Jasper Bateman (left) and Associate Professor Tom Hegna in front of their poster presented at the conference.
Geology faculty and students presented research at the recent National Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Colorado.
Jasper Bateman presented a research poster titled “Restudy of fossil notostracans from the Permian of Oklahoma and the Triassic of Virginia.” Sam Post presented his research, funded by a Fredonia Summer Research Fellowship titled: “Giant hypostomes and the paleoecology of the Ordovican trilobite Isotelus.”
Jasper, a senior Geology major with a Museum Studies minor from Cheektowaga, NY, was asked to reflect on the experience. He said, “GSA is unique because everyone is there for the love of their field. Whether it be geology, paleontology, hydrogeology, or something more niche, everyone is passionate. Those people are hard to find nowadays. It’s a great environment to share ideas and research. I, personally, did a bit of networking for the next step in my academic journey which will be my master’s [degree]. I attended talks, met other scientists in my field, as well as presented my own research.”
Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences Chair and Associate Professor Thomas Hegna presented a lecture, titled: “Phosphatized Eurypterid Muscles from the Williamsville Formation (Silurian Bertie Group; New York).” He also oversaw two posters on behalf of colleagues, one titled “Spinicaudatans: The Puzzle of Arthropod-Style Growth with Molluscan-Style Marginal Accretion.” The lead author is former SUNY Fredonia visiting researcher João Saldanha from Brazil. The other poster “A Loxomegaglyptid clam shrimp from an unusual green chert facies of the Jurassic Morrison Formation in Wyoming,” has former SUNY Fredonia student Jacob Salisbury as lead author.
Associate Professor Wentao Cao presented a talk titled: “Supergene dissolution and precipitation of rare-earth element (REE) minerals in orogenic garnet amphibolite” and a poster titled: “The timing and temperature of high-pressure (HP) metamorphism in western Grenville Province: constraints from U-Pb zircon geochronology and Ti-in-zircon thermometry.”
Student travel to the conference was made possible by the Fund for Experiential Learning for Geosciences established by alumna Susan Mara with the Fredonia College Foundation in 2024, and OSCAR, the Office of Student Creative Activity and Research.
