Peace Through Education

GEOS Alumni News

All alumni of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas are encouraged to send us your news. We will post alumni information as it is sent, including pictures, so send us the news about your new job, new location, new degree, your wedding announcement, a birth announcement, retirement announcement, etc! Thesis Library Inventory Spreadsheet (updated 08/14/2019) And consider joining our UA Geosciences Facebook Page, and our UA Geosciences Alumni Facebook Page!
4/3/2019
11/19/2018	I am in the third year of earning my Ph.D. in vertebrate paleontology. I specifically want to specialize in early vertebrates( such as sharks) from the Paleozoic. I originally got into this area by prospecting for sites in Arkansas, as going out to a roadcut locality as part of Suarez's paleontology class. My research right now is focused on marine fishes from the early Permian Period in Texas and Kansas. I'm working at Wright State University in Dayton Ohio, and living in the Dayton Area -Ryan Shell
9/10/2018
10/19/2017	Crystal Masterson (MA, Geography 2005) is a Cartographic Technician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) West Remote Sensing Lab in Portland, Oregon since 2016.
9/29/2017
9/27/2017	William Pruss (BA Geography 2015) currently lives in Little Rock. He has had a few jobs since graduation including working for the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health and helped fight and control the avian influenza outbreak in the Upper Midwest. He then worked for United Spectrographics as an infrared thermographer doing commercial and industrial electrical inspections all over the United States and Canada using infrared cameras. For the last year, he has been the operations manager for the largest tractor and implement dealer in Arkansas. A family business, he brought it into the 21st century. He has just accepted a position with the Arkansas Dept. of Health as an Environmental Health Specialist. He will be working in the on-site waste-water division and will one day move on to water and air. They will also help him become a Registered Sanitarian.
7/7/2017	Bobby Ellis Gilliam (BS GEOL '55) Changed majors from Engineering to Geology while playing football at the University of Arkansas, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955. We are now in Shreveport, Louisiana. We used to live near Eddie Bradford. I am 81 years old. Our three sons live here; two are lawyers and the third is very active having lived here after New Orleans and other places.
4/19/2017	Kaelin Groom (MA GEOG 2014) has been awarded a $98,000 research grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The grant will support training local volunteers in rock art stability assessment techniques in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. Groom's research will provide Wadi Rum residents the opportunity to actively participate in the documentation and conservation of the valley's numerous rock art resources and to develop valuable skills applicable to other cultural resources across Jordan and the Middle East region. Spanning the 2017-18 academic year, the grant will include multiple field seasons in Wadi Rum to establish research agendas, management plans and conditional baseline analysis to be used in longer-term conservation policies at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site. Groom hopes her project will empower, inspire and educate rural communities in southern Jordan about the protection and research of their tangible stone heritage and cultural resources. Groom's research is part of the Sustainable Cultural Heritage Through Engagement of Local Communities Project, which is a long-term program supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the American Center of Oriental Research. She is advised by Tom Paradise, a University Professor of geosciences and director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies.
3/30/2017	Colton Flynn (MA GEOG 2013), a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to conduct research in Ethiopia during the 2017-2018 academic year. The Fulbright program places U.S. students in countries around the world where they act as an ambassador for the United States, work with research advisers, and learn about the people and culture. For more, click here!
6/11/2015
6/15/2016
4/22/2016	Michael Rogers (BA 1975), Hydrogeologist with NC Department of Environmental Quality – Division of Water Resources, was promoted the position of Program Manager of the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program for the state of North Carolina in Raleigh. His career, after a serving with the USAF after graduation, has spanned working for the Alabama State Geological Survey/State Oil and Gas Board, various environmental consulting firms, and prior to working for the NCDEQ, worked for the Orange County Utilities Commission in Orlando, Florida as an Environmental Specialist. He is a registered Professional Licensed Geologist in FL and NC. http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources
10/9/2015	Collin Reinhardt is the Bishop Field Office Geologist, the program lead for the solid, salable, and leasable minerals program; he also manages the Abandoned Mine Land and Hazardous Materials Programs.
	Harold C. "Mac" MacDonald, age 84, died May 13, 2015. He was a professor of geology at the University of Arkansas since 1971.
4/16/2015
	Jane Spellman (MS Geology 1987) visited Antarctica in January, 2014!
	Bill Cains, (MS Geology 1980) has been appointed to the Arkansas Geological Commission.
5/5/2013	Erica Doerr (MS Geology 2004) and Luke Martin (BS Geology 2002), who met during the geology field camp back in 2001, celebrated the birth of their first child on May 5, 2013. Finley Keld Martin (Finn) is a healthy and happy little boy!
	Drew Kreman (MS Geology 2011) wrote a review in AAPG Explorer reporting on a screening of the movie "Switch" in Oklahoma City. (http://www.aapg.org/explorer/2013/05may/protracks0513.cfm)
2/15/2013	Sean Chenoweth (MA Geography 1997) and his wife Laura announce the birth of their son, Carsten!
	ReBecca Hunt-Foster (BS Geology 2003) began working for the BLM as the Canyon Country District Paleontologist in January of 2013. This is the first Regional Paleontologist position for the BLM. Her job is located in Moab, Utah, and she continues to reside with her family in Fruita, Colorado.
	Eric Holder (MA Geography 2012), is in Little Rock at the Arkansas Geographic Information Office.
	David Cate (BS, MS Geology ’60, ’62), Exploration Manager for Pruet Oil Company LLC, Jackson, MS, was selected as an Honorary Member of the Mississippi Geological Society in April, 2012
	Stephanie Shepherd (MS Geology 2001, PhD ENDY 2010) is Assistant Professor, Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences at Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania
	Jessica Pontiff (MS Geology 2007) and Eric Nelson (MA Geography 2007) recently married at Carnall Hall. Eric and Jessica live and work in Midland, TX. Jessica is a geologist in the Wolfberry Play of the Midland Basin for Berry Petroleum Company (www.bry.com). Eric works for Concho Resources (www.concho.com) as a GIS Analyst. Some of his maps can be found on the company's investor presentation and other areas of their website.
	Bob Tehan (MS Geology 1976, BS Geology 1970) currently works for Linn Energy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as a Geological Advisor, since January, 2009.
	Chuck Berlau (MS Geology 1981) died February 22, 2011.
	Cristy Houston (BS Geology 2006) works for Devon Energy in Oklahoma City, since August 2010.
	Tom Maringer (MA Geography 1996) has written, "A Superior State of Affairs."
	Jack King (MS Geology 2001) reports that he is the new project manager for Calvista Gold, a Canadian company in Colombia. He is in the Andes Mountains drilling for gold! He has pictures on his facebook site: Jack Gold Heart.
	William Brooks (Brooks) Clower Jr. (MS Geology 1989) died Aug. 5, 2010.
	R. Bernard Black (MS Geology 1972) died February 25, 2010.
	Dan C. Edwards (BS Geology 1950, MS Geology 1951) died January 20, 2010.
	Stephanie (Owcarz) Bradley (BS Geology 2007) died December 15, 2009.
	Christopher I. Parsons (MA Geography 1995) died December 10, 2009 in Springdale, AR.
	Crystal Masterson (MA Geography 2005) has taken a job with Wiser Company, LLC in Murfreesboro, TX as a Senior Geospatial Analyst.
	Jan Dixon wife of Dr. John Dixon, professor of Geography, died October 21, 2009.
	Kent Duran (MS Geology 1988) is a Registered Professional Geologist in Lago Vista, Texas and is working as an environmental consultant with Austin EnviroSolutions.
	Matt Edmonds (BS Geology 2000, MS Geology2005) was killed on June 9, 2009.
	Sarah Frances White (BS Geology 2006) received her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2008 from the University of Arkansas. She now lives in Bentonville with her husband and step-daughter, and is a Physical Science teacher at Central Junior High in Springdale.
	ReBecca Hunt-Foster (BS Geology 2003) Rebecca got her M.S. in Geology from Texas Tech University in 2005, worked as the geologist-in-the-park for Glacier National Park during the summer of 2005 then moved to Augustana College in Rock Island, IL where she worked in the Department of Geosciences as a Paleontology Research Assistant from October of 2005 to June of 2008. Then she moved to western Colorado, married Dr. John Foster (a fellow paleontologist and geologist) on August 9, 2008, and has been working at the Museum of Western Colorado in Fruita, Colorado, as the Paleontology Collections Manager since the beginning of 2009. They live in Grand Junction.
	Lindell C. Bridges (MS Geology 1982) is now Senior Vice President of Exploration for Equitable Resources in Pittsburgh, PA.
	John Downs (MS Geology 1982) is in Prison for life in Qatar.
	Matt Houston (BS Geology 2005, MS Geology 2007) is in Oklahoma City working for Devon Energy. His wife, Cristy (Mofield) Houston (BS Geology 2006) received her MS at the University of Tulsa in 2008 and currently works for Range Resources.
	Robert B. Hall (BS Geology 1938) died December 27, 2008 in Denver, CO.
	Crystal Phillips Masterson (MA Geography 2005) is currently working for the Arkansas Archeological Survey as a GIS Specialist.
	Larry Smith (BS Geology 1978) has recently been promoted to serve as the Chief of the Emerging Concept Branch here in the US Army Combined Arms Support Command's Directorate of Training at Fort Lee, Virginia.
	Mike Howard (BS Geology 1971, MS Geology 1974) update: In 1987 he put together the first comprehensive mineral-oriented guide for Arkansas, AGC Bulletin 23. In 2007 he completed the first revision of that work. In 2004 he spent the year collecting samples for the USGS on the National Geochemical Survey, with much being posted on the USGS and AGS websites. He is currently working on a long-term project on Arkansas Mineral Commodities, which he will finish by 2011. He still rides his motorcycle, which he remembers parking in the Physics Building during his years here, next to Kern Jackson's office and the Petrology Lab, to keep it out of sight of the Campus Police!
	Sandra Chandler (MS Geology 2001) was hired in February as the Engineering Section's Source Water Protection Program Geologist for the Arkansas Department of Health. She will be assisting in implementing the Section's Wellhead Protection and Source Water Assessment Programs.
	Kern C. Jackson (Professor) died on November 1, 2008.
	Eloise Doherty (Geology 1995) died on February 15, 2008.
	Jeff Liner (BS Geology 1977, MS Geology 1980) died in Tulsa on July 14, 2008.
	David Reed (MA Geography 2007) works for City of Fayetteville GIS department.
	Jason Patton (PhD ENDY, 2008) is Assistant Professor of Geology at Arkansas Tech University.
	Ben Odhiambo Kisila (PhD ENDY, 2002) is Assistant Professor of Environmental and Earth Sciences at U. of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA.
	Angela Polly Sutton (MS Geology, 2001) works for the Tennessee Valley Authority in Florence, AL
	Camille Hutchinson (MS Geology, 2004) works for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration in Birmingham, AL
	Adam Barnes (MA Geography 2006) works at CAST
	Jack King (MS Geology 2002) is a Registered Professional Geologist in Winslow, AR
	Maria King (MS Geology 2002) is a Registered Professional Geologist in Winslow, AR
	Elizabeth Van Boskirk (MS Geology, 2005) is employed by UNAVCO
	B.J. Brown (MS Geology, 1999) works as an environmental geologist in Ft. Smith, AR
	Reginald Beardsley (BA English 1977, MS Geology 1983) has moved from Houston to Heber Springs, AR. He is a geophysical consultant with an emphasis on rock physics and pore pressure prediction from seismic.
	Chris Liner (BS Geology 1979) has returned to the US from Saudi Arabia. He is teaching at the University of Houston.
	Todd Jorgensen (BA Geography 2004) currently works at the City of Fayetteville in the GIS Department. This year a zoning map by Todd was chosen to be included in the ESRI Map Book.
	HTD (Harry) Rost (MA Geography 1956) has lived and taught all over the world. He now works with the New Era Teacher training Centre, the New Era High School, around 25 schools throughout India with a Peace Education Program for students aged 4 to 10, and the Universal Human Values Program developed at the BaHai Academy in Panchgani.