: Environmental Scientist-Mississippi DEQ, Ground Water
News: Working Lower Wilcox Aquifer System.
Stephen Byrnes MS 89
News: I'm still teaching at the International School of Kuantan. Mahani is due with child number 5 later this month (February 2004).
Art Crecca MS 77
Present Job: Present Job: VP-www.linkandpinhobbies.com
News: Another year and we've succeeded in making a living selling dinosaur models and toys. Our big project for the year was removing 1000 square feet of back lawn and installing a garden pond surrounded by palm trees.
Al Daigle BS 72
Present Job: Retired from MMS.
News: One and a half years into retirement and still trying to cope with no supervisor or boss. Ain't life grand? I would like to hear from the '72 Saltillo crowd. Even Karl and Otto.
Mary L. Gentry BS 90
Present Job: Geologist-LA DEQ
News: I guess they say "no news is good news." Not much has changed here in Baton Rouge. I've been at the LA Dept. of Environmental Quality for 13 years now. The position has just evolved through time and now I'm finding myself on the road a lot doing public education and school presentations on drinking water protection along with my usual office projects. When I'm not at work I'm constantly finding projects to do around the house. I can't believe I've had the house for 3 years already-it seems like only yesterday I was in the whirlwind of the construction process. It was all worth it though, and I'm now actively involved in the establishment and organization of a homeowner's association for the subdivision. As if I'm not on the go enough I have been seeing someone for 4 years now (another geologist!) who lives in Texas. Though it won't be any time soon we do eventually plan to get married-we just have to relocate him to Louisiana, acclimate him to Baton Rouge, and figure out how his extensive gem and mineral collection will fit into the house-I think the biggest challenge of my life is yet to come, but it's something to look forward to and is worth the wait!
Marcel Di Giovanni BS 77
Present Job: Development Geologist-ChevronTexaco
News: Son #2 (James) arrived in August, big brother Joseph (3 1/2) continues to be very excited.
Working Pliocene in offshore LA. Since starting in the Paleozoic, I have been slowly but surely moving up section. When I get to the sea floor, I guess I'll retire.
Alvin Duvernay BS 76
Present Job: Biostratigrapher-Shell International Exploration & Production, Inc.
News: Survived a close encounter with a campfire, survived yet another Shell re-org, survived fathering (vicariously thru Marcel) a son (God son). Loving the new motorcycle, loving the new girlfriend, loving the two camps; looking at getting another (camp!-not another girlfriend or bike).
Harvey Edwards BS 82
Present Job: Engineer-Bureau of Reclamation
News: Working on getting water to Walker Lake (Nevada) to help stabilize it. (TDS is over 15,000 ppm.) We have 2 high school exchange students with us this school year. One is from Germany and the other from the Czech Republic. It's been fun, exciting and challenging. We are going to New Orleans with them over spring break in April.
Dana Davenport Gagliano BS 98
Present Job: Life is Good, things are great! Started private consulting in 2001,
News: staying extremely busy with wetland JDs, Phase I audits and Phase II delineations. Nick is good, the girls are wonderful, and we added a happy, healthy baby boy (Nicolos) to our family in May '03.
Mark J. Gallagher BS 81
Present Job: Geologist-Samson Resources
News: All is okay. Working in Tulsa. Tell Bill W. Hello.
Bob Hafner MS 80
Present Job: Earth science teacher-Livaudais Junior High
News: I am teaching Earth Science at Livaudais Junior High to 8th grade students. Just like any job there are good and bad times. Anyone questioning the difficulty in being a parent in today's world needs to visit my school.
I plan to teach geology over the summer at Delgado again. These classes are very enjoyable for me.
I am attending education courses at UNO for teacher certification.
My girls are now in 1st grade and 5th grade and help to fill up some of my "off" time.
Marian C. Hanna BS 88
Present Job: Senior Staff Geophysicist-International New Ventures
News: Finally got out of Texas and am currently in Calgary, Canada working International New Ventures for Nexen. Had just finished up a discovery for El Paso in Brazil that will go into development before I came to Nexen and now am working the other side of the pond. Great data makes for a good day with cool tools, eh? Family is all fine and getting older. Both sons are still in college and Ace is working on his Canadian accent. Life is good.
Glenn P. Hebert BS 75
Present Job: Exploration Geologist-Exxonmobil Exploration Co
News: Exxonmobil's been bery bery good to ME! Received President's Barbara McBride Leadership Award in December. Candidates are nominated from four of Exxonmobil's worldwide upstream companies. There are 2 MPT (Managerial/Professional/Technical) and 2 OTS awards given. I received one of the MPT awards.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I've decided to retiire April 2nd, after 25+ years of service. We're moving to Pflugerville, TX, which is right next door to Dr. Wolleben, and not too far from Dr. Ward (by Texas measurements.)
Rob Herbert MS 91
Present Job: Manager- Ground Water Protection Section, Utah DEQ, Division of Water Quality
News: 2003 was a fun and rewarding year. In November I got a career boost by entering the management world. I broke a long-standing trend of DWQ only hiring engineers as managers. I guess they finally came to their senses and realized that geologists make better managers because they see the whole picture, not just the foreground. I welcome the fresh challenge (and the nice office and raise). I manage six scientists and an engineer and though it was a little uncomfortable at first, being a boss isn't such a big deal. I'm getting really good at delegating. On the homefront, my boys are a year older (Trent 11 and Zachary 9) and getting frighteningly close to adolescence. Teri still likes her job at Questar Gas and continues to be an avid walker. We've had another fun year of camping and hiking with trips to Yellowstone and Arches National Parks and some of our favorite Utah state parks. We had a beautiful white Christmas in Salt Lake and are enjoying a good ski and snowboard season. Trent has progressed well with guitar lessons and has moved to electric with his Fender Strat Christmas present. As always, we look forward to our annual visit and culture fix in New Orleans during spring break.
Wade Howat BS 71
Present Job: Associate Agent-Nationwide Ins.
News: Retired from University of Southern Mississippi 2000 with 34 years of service at Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Presently part-time selling homeowner's and automobile insurance with Nationwide Insurance Company since May 2003.
Diane Hyatt BS 81 MS 90
Present Job: Owner-Diane Hyatt & Associates, LLC
News: Still living in Austin. I have just started my own Company (better late than never). Diane Hyatt & Associates, LLC I am unaccountably very happy and optimistic. I still work with CH2MHILL, but will have my very own clients. So if anyone needs an environmental consultant who has worked on Natural Resource Damage Assessments, Risk Management, Ecological Risk Assessments and various other environmental issues, just call me and I will give you the UNO discount. Also, went to see Luis Pomar, the AAPG Distinguished Lecture Series with our pal Bill Ward, as eminent as ever. I have missed any recent UNO Texas gatherings and we are plotting to make one happen soon. Sorry to have missed Gary's party, too. dbh@dianehyatt.com
Jeff Jandegian
Present Job: VP Exploration-Clovelly Oil Co Inc
David Johanson MS 86
Mary Johanson MS 92
David's present Job: David's Present Job: Software Developer-Landmark Graphics Corporation
Mary's Present Job: Project Geologist-Environmental Chemical Corporation
News: David is still working as a software developer for Landmark Graphics Corporation, working on Landmark's next generation of seismic interpretation software. Mary is a geologist with Environmental Chemical Corporation. Our daughter Emily is nine years old and our son Robert is six. We spend our free time working on home improvement projects and enjoying the outdoors here in Colorado.
Karen Kruebbe Belwood BS 88
Present Job: Environmental Scientist
News: Still here in lovely Norfolk, VA. Kids are now 11, 6 and 4. Would love to hear from you.
Joel J. Lazzeri MS 79
Present Job: Manager-Pacific Operations, EA Engineering
News: News isn't that much different from last year. Still managing offices in Alaska, Hawaii, California, and Guam and have added projects in Saipan, American Samoa, and Wake Island to add a little variety. I travel way too much, but try to compensate by taking the family along for a long trip in the summer. Spent a good amount of time in Hawaii last summer and my two daughters finally took an interest in surfing. Now they have the bug, and that's all they want to do. Also we got to hike out on a fresh lava flow on the Big Island at sunset. Pretty awsome standing several feet away from a lava flow at night. Lou Fernandez eat your heart out.
Kent McDonald MS 79
Present Job: Science Teacher-Lawrence High School
News: Now teaching Earth-Space Science and Environmental Science at Lawrence High School. Coaching Cross Country and Swimming.
Mosa Nasreen Nahid MS 2003
News: I moved to New Orleans after I got married with Mamun in the fall of 2000. In the summer of 2003, I defended my MS thesis and Mamun finished his Ph.D. Then we traveled to a far corner of the world, to an island, New Zealand. We moved here because Mamun was offered a position in a University. New Zealand is a beautiful country; its natural beauty is breath taking but I miss New Orleans very much. New Orleans will always be my home away from home. I miss the diversity of culture; miss the food and festivities, and specially my friends at the department. New Zealanders tend to keep to themselves and most of the public life ceases to exist after 5 pm. So for two souls who don't have friends or relatives in this neck of the woods life can be quite boring.
Right now my only job is to search for a job. Other duties include cooking food, cleaning house, washing cloths, and taking care of Mamun.
You can reach me at nnbably@yahoo.com
Steve Patti MS 90
Present Job: Principal Advisor-Overseas Exploration
News: Having a great time in California. We've got two great kids that are growing up too fast.
Penne Mahne Rappold BS 82
present job: Geologic consultant-Shell
News: Consulting with Shell. Life is good-Grandmother with 2 grandchildren.
Raymond A. Raterman BS 73
Present Job: Senior Account Representative-Logging & Perforating, Halliburton Energy Services
Thomas Reilly BS 76
Present Job: Micropaleontologist-Paleo Data
News: Enjoying working with former classmate Al Porter at Paleo Data in New Orleans.
Linda Rosenbaum Hart BS 78
Present Job: ChevronTexaco
News: With luck, I'll survive the next round of "right-sizing" and achieve my 25th anniversary (and early retirement eligibility) with ChevronTexaco. Right now, I am trying to help earth scientists navigate the maze of eternally changing software, without officially being part of the ever-vulnerable IT department. I'm also enjoying doing volunteer tutoring with co-workers at Frantz Elementary. My husband, Scott, recently started a tutoring business, so who knows-if the corporate ax falls, I may be joining him in a second career!
Sheila Ross BS 79
Present Job: Enjoying the non-working life.
News: Last year I got married to a great guy and now we're in the process of building a new home. We'll be hiking in New Zealand for a few weeks this year and looking for Kiwi birds.
George Salley BS 87
Present Job: Senior Project Geologist
News: Still living the good life out in So. Cal. Yeah, you're laughing... but I'll bet our Governor could beat up your Governor.
John Scheldt MS 76
News: New year, NEW JOB - glad to be back doing Geology insead of directional drilling-still in Coalbed Methane, so far in New Mexico and West Virginia
Monte and Merit Watson Shalet BS 80
Present Job: Director-Endowment/Planned Giving/Capital Campaigns, CAC
News: Monte and I are still enjoying family life with one son at U of Miami and the other son with one more year of high school. Monte's still in the oil biz but ecstatic that there's a road racing track only an hour away. I'm still fundraising but now as a contractor for the CAC, for the Film Festival and doing some party planning as well. We still spend every August road-tripping to the Sierras to hike and backpack.
Frank Sheppard BS 84
Present Job: Geophysicist-Newfield Exploration
News: Really kicked into high gear at NFX this year. Had 5 discoveries in 7 wells. Currently drilling a 23,000' Lower Tuscaloosa well near Baton Rouge (on a 3D I shot at Amoco in 1996). Laurie also joined Newfield this year making it a family affair (again)! Hope all is well with my UNO pals. Anyone thinking about a 20 year reunion?
Rob Sloan MS 89
Present Job: Senior Geologist-Shell
News: Still working for shell in New Orleans Development Geology, Green Canyon Area, Gulf of Mexico.
Jeff Spencer MS 82
Present Job: Chief Geologist-Osprey Petroleum
News: Osprey just closed on selling most of our Mustang Island production and we're now concentrating on prospect generation in the Matagorda and Brazos state waters.
On the home front, I co-coached my older daughter's soccer team (which I didn't know beans about!), then coached her basketball team (which I thought I knew something about), and now getting ready to coach her softball team (I never enjoyed Little League baseball as a kid). I will be presenting a Offshore Texas L. Miocene paper at the GCAGS in San Antonio.
Edwin Sticker MS 79
Present Job: Consultant
News: Having a blast consulting and generating prospects in the MAFLA and ARKLATEX. I don't deserve for life to be so good!! If you ever find yourself around Jackson, MS give me a call. GOD BLESS.
Randy Stilwell MS 80
Present Job: Geologic Advisor-Oxy Permian Ltd.
News: Still working on revitalizing Oxy's fields in the Permian Basin. Reservoir Management can be fun with 600 wells in a field with logs dating back to the 1930's. CO2- and water-flooding is always interesting in carbonates, you never know where its going to show up. Allen Cregg has already bailed out on me to work on more glamorous assignments worldwide for Oxy. The past year we relocated our offices to the Greenway Plaza area increasing my commute time to and from Katy by an hour each day. Stay away from West Houston for a couple of years while they widen the Katy Freeway to about 20 lanes.
The nest will be getting even smaller as our oldest son soon goes off to college (Texas State Univ at San Marcos). He graduates from Katy High School as a member of the 5A State Football Championship Team. Still have one daughter at UT in Austin also. Our youngest son is enjoying Junior High and I am active with him in several Special Olympics sports as well as Challenger Baseball. Christine is happily self-employed, busily helping small businesses with their e-commerce. We still have much to be thankful for out here on the Katy prairie, where the sound of progress (and earthmovers) continues to get closer.
Emily Taylor MS 93
Present Job: Science Teacher-Riverdale High School; Adjunct Professor of Geology-Delgado Community College.
News: Alive and well and living in the "Big Easy" and still "preaching the gospel according to Geology." I have regained most of my faculties and higher order thinking skills since the boating accident 1 1/2 years ago... and moving into my renovated childhood home this upcoming summer. Give a call, ya'll.
Jack Thorson BS 82
Present Job: Geologist-Northcoast Oil Company
News: Working with Ray Stephens and Eric Broadbridge. Ray is still coming in to the office late, but, he is leaving early to make up for it. Eric is the best generating geologist I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Charlene and the girls are great-Anna (10) and Haley (8).
Fran Wiseperson BS 74
Present Job: Geologist
News: I've been evaluating projects in Deep Water GOM; lots of opportunity for deep trouble.




Note from the Editor

Like the rest of society, we are becoming increasingly dependent email to stay in touch with you-it's cheap and quick. For last-minute news, such as Pat Craig's death and service, email was the only possibility. So if you have email and aren't hearing from me, please write me at deasley@uno.edu, or call me at (504)280-6316. Be sure and tell me to add your email address to the database.
I don't send out bulk emails that list everyone's address in the header-that's just asking for Spam. Instead, I do a mail merge that targets you individually. However, if your want to get in touch with someone, I'll be glad to help as appropriate, contacting them first for you for permission.
If you want to contact any of the faculty or staff, visit the Department's home page at 
             http://www.uno.edu/geology
The page has links to faculty email addresses and web pages, descriptions of our current graduate and undergraduate courses, and to alumni information, including last year's newsletter and old photos.
Thank you for staying in touch with us.
Dale Easley


Cover Photo: Gary Allen's UNO application picture, 1968.


File translated from TEX by T TH, version 3.40.
On 14 May 2004, 09:03.