The Great Outdoor Classroom

Whitewater rafting down a river, trekking through the jungle, spotting wildlife in its natural habitat. While field studies courses offer students these kinds of adventurous experiences, they also give students a taste of life working in the field and hands-on learning that ensures they are job-ready for a career in research.

Bringing the field to students with ‘Virtual Field Geology’

The Virtual Field Geology project has many goals: to make geology field experiences accessible to more people; to document geological field sites that may be at risk from erosion or development, to offer virtual “dry run” experiences and to allow scientific collaborators to do virtual visits to a field site together. While the pandemic brought new urgency to the project, its developers believe it’s part of a “new normal” for geology research and education.

Phillip A. Hough, Ph.D., Selected for Fulbright Global Scholar Award

Phillip A. Hough, Ph.D., was selected for a Fulbright Global Scholar Award, based on his important sociological research in rural Colombia. The award will provide him with the opportunity to study the plight of coffee-producing farmers living across the “global coffee belt” regions of Latin America, Africa and East Asia.

Paper addresses fieldwork safety for minority scientists

Scientists and graduate students with minority identities who conduct fieldwork report being stalked, followed, sexually assaulted, harassed, threatened, having guns pulled on them and police called on them.
These issues threaten minority-identity researchers’ physical health and safety during fieldwork, while also affecting their mental health, productivity and professional development.

Hidden secrets written in stone:

It’s one of the best-known geological heritage sites around the world, filled with fossils and glacial secrets. Now, thanks to virtual reality technology, the ice-age past of Hallett Cove Conservation Park is revealed in a new, gamified VR experience – Beyond the Ice – and is launched this week as part of National Science Week.