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.
The Third Biennial Structural Geology and Tectonics Forum was held at the Colorado School of Mines, June 16-18, 2014. Four geological field trips and nine short courses/workshops were held in the two days before and after the Forum. Some 110 geoscientists attended the meeting and/or field trips and short courses. The purpose of these forums is to (1) highlight new and interesting research to keep a vibrant intellectual atmosphere within the field, (2) increase the sense of community and direction of research and teaching within the SGT community, with an expressed interest in supporting individuals from underrepresented groups, and (3) increase communication and collaboration between members of the community including faculty and students at two- and four-year colleges, masters-only departments, and large research institutions. The Forum provided an excellent environment for discussion of a wide variety of research and educational topics. The Forum itself was held as six one-session-at-a-time oral and poster sessions, giving plenty of time for discussion. Posters were up for the entire Forum. An hour of discussion time was included each day to discuss the future of the Forum, our newly approved bylaws, and general topics of interest to the Structural Geology and Tectonics community. Field trips took participants to various places in Colorado, including the Garden of the Gods, the Homestake Shear Zone, Big Thompson Canyon and Eldorado Canyon. Short courses included topics such as teaching using various strain analysis programs, Google Earth, Visible Geology, GPS data, and linear algebra, as well as microstructures, Ar/Ar illite geochronology and LiDAR. One evening during the Forum was dedicated to graduate student networking and advising and on another evening, participants had the opportunity to visit the Colorado School of Mines Geology museum. Participants mostly stayed and dined at the University residences, close to downtown Golden providing additional opportunity for discussion. Abstracts, field trip and short course materials and other useful materials are available at: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/structure/2014_Forum_index.html (and links). Intellectual Merit: The Structural Geology and Tectonics Forum facilitates discussion between students and faculty from research universities, four-year colleges, and two-year colleges. Participants from other backgrounds such as granting agencies, geological surveys, industry, and cognitive specialists in education are encouraged to attend the meeting and to broaden the discussion. This meeting facilitates learning and professional development for SGT community members very well because it is relatively small, with ~110 participants, with just one session at a time and significant amounts of time reserved for group discussion. It provides a venue to discuss issues that are of general interest to the community, but in a setting where all participants can be part of the discussion. Participants lodge and dine at the same place at University facilities, providing an excellent opportunity for participants to exchange their scientific ideas further. Broader Impacts: The Forum has three main broader impacts: 1) community development, 2) involvement of young researchers, particularly those from smaller schools; and 3) facilitating geoscience education. Community building is done by providing a common forum and informal setting for students and faculty from all academic backgrounds. It also provides an excellent opportunity to build research collaborations, and for research and teaching faculty to integrate with each other. Graduate students have much opportunity to network with faculty and students from other institutions. Early-career geoscientists including students, and participants from underrepresented groups and from two-and four-year colleges were encouraged to attend through our advertising efforts and by providing financial support towards travel and accommodation. Finally, the Structural Geology and Tectonics Forum contributes to geoscience education through one dedicated session on this topic, as well as by providing the venue for practitioners to discuss their educational objectives and share their experiences.
