Annual GSA Meeting & Student Research

Leyna Weller

Attending the Geological Society of America this October was a motivating way to get more involved with other individuals in the geology field. I was surprised at how many other undergraduate students were at the conference as well as how many professionals were willing to share their experiences within their careers.

A resource that many students probably don’t know about is the Mentoring Program. I got the chance to talk with a Geoscientist about different career options and what I could do to prepare for job applications next year. I was able to ask any question about the field and she helped me create a better idea of what I wanted to do after graduation. They also have individuals who can help review your resume or graduate school applications. Overall, it was really encouraging to be surrounded by so many people in the geology field and getting to listen in on the lectures helped expand my understanding of geology as a whole.

Abby Winkler

As an attendee of the Geological Society of America conference in October, I highly recommend the experience to future students who have the opportunity to attend. Personally, I was a part of the volunteer portion of CMU students that participated in the conference this fall. Volunteering for the GSA conference has a 10-hour total requirement in exchange for free admission. This was a worthy trade off, as the duties involved were straightforward and manageable, and working with others allowed for networking with student geologists from across the country. A volunteer schedule was easy to create and came with ample flexibility. This provides a reasonable alternative for students who are not ready or able to present their own projects but would still like to participate in the conference itself. Not only is this perfect for expanding your resume, but those interested in attending grad school have the ability to browse a variety of graduate programs looking for prospective students. Learning about applied geosciences outside of the Grand Valley was fascinating, and there were too many talks and posters to have possibly seen it all. Overall, the environment of the conference was one of education and growth for the geoscience community. The 2022 conference is set to be held in Denver and will be more accessible to CMU students in terms of travel. Please consider attending for both your academic and career development, as well as personal enjoyment of all thing's geology.

Karlie Hadden

At GSA everyone was welcoming and professional. It was a great experience to make connections with other students and professionals. I loved the ability to bounce around from technical sessions and exploring posters. Everyone was open and willing to answer any questions you may have had.

Even though I am not looking for a job now, I did find the career center and glanced what job postings they had. There was a whole wall of jobs that needed to be filled as soon as possible. They ranged from post-doctoral research to assistant professorships. Each listing had an email of a person to contact that was at the conference to schedule an interview sometime during that week.

Sherri Randall

If you’re considering attending a GSA conference, go for it! This is an opportunity that you should not pass up! Honestly, I was a bit nervous and intimidated about being surrounded by so many professionals that have so much knowledge on subjects that I know so little about. I was relieved from the moment I walked in the doors and received a warm and friendly welcome. Not only were there handfuls of students like me, but the organizers had gone the extra mile to welcome us with open arms and make us feel comfortable throughout the entire conference. Networking opportunities were not only available, but they were made easy to approach. In fact, it would be difficult to attend a conference and not network at all. I had never been to anything like this. The best part about it was how inspired I felt by the end of the conference. This experience will be one that you treasure forever when look back at your college career. Take the extra step, go the extra mile, attend the GSA conference! You won’t regret it!

Roan Hall

GSA was a great experience that I would recommend to any geology student. While it may be expensive to go, it is definitely worth the cost and GSA gives you the opportunity to volunteer to get into the conference for free. While volunteering takes up 9 hours of your time at the conference, it is a great opportunity to network with other students. During my time volunteering I met many grad school students who were able to give me an impression of what grad school is like. In addition to this, I can now contact them if I have further questions.

At the conference you can pick from professional talks on just about any geology topic. While I was there, I attended several lectures on planetary geology, a topic not taught at CMU. In addition to this I saw lectures on hydrology and geochemistry.

Another great opportunity at GSA is the poster hall. Here, students stand in front of posters showing research they are working on and answer questions to whoever wants to know more about their projects. I personally did not have a project to present however other CMU students who went did. This is another great opportunity to mingle with students and faculty from schools all over. I met a student in the poster hall who was working on a similar project to one I had been working on and I learned some new techniques from him I had not tried before.

Finally, in the afternoons an exhibit hall opens which in addition to having geology related exhibits has booths for grad school information and job opportunities. If you are interested in grad school this is a great opportunity to talk to schools that you are interested in face to face and get a feel for how it would be to go there.

 

PRESENTED TALKS/POSTERS AT RESEARCH CONFERENCES

 *Indicates presenting author (CMU Geosciences student)

2022
 
*Baker, M., Winkler, A., Fenton, C.R., and Marchetti, D.W., 2022, Analyzing stable isotopes in precipitation to create a preliminary local meteoric water line for Grand Junction, CO, GSA Abstr. Programs, 54.doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-383457

*Orelup, A., Aslan, A., Heizler, M., Cole, R., *Winey, MJ, Randall, S., Wood, C. 2022. Late Eocene to Miocene landscape evolution of western Colorado: new age constraints using detrital sanidine 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program.

Tellez, J. and *Posovich, L., 2022, Evaluation of petrophysical heterogeneity within fluvial architectural elements of the Cretaceous Burro Canyon Formation, Colorado, GSA Abstr. Programs, 54. doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-383501

Trump, B., Cole, R., Hood, W., and Tellez, J., 2022, Sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical characterization of mudrock from the upper Burro Canyon Formation (Lower Cretaceous), “Rattlesnake Ridge,” western Colorado: Geological Society of America Annual (National) Meeting Program with Abstracts.
 
*Riedel, A., Baker, G.S., 2022, Assessing azimuthal seismic first-arrival tomography (ASFT) to quantify geometry of multiple sets of shallow subvertical bedrock fractures for hydrogeologic studies: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5. doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-383503
 
*Weller, L., Aslan, A., Heizler, M., Karlstrom, Granger, D., Mahan, S. 2022. Fluvio-glacial
terraces of the Upper Green River Basin spanning the past ~2 Ma: new detrital sanidine, cosmogenic-burial, and luminescence age constraints, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program.
 
 
2021
 
*Anderson, C.D., *Horvat, D.J., *Dacuag, R.M., *Hadden, K., Johnson, V., Baker, G.S., Livaccari, R., and Eckberg, E., 2021, Preliminary structural and geophysical investigation of possible Cenozoic intrusive events along the northeast Uncompahgre Plateau in Western Colorado: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 53, No. 6. doi: 10.1130/abs/2021AM-368314
 
*Buxton, S., Aslan, A., Heizler, M., Cole, R., *Orelup, A., *Weller, L., *Arinze, D. 2021. Miocene rivers of western Colorado: implications for the timing of river integration in the Rocky Mountains. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program.
 
 
2020
 
*Neel, S., Aslan, A., Cole, R.D., Heizler, M.T., Baker, G.S., *Boraas-Connors, M. 2020. Detrital Mineral Dating of the Cretaceous/Paleogene(?) Ohio Creek Conglomerate, Western Piceance Basin, Colorado. Abstract accepted for the Rocky Mt Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists meeting, meeting was cancelled.
 
*Schlag, J., Aslan, A., Cole, R.D., Heizler, M.T. 2020. 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Detrital Sanidine in
the Goodenough Unit, Grand Mesa, Colorado. Abstract accepted for the Rocky Mt
Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists meeting, meeting was cancelled.
 
*Walker, J., Aslan, A., Cole, R.D., and Heizler, M.T. 2020. New Radiometric Age for the Lower Williams Fork Formation, Coal Canyon, Colorado. Abstract accepted for the Rocky Mt Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists meeting, meeting was cancelled.
 
 
2019
 
*Hutson, J.P. and Aslan, A., 2019. New Mapping of Late Quaternary Uncompahgre River
terraces of western Colorado. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v.
51, no. 7.
 
*Jaquez-Caro, A., Mahan, S.A., Heizler, M.T., *Mejia-Mendoza, N., *Schlag, J., and Aslan, A.,
2019. Quaternary incision historyand detrital sanidine provenance of the upper Colorado
River, Glenwood Canyon and Rifle, Colorado. Geological Society of America, Abstracts
with Program, v. 51, no. 7.

 

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS & BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS

 

2021
 
*Walker, J., Aslan, A., Cole, R.D., and Heizler, M.T. 2021. New age constraints on the Late
Cretaceous Lower Williams Fork Formation, Coal Canyon, Colorado. The Mountain
Geologist, v. 58, p. 5-26. DOI: 10.31582/rmag.mg.58.1.5
 
2017
*Jarrin, D., Aslan, A., Mahan, S., and Hanson, P.R. 2017. New age constraints on Late Pleistocene glacial outwash deposits near Ridgway, Colorado, northern San Juan Mountains. In Karlstrom, K.E., Gonzales, D.A., Zimmerer, M.J., Heizler, M., and Ulmer-Scholle, D.S., eds., The Geology of the Ouray-Silverton Area, New Mexico Geological Society 68th Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook, p. 179-186.