Welcome to GeoUnion, the graduate student body of the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences. GeoUnion strives to supplement the overall graduate student experience at Rice and DEEPS. GeoUnion represents DEEPS in the overall Rice grad student community, acts as a liaison between students and faculty and organizes a number of intra- and inter-departmental events throughout the academic year.
Date | Event |
---|---|
August 19-23 | O-Week |
September 6-8 | Overnight Camping at San Marcos |
September 13 | Welcome Barbecue |
Cancelled because of Imelda | Pre-GSA talk |
October 12-15 | Field Trip to Big Bend |
October 25 | Halloween Kickball Tournament |
November 26 | Multicultural Thanksgiving! |
Dec 6 | Pre-AGU practice session |
TBA | Enlightenment |
Here’s a list of the resources that you would need to use frequently as graduate students at Rice. The websites of the Rice Graduate Student Association (GSA), Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) are platforms which graduate students can use to keep track of upcoming events, funding opportunities, changes in rules and regulations, etc.
Living in a vast city like Houston and exploring a new place can also be challenging, and so we have compiled a list of recommendations for housing and fun things to do in the Space City!
Rice University scientists propose that life in the solar system could have been very different
The Solar System of Forking Paths: Bifurcations in Planetary Evolution and the Search for Life-Bearing Planets in Our Galaxy
Lenardic A., Crowley J.W., Jellinek A.M., and Weller M.. Astrobiology. June 2016, 16(7): 551-559. doi:10.1089/ast.2015.1378.
—From Rice News…
Rice University scientists propose that life in the solar system could have been very different
If conditions had been just a little different an eon ago, there might be plentiful life on Venus and none on Earth.
The idea isn’t so far-fetched, according to a hypothesis by Rice University scientists and their colleagues who published their thoughts on life-sustaining planets, the planets’ histories and the possibility of finding more in Astrobiology this month.
The researchers maintain that minor evolutionary changes could have altered the fates of both Earth and Venus in ways that scientists may soon be able to model through observation of other solar systems, particularly ones in the process of forming, according to Rice Earth scientist Adrian Lenardic.
The paper, he said, includes “a little bit about the philosophy of science as well as the science itself, and about how we might search in the future. It’s a bit of a different spin because we haven’t actually done the work, in terms of searching for signs of life outside our solar system, yet. It’s about how we go about doing the work.”
Lenardic and his colleagues suggested that habitable planets may lie outside the “Goldilocks zone” in extra-solar systems, and that planets farther from or closer to their suns than Earth may harbor the conditions necessary for life.
AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition, Calgary (2016)
Students, staff, professors, and alumni from Rice University, Department of Earth Science attended the AAPG, Annual Convention & Exhibition, Calgary 2016 from June 20th – June 23rd.
Faculty – André W. Droxler
Adjunct – Vitor Abreu, Paul M. (Mitch) Harris, Stephanie Shipp
Alumni – Vitor Abreu, Martha Lou Broussard, Gary Couples, Gulce Dinc, Hunter Lockhart, Bob Milam, Jack Neal, Stephanie Shipp, Joan Spaw, Richard Spaw, Nana Xu, and Jim Tucker
Students – Heath H. Hopson and Pankaj Khanna
The list of talks and poster presentations given by Rice are mentioned below:
Talks –
- Transgressive Lag of Flat Rip-up Clasts – Substratum for Initial Growth of Upper Cambrian Large Microbial Bioherms. André W. Droxler, Heath, H. Hopson, Pankaj Khanna, Jacob, M. Proctor, Daniel J. Lehrmann, Paul (Mitch) Harris. Session – Geobiology of Carbonate Systems (SEPM)
- Investigating Upper Cambrian Microbial Reefs (Mason, Texas) – Unconventional Approach in Mapping and Quantifying their different scales. Pankaj Khanna, André W. Droxler, Heath, H. Hopson, Daniel J. Lehrmann, Paul (Mitch) Harris. Session – Unconventional Carbonate Reservoirs II (SEPM)
Poster Presentations –
- Distinct Growth Phases of an Upper Cambrian Microbial Reef Complex; Depositional Environment Indicators (James River, Mason County, Texas). Heath H. Hopson, Pankaj Khanna, Meron, Fessahaie , André W. Droxler, Paul (Mitch) Harris , Daniel J. Lehrmann. Session – Additional AAPG Student Research Poster Session II
- Uppermost Pleistocene Coralgal Reefs and Upper Cambrian Microbial Reefs: Morphologies and Sea Level-Induced Evolution (?). Pankaj Khanna, André W. Droxler, Daniel J. Lehrmann, Jeffrey Nittrouer, Paul (Mitch) Harris. Session – Additional AAPG Student Research Poster Session II
Highlights of the AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition at Calgary –
1. Adjunct Prof. Vitor Abreu (Rice University) – Taking charge as President of SEPM 2016-17
From Left to Right – Pankaj Khanna (PhD Candidate), Adjunct Prof. Vitor Abreu, Heath H. Hopson (Masters Candidate)
2. The Rice group also met few alumni during the meeting
From Left to Right – Hunter Lockhart (Former Rice Student – current Associate Geologist at BHP Billiton), Heath H. Hopson (Masters Candidate), Prof. André W. Droxler, Gulce G. Dinc (Former Rice Student – current – Geophysicist at ION Geophysical), and Pankaj Khanna (PhD Candidate)
3. The Carbonate Research Group – Rice University
From Left to Right – Pankaj Khanna (PhD Candidate), Prof. André W. Droxler, Heath H. Hopson (Masters Candidate)
4. Dinner at an AAPG event
Prof. Bill Fischer (UT) and Martha Lou
5. SEPM meetings – Monday evening – 21st June
From Left to Right – Prof. Vitor Abreu (SEPM President) , Jack Neal (ExxonMobil), and Prof. A. W. Droxler
6. SEPM Poster session – 22nd June
Adjunct Prof. Paul M. (Mitch) Harris and Prof. A. W. Droxler
Additionally the Carbonate research group went to Canadian Rockies to visit some Cambrian Microbial outcrops as well as few other outcrops.
- On the way to Helen lake microbial outcrops – Rick Sarg (CSM) and wife Ana
From Left to Right – Prof. Rick Sarg, Ana, Heath H. Hopson (Masters Candidate), and Pankaj Khanna (PhD Candidate)
2. Helen Lake Cambrian Microbial Outcrop
3. Devonian Carbonate outcrops near Canmore, Alberta
4. Sulphur Spring, Jasper National, Alberta
5. Athabasca Glacier, Jasper National National Park
If you would like to know more about the AAPG ACE meeting, Calgary, or about the field trip the Carbonate research group went on after the meeting then kindly let me know pk15@rice.edu.
AAPG Rice Officers – 2016-17
As the new President, it is my pleasure to introduce you to our AAPG Rice student chapter committee. We are planning some new and exciting events this year. Stay tuned for our next announcements!!
President Vice – President Treasurer
Pankaj Khanna Harsh Biren Vora Wey Yi Foo
PhD Candidate PhD Student PhD Student
Secretery Professional Masters Rep. Historian
Joyeeta Bhattacharya Nancy (Yuanquan) Zhou Sam Wang
PhD Student Prof. Masters Prof. Masters
If you have any questions or suggestions you could reach us at AAPG@rice.edu.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Because of COVID-19, the field trip is being postponed to later (date TBD) this year. The seminar will continue via remote meetings through the end of the Spring 2020 semester.
As earth scientists we seek to understand the natural processes that have shaped the world around us through time. The most fundamental requirement to acquiring a deeper understanding of these mechanisms is through observation. EEPS has a strong heritage in field-based research that when combined with analytical excellence, produces skilled scientists with a broad view of Earth as a system. While Rice University is well placed to take advantage of a broad array of research resources, students in Houston do not always have immediate access to nearby geological sites that represent Earth as a system.
A generous gift from Mike Johnson enables EEPS students the opportunity to observe classic and fundamental geologic concepts in the field. Students are in charge of proposing, selecting and managing a field excursion that will benefit everyone in the department. A year-long seminar-based class run by the students prepares them to visit the locality they have selected. Papers are selected, presented and discussed, followed by activities that educate the students on how to run a field-based project. During the field excursion, elected stops will be led and presented by individual students. The knowledge gained before and during the field trip will cumulate into a multi-media field guide that will be made available to the department and public following the trips conclusion.
A significant benefit of a department-wide field excursion is the interaction of students with scientists from various disciplines. Many earth scientists only carry out field work with specialists in their own field. The real discoveries in modern earth science occur when the different disciplines are part of a collective discourse. This trip will have scientists with different backgrounds observe the same outcrops; fostering fruitful discussion that results in the generation of new and unique questions. In addition, this trip may inspire fellowship among EEPS graduate students that will hopefully create life-long collaborations and a cohesive department.
General route starting in Albuquerque, New Mexico
This year, EEPS elected to utilize Mike Johnson’s gift to lead graduate students on a 7 day field expedition to observe some of the most diverse and economically important geologic terrains in the United States.
In early June of 2020, EEPS will travel through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, which have easily accessible exposures of metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks. Starting from Albuquerque, New Mexico they will explore the Rio Grande Rift, the San Juan Volcanic field, and the well exposed Mezozoic stratigraphy on the Colorado Plateau. Observing these diverse geologic terrains will give EEPS graduate students a chance to see how their research interests dovetail with what they observe in nature and provide opportunities to create new ideas.
Pre-Trip planning seminars
Fall semester: The graduate student of the winning field trip proposal organizes a weekly reading group focusing on the regional geology of the four corners region and come up with potential stops.
Spring semester: The weekly reading group continues. Students pick the final outcrops that they would like to visit. Each student is assigned to be an expert on 1-3 stops. Before the field trip, each student will submit their description(s) of their stop for the field guide.