51¸ŁŔűÉç Geology rocks, but not nearly as much as the students do! Chels Howard, a geology major, presented research at the virtual 2020 National Geological Society of America Conference.

Howard, in collaboration with faculty members Chad Pritchard and Lindsay MacKenzie, showcased their topic on clastic dike formation in slack water deposits triggered by surging Pleistocene megafloods. The research involved synthesizing the formation of clastic dikes in a lab setting, analyzing field samples and creating three dimensional outcrops models with a drone.

As students are learning to adapt to an ever changing world, they are finding ways to be creative in their learning. Students also have to think strategically to present their research virtually.

“It was definitely different,” says Howard in regard to presenting at a virtual conference. “I had pre-recorded my talk, and then they played it live on the stream. I enjoyed the format overall! It was a little hard because I couldn’t engage with the attendees as well as I have at other presentations, but I think they enjoyed it!”

Howard also has advice to share with other students who might be interested in presenting right now.

“I think this experience, while different, was well worth it! The conference had a lot of helpful resources and it’s always fun to represent 51¸ŁŔűÉç Geology,” she says. “My best advice is if students are interested in working on undergraduate research, they should find a faculty that is equally as excited and ask if they have any current work or can brainstorm potential research topics. It takes some work, but it’s given me tons of opportunities that have set me up for success in the field.”

If you are interested in starting your applied undergraduate research project and kick starting your geoscience career, click on the link below for more information.

The record October snow event last Friday left many of us scrambling to get through the day. Snow tires on yet? Nope. Winter boots, coat, gloves and hat? Still buried in the hall closet, thank you. While many of us were slow to warm up to the early-season storm, Nigel Davies from the 51¸ŁŔűÉç Geology Department saw a great opportunity for a mini lecture as he watched the snow and ice pile up outside the science building.

Snow on campus!!!

— 51¸ŁŔűÉç_Geology (@EwuGeology)

The creative instructional technician handles most of the social media for the department. And he tells Inside51¸ŁŔűÉç, it just so happens his “long love of de-snowing any railing I see” makes him naturally think of something like thrust faults or accretionary prisms.

Davies’ online lesson wasn’t done when the storm passed. Saturday’s freeze created the perfect storm for yet another lesson.

More snow – more geology – more fun!!!

— 51¸ŁŔűÉç_Geology (@EwuGeology)

Davies’ philosophy is simple—keep the videos brief, only present one scientific concept per post, and keep it local and timely while linking in something related to Cheney or Spokane if possible. He also tries to include 51¸ŁŔűÉç student or alumni work or research when he can. And with most classes online now, he strives to make the mini lessons useful.

The biggest key? “One take, and adlib,” says Davies. And most of all, “have fun with it.”

His virtual efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Among the many retweets and comments, he received this shout-out on twitter from 51¸ŁŔűÉç interim President David May.