Colgate Geology Alumni News

ALUMNI NEWS NOTES Class of 1992

Ken Baker: I'm a feature writer at the Daily Press in Newport News, VA. I write about stuff that has virtually nothing to do with geology; though I do call my editor "Chief" sometimes. I graduated form Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism last May. I miss Rich April, Chief, Selleck, and that irresistible Goldstein guy. (submitted '96)

James Brooks: I am currently starting my second year of work towards a Master's degree in Geography, and will begin my field work in November for my thesis entitled "Snow Stratigrapht as a Function of Aspect on the San Francisco Peaks, Coconino County, Arizona". I am using remote sensing and GIS techniques, in addition to data collected on skis from snowpits, to assess the winter climatological features of these peaks here in Northern Arizona, and I hope to continue studying alpine climatology in a Ph.D. program in the near future. I look forward to hearing from fellow Colgate geology alums. (submitted '96)

Christopher Brown: Had a chance to catch up with Laura Moore ('93) during reunion. We joined Bruce Selleck on his tour of the geological setting of the campus. She's just finished her first year of teaching at Oberlin. I also got to see Tim Lowenstein ('78), my advisor from Binghamton, who was enjoying his 25th year runion (former house-mates included!). Tim's enjoying his research on the history of sea water (among other things) and his eldest daughter Maggie heads to Williams this fall. Hard to believe since she was 8 when I left Binghamton. He and his wife Sally ('79) have two more chances at a Colgate "chip" with Scott (15) and Kirby (12). (submitted 6/03)

Stephanie Christensen: Hello everyone! I'm still at the University of Hawaii and I'm still working on my master's degree in oceanography. Things move a little more slowly in Hawaii and I've become a not-too-unwilling casualty of that attitude. Happily though, I'll be finishing in a few months. I'm not sure what I'll be doing afterwards except that I don't plan on getting a PhD just now, and I do plan to stay in Hawaii for a while (how could I leave?). Aside from dragging my degree out beyond reason, life is pretty good. I'm still enjoying the sun and surf, and I've just moved to a little house in one of the valleys which I absolutely adore. Aloha... (submitted '96)

Dan Covello: I've been living and working in Melbourne, Florida since August 1994. I work for G.M. Selby and Associates, an engineering company currently specializing in mobile telecommunications industry engineering, with offices in Florida and the midwest. I've completed projects in central and northeast Florida,and parts of Wisconsin. I've been involved mainly in environmental and ecological assessments. Lately, I've also worked on construction sites doing threshold and substructural inspections at cellular tower sites. This includes concrete testing and inspections of materials on-site. While my current job has taken me away from the coastal geology that I enjoyed up in New York, the new work is challenging and has broadened my experience into engineering. I live close to the coast and get to the beach as often as I can. I do not miss the cold northern winters and have enjoyed many a winter's day surfing in the warm Florida waters. I became engaged to Paige Cosel ('91) in July 1995. We're planning our wedding for next July up in New York, from which we both hail. Looking forwards to the next newsletter. (submitted '96)

Christine Demosthenous: Greetings from the flat lands! By the time this newsletter comes out I should be done with my master's - yeah! I will be staying here at the University of Illinois for one more year. I have a full time job at the University, split between a GIS project in the geography department and teaching geology labs. If any of you are planning to pass through Illinois, please let me know. (submitted '96)

Vanessa Ioppolo: I moved to L.A. and I am an NBC page. (submitted '96)

Max Schroder: After spending four years in West Africa (2 with the Peace Corps, 2 managing refugee camps for the UN), I returned to Denver, and went to graduate school for Landscape Architecture. In 2002, I married Katherine Schroder and we bought a house in Denver. Currently, I enjoy spending time working around the house with my wife and two dogs, and in my metal shop, where I have started welding and metalsmithing. (submitted 6/03)

Elizabeth (Sherwood) Krol: My husband, Michael Krol, is a geology professor at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, MA. He teaches minerology, petrology, and physical geology.

Our son, Mikey, is nearly 3 and so much fun. We accompanied Mike to Montana in June, where he is conducting field research in the Bitteroots with another professor and an undergraduate student. Mike applies Ar/Ar thermochronology to structural geology projects.

I am enjoying environmental consulting and focus on due diligence to assess liability associated with commercial real estate. (submitted 7/03)

Sheldon Smith: I recently met up with Jeff Standish and John Zimmer for Zim's bachelor party up here in Maine. We got to talking about the department and I realized that it was time I wrote in.

After taking a spin in high-tech while working for Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies, I realized how much I missed geology. Since leaving Lucent in 2002, I've been working for Woodard & Curran, an environmental/engineering firm in Portland, Maine.

For the most part, I work for a single client, Poland Spring, a division of Nestle Waters. I've been working "deep in the Maine woods" using geophysical data, boring logs, groundwater models, etc. to find new spring sources and develop these sites commercially. Great fun. Who would have thought?

Enough about me. Jeff Standish is finishing his Ph.D. at WHOI this summer and will be starting a post-doc at Harvard, I believe in the fall.

Zim has just gotten married (June 2005) and has accepted a position at Heinz in Pittsburgh. Congratulations Zim!
(submitted 6/05)

Jeff Standish: Looks like it has been a while since any alumni updates have occurred, at least in the Class of '92. So I thought I would buck the trend and hopefully motivate further alumni updates.

I have been continuing various research paths as a postdoc in the Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University since my semester long stint at Colgate as the inaugural Boyce Postdoctoral Fellow during Spring 2006. Most recently I transitioned into a new position within EPS at Harvard, and as of July 1st I am now the department Preceptor ... just a fancy old english word for curriculum development. I am thoroughly enjoying the new responsibilities, freedom of creative, and satisfaction of making a difference for undergraduate and graduate students and their educational careers.

On the personal side, I was married a year ago Labor Day to Cara Santelli, and we live in Arlington. She also works at Harvard University as a post-doctoral fellow in the field of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Chemistry.

I do hope to be back up to Hamilton sometime soon, but in the meantime, I would love to catch up with anyone in the Boston area.

Cheers,

Jeff Standish
(submitted November 2009)

I am currently in my 4th year of graduate work in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program. I live in the thriving metropolis of Woods Hole, MA and actually see other Colgate alum occasionally in the area (Ellen MeCray and Jane Denny both at USGS). My current research is focused on basalt geochemistry along a portion of the Southwest Indian Ridge, often usefully applying all those petrology rules and phase diagrams learned in Chief's Petrology Class.

I am planning on being in Hamilton for a soccer memorial dedication in early Sept. and am hoping to have a chance to give a seminar while up there. Looking forward to getting back to Lathrop! (submitted 6/03)

Charlie Tiller: I just discovered this directory, with many names missing. Here is an endeavor to do my part and make history (February 2004).

For those who haven't visited, the Twin Cities is a great place to live and work. My work as an environmental geologist keeps me rooted in the Metro area, coordinating and overseeing investigation and cleanup projects. The most exciting aspect of my career has been the integral role I've played since 1998 in helping to revitalize a historic stockyard/animal products district into a thriving business park. School did not completely prepare me for a non-academic geologic career, but I learned to thrive after discovering it's about 3/4 people and management skills and 1/4 technical. I visited Colgate in fall 2003 to share some hard-earned wisdom with the new batch of future geologists and much enjoyed the visits with Bruce, Art, Paul, and many others, along with the campus upgrades.

Sometimes I miss "real" geology like they still do it there, but I wouldn't trade my freedom lifestyle for academia at this stage. My wife Anne and I live in a vintage home near the crown-jewel of St. Paul's parks, along with our 3 cats. Summer finds us in the garden and on nearby lakes and rivers with our many granola friends. We enjoy watching the seasons pass and appreciate the unfolding of our little lives, dancing against the backdrop of geologic time, and not in any hurry to become fossils just yet. (submitted 2/04)