Structural Geology and Tectonics Forum at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 16-18, 2014

Colorado School Of Mines, Golden CO

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support the third biannual Structural Geology and Tectonics Forum, which will be held in May 2014, at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The forum will bring together specialists in structural geology and tectonics for oral and poster presentations, field trips, and short courses. The meeting will include three days of presentations that will include six technical sessions, including topics such as geoscience learning and spatial cognition; lithospheric deformation and rheology; the relationship between tectonics and earth surface processes, including neotectonics; linkages between structural geology and natural resources; and quantitative approaches towards structural analysis, and geoscience education. Each session will highlight an important area of current research and/or education, will be anchored by a distinguished keynote speaker, and will showcase relevance of work on the topic. Poster sessions with abundant time for full participant interaction will accompany each session. The forum will be organized to maximize the exchange of ideas between participants in open discussions. Sessions will provide ample opportunity to ask questions of individual presenters, assess the current state of our knowledge, and consider productive areas for future research. In addition to the formal meeting, there will be pre- and post-meeting field trips to examine the geology of selected areas in and around the Colorado Front Range. Short course topics will include: teaching structure lab with linear algebra and simple computing; the application of shear sense indicators in shear zones; introduction to terrestrial laser scanning (Ground-Based LiDAR) for Earth science research; using geodesy data in undergraduate structural geology and geophysics courses; strain programs for teaching and research; and preparing for academic careers in the geosciences. The forum is designed to facilitate community building and personal interaction within different segments of the structural geology community. It will bring together faculty from research universities, liberal arts colleges, community and two-year colleges, and minority-serving institutions. Importantly, there will be group discussions on critical developments in structural geology and tectonics, and what future research priorities should be. This community building effort will help create a stronger, more vibrant group of scientists and help introduce graduate students and advanced undergraduates to the structural geology and tectonics disciplines. The setting will be particularly useful for graduate students, who will be able to use the venue and informal nature of the forum to find out what research is taking place at other institutions, meet a wide range of faculty, and develop useful contacts which will be of great value to their future careers. Students will also be able to present their own work in a friendly environment where they can obtain thoughtful and useful feedback, as well as providing opportunity to build new scientific collaborations. Abstracts, field guides, and short course notes will be disseminated through a dedicated website that will be publicly accessible.