Faculty and students from Baylor University’s Department of Geology have received national honors and recognition recently for a variety of projects.
PAPER OF THE YEAR
During the 2015 annual meeting of SEPM, the Society for Sedimentary Geology, on June 2, a group of Baylor faculty members received recognition for co-authoring the 2013 Outstanding Paper in the Journal of Sedimentary Research. The paper, titled “A Linkage among Pangean Tectonism, Cyclic Alluviation, Climate Change and Biologic Turnover in the Late Triassic: The Record from the Chinle Formation, Southwestern United States,” was published in the December 2013 issue of the journal. Among the seven co-authors are Baylor faculty members Dr. Stacy C. Atchley, chair and professor of geology, Dr. Lee C. Nordt, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and professor of geology, and Dr. Stephen I. Dworkin, professor of geology.
SEPM MEMBERSHIP
Also at the 2015 annual meeting of SEPM, Baylor’s Dr. Steven G. Driese, professor of geology, was award honorary membership in SEPM for his sustained, outstanding contributions to the Society and to science.
The meeting awards program notes that Driese has graduated more than 30 MS and PhD students and has a strong record of mentoring undergraduate research projects. “Steve is internationally recognized for his contributions in paleopedology and clastic sedimentology,” it adds. “(He) has a laudable record of service to SEPM, to the broader sedimentary geology community, and to students. His career combines academic achievements, distinguished research accomplishments, successful student mentoring and exceptional professional leadership.”
CLIMATE CHANGE ARTICLE PUBLISHED
Dr. Daniel J. Peppe, assistant professor of geology at Baylor, had a co-authored article titled “Can Climate Feel the Pressure?” published in the June 12, 2015, issue of Science magazine, one of the most prestigious science publications in America. The co-author is Dana L. Royer of Wesleyan University.
GEOLOGY STUDENT CHAPTER AWARD
The Baylor University student chapter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists has been named National Student Chapter of the Year for 2015. The chapter is led by geology doctoral students Hunter Harlow (president) and Caitlin Leslie (vice president).
“The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is the world’s largest petroleum geoscience organization,” said Dr. Stacy Atchley, chair and professor of geology. “This is quite an honor for our students.”