KU Geology Graduate Student Organization

PhD Aspirant Bryan Heyer spent last week in Canada attending the annual University Consortium for Field-Focused Groundwater Research meeting at the University of Guelph. He gave a presentation recapping his last year of research, including field work carried out at the Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute’s Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility after last year’s meeting. Bryan’s research involves using his group’s Point Velocity Probe to characterize groundwater flow in fractured rock. He also spent a few days traveling around Ontario with a University of Waterloo group visiting past and potential future field sites.

Reach out if you would like to be featured next! We want to hear about your new publications, cool findings, field work, conferences, etc.

This Friday, a Geology/Physics/Astronomy Happy Hour! At Lucia Beer Garden starting at 6:30 PM. Come for casual conversation about all things science 🤓

Hello and welcome back to our very special, Spotlight Thursday! Every club MUST have a good treasurer, luckily we have Meg Birmingham, who is the best treasurer!

Meg is a 2nd year Paleontology/Planetary Geology PhD student working under Alison Olcott. Part of the collaborative Oceans Across Space and Time (OAST) research team, she focuses on how differing evaporitic environments of deposition influence life detection in gypsum, with the goal of applying her findings to relict ocean worlds. Meg’s field sights range from California to mid-continent US to Spain.

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pa, Meg is a true yinzer transplanted to Kansas. She enjoys golfing, skiing, traveling, playing board games, and eating.

Question: What’s a yinzer? Comment below ⬇️

Be there if you’re cool 😎☀️ Tomorrow at 2:00 PM! We will meet at Baker Wetlands (1365 N 1250 Rd, Lawrence, KS 66046) on Saturday at 2pm.

Weather should be sunny in the upper 50s, so please plan accordingly. This is a prime area in Lawrence for birdwatching, so bring a camera or binoculars if you enjoy that. Some of us use apps such as Seek and iNaturalist as a way to participate in citizen science records of wildlife too (super cool apps that I recommend you check out).

We'll also be taking pictures for our GGSO social media pages, so if you're not comfortable with that, please let us know. Looking forward to seeing y'all there! 🥾 📸 🌞 🌿

Welcome back to Spotlight Thursday! It is time to meet our GGSO secretary, Malisse Lummus!

Malisse is a 2nd year PhD student studying Glaciology and Remote Sensing under Dr. Leigh Stearns. As a member of the High Mountain Asia Team (HiMAT), Malisse is studying the connections between climate change and glacier contributions to meltwater in the Himalayas using a combination of modeling and observation techniques. Malisse is also the co-creator of geogradapp.com, a website designed to guide students through the graduate application process. She hopes to expand the website in the future to include workshops and surveys to help more students with the transition to graduate school.

Malisse enjoys hiking with her dog, Duke, exploring the art museums around Kansas City, and swing dancing.

What type of dance do you enjoy?
Comment below! ⬇️

Don’t forget to join us on Friday, April 15th, for tea time! We will be in Slawson 198 with some tea and Andrew Hollenbach! We will start at 3:30 PM! What question will you have for Andrew? 🤔

Join us this Sunday! We will meet at Lawrence Nature Park at 3:00 PM. Weather is projected to be 80°F, so wear something comfy, wear tennis shoes. And BRING WATER! Love, GGSO!

All are welcome! ☀️☀️☀️🥾

Welcome back to our GGSO Thursday Spotlight! Today we introduce our Vice-President, Bryan Rodríguez Colón

Bryan is a 2nd year Ph.D. student working under Dr. Jennifer Roberts’s team at the Microbial Geochemistry Laboratory. Bryan’s interests in geomicrobiology, astrobiology, and carbonate geochemistry led him to pursue a master’s degree in Geology (M.S., 2020) at the University of Kansas. There he investigated the role of organic matter abundance and solution chemistry in the formation of magnesium-rich carbonate minerals—such as dolomite—using controlled laboratory experiments. Bryan’s current Ph.D. dissertation is focused on studying these same processes in natural geomicrobiological environments, by investigating the occurrence of modern hypersaline microbialite systems in southwest Puerto Rico.

Bryan is also very passionate about science communication—especially to underrepresented Hispanic/Latinx communities—by engaging in social media platforms and by creating bilingual multimedia content.

Be sure to say hi and ask any questions below ⬇️

Happy Grad Student Appreciation Week!! The KU Geology Department will have refreshments for us throughout the week and will be holding a reception for us on Thursday April 7 from 4:00 - 5:00pm at McLains!

Thanks to all the awesome grad students in the KU Geology Department! Rock Chalk!

First-ever GGSO Meeting happening NOW!
Pizza ✅ Cake ✅ Grad students ✅