Student Work

Student Work

Research Opportunities

Collaborative research between students and faculty members is an important part of the geology program at Beloit College. Under the direction of a member of the Geology faculty, all geology majors design and implement a senior thesis research project, gather and analyze their own data, and present their results.

Research opportunities are also available through the Keck Geology Consortium which includes 17 colleges committed to undergraduate education in geology through intercollegiate programs that engage students and faculty in cooperative research. Among its founders was Beloit College Professor Emeritus Hank Woodard.

Hydrothermal Alteration in Clay Cap Formation, Creede Mining District, Colorado; Hanlin Zhang ’21; Advisor: Jim Rougvie
Determining the Direction of Early Trilobite Environmental Migration; Walker Weyland ’21; Advisor: Jay Zambito
Establishing a Soil Health Baseline for Prairie Restoration; Henry Westly ’21; Advisor: Jim Rougvie
The White Mountains Geochemistry: pXRF Analysis of the Metavolcanic Complex; John Tower ’21; Advisor: Jim Rougvie
Devonian Organic Matter Variability within the Appalachian Basin; Delaney McCarthy ’21; Advisor: Jay Zambito
Exploring Temperature Variation in Wisconsin Springs; Sophie Glaubius ’21; Advisor: Sue Swanson
The Reliability of Outcrops for Organic Geochemical Data: A Case Study Using Devonian Black Shales; Morgan Fries ’21; Advisor: Jay Zambito
How the Decline and Recovery of Wild Rice Biomass is Linked to Sulfate; Sydney Crockett ’21; Advisor: Sue Swanson
An Investigation of the Potential for Rain Garden Installation on the Beloit College Campus; Philip Adrian ’21; Advisor: Sue Swanson
Exploring how Accelerated Changes in Land Use and Anthropogenic Biomes affect Carbon Output; Simone Rawal ’20; Advisor: Sue Swanson
Sodic-Calcic Alteration at the White Rock Pluton:Constraining Fluid Sources with Oxygen Isotopes; Sophia Hopp ’20; Advisor: Jim Rougvie
Taphonomy and Biodiversity of Fish Fossils from the Middle Devonian Milwaukee Formation; Andy Rich ’20; Advisor: Jay Zambito
Using Machine Learning Techniques to Identify Patterns in the Occurrence of Springs in Wisconsin; Anthony Wendel ’20; Advisor: Sue Swanson
Chemical Differentiation of Anthropogenic Obsidian Sources in Mesoamerica; Blaine Burgess ’20; Advisor: Jim Rougvie
Reconstructing the Cambrian Carbon Cycle Using ~500 million year old Phosphatic Brachiopods; Zowie Fox ’20; Advisor: Jay Zambito
Assessing Changes in Groundwater Quality at the Nevin State Fish Hatchery; Desire Piphus ’20; Advisor: Sue Swanson
Constraining the Depositional Environment of Triassic Halite from the Röt Basin, Netherlands; Philippe Rollet ’20; Advisor: Jay Zambito
Using Infrared Thermography to Characterize Temperature Over Space and Time in Wisconsin Springs; Garrett Rachal ’20; Advisor: Sue Swanson

Stories

Kesley Engelke’25 looking into a microscope in the geology lab.

Summer in the Geology Lab

Kelsey Engelke ’25 conducted research in the geology lab on campus with samples she collected during her field work.

Creating a greener geochemistry lab

Armita Aghamiri ’28 worked with Assistant Professor Corbin Livingston to find an alternative for lead chloride in a lab experiment used in coursework, eliminating unnecessary exposure to lead and specialized management of lead waste.

Group photo of Beloit College students and faculty in front of Cambrian strata of the Wonewoc Formation.

Tri-States Field Conference

Beloit students attended the 77th Tri-State Field Conference which was co-led this year by Dr. Jay Zambito of Beloit College and had over 60 attendees.

Conservancy Research Ecologist Dr. Tom Simpson discusses the geology of Glacial Park with students.

Geology department takes annual fall field trip

This year’s “Skip Trip” to Glacial Park in McHenry County, Illinois was run as a collaboration between the Geology Department and the Environmental Studies Program.

Group photo at Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Puerto Rico Field Excursion

The Geology Department’s annual field excursion course went to Puerto Rico to study the effects of climate change and the island’s geology.

Group photo in front of Jane, the T. rex.

Geology Department Leads a Field Trip to the Burpee Museum of Natural History

The Geology Department took a group of students, faculty, and staff to the Burpee Museum to explore the Earth’s and the Wisconsin-Illinois stateline region’s natural history.

Alyssa Luna ’24 Studies Dissolved Organic Matter Properties in UT

Alyssa Luna ’24 is a Geology Major working with thesis advisor Jim Rougvie. She is studying Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Properties During Wet and Dry Years in Spanish Fork Canyon, Central Utah.

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Related Links

Recent Student Research Projects