At the end of July, some students were dreading the beginning of the fall semester. Some were eagerly packing for the move to Springfield. Others were on their way to Chile to study volcanoes. Dr. Gary Michelfelder, assistant professor of geology, and nine students took at two-week short-term study away trip to San Pedro de Atacama and Calama, Chile. "We were able to get … [Read more...] about Chile, not chili
Dr. Melida Gutierrez was recently featured in Mind's Eye about her water exploration in two areas she calls home: southwest Missouri and Chihuahua, Mexico. An excerpt: “That’s part of being a scientist — that you see an interconnection — things that you might think are very separate,” she said. “All of a sudden you find that one causes the other one or they’re … [Read more...] about Keeping your water safe
In the mountains of Idaho, Dr. Matthew McKay, assistant professor of geology and master’s student Sourav Krishna Nandi brave the cold in search of mountainous answers. Two hundred million years ago, the edge of North America was in present-day Idaho. A series of islands collided with the continent, creating moutains. “The entire states of Oregon and Washington were … [Read more...] about Finding a mountain’s roots
Diamonds are not all created equal. It’s why we have scales to measure carat, cut, color and clarity. Why are diamonds so different? Dr. Gary Michelfelder is ready to dig deep and find out. Michelfelder and grad student Tyler Sundell are going to examine diamonds and their features at the User Nanoscience Research Program at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak … [Read more...] about Understanding the earth using diamonds