6 News From the Faculty and Staff Mohamed Abdelsalam: Hello everyone. This is my first year in the Boone Pickens School of Geology at Oklahoma State University. I joined the School as the Boone Pickens Chair of Applied Geophysics and Professor of Geology in the fall of 2012 coming from the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. My family and I are settling down alright here in Stillwater and we are already part of the School’s family. Allow me to introduce myself. I grew up in the Sudan and got a BS and MS from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. I moved to the US in the Spring of 1988 to work towards my PhD in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas were I stayed until 2006 as a PhD student, a Research Scientist and an Assistant Professor. My research focuses on Geodynamics and Geospatial Science. Currently, I have a couple of projects funded by Statoil to understand the evolution of rift systems into sea floor spreading centers and ultimately passive continental margins using the Afar Depression in Ethiopia as an example. I am also collaborating with Professors Eliot and Estella Atekwana of the Boone Pickens School of Geology on a NSF-funded project that examines the early stages of rift evolution by focusing on the Southwestern Branch of the East African Rift System in southern Africa. Recently, I completed a NSF-funded project that provided opportunities for 12 US students to conduct morpho-tectonic research in the Ethiopian Plateau. Last semester (Fall 2012), I taught Physical Geology with ~210 students. This was the largest class I have taught so far in my entire career. I must admit that I have enjoyed teaching the class and I am looking forward to teaching it again. It is always fun to teach geology to entry level students coming from different majors and backgrounds. Non-geology major students often bring unique perspectives into geology as a science and its societal importance. This semester (Spring 2013) I am teaching Plate Tectonics and Spectral Signal Processing and Applications in Geosciences. My Geodynamic and Geospatial Science lab is now 60% complete and I am hoping that it will be 100% operational by the end of spring 2013 semester. Please come over and visit. I would love to hear from you regarding research ideas and how my lab and expertise can be of use to you. On the family front, my wife Mahasin and I have 4 children. Our oldest daughter Hala is at OSU and taking course to start a MS in Geology in the BPSoG, our son Montasir is a college senior, Hiam is in the Stillwater High School and Hiba is in the Junior High. Eliot Atekwana: Greetings to all alumni and friends! I report to you a successful 2012. I continue to teach, maintain an active research program and supervise students. This year, in addition to serving as interim head of the school, I taught Isotope Geochemistry and Advance Studies in Geology in the spring and Geochemistry and Research Methods and Techniques in Geosciences in the fall. I also supervised MS thesis and Doctoral Dissertation in the spring and fall semesters. This year, our hands-on laboratory/field component to the Geochemistry course involved investigating the quality of surface water in and around the city of Stillwater. The aim was to determine if the quality of surface water met the US EPA drinking water standards. The students who were divided into groups measured physical and chemical parameters of streams, ponds and lakes, and collected water which was later analyzed for major cations and anions in our geochemistry laboratory in the HBRC. The students had to evaluate the different surface water systems (streams, ponds, lakes) and assess causes for possible water quality impairment. The students compared their results with the drinking water standards and found that more than 95% of the samples were compliant with the standards. This exercise culminated into interesting and insightful reports about the project findings. The report was designed to fulfill the writing component of the course. The international research experience involved one OSU student (Wes Rutelonis), a student from Arkansas Tech (Scott Meier) and three students from the University of Botswana. This is the third and final year of a three year project to provide international research experience to US graduate and undergraduate students funded by the National Science Foundation. In all, the field campaign was very successful. Students of the 2012 NSF IRES project in the Okavango Delta. From left to right: OSU student Wes Rutelonis, Sheri Gares, Mokganedi, Eryk, Scott Meier, Karab, Kauhanda. This year, I was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the Joint Technical Program Committee in the Hydrologic Division. I was involved with the publication of three research articles in Bigeochemistry, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology and the Journal of African Earth Sciences. My students, collaborators and I presented seven abstracts at the GSA annual meeting and 1 abstract at the American Geophysical Union. My students presented their research at the Boone Pickens School of Geology Fall Tech Conference. Dr. Estella Atekwana and I along with our students and collaborators continue to work on our projects funded by Chevron Energy Technology Company and the National Science Foundation. I continue to work with and mentor my students Pride Abongwa (PhD), Eric Seeger, Morgan
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