Dr. Rachel Teasdale has joined the Petrology and Geochemistry program team as a rotator in the Division of Earth Sciences. Dr. Teasdale comes from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at California State University, Chico where her research includes lava flow emplacement processes, and petrologic investigations of southern Cascades volcanoes in the Lassen region and geoscience education research. 

Ms. Samantha Page has joined EAR as a Program Specialist. She will be primarily providing logistical support for the Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics, Tectonics, and Critical Zone programs. Ms. Page previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security/ Secret Service as an Administrative Operations Specialist and the Department of Justice and NRT Property Management as an Administrative Assistant.    

Dr. Paul Cutler has joined the Division of Earth Sciences and will be overseeing our Midscale Infrastructure portfolio. Dr. Paul Cutler comes to EAR from NSF’s Office of Polar Programs where he has been a Program Director in Antarctic Sciences since 2015.  His responsibilities included the Antarctic Glaciology program, the COLDEX Science and Technology Center, the Ice Drilling Program, and the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. Prior to joining OPP, Paul was Program Director for the Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics program in EAR, as well as acting Section Head and acting Division Director. 

To learn more about EAR new staff members please go HERE. 

Retirements

After a 47-year career in the federal government, Patty Brooking has decided to retire. Her journey began in June 1975 when she joined the National Science Foundation (NSF). Patty's tenure spanned the administrations of nine Presidents and twelve NSF Directors, reflecting her enduring commitment to public service. Patty Brooking's remarkable career at the federal government and her significant contributions to the NSF community will undoubtedly leave a lasting legacy. Her dedication to excellence and her tireless efforts have made a positive impact on the organization and its mission. As she embarks on her well-deserved retirement, she leaves behind a trail of accomplishments that will inspire future generations of public servants. Patty will be missed by her EAR colleagues. We wish her the best in her well-earned retirement.  To learn more about Patty's career please go HERE.

After a 30-year career in the federal government, Russell (Russ) C. Kelz decided to retire. Russ walked into the halls of the National Science Foundation (NSF) at 1800 G. St NW Washington D.C. on 21 September 1992. He started in the Division of Ocean Sciences and joined the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) in 1995 where he worked until his retirement as a Program Director for the Instrumentation and Facilities Program (EAR/IF). Russ made numerous contributions to NSF during his career. Over his career Russ traveled extensively domestically and internationally in service to NSF/EAR to Greenland, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica, Canada and to many parts of the U.S., participating in conferences, workshops, and field excursions. He received his B.S. in Mineral Economics from Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and his M.S. in Geological Oceanography from University of Rhode Island under Major Professor Dr. Michael Arthur. Russ will be much missed by his EAR and NSF colleagues. We wish him the best in his well-earned retirement.  To learn more about Russ's career please go HERE.

EAR Program Director Dr. Jennifer Wade created a video on Navigating NSF and the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) for scientists thinking about applying for NSF funding for the first time. In this video Dr. Wade discusses proposal preparation, the merit review process, opportunities in NSF and GEO, and resources to learn more information.

A project led by NSF CAREER award recipient Laura Alvarez at The University of Texas at El Paso, has resulted in the development of a groundbreaking fully autonomous boat. This innovative watercraft is equipped to perform bathymetric surveys, which involve mapping the depth and terrain of bodies of water like oceans, rivers, and lakes. Unlike traditional surveys that require a crew of individuals, this robotic boat can carry out the task independently, streamlining the process and potentially assisting with reconnaissance missions. The boat operates with advanced features such as four thrusters for swift movement, a solar panel and lithium battery for extended operation, and a sophisticated multibeam echosounder to calculate water depth and analyze seafloor materials. The success of this project holds promising implications for water-related studies and scientific research, offering an effective and accessible solution for conducting in-depth surveys of aquatic environments.  

This project received funding under the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award 2239550 and NA22SEC4810016 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Science Center Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (MSI). The statements, findings, conclusions and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF and NOAA. 

CUAHSI Hosts 2023 Colloquium on Discovering New Horizons in Water Science  

Program Directors from Hydrologic Sciences (Hendratta Ali, Laura Lautz and Chris Lowry) recently attended the 2023 CUAHSI Biennial Colloquium, which focused on “Discovering New Horizons in Water Science.” The colloquium was organized by CUAHSI, which is an NSF-supported organization that provides data and software services, education and outreach programs, workshops and grants to support the water science community. Over 100 students, academic faculty, and Federal agency scientists participated in the colloquium, which included keynote lectures, topical sessions and workshops. NSF Program Directors hosted a workshop on “Navigating the NSF Hydrologic Sciences program.” For the workshop, Program Directors discussed the scope of research supported by the Hydrologic Sciences program and introduced other related programs at NSF. Participants worked together to explore program “fit” for sample funded awards and interacted with NSF Program Directors. The Hydrologic Sciences program is continuing to explore different ways to engage the research community in effective outreach about the program and NSF. 

SZ4D  

On June 12-14, 2023, the AndesNet collaboration and SZ4D Project Team convened a workshop in Termas El Corazon, Chile to develop a consensus recommendation from AndesNet to SZ4D regarding the geographic region of SZ4D instrumentation in Chile. This workshop also sought to develop a plan for priority AndesNet activities (e.g., analysis of instrumental data, geological work, modeling) under the SZ4D Implementation Plan. Nearly 90 participants representing Chilean institutions, with participation from Argentinian scientists and U.S. scientists from the SZ4D Project Team attended in the workshop, which consisted of a series of plenary and breakout sessions. The workshop culminated in a series of recommendations for geographical placement of the MultiArray (consisting of the VolcArray, SurfArray, and MegaArray), as well as a suite of activities (e.g., sampling, modeling) that are not dependent on the location of the arrays. The output from the workshop will be used to inform future planning for the SZ4D effort. In addition to the workshop, representatives from AndesNet, SZ4D, NSF, and the U.S. Embassy in Chile met with the Chilean Minister of Science to discuss the project and future collaborations amongst scientists, and NSF and the Ministry. 

Goldschmidt 2023 Conference 

GEO/EAR Program Directors (Douglas Kowalewski and Jennifer Wade) recently attended the annual Goldschmidt conference in Lyon, France. Drs. Kowalewski and Wade appreciated having the facetime with US PIs and their international collaborators, and were impressed by the large cohort of students at oral and posters sessions who presented on NSF funded research from deep Earth geochemistry to surface processes and climate change. US researchers also presented on numerous use-inspired research themes at Goldschmidt including Energy & Resources as well as Environmental Geochemistry & Human Health. 

2023 Interior of the Earth Conference  
Program Director, Wendy Panero, from Geophysics and Cooperative Studies of the Earth’s Deep Interior (CSEDI), recently attended the 2023 Interior of the Earth Conference hosted by the Gordon Research Conferences.  Dr. Panero participated in a panel on non-academic careers and making a transition from academic to non-academic roles. NSF supported the travel and attendance for many of the early career researchers attending the conference.