Rich April         After six years as director of the division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, I returned to the department full-time last fall. Being division director gave me a chance to see how the University operates at the administrative level, and to get to know the science faculty quite well. From all my experiences I can tell you, without any hesitation, that Colgate has one of the finest science faculty of any liberal arts college in the nation.       The division director job was half-time (so they said!), so I continued to teach mineralogy, geochemistry, and other geology and environmental studies courses over this period of time. The department has had some excellent students come through the concentration program over the past several years, and it has always been my great pleasure to have them in my classes. I am amazed to think that last fall I taught mineralogy for the twenty-fifth time since coming to Colgate back in the seventies. Are students better today than they were a couple of decades ago? I'd say they are just as smart, maybe a bit more savvy about the world at large, but not much different when it comes to academic ability and aspirations for the future. Thankfully, I haven't yet had a cell phone ring during a mineralogy lecture, but I did have a pager go off in class a couple of times last year. The student (a very bright and nice guy) was a member of the EMT rescue squad in town, and the disruption was totally understood. It seems like more and more geology students are getting involved in outreach programs and service to the community, and the department is very proud of this.       This past spring I decided to create a new course called "Gems" for the scientific perspectives (SP) program of the liberal arts core curriculum. The course will look at the geology and chemistry of precious stones, and will examine the origin, history, myths and lore of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, as well as a score of other gemstones, including opal, jade, tourmaline, and pearls. To get some background information for the course I visited the mineral and gem collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, talked to lots of people (including some Colgate alums) in the gem and pearl trade, and read many books on gems and precious stones. For those of you who like to read books about minerals and gems, both fiction and non-fiction, let me recommend the following: "Barren Lands," by Kevin Krajick; "Diamond," by Matthew Hart; "The Last Empire," by Stefan Kanfer; and a beautifully written recent novel by Tobias Hill called "The Love of Stones." The first three books are all about the fascinating history and business of diamonds. I had Kevin Krajick come to talk to my class last fall about his book, which details the search for diamonds in the North American arctic. It is a terrific tale, and I think anyone with an interest in minerals and geology, or who loves stories about explorers, will find it hard to put down, once you start to read it.       I've continued my research in the Adirondacks on the impact of acid deposition on forested ecosystems. I was up there just two weeks ago with two biologists and a geology colleague (and former Colgate geology student) to do some preliminary field work for a new, collaborative research project we are hoping to begin, soon. Collaborative research is becoming more and more popular, and necessary, these days in all the sciences, but especially in the field of environmental science. Natural systems are very complicated, and in order to better understand them it is necessary to study them with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams of scientists. The benefit of collaborative research is something I try to impress upon my students in all of the classes I teach. Fruits of some of this collaborative research will be coming out shortly in a co-authored paper (currently in press) in the Journal of Water, Air and Soil Pollution that addresses the fate of lead in forest soils. Much of this lead was derived from atmospheric sources during the middle of the 20th century when automobiles tanked up on leaded gasoline.       Finally, I want to say hello to all of you Colgate geology grads out there who I haven't seen in years. I heard several of you were looking for me during reunion weekend, the same weekend I had to drive my youngest daughter down to NYC to move into an apartment and begin an internship for the summer. Sorry I missed you, and I hope to hear from you. It has been wonderful reading all of your replies to the mailing that went out recently requesting ditties for this newsletter. I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of you are doing very well, are happy, and are enjoying the life that you live. We love to hear from you, so please keep us informed on your whereabouts, and on your successes and accomplishments. Take care, and peace and happiness to you all.       Rich