Happy Holidays

Happiest of Holidays from the GSA Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division!
We hope 2017 is a happy and healthy year for you and yours!

Environmental Geochemistry position-Queen's University

The Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering and the School of Environmental Studies at Queen’s University jointly invite applications for a Queen’s National Scholar (QNS) position at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor with specialization in Environmental Geochemistry. This is a tenured or tenure-track position held jointly in the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering and the School of Environmental Studies with a preferred starting date of July 1, 2017.

Please follow the link for further information:
http://www.queensu.ca/geol/about-us/employment

GSA GBGM student presentation award winners

We are delighted to announce the winners of the second annual GSA GBGM student presentation awards. We were all truly blown away by both the quality and sheer diversity of research conducted by our student members. It was an extraordinary experience for many of us, scurrying between back-to-back talks on topics as disparate as biogeochemical cycling, mass extinctions, using goats to manage invasive plants, soft tissue preservation in the fossil record, the early evolution of complex life.From amongst all of these, we've identified some outstanding research that we thought we should recognize with student presentation awards. This was not an easy decision and a very competitive field of great talks and posters. Because there were so many excellent presentations (and only 4 awards to give out), we've also highlighted some honorable mentions. Without further ado: Oral presentations Winners: Amanda Godbold: 'The refugia concept following the End-Permian mass extinction'Ross Anderson: 'Sediment composition of Burgess Shale type Lagerstätten: Implications for soft-tissue preservation' Honorable mentions: Amanda Garcia: 'Reconstructed ancestral enzymes suggest that Earth's photic-zone temperature markedly decreased over geologic time'Joshua Zimmt: 'Revisiting growth increment counting as a method for biologically aging Crassostrea virginica from the U.S. Mid-Atlantic' Poster presentations Winners: Natalia Bykova: 'Ediacaran macroalgae and the early evolution of animals'Dylan Wilmeth: 'Methanotrophy in 2.7 Ga South African Lakes' Honorable mentions: Amanda Facciol: 'A novel experimental instrument for the study of tissue decay and exceptional preservation'Elizabeth Clark: 'Soft tissue preservation in Paleozoic Ophiuroids: novel insights through 3D imaging' As per last year, we'll be handing out prizes at the GBGM awards luncheon next year, shortly after we announce our faculty awards. We'd like to thank all of the students who contacted us and put their names forward for consideration...it was a real privilege to see and hear about the work you've all been doing, and we encourage you to enter again next year. Recognizing the excellent work of our members is the most important aspect of the GBGM Division. It is wonderful to see the diversity of the student population of GSA GBGM and there is a bright future ahead for this group.

GBGM Executive Committee Election Results

Election results are in and congratulations are in order for our new board members for 2016-2018!

Chair: Simon Darroch

Simon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University, having completed his PhD at Yale in 2015, and a brief stint as a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Simon is a geobiologist with a background in field geology, biology, and ecology, and has also been involved in industry with Royal Dutch Shell. His research has two principal directions – Ediacaran paleobiology and the Cambrian explosion of animals (including taphonomy, biogeography, and ecology), and the paleoecology of mass extinction events, with an emphasis on how patterns from the fossil record can be used to build predictive models for the future.

Vice Chair: Rowan Martindale

Rowan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the JacksonSchool of Geosciences. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences (general degree in biology) at Queen’s University (Canada) in 2007.  In 2012 Rowan completed her Ph.D. with the Bottjer Lab at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, USA). Rowan joined the Jackson School in 2014 after a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University with the Knoll research group studying the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event and Paleoproterozoic carbonates. Her research involves both field and lab work, from large scale mapping to thin section analysis of microfossils. Recent research is primarily focused on reef paleoecology, exceptional fossilization of marine communities, and the geobiology of carbon cycle perturbation events (e.g. ocean acidification in deep time). In the last two years (while Secretary of the GBGM division) she set up the division website (http://gsageobiology.blogspot.com/) and facilitated the expansion of the division into social media (Facebook and Twitter).

Treasurer: Victoria Petryshyn

Vicky received her Ph.D. 2012, University of Southern California. After that, she spent two years as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, working on applications of the carbonate “clumped isotope” paleothermometer in microbialite-forming environments.  Following that, she spent a year as a post-doc at the European Institute of Marine Studies in Brest, France learning how to interpret rare earth elements in stromatolites.  This fall, Vicky accepted a faculty position in the Environmental Studies program back atUSC. Her main focus has been the development of stromatolites and other terrestrial carbonates as high-resolution paleoclimate archives, both in the modern and in deep time, though she is also greatly interested at reconstructing physiochemical conditions during key earth-life transitions. For the past seven years, she has been an instructor on the Agouron International Geobiology Course, an intensive 5-week training course for graduate students that explores the co-evolution of Earth and the biosphere.  Vicky has served as GBGM’s treasurer for the last two years, during which, we can all agree, the food has been spectacular

Secretary: Lydia Tackett

Lydia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at North DakotaState University. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Anthropology at Temple University (Philadelphia, USA) in 2007. In 2014 Lydia completed her Ph.D. with the David Bottjer at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, USA). Lydia joined the Geosciences faculty at NDSU later in 2014. Her research spans much of the Mesozoic, but in particular the suite of environmental and biological events of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. Lydia’s ongoing research focuses on identifying marine paleoecological changes of the Late Triassic, and has active field sites in Nevada, Italy, and New Zealand. Her research also incorporates strontium isotope geochemistry to correlate global biostratigraphic series and major ecological transitions. More recently, her research group is investigating the potential life-modes of enigmatic worms from the latest Ediacaran and the effect of these activities on critical layer geochemistry.

Student Representative: Selva Marroquín

Selva is a first year PhD Student in the Gill Lab at Virginia Tech. She received her Masters degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2016 and previously received her BS in Geological Sciences from Tufts University in 2014. Her MSc research focused on coleoids (vampire squid) from an Early Jurassic Lagerstätte from Alberta that contains the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). Her PhD research focuses on sedimentary geochemistry and utilizes various isotope proxies to expand the record of the T-OAE into the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina, Peru, and New Zealand). She also plans to use geochemistry to investigate the environmental conditions facilitating exceptional fossil preservation associated with this event.

Student Representative: Anna Weiss

Anna is a third year PhD candidate in the Martindale lab at UT Austin. Anna received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Geology from Stony Brook University in 2013. Her research interests are broad and include the consequences of climate change for biotic communities, the evolution of keystone species, and the use of databases, statistical analyses, and models in paleoecology. At UT, she focuses on the impacts of temperature, nutrients, and other environmental stressors on corals during a carbon-cycle perturbation event approximately 56 million years ago (the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum).

Assistant Professor in Hydrologic and Water Science- UT Austin

The Department of Geological Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin seeks to hire a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Hydrologic and Water Science. We seek candidates at the forefront of their science and who have interdisciplinary research and teaching interests. This search covers a wide range of disciplines related to water. Candidates interested in chemical, physical, and ecological processes and water resource sustainability, are encouraged to apply. As part of the Jackson School of Geosciences, the Department of Geological Sciences has over 50 faculty and a community of research staff with a broad range of specialization and access to outstanding research facilities and support.

Applicants should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statements of research and teaching interests, and contact information for at least three references. Submit electronic copies of these materials online at https://apply.interfolio.com/39541. For questions related to the search, please contact dgs@jsg.utexas.edu. Review of applications will begin January 6, 2017 and continue until the position is filled. The University of Texas at Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity at all levels.

Two Positions at St. Andrews (Lecturer and Professor)

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at St. Andrews University (Scotland) invites applications for a Professorial-level appointment and a Lectureship-level (similar to Assistant Professor) appointment. They welcome individuals whose research spans one or more of tectonics, structural and metamorphic geology, volcanology, Earth system modelling, Earth resources, palaeontology, sedimentary geology, and stratigraphy. The successful candidate will complement the vibrant research groups in Global Change, Solid Earth and Planetary Science, Geobiology, Economic Geology and Energy, and Earth Surface Processes, and will be expected to develop externally funded, innovative and impactful research programmes.

Lecturer: St. Andrews seeks outstanding individuals who utilise field-based research to address fundamental questions about Earth System behaviour and evolution.

Professor: St. Andrews seeks outstanding individuals who address fundamental questions about Earth System behaviour and evolution, and can contribute to excellence in field-based teaching.

More information about the Department can be found at http://earthsci.st-andrews.ac.uk/ and informal enquiries should be directed to: Dr Tony Prave (ap13@st-andrews.ac.uk).   

The closing date for applications is 20 December. 

From St. Andrews:
Our analytical facilities are outstanding and underpin research at the forefront of isotope geochemistry and biogeochemistry. Our work is complemented by collaborations with researchers in the Schools of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and the Environmental Change research group in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, as well as with the Scottish Oceans Institute, the European Marine Biology Research Centre, the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, and the Centre for Advanced Materials.  

Applications are particularly welcome from women who are under-represented in Science posts at the University.  You can find out more about Equality and Diversity at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk.hr.edi/. The University of St Andrews is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all, which is further demonstrated through its working on the Gender and Race Equality Charters and being awarded the Athena SWAN award for women in science, HR Excellence in Research Award and the LGBT Charter;  http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/.

Demystifying the IODP Proposal Process for Early Career Scientists: Northern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

January 23-25, 2017 in Austin, Texas, USA

Workshop Committee: Chris Lowery (Univ. Texas Austin), Andy Fraass (Natl. Mus. of Nat. Hist., SI), Molly Patterson (SUNY Binghamton), Justin Dodd (North. Illinois Univ.), Jason Coenen (North. Illinois Univ.)
Steering Committee: Steve D’Hondt (Univ. of Rhode Island), Sean Gulick (Univ. Texas Austin), Susan Humphris (WHOI), Christina Ravelo (Univ. of California, Santa Cruz)

Deadline to Apply: Extended to November 23, 2016, to encourage more participation from the Deep Biosphere, Earth Connections, and Earth in Motion themes of the IODP Science Plan.

Participation support is available from the Consortium for Ocean Leadership for a limited number of graduate students and early career researchers (i.e., completed their PhD within the past 10 years) from U.S. institutions and organizations. Past research experience in Gulf of Mexico and/or Atlantic Ocean basins is not required. Participants will share rooms.

U.S. scientists who are interested in participating in the workshop should send: (1) a 2-page CV or biographical sketch (NSF-style); and (2) a 1-page statement of interest to Andy Fraass (FraassA@si.edu) no later than November 23, 2016. In the statement of interest, please identify your research specialty and the IODP theme that you most identify with (see IODP Science Plan). The deadline has been extended to November 23rd to encourage more participation from the Deep Biosphere, Earth Connections, and Earth in Motion themes.

MOTIVATION: Scientific ocean drilling is central to the study of Earth’s climate history, tectonic evolution, and deep biosphere. A large, dynamic, and diverse ocean drilling community is vital to the health of the program; engaging early career scientists in cruise planning and leadership is critical to the future of IODP. For early career scientists who are new to the community, developing an IODP proposal from conception to drilling is a daunting task that can appear insurmountable. This workshop for early career researchers aims to correct that. Participants will hear a series of speakers explain the structure of IODP and how early career scientists can become more deeply involved. Then, they will work on the initial stages of developing real drilling proposals (to be vastly expanded post-workshop) in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

This workshop will:
1) Provide early career scientists with direct experience in the IODP proposal process,
2) Build an interdisciplinary community of early career researchers that will be able to develop active research programs in coordination with the evolving landscape of ocean drilling research,
3) And develop drilling proposal ideas to investigate the North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, where the JOIDES Resolution is expected to be drilling in FY20-21. Prior research experience in these basins is not required for participation.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this workshop is the development of the next generation of IODP scientists, both by educating participants about upper-level IODP functions and building collaborative relationships within our peer-group. We aim to attract a diverse array of specialties (geophysics, paleoceanography, deep biosphere, tectonics, etc.) to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations. To achieve these goals, groups of participants will work together on developing the initial ideas for real IODP proposals. We expect to leave the workshop with “roadmaps” for drilling proposals, which can then be extensively developed in the following months into Preliminary Proposals for submission to IODP. Experienced ocean drilling researchers will give talks on the IODP proposal process, mentor groups as they work on their proposal ideas, and provide a mock review at the end of the workshop.

Questions?
Contact Chris Lowery (clowery@utexas.edu) or Andy Fraass (FraassA@si.edu)