ALUMNI NEWS NOTES
Class of 1987
Denise (Collins) Waite: Jon and I are living outside of Philadelphia with 2 kids.
Stop by and keep us sane. The pool is open and beer is cold. If anyone is looking for
a job, SECOR is hiring at all levels and from coast to coast. Contact me at
dwaite@secor.com (submitted 6/03)
Tom Hankins: Working at Ransom Environmental Consultants, Inc.
in Newburyport, MA as a Project Geologist and Client Services
Specialist. Working primarily with industrial/commercial clients
and regional utility companies to solve their environmental
issues such as spills, storage tanks, material handling, and
general safety. (submitted '96)
Jill (Bourns) Hayes: Received Master's degree in Art Therapy in
'91; working now in a state psychiatric hospital in Rome, GA with
acutely disturbed adolescents; married, one daughter, on child
on-the-way. (submitted '96)
Andy Heymann: Working as a property accountant for a real estate
company in Manhattan. (submitted '96)
John Hopper: Finished up my PhD thesis at Lamont Doherty Earth
Observatory last summer and am now a post-doctoral fellow here in
Denmark. I'm working on trying to understand continental rifts
and break-up using numerical modeling and looking at geophysical
data from rifted margins. Right now I'm looking at the East
Coast of Greenland as part of a large project here at the
Lithosphere Center to study N. Atlantic break-up in the vicinity
of the Iceland hot spot. I spent several weeks in the field in
Greenland this summer (including the famous Skaergaard
Intrusion), spent a month last summer offshore on a seismic ship,
and we'll be back next summer to do more seismics. I now live
here in Copenhagen and things are going really well -- Copenhagen
is a great city to live and work in, though my Danish lessons
are coming along very slowly. Rachel O'Brien (geology student
from '85) lives a few blocks away. I'll make sure she e-mails
you too... (submitted '96)
Lisa (Hu) Filer:
After a 8 year hiatus from environmental consulting field to stay home as a full-time mom,
I am excited to return to the work force this fall as a lower school science teacher at a
fabulous, Quaker private school. I am looking forward to the challenges of a new career.
I am a mother of two boys ages 8 and 5, and my husband teaches geology at Towson University.
(submitted 6/03)
Keith Klepeis:
From April26-May 6, I led a GSA-sponsored geological field excursion
to Fiordland, New Zealand to examine the deep roots of a ancient mountain
range. Art Goldstein came along and it was just like the summer OC outings
at Colgate! The trip accommodated 38 people and involved numerous helicopter
trips and use of a yacht to access remote locations.
(submitted 6/03)
Don Sharaf:
Currently up in Juneau, Alaska avalanche forecasting for a powerline reconstruction project.
A major avalanche cycle hit part of the line between the Snettisham hydro powerhouse and the
city of Juneau almost a month ago (4/16/08). The avalanches that damaged and destroyed the
towers were powerful enough to scour down to bedrock in places. Lots of glacially polished
gneiss and granodiorite around here. Interesting job with a good mix of the sciences and ski
mountaineering. Otherwise my year is filled with the usual mix of heli-ski guiding, teaching
avalanche courses, consulting for ski guiding operations, and carpentry.
On another note, I was very sad to hear of Flenner's accident in Africa. What a great person he was!
Best regards,
Don
Chris Vyhnal: Paper from PhD submitted to American Journal of
Science -hoping to give a talk at GSA in New Orleans. Looking
for work!! Call me if you need a geologist. (I have an article
that might be a kick for the newsletter - "Stable isotope
chemistry of fermenting beer" was a lab for undergrads in the
geology department here at Dartmouth. Let me know if you're
interested.) (submitted '96)