Abstract |
With the addition of the new Science and Nursing Building constructed in 2015 came the phenomenal new classrooms and new lab spaces. Among these labs is the Hoover Foundation Mud Room, a lab space where aspiring and experienced geologists alike have the opportunity to cut and polish rock specimens, prepare fossils, and utilize some of the finest resolution microscopes. This lab has been irreplaceable in creating and preparing new lab specimens for study. During any given semester, two to four undergraduate students work part time in the lab to gain hands-on geologic lab experience. For the Spring 2018 semester, geology majors Sara Hoffman, Shane Husk, Hannah Moauro, and Jenna Shinsky have been employed under Dr. Schweitzer's supervision to extract Clypeaster, a fossil sea urchin, from sediment with microjack tools; creating microscopic thin sections of several different rock specimens, and preparing dozens of polished rock specimens for study. Skills learned in the Mud Room will prepare students for graduate school or the work force.
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