Earth and Environmental Sciences

Brian S Carl

Visiting Assistant Professor

carlbs@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-3482

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Beth A. Fayette

Administrative Assistant 1

fayettba@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-2286 FAX: (315) 267-2695

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Kamal Humagain

Assistant Professor

humagak@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-3356

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I teach Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Data Acquisition and Management, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Problems and Analysis courses. In addition to the traditional lecturing style in my classes, I emphasize on hands-on experience with a wide range of geospatial data analysis in ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine platforms and field experience when possible.

I am an engaging educator and researcher with experience in geospatial science, land use dynamics and plant ecology. I completed M.Sc. in Botany (Plant Systematics) and M.A. in Sociology from Tribhuvan University (Nepal), M.S. in Geoscience along with Graduate GIS Certificate from Western Kentucky University, and Ph.D. in Natural Resources Management (minor in GIS) from Texas Tech University. I spent multiple years working on ecology, conservation, and geospatial science related projects in several regions of Nepal, New Mexico and Texas. I apply multiple techniques in GIS and Remote Sensing such as geodatabase design and analysis, hyperspectral, multispectral and high-spatial resolution image analysis, geostatistics, and spatial modeling. I welcome collaborators and students who are interested in GIS and remote sensing applications in several disciplines including natural resource sciences, geography, geosciences, and environmental, biological, social and computer sciences.

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Adam J Pearson

Chair/Assistant Professor

pearsoaj@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-2951 FAX: (315) 267-2695

http://pearsonlab.weebly.com/

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I teach Introduction to Environmental Geology, Hydrology and Hyrdogeology, and Geomorphology. My courses contain a combination of traditional lecture notes, in-class activities, labs, and field trips when possible. My goal is to teach critical thinking skills applicable to all life pursuits within the context of the awesome field of geology.

I am a field geologist that specializes in understanding stream systems and the interaction and influence that human activities have on these complex systems. My past research has focused on a dam removal in New England, studying impact and influence of small dams in the Mid-Atlantic, and using heavy metal (Pb) as a tracer of mining activities in central Missouri. I currently have no local research projects, but I am excited by the influence of glaciers and humans on the water ways of the Adirondack region.

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Page C Quinton

Associate Professor

quintopc@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-2815 FAX: (315) 267-2695

View CV
http://www.pagequinton.weebly.com

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I teach Principles of Paleontology, Geochemistry, Climate Change: Past and Present, Historical Geology, and Geology Seminar. My classes use a combination of traditional lecture and hands-on experience in lab. Whenever possible I try to pull examples from current scientific literature so that students become familiar with ongoing research in the field.

My expertise is in paleoclimatology. I use a combination of stable isotope geochemistry, and micropaleontology to study how the Earth's climate changed through time. Research interests include 1) understanding the dynamics of the global carbon cycle, climate change, and major mass extinction events and 2) the use of stable oxygen isotopes to understand the paleoecology of conodonts (extinct marine eel-like organisms). My research involves both laboratory and field components. The field component has taken me from road outcrops in Alabama to rock exposures on sheep ranches in Australia. Students who complete research with me work on projects focusing on the collection and identification of microfossil assemblages and the use of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes to address paleoclimatic questions.

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Michael C. Rygel

Professor

rygelmc@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-3401 FAX: (315) 267-2695

https://michaelrygel.weebly.com/

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I earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2000 and a Ph.D. in Earth Science from Dalhousie University in 2005. From 2005-2006, I worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I arrived at SUNY Potsdam in August 2006, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and became Department Chair in 2014.

I regularly teach Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Sedimentary Geology, Geographic Information Systems, and a variety of other upper-level electives.

My research focuses on the sedimentology and stratigraphy of terrestrial and shallow marine clastic successions. My projects have largely focused on Late Paleozoic rocks in the Maritimes Basin (Atlantic Canada), Appalachian Basin (eastern USA), Anadarko Basin (Texas and Oklahoma), and numerous basins in eastern Australia. Most of the undergraduate research projects that I supervise have a field component where students measure and describe rocks in the field and a lab component where they examine samples under the microscope and/or send them in for geochemical analysis.

I worked as a consultant for Devon Energy from 2011-2013 and spend my summers (since 2011) co-teaching Indiana University's Field Geology in the Northern Rocky Mountains (G429). I also serve as the President of the New York State Council of Professional Geologists (2015-present) and as an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences and the Journal of Sedimentary Research.

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Christian M Schrader

Assistant Professor

schradcm@potsdam.edu

TEL: (315) 267-2285 FAX: (315) 267-2695

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I teach Mineralogy, Petrology, Volcanology, Ore Deposits, and Planetary Geology. I am broadly interested in a range of high-temperature crustal and mantle processes. My research in mantle and magmatic systems has been based primarily in the Big Bend region of Texas, the Jemez Lineament in New Mexico, the Snake River Plain, and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, as well as several years of focus on Mars and the Moon. I have also worked on metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration of volcanic and intrusive rocks and in ore deposits in Alaska and Maine. I look forward to establishing projects in the Adirondacks, which display a fascinating interaction of igneous, metamorphic, and hydrothermal processes.

I have long been involved in field education and in mentoring undergraduate research. My research students generally augment fieldwork with petrography and electron microprobe analysis, and past student projects have also incorporated varying degrees of geochemical modeling.

In addition to academia, I spent five years working on lunar and martian rocks with NASA, including as a member of the Mars Exploration Rover science team from 2010-12. During my B.S. and M.S. years I worked in mineral exploration in Alaska and I have recently returned to research in this field.

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