TO: Faculty and Staff of:

Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Geology & Geophysics
Department of Geography
Department of Oceanography
Geochemical and Environmental Research Group
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Texas Sea Grant Office

FROM: Björn Kjerfve, Dean
College of Geosciences

DATE: 3 June 2008

Dedication of the R. Ken Williams ’45 Radiogenic Isotope Geosciences Laboratory

The R. Ken Williams ’45 Radiogenic Isotope Geosciences Laboratory was dedicated on Saturday, 3 May, and is very near to completion. The facility bears the name of Ken Williams, of Midland, who in addition to having committed over $2 million to the project continues to contribute annually to its endowment. Williams and his family attended the dedication. More than 80 members of the Texas A&M Foundation’s Legacy Society toured the lab earlier that morning as well.

Construction of the radiogenic isotope lab began last October, but the project has been in the planning phase for over four years. The facility will be used for interdisciplinary research and collaboration by multiple departments in our college, across the University and potentially worldwide. The size and scope of this effort puts us on par with some of the best isotope geochemistry programs in the country, and it is hoped that this state-of-the-art facility will attract outstanding faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to the College. The principal investigators currently associated with the lab are Franco Marcantonio, Brent Miller, and Debbie Thomas. Together they will oversee lab operations, maintenance, training and safety.

Sarah Bednarz named Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence

Geography professor Sarah Bednarz had a surprise visitor to her class in April when President Elsa Murano stopped by to present her the Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award. Sarah was one of two professors selected to receive this award, which carries with it a stipend of $25,000. The award will be formally presented to her at summer commencement ceremonies on August 8. This award was established in 2003 by former President Robert M. Gates to underscore the importance of teaching at a major research university. Sarah now holds the title of “Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence” for the remainder of her career. Sarah came to Texas A&M in 1988 as a lecturer, having previously taught in the public schools. She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College, the University of Chicago and Texas A&M. She has published more than 70 scholarly papers and has given presentations at more than 100 conferences and symposia around the world. She is the winner of numerous awards, among them the Gilbert Grosvenor Award from the Association of American Geographers, the George Miller Award from the National Council for Geographic Education and several teaching awards from The Association of Former Students. Please join us in extending our heartiest congratulations to Sarah on this great honor.

Sarah Bednarz Appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Sarah Bednarz has been appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Geosciences as of 1 August 2008. Sarah will replace Dr. Vatche Tchakerian when he steps down from this post 31 August. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Vatche for all he has done to support the College, our students and our academic programs since becoming Associate Dean in 2004 and as Acting Associate Dean for two years before that. Vatche is returning to the Geography Department where he holds a full professorship. He plans to be on faculty development leave for the 2008-2009 academic year to complete a book his is writing titled “Landscape and Music.”

Sarah has done extensive work on cognition, geography education, and ways geospatial technologies support the development of spatial thinking. With her interest in environmental and geosciences education and curriculum development, I am sure she will be an asset to the College as she takes over administration of our undergraduate and graduate instructional programs.

Charles Lafon Recognized by TAMU for Superior Teaching

Congratulations to Dr. Charles Lafon in Geography for being honored by the University with a 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching. Twenty-four faculty and staff University-wide were presented these awards 29 April with Charles being one of 10 recognized for teaching. The Distinguished Achievement Awards are given annually by the University and funded by the Association of Former Students. As an award recipient, Charles received $4,000, an engraved watch, and a commemorative plaque.

Dick Orville Named Sigma Xi’s 2008 Distinguished Scientist

Congratulations go to Dr. Richard Orville in Atmospheric Sciences for being selected by the Texas A&M University Chapter of Sigma Xi to receive their 2008 Distinguished Scientist Award. Dick received the award at the scientific research society’s annual banquet 4 April. Dick is one of the world’s foremost experts on lightning. His research contributions include advances in the physics of lightning, such as developing and implementing the National Lightning Detection Network. Among his important spectroscopic studies was the discovery of an emission that can be used to detect lightning optically in the daytime as well as at night which has provided an unprecedented and flawless view of the distribution of lightning throughout the global tropics. He is currently working with students on how human activities may influence electrical activities during a thunderstorm.

Geosciences Awards Big 12 Faculty Fellowships

The College awarded Big 12 Faculty Fellowships for 2008-2009 to Dr. Sarah Bednarz, Professor of Geography; Dr. J. Rick Giardino, Professor of Geology & Geophysics; and Dr. Steven Quiring, Assistant Professor of Geography. Sarah will use the award to build on her collaboration with Dr. Gail Ludwig, Department of Geography, University of Missouri. Rick plans to use his award to continue his work with climate modelers and remote sensing professionals at the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CLIMAT) at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln (UNL). Steven will use his fellowship award to meet with faculty in the University of Oklahoma’s College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the Oklahoma Climate Survey (OCS) to develop proposals to be submitted to the NOAA. The Big 12 Fellowship Awards are funded by the Dean of Faculties Office, the College and our four departments.

IODP Meeting

A significant meeting for the future of IODP took place at TAMU on 14 April, when principal representatives from the US Implementing Organization (USIO) Alliance of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program – consisting of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership Inc., Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University, and TAMU – spent a full day in our conference room mapping out a strategy for the future of IODP. Attending the meeting were LDEO Director Dr. G. Michael Purdy and Senior Research Scientist Dr. David S. Goldberg. Consortium for Ocean Leadership was represented by the President of the JOI Division, Dr. Steve Bohlen and the Director of Ocean Drilling, Dr. David Divins. Dr. Jeff Fox, Director of TAMU Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, and I represented IODP and TAMU.

Kjerfve Elected to IODP-MI Board of Governors

I have been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc. (IODP-MI), a nonprofit, U.S. Corporation with an international membership of academic institutions committed to scientific ocean drilling research. This 14-member board governs and manages the affairs, funds, and property of the corporation. The next board and members meeting is scheduled for Beijing, China, 23-28 June.

College Faculty Elected to New Posts in the Faculty Senate

Geography Professor Dr. Robert Bednarz was named Speaker-elect of the Faculty Senate on 12 May. He will serve in that position for one year, assuming duties as Speaker next May. Geography Associate Professor Andrew Klein and Geology & Geophysics Professor Chris Mathewson were elected to represent Geosciences faculty in the Senate, with Andrew also being elected to serve on the Senate Executive Committee.

Guinasso Elected Chair of Council of Principal Investigators

We would like to congratulate Dr. Norman Guinasso on being elected Chair of the TAMU Council of Principal Investigators for 2008-2009. Norm’s extensive experience as a principal investigator and his 36 years with Texas A&M will serve him well in leading this council that represents the interests of all principal investigators in our research community.

Rabinowitz Named Industry Pioneer by Offshore Energy Center

Congratulations also go to Dr. Phil Rabinowitz on being named a 2008 Industry Pioneer by the Offshore Energy Center in Houston, Texas. Each year the Center recognizes individuals whose vision, drive, innovation and leadership have significantly impacted the oil and gas industry. As an Industry Pioneer, Phil will be included in the Center’s Hall of Fame housed at the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum at Pier 19 in Galveston.

Geosciences 2008 Comparative Objective Performance Metrics

As in years past, the Dean’s Office is regularly asked to provide performance data for the departments and centers in the College. For the fifth year, we have developed a summary of College metrics to enable the academic departments to assess objectively their status and progress in several teaching and research categories. The FY08 summary of the performance metrics is attached to this information letter, showing the performance of the four departments as well as the Environmental Programs in Geosciences. For the first time, we have also calculated and shown performance metrics for the three College centers. These objective measures will serve as the basis for the allocation of graduate teaching assistants and departmental operational budgets for FY09, and are therefore quite important. You should be encouraged to compare these statistics to the same statistics for FY07, which were published in Information Letter #9 on 23 July 2007. The most remarkable statistic may be the 118% increase in research expenditures by GEOG in the past year, a phenomenal increase!

Congratulations!

Attached: College of Geosciences Department Comparison Spring 2008