A message from the Chairman of the Geology Department:
Dear Friends:
The Fall semester is in full swing at SFA, and student enrollment is at an all-time high. This year as last, we invite all of our Geology alumni to our annual Department Homecoming Event! The faculty and staff of the Geology Department hope to see you and your family and spend time getting caught up on what you have been doing over the past year. At the bottom of this letter is a list of events that are planned for you and your family to enjoy.
We think you'll be particularly impressed with the many changes around campus. There are new dorms, an expanded and updated student center and a new state-of-the-art recreation center. It's beginning to look like a different campus!
If you can join us, please reply by email (rnielson@sfasu.edu) or call ((936) 468-3701) so we will know how many to expect. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact myself or Shana (sscott@sfasu.edu).
If you know someone who would be interested in attending the Homecoming Reunion, please let them know about our activities. We hope to see you all!
R. LaRell Nielson, Professor and Chair of the Geology Department
HOMECOMING EVENTS
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
 Geology Open House
SPACE3-5 pm, Rm. 302, Miller Science Building
Geology Chili Cook-off!
SPACE6 pm, Pecan Acres Park (on Starr Street across from the Intramural Field)
Torchlight Parade
SPACE9 pm, starts at Student Center Plaza
Bonfire, Pep Rally and Fire Works
SPACE9:30 pm, Intramural Field
Mardi Gras Madness
SPACE11:30 pm, Johnson Coliseum
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009
Homecoming Parade
SPACE10 am, Downtown Nacogdoches. You and your children are invited to ride on the AAPG-Geology Club float. If riding on the float, meet at 9:30 am at T.G. Rusk School on Mound Street.
Lumberjack Alley
SPACE12 noon; tailgate with your friends before the game
Football! SFA vs. Sam Houston State
SPACE2 pm, Homer Bryce Stadium. For tickets call (936) 468-5225
Here is what we have all been doing this past year in the SFA Geology Department:
Dr. R. LaRell Nielson is in his fifth year as chair of the Geology Department and is teaching stratigraphy and Geology of North America this Fall. He is still adviser to the Geology Club and to the AAPG Student Chapter. He presented a paper at Texas Academy of Science on the sedimentology of Hurricane Ike and is continuing his research on the Kaibab Formation in western Utah and working on the coastal erosion and deposition along the Texas coast.
Dr. Volker Gobel co-authored Jace Morris' poster presentation at the national GSA meeting in Houston and attended with him a field trip to the Llano Uplift organized by Sharon Mosher/UT Austin. Graduate student Travis Taylor continued his work mapping in the Inks Lake area. A field trip with graduate student Jacob McKinney to NW Costa Rica in May 09 focused on the complex geology of the Sta. Elena peninsula, part of his regional and geophysical correlation study. Summer II-time was also spent enjoying Alpine geology and the type Karst in Slovenia.
Dr. Chris Barker is teaching oceanography and graduate advanced structural geology in addition to his usual introductory courses. Next Spring, he will teach structure, metamorphic petrology and field methods. In May, he and Dr. Nielson will head out West for the next installment of our Summer Field Camp. He presented a talk this past Spring at the TAS convention on the effects of Hurricane Ike. His wife, Anne, is director of the Nacogdoches Public Library and his daughter and son-in-law are just starting PhD programs at Ohio State University. Dr. Barker is the department webmaster, so if you have any information you would like put on the alumni webpage, please send it to him at: cbarker@sfasu.edu
Dr. Wesley Brown presented poster at the annual Texas Academy of Science meeting, highlighting research work on irrigation canals in El Paso. He teaches introductory geology classes along with graduate and undergraduate geophysics courses. Dr. Brown currently has three graduate students working under his supervision and continues to do research in Applied Geophysics. His two kids (Ajani, 10, and Abeni, 6) are currently enrolled at Raguet Elementary School and his wife, Marlene, is a registered nurse.
Dr. Kevin Stafford has completed his first year at SFA. He continues to conduct research on speleogenesis and hydrogeology, including work in the evaporite rocks of the Permian Basin, the Ellenberger carbonates of central Texas and the clastic units of east Texas. Since last October, he has been senior author on five peer-reviewed publications and co-author on three peer-reviewed publications. He has also been senior editor of two books, including a symposium proceedings volume for the National Cave and Karst Research Institute and a field guide for a 10-day, cross-country field excursion he organized and led for a group of international participants this past summer in conjunction with the 15th International Congress of Speleology. Currently, he is advising two theses projects with graduate students Jessica De Leon and Alexcia Gray, and he is mentoring several undergraduate independent study projects.
Patricia Sharp continues to work with education majors by teaching Earth Science Activities for Teachers, and she also helps them to prepare for TExES, the state education exam.
Mindy Shaw Faulkner is continuing class work and research on her PhD through the Forestry Department at SFA, focusing on the hydrology and geomorphology of the Guadalupe River near Boerne, Texas. In her spare time, she keeps busy teaching introductory geology classes, geochemistry, leading field trip courses to the Hill Country and Arkansas areas and assisting with the Stratigraphy and Structure Labs. She co-authored and presented several papers and posters at the Texas Academy of Science. In addition, she co-authored a poster with Brandon Tate that was presented at the First Annual Undergraduate Research Conference at SFA this spring. Her husband Joel and family keep her occupied when she is not "geologizing", particularly her granddaughter Marley. Next summer, she hopes to co-teach a field trip course with Dr. Alyx Frantzen entitled "Geochemistry of the Southwest", focusing on mining operations and their environmental impact of the region.
Shana Scott, our departmental administrative assistant, keeps the department moving forward with all of her hard work. She has been with us for eight years. ** Shana is creating an email list of our alumni. If you would like to be on the list, please send your email address to sscott@sfasu.edu **
Emeritus and Retired Faculty
Dr. Ernest Ledger retired from Stephen F. Austin in May, 2008. He continues to do research on the geology of Arkansas and on arsenic occurrence in East Texas. He and Ella spend time gardening and doing field work.
Dr. William P. Roberts, after retiring from SFA, is teaching part-time at Shenandoah College and James Madison University in Virginia. We were lucky to have him return to help teach field camp this past summer. Thanks, Bill!
Who was at past homecomings? Here are a few pictures:
- Fall 2007 Homecoming
- Fall 2006 Homecoming
- Fall 2005 Homecoming
Dr. Gobel, Pat Sharp and Dr. Nielson wait for alums.
Looking for your buddies? Try our Alumi page.
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