UMD’s Swenson College of Science and Engineering Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences hosted the 2016 Big 10 Academic Alliance (formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC)) Geoscience Department Heads Meeting on October 7 and 8. Department heads from geoscience programs from the 14 Big 10 Universities attended the meeting.
“This event was a wonderful way to showcase our Earth and Environmental Science program and also some of the interesting geological aspects that northeast Minnesota has to offer,” said Howard Mooers, professor and head, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering.
Discussions were held on such subjects as changes in teaching style and practice including active learning and experiential learning and recruiting diverse and non-traditional groups to geological science programs.
On October 8, the group participated in a day-long field trip highlighting aspects of mid-continent geology. Stops included geological exposures along the North Shore of Lake Superior and Minnesota’s Iron Range and culminated with a visit to Soudan Mine State Park. At the mine, the group toured the University of Minnesota’s Soudan Underground Laboratory and the Deep Underground Biospheric Observatory. The field trip was led by Adjunct Assistant Professor Phillip Larson, Assistant Professor Latisha Brengman, and Professor Emeritus John Green.