News

2025


May

Congratulations to Dr. John Jamieson – 2025 W.W. Hutchison Medal Recipient

We are proud to announce that Dr. John Jamieson, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Marine Geology at Memorial University, has been awarded the 2025 W.W. Hutchison Medal by the Geological Association of Canada.

April

Celebrating Student Excellence at the 2025 Awards & Scholarships Ceremony

We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our undergraduate and graduate students who were recognized at this year's Awards and Scholarships Ceremony held on April 8, 2025. This year, students were awarded a combined total of over $245,000.00 in scholarships and awards. 

March

B.Sc. (hons) student Maria O'Neill to attend S-IMEW 2025!

B.Sc. Earth Sciences (Honours) student Maria O'Neill was selected to participate in the PDAC’s 16th annual Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW), a two-week all expenses paid geoscience workshop.

Grad students represent at PDAC-SEG Student Minerals Colloquium 2025

Graduate students from the Department of Earth Sciences at Memorial Univeristy presented their research in poster format at the 2025 PDAC-SEG Student Minerals Colloquium in Toronto, Ontario. 

 

2023


June

Earth Sciences professor receives highest Canadian geology award

A University Research Professor has received national recognition from the Mineral Deposits Division of the Geological Association of Canada.

Hundreds of 560-million-year-old fossils discovered in Upper Island Cove garden

A newly uncovered fossil site in Conception Bay North is one of the most exciting discoveries in the province since Mistaken Point.

Gem exploration may become cheaper, easier: Earth Sciences researcher

Gem exploration may become cheaper and easier thanks to work taking place in Memorial’s Faculty of Science.

Researchers in the faculty’s Department of Earth Sciences developed a new method of analyzing fine-grained sediment.

April

Earth Sciences hosts second Marie Skłodowska-Curie researcher

The Department of Earth Sciences is hosting its second prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Post-doctoral Global Fellowship recipient in recent years.

2022


December

Earth Sciences grad students create record of Upper Island Cove fossils

For the past three years, a team of paleontologists in the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, have been conducting geoconservation at one of the most unique fossil sites in the province.

 

Preserving Canada's ecosystems vital to climate action, expert panel finds

An expert panel, which included Earth Sciences professor Dr. Sue Ziegler, has released its report assessing the extent to which nature-based climate solutions can help Canada meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets.

President's Awards a chance to celebrate community

President Vianne Timmons honoured the exceptional and exemplary at the 2022 President’s Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Winners from the Faculty of Science include Dr. Joshua Rash, Psychology, President's Award for Outstanding Research; Dr. Kurt Gamperl, Ocean Sciences and Dr. Duncan McIlroy, Earth Sciences/Bonne Bay Aquarium and Research Station, University Research Professor; Dr. David Churchill, Computer Science, President's Award for Outstanding Teaching (Faculty) and Dr. Rick Goulding, Physics and Physical Oceanography and Yellow Martin, Psychology, President's Award for Exemplary Employees - Champion of Service.

November

Federal grants open doors to discoveries, collaborations and training

Breakthroughs in everything from improvements to prosthetic hands to the identification of emerging environmental pollutants.

Six of the seven Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) grants provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC) through its 2022 Discovery Research Programs Competition to researchers at Memorial were in the Faculty of Science.

October

Students, staff and faculty honoured at Faculty of Science awards

The Faculty of Science held its annual Dean’s Awards Ceremony recently, recognizing the top 10 per cent of its students.

In addition, the awards honour the service, scholarship and teaching of faculty and staff.

September

More than $285,000 in federal investment for high-performance research infrastructure

Three research teams in the Faculty of Science are kicking off the fall semester on a high note.

They have secured a total of $286,834 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for cutting-edge scientific tools and equipment.

The investment will enhance research facilities and labs with sophisticated infrastructure for studies broadly focused on mineral exploration, climate change and nanoparticles.

Professor receives national award for mining research

A Memorial professor has received national recognition for his "game-changing" research in the mining industry. 

Dr. Stephen Butt, an engineering professor cross-appointed with the Department of Earth Sciences, is the recipient of the 2022 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) Award in Design and Industrial Practice.

July

Memorial University earns top grades in global academic ranking

Memorial is the only Canadian university included as one of the world’s best for the study for marine/ocean engineering in an annual publication of world university rankings — and it’s the fifth year in a row to do so.

Memorial places 38 among the top 50 universities as part of the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) in the category.

Thinking critically about past, present and future technological innovations

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ (HSS) new certificate in the history and philosophy of science and technology is of broad interest to students of science, engineering, medicine, humanities and social sciences.

The program will challenge students to think critically and analytically about the consequences of past, present and future technological innovations on human existence, and the world we inhabit.

June

Nearly $8 million invested to accelerate diverse research discoveries

Memorial researchers, including those in the Faculty of Science, have secured nearly $8 million in competitive funding for research projects ranging from childhood amnesia to ocean biodiversity to renewable energy systems.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) announced the results of its 2022 Discovery Research Programs competition on June 23.

In total, NSERC is investing $7,900,226 at Memorial.

April

Earth Sciences alumni give students unique look beneath the sea floor

Students in an Earth Sciences class had a rare opportunity recently to use geophysical data to look beneath the sea floor.

A group of visiting scientists from PanGeo Subsea led hands-on demos with the Seismic and Potential Field Methods in Geophysics (EASC 3170) class using data collected by the company’s unique acoustic imaging technology.

Dr. Luke Beranek and former MSc student Alex Hutter awarded the CSPG Medal of Merit

Dr. Luke Beranek and former MSc student Alex Hutter were awarded the Medal of Merit from the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists for the best paper related Canadian Petroleum Geology for 2021.

A day of family fun and education under the blue whale skeleton

On Saturday, May 14, everyone is invited to an open house event that will take place under and around the blue whale skeleton that hangs in Memorial's new Core Science Facility.

Come learn the story of the whale skeleton and take part in interactive learning opportunities, and have lots of fun along the way.

Faculty of Science holds interdisciplinary research conference

The Faculty of Science held its first interdisciplinary research conference April 8-9.

Scientific Endeavours in Academia (SEA) brought together undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty from across the faculty’s nine departments and five interdisciplinary graduate programs.

January

Dr. Kim Welford receives Award

Dr. Kim Welford was recently awarded The Dean of Science Distinguished Emerging Scholar Award, which was established in 2021. 

2021


July

Earth Sciences MSc graduate shares 2021 PDAC award

MUN Earth Sciences M.Sc. graduate Sherri Dunsworth shares PDAC award for 2021. Many MUN EASC B.Sc. graduates also worked on this project.

March

Undergraduate wins 3rd place at PDAC Colloquium

Congratulations to Kallie Stone who won 3rd place in the Undergraduate Category at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Minerals Colloquium this year on Black Smoker Fluid Fluxes at the Niua South Seafloor Hydrothermal Vent Field, Tofua-Kermadec Arc.

January

Remote Roundup discusses Canada’s role in the green economy

Professor Stephen Piercey presented on Canada’s role in the green economy at the AME Roundup conference.  For more information, please read the article by Carl A. Williams in the Northern Miner.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Recipient Joins Memorial

Dr. Caroline Lotout, a recipient of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship funded by the European Union, has arrived at the Department of Earth Sciences for a two-year research term. Her research project CHRONOTEC (Conditions and duration of High tempeRature metamOrphism in large hot orogens assessed through petrochronolOgy: insights from Grenville TECtonics) is carried out in collaboration between Memorial University of Newfoundland the Petrographic and the Geochemical Research Center of the French National Center for Scientific Research (Nancy, France), with Dr. A. Indares (MUN) and Dr. E. Deloule (CRPG-CNRS) as supervisors.

2020


December

Changing Forests

Dr. Lukas Kohl, a recent graduate under the supervision of Dr. Susan Ziegler, is principal author on a recent paper published in the journal Global Change Biology.  Read more about it here in the Gazette.

November

EASC students win awards at the AUGC

Congratulations to our students who won awards at the recent Atlantic Universities Geologic Conference.  Lindsay Oldham received the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Award for her poster "Physical Stratigraphy and Provenance of Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Adventdalen Group sandstones, central Spitsbergen, Svalbard” which is given for the best poster related to petroleum geology at AUGC.  Marie Flanagan received the Imperial Oil Best Poster Award for her poster "Magnetics Study within the Valentine Lake Gold Property, Newfoundland and Labrador" which is given to the best overall poster at the AUGC.  Sarah Greene received the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists Award for her paper "Geophysical Characterization Study of robin Hood Bay Landfill, St. John's, NL" which is given to the best geophysics paper at AUGC.  

August

Method of Course Delivery Fall 2020

Welcome to all of our new students, and welcome back to our returning students! 

You may be wondering how your Fall 2020 remote courses will be taught this semester.   For the lastest information, please see the Method of Course Delivery for Fall 2020.

April

Take EASC 2918 "Earth's Story" by Distance

This Spring we will be offering EASC 2918 “Earth’s Story” by distance. This is a general interest course with no pre-reqs, an interesting science elective about the dynamic geological history of the last 4 billion years. Spring registration begins Monday, April 13th!

March

Dr. John Hanchar appointed as Memorial's NSERC Leader

Dr. John Hanchar, Professor and University Research Professor, Department of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Science was selected to be appointed as Memorial University’s NSERC Leader. The NSERC Leaders network brings together stakeholders from universities across the country with the goal to help shape policies, plans and activities by listening, collaborating and working with colleagues on the future of science and engineering in Canada.

2019


September

Alumus receives Abraham-Gottlob-Werner Medal

Prof. Donald B. Dingwell, Department of Earth Sciences alumnus and Director of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Munich, has been awarded the highest scientific recognition of the mineralogical community of Germany in the form of a Medal, the 2019 Abraham-Gottlob-Werner Medal of the German Mineralogical Society (DMG), for his outstanding scientific accomplishments in the mineralogical sciences. Prof. Dingwell will accept the award at the annual meeting of geosciences in Germany this September in Munster.

June

Generous Software Donation from Petroleum Experts Ltd.

The Department of Earth Sciences is pleased to acknowledge that Petroleum Experts Ltd. (Petex) has donated 10 licences of the MOVE software suite, the commercial equivalent of £1,334,160,00, to Memorial University of Newfoundland. This software will allow for basin evolution studies to be undertaken by both undergraduate and graduate students, enhancing our knowledge of our offshore margins and basins.

May

MUN alum receives Canadian VIP Career Achievement Award

MUN Earth Sciences alum Prof. Donald B. Dingwell (B.Sc. & University Medal Geology 1980), Director of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Munich, has been awarded the VIP Career Achievement Award from the Geological Association of Canada (GAC) for his lifelong contributions to Volcanology and Igneous Petrology.

March

Graduate Student takes first place at PDAC

Congratulations to Dennis Sanchez Mora, PhD student of Dr. John Jamieson, for taking first place in the Student Minerals Colloquium at the doctoral level at the recent Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference in Toronto. 

2018


September

Graduate Student wins Award at Underwater Mining Conference

Congratulations to Dennis Sanchez Mora, a PhD student of Dr. John Jamieson, won the Best Abstract Award at the Underwater Mining Conference in Bergen, Norway. Dennis’ interactive presentation was titled: “Permeability and fault control on seafloor massive sulfide deposits in the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) using Leapfrog Geo software”. This award included at $650 cash prize.

July

Dr. Jeremy Hall receives 2018 Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award

Dr. Jeremy Hall, Professor Emeritus, has been awarded the highest honour of Geoscientists Canada, the Canadian Professional Geoscientists Award for his outstanding contributions to research, teaching, public service, and to the geoscience profession.  For more information about his achievement, please seeGeoscientists Canada Press Release.

June

Mineral Deposits at Voisey's Bay

Dr. Derek Wilton was recently interviewed by Terry Roberts from CBC for a story on the mineral deposits at Voisey’s Bay.

Thriving Regions Partnership Project

The Harris Centre's Thriving Regions Partnership Process is a new program designed to build sustainable relationships between researchers and regional partners. Dr. Derek Wilton’s project has been chosen to move forward in the region of the Baie Verte Peninsula.

Faculty and Alumni Presented Awards at PEGNL Dinner

The Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) Awards dinner was recently held with many individuals from the Department of Earth Sciences and our alumni presented awards.

Memorial University Team wins the EAGE Laurie Dake challenge

Congratulations to Larry Sandoval (Geophysics), Francis Mujica (Petrophysics), Daniel Sivira (Geology), and Jenny Kim (Reservoir Engineering) who have won the final round of the EAGE Laurie Dake in Copenhagen on June 10th, 2018. This was the first time that a Memorial University team has qualified for the finals in this competition.

Dr. John Jamieson joins expedition drilling underwater volcano

Dr. John Jamieson, Canada Research Chair in Marine Geology, is currently on board the JOIDES Resolution, a scientific drilling ship operated by the International Ocean Discovery Program. Dr. Jamieson is part of an international research group currently on a 2-month expedition to Brothers Volcano, an active submarine volcano north of New Zealand.

May

PhD Student Mackenie Patrick Receives PGS D Award

Congratulations to PhD student Mackenzie Patrick who has been awarded a Postgraduate Scholarship-Doctoral (PGS D) from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This prestigious award provides financial support to high calibre scholars who are engaged in a doctoral program in the natural sciences or engineering.

March

Student Winners at GAC-NL Meeting

The Geological Association of Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador Section (GAC-NL) Annual Technical Meeting was held at the Johnston Geocentre, St. John’s from February 19th to 20th, 2018. This meeting included presentations from industry, academia and government, highlighting the remarkable geoscience research being carried out in the province. As always, there was a strong representation from students at Memorial University, with 15 graduate and undergraduate students presenting their research at the meeting. In order to honour the exceptional work of these students, GAC-NL decided to present awards to the best student presentations.

February

Dr. Derek Wilton - Fellow of the RCGS

Dr. Derek Wilton's research is being highlighted on the Canadian Geographic website as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. See what Derek and other RCGS Fellows are working on in 2018.

January

Geophysics Student Recognized as Academic All-Canadian

Department of Earth Sciences geophysics Honours student, Joseph Pittman, was recently recognized as an Academic All-Canadian for his achievements in varsity track and field athletics while maintaining an 80+ average. In 1988, USPORTS introduced its first Academic All-Canadians, those exceptional student-athletes who achieve an academic standing of 80% or higher while playing on a university varsity team. On January 10th, the Sea-Hawks hosted their first event to celebrate the academic accomplishments of Memorial's student-athletes who have been named Academic All-Canadians. Only 39 students throughout the university received this honour.

2017


December

Dr. John M. Hanchar named University Research Professor

Dr. John M. Hanchar has been named University Research Professor in acknowledgement of his internationally recognized contributions as an earth scientist, for cultivating an innovative and cutting edge research program and for the incredible reach and impact of his scholarship.

Dr. Hanchar, professor and head, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, and director of the Centre for Earth Resources Research, is a leader in his field whose research activities combine fieldwork, experiments and high precision analytical methods. He has made fundamental contributions in geochemistry, economic geology, condensed matter physics and materials science.

November

Golden footprint - Earth sciences graduate student mapping ore deposits in real time

A Memorial graduate student is helping gold prospectors in Central Newfoundland zero in on new deposits — and fast.

Sam Ybarra, a master’s student in the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, who hails from Columbus, Mississippi, is using infrared spectroscopy to collect mineralogical and geochemical data in real time.

Working with his supervisor, Dr. Steve Piercey, Mr. Ybarra has been mapping fluid rock, ore-forming footprints in Baie Verte, N.L., in partnership with Anaconda Mining.

Orogenic gold is formed when rocks along faults in the earth’s crust fracture and release water. As the fluid escapes, it scavenges gold from the rocks it passes and, when a favourable location is found, the gold is deposited.

The fizzy, carbon dioxide- and gold-bearing hot water also reacts with the rocks themselves, forming new minerals — a process called hydrothermal alteration.

 

October

Rare earth element research to aid in northern mining evaluation

Dr. Derek Wilton is collaborating with the Nunatsiavut Government on a project that has significant implications for resource evaluation in the Canadian Arctic and near Arctic.

The remote Strange Lake area in Northern Labrador contains a world-class rare earth element (REE) deposit. REEs are strategic minerals used in a variety of high-tech applications, ranging from computer and smartphone screens to super magnets.

“This deposit was discovered by the Iron Ore Company of Canada in the 1980s and it’s right on the border between Labrador and Quebec,” said Dr. Wilton, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science. “While they worked at it for a few years, they really couldn’t do anything with it because they didn’t know how to separate the elements from the minerals.”

August

Students working onboard Ramform Tethys

Colin Taylor and Ben Coughlan, both of whom successfully completed their Bachelors in earth  science this year,  accepted a summer internship  position with the Petroleum Board of Canada. They joined the Ramform Tethys  in St. Johns in May 2017 for their first four-week rotation offshore.

The first trip was a general introduction  to the seismic  vessel, including deck operations and exposure to each seismic  department onboard. For the second four-week rotation the two interns spent most of their time in the Operations Geophysics department, learning  about Viper and SPArk, online/offline processing, project management and data  visualization.

Ulrike Ott, Personnel Manager of the Petroleum Board of Canada asked them what they thought of the program and their time offshore.

May

MSc Student Receives CSPG and GSA Awards

Congratulations to MSc student Alex Hutter who received a 2017 CSPG Regional Graduate Student Scholarship and a 2017 Geological Society of America Student Research Grant for his thesis project “Detrital thermochronometry and provenance of Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoir sandstones, Jeanne d’Arc basin, Grand Banks, offshore Newfoundland”.

2016


November

Award-Winning Honours Students

Eight of our students, including five presenters, attended the 66th Annual Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference, which was held at Acadia University, in Wolfville Nova Scotia, from 27th – 29th October, 2016. 

All of our presenters were recognized for their work: of the six awards given out, our students won three (best presentation, best poster and best geophysics presentation), and the other two presenters were tied runners up for best presentation.

October

Student Receives Best Poster Prize

Congratulations to Roddy Campbell (MSc. candidate in Geology) who received a best poster prize from the Mineral Deposit Division at this year’s GAC-MAC conference in Whitehorse, Yukon.

August

Student Wins Best Poster Prize at GAC-MAC

Congratulations to Roddy Campbell (MSc. student in Geology) who received a best poster prize from the Mineral Deposit Division at this year’s GAC-MAC conference in Whitehorse, Yukon. His thesis research on “Early Paleozoic magmatism and stratigraphy of the Kechika group, Pelly Mountains, Yukon” is collaborative with Luke Beranek and Steve Piercey (Memorial University) and Richard Friedman (University of British Columbia). This project is supported by the Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals program at Natural Resources Canada, Yukon Geological Survey, and NSERC.

Dr. Stefanie Brueckner receives Governor General's Gold Medal in Graduate Studies

Congratulations to Dr. Stefanie Brueckner who received the prestigious Governor General's Gold Medal in Graduate Studies at the recent Spring Convocation, given annually to recognize excellence in a doctoral program.

June

Dr. Stefanie Brueckner receives Governor General's Gold Medal in Graduate Studies

Congratulations to Dr. Stefanie Brueckner who received the prestigious Governor General's Gold Medal in Graduate Studies at the recent Spring Convocation, given annually to recognize excellence in a doctoral program.

In 1873, the Earl of Dufferin, who served as governor general from 1872 to 1878, created a medal to recognized scholastic achievements.  Today, the Governor General's Academic Medal is awarded at four levels:  Bronze at the secondary school level, Collegiate Bronze at the post-secondary diploma level, Silver at the undergraduate level, and Gold at the graduate level.  The Governor General's Academic Medal is awarded to the student who graduates with the highest standing in his or her institution.

March

Stephen Piercey awarded G.A.C. W. W. Hutchison Medal

Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Piercey, Professor and NSERC-Altius Industrial Research Chair in the Metallogeny of Ores and Volcanic Sedimentary Basins, who is the 2016 recipient of the Geological Association of Canada's W. W. Hutchison Medal for outstanding contributions to Canadian earth science research in the Lithostratigraphy, Volcanology, and Sedimentary Evolution of Mineral Deposits.

2015


November

Late Earth Sciences professor to be inducted in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame

This January, the late Dr. Harold (Hank) Williams, of the Department of Earth Sciences, will be inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame “recognizes and honours the legendary mine finders and builders of a great Canadian industry.” Candidates are individuals who have demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements to the benefit of the Canadian or world mineral industry in the areas of exploration, corporation building, technical or supporting contributions, or mining in society.

Born and raised on ‘The Rock’, the island of Newfoundland inspired Dr. Williams during his fruitful years with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and prolific career at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John’s.

 

Student presented with Environmental Geoscience Award

Six students from the Earth Sciences Department attended the Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference (AUGC) 2015, which took place at St. Mary's University, Halifax from October 22th to 25th.  Emily Gorner, Mark Grant, and Kazuhito Mizutani presented their honours dissertations at the conference.  

September

Professor Emeritus awarded IAG Honorary Fellowship

Dr. Henry Longerich, Professor Emeritus, Department of Earth Sciences, was recently awarded the International Association of Geoanalysts Honorary Fellowship 2015 in recognition of his long-standing contribution to Geoanalytical and Metrological Science and the goals of IAG.  The award was presented at the Geoanalysis 2015 conference in Leoben, Austria, August 2015.

Alumnus receives J.D. Eaton Alumni Award

J.D. Eaton Alumni Award

Dr. Rex Gibbons, B.Sc.’67, B.Ed.’67, M.Sc.’69, is this year’s recipient of the J.D. Eaton Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer contributions to Memorial.

July

Recent Faculty Awards

Dr. Stephen Piercey has been named the recipient of the 2015 President’s Award for Outstanding Research.  This award recognizes young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to their scholarly disciplines.

At a recent PEGNL Conference, Dr. Graham Layne was given the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador Teaching Award.  This award recognizes exemplary  contribution to  the  teaching and learning of the engineering and geoscience at  Memorial University.  Rod Churchill, alumni 1991 (BSc(Hons) and 1994 (MSc) won the PEG-NL Community Service Award.

April

Dr. Stephen Piercey Named 2015-2016 GAC Howard Street Robinson Lecturer

Dr. Stephen Piercey, Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, has been named the 2015-2016 Geological Association of Canada (GAC) Howard Street Robinson Lecturer.  The Howard Street Robinson Lecturer is chosen by the Mineral Deposits Division and the Precambrian Division of the GAC in alternate years. It is funded by the Robinson Fund of the GAC that was established in 1977, following the bequest to GAC from the estate of Howard Street Robinson, a founding member of GAC. The bequest was “for furtherance of scientific study of Precambrian Geology and Metal Mining.”

March

Memorial students hit the mark in target shooting

Memorial students Ben Taylor and Samantha Marsh are among the best in the country when it comes to target shooting.

Mr. Taylor, a 22-year-old Earth sciences student from St. John’s, has been the national men’s air rifle champion for the past two years while Ms. Marsh, a 20-year-old international business student living in Mount Pearl, recently brought home two gold medals from the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C.

 

 

 

January

Student Chris Voisey to attend S-IMEW

Congratulations to student Chris Voisey who has been selected to attend the 9th Annual Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop.

2014


December

Professor Martin Brasier, RIP

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Professor Martin Brasier.  Martin was a very recently retired professor of palaeontology at Oxford University and a long-standing Adjunct Professor (2007-2013) in our department at Memorial where he collaborated and co-supervised students with Duncan McIlroy.

 

October

Dr. John Hanchar receives the Dean of Science Distinguished Scholar Award

It was standing-room only at the annual Dean’s Awards Ceremony and reception on Tuesday, Sept. 23, as parents, employees and friends joined the Faculty of Science to celebrate student, faculty and staff achievement.

During the event, Dr. Mark Abrahams, dean of Science, named 259 students to the Dean’s List, a group comprised of the top 10 per cent of students in the Faculty of Science.

 

September

Earth Sciences All Years Reunion Celebration

The Department of Earth Science is inviting 60 years of graduates back to Memorial as a part of its Reunion celebrations happening during MUNdays 2014. Celebrations will kick off Friday night with a get together on campus in the Alexander Murray Club and Graduate Lounge. It's all about old friends, food, laughter and memories which is sure to make it a rockin' good time - plus we want you to bring along your guitars for a little jam session!

Saturday requires you to dust off those hiking boots and rock hammers! We have a couple of great field trips lined up. You'll have the opportunity to explore ancient Neoproterozoic glacial rocks or Avalonian volcano-plutonic terrane.

April

RDE invests in mining and petroleum-related R&D at Memorial University

Five Memorial-led research projects recently received a boost from the Research & Development Corporation (RDC). RDC is investing more than $475,000 in five research and development projects related to mineral exploration and development. The projects are aimed at enhancing exploration efforts, improving environmental mitigation strategies and strengthening R&D opportunities through the purchase of specialized equipment. 

2013


November

Interested in the Earth's Story?

EASC2918 Earth's Story is an overview of the Earth's dynamic past of episodes of supercontinent collision and breakup, massive flooding, global warming and freezing, magnetic field reversals, and continents travelling over long distances.  The evolution of life is tied to this history and has had equally dramatic turns of rich growth and catastrophic extinction.

October

50 Years of Geophysics at MUN: A Celebratory Reunion

 

On Saturday, 19 October 2013, the Department celebrated the 50th anniversary of the appointment in 1963 of Dr. Ernst Deutsch, as the first geophysics faculty member.  Geophysics at MUN grew in the Physics Department over the next 20 years, and then the group merged administratively with the geologists in the new Department of Earth Sciences. 

May

Earth Sciences Student Wins Award

Mervin McDonald, our top graduating BSC (Hons) student, received the Captain Robert A. Bartlett Science Award in the recent Spring Convocation.  In addition, he was awarded the  University Medal of Academic Excellence in Earth Sciences and the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador Award for Excellence in Geoscience.  Congratulations Merv!

2012


November

Dr. Jeremy Hall Awarded The Dean of Science Distinguished Scholar Medal
Dr. Jeremy Hall was awarded The Dean of Science Distinguished Scholar Medal for 2012 which recognizes outstanding and sustained contributions which demonstrate a balanced approach to scholarly activities in both teaching and research.

September

Earth Sciences MSc Student Wins Best Presentation
Chris Boyd, an MSc student in the Department of Earth Sciences won the best oral presentation at the International Ichnological Association's four-yearly Ichnia III meeting for his work on three dimensional reconstruction of trace fossils. Chris is part of the ichnology group in the department and is supervised by Duncan McIlroy. His thesis is focussed on three dimensional reconstruction of shallow marine trace fossils from the Carboniferous of the UK.

January

Faculty of Science releases strategic plan
The Faculty of Science has just approved a new strategic plan. The document was approved at a Faculty Council meeting on Dec. 21. The plan is to provide guidance to the Faculty of Science for the next decade.

2011


October

Science hands out recognition
The Faculty of Science celebrated its best and brightest at an awards ceremony on Oct. 5. Recipients of the Dean's List, Visentin Award and Book Prize were announced as well as the Distinguished Scholar and Distinguished Service winners.
Congratulations to Nicola Tonkin-Normore
Congratulations to Nicola Tonkin-Normore (PhD student with Dr. Duncan McIlroy) who successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on October 3, 2011. Internal examiners were Dr. Suzanne Dufour of Biology Dr. Ali Aksu of Earth Sciences. The external examiner, Dr. Murray Gringas (University of Alberta) participated through the use of web-conferencing software, webcams and teleconferencing.

September

Field Trip August 2011
On August 31, 7 brave undergraduates followed faculty members Tao Cheng and Penny Morrill into a Moon-like landscape to study the environmental effects of acid mine drainage.
Fourth-year Geophysics Field School
The first running of our new fourth-year geophysics field-school (the reorganized EASC 4105) took place in Baie Verte from 31st August to 5th September.

July

Faculty Profile - Dr. Tao Cheng
Dr. Tao Cheng is originally from China and has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He completed his Masters of Civil Engineering and PhD in Civil (Environmental) Engineering from the University of Delaware and held a number of post-doctoral fellowships at Auburn University, Alabama; the California Institute of Technology, and Yale University. He joined Memorial University as an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences in August 2010 specializing in hydrogeology.

June

Support for R&D in mining and petroleum
Thirteen projects at Memorial have been given a $960,000 boost by the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The GeoEXPLORE program is a new directed research program aimed at enhancing geoscience R&D capacity, collaboration and innovation. The

May

Memorial tied to Blackwood retrospective
A book accompanying an art exhibit of the work of artist David Blackwood contains essays by a number of individuals connected to Memorial University, including one co-written by Dr. Derek Wilton, Department of Earth Sciences.
$1million investment brings new equipment to bolster mineral research
Newfoundland and Labrador's iron ore industry is about to be seen in a whole new light thanks to a more than $1 million infrastructure investment from the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Iron Ore Company of Canada.