Author Archives: Mark Wilson

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.

Unknown fossils for the Invertebrate Paleontology class at Wooster

Mark Wilson September 1, 2017

I start my Invertebrate Paleontology classes with an unknown fossil given to each student. I pick something I have enough examples of so that everyone gets the same species. As their first assignment, the students are asked to identify their … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geology Department 2017 Annual Report

Mark Wilson August 28, 2017

The Thirty-First Annual Report of the Geology Department is now available online with this link. Our Administrative Coordinator Patrice Reeder has once again done a magnificent job putting this document together, with amazing attention to detail and an artistic eye … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Oysters from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of southwestern France

Mark Wilson August 22, 2017

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week returns from its summer hiatus. It is appropriate, then, to feature as our first fossil of the new season an oyster species prominent in our summer research. This is Pycnodonte vesicularis (Lamarck, 1806), a very … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geology Professor Frederick W. Cropp III (1932-2017)

Mark Wilson August 11, 2017

Professor Fred Cropp taught geology at Wooster from 1964 to 1997. He was an extraordinary teacher and, in his own words, “a cheerleader for geology”. Many, many Wooster students became geologists in response to his enthusiasm, energy and spirit. I … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologist in Idaho: Adventures in granite

Mark Wilson July 26, 2017

Gloria and I traveled out west this summer to see family and a bit of scenery. Of course, geologists are always looking for geological attractions, and we found a delightful one at City of Rocks National Reserve in southern Idaho. … Continue reading →
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Meanwhile, what are the Wooster Paleontologists up to?

Mark Wilson July 19, 2017

Wooster, Ohio — The igneous petrology team has a thorough and entertaining report about their activities in the Wooster geology labs this summer. It has encouraged the summer paleontologists (that would be me and Macy Conrad ’18) to give a … Continue reading →
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French oysters. Aged to perfection.

Mark Wilson June 30, 2017

Wooster, Ohio — After our glorious fieldwork in France earlier this month, the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) oysters Macy Conrad (’18), Paul Taylor (Natural History Museum, London), and I collected are now in our cozy Wooster Paleontology Lab. Now the less … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologist/Historian on the San Andreas Fault

Mark Wilson June 17, 2017

Berkeley, California — Brandon Bell (’18) is a double major in geology and history at Wooster. He has a classic double-major thesis that combines both disciplines: the early history of modern seismology following the Great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologists in Europe (Summer 2017)

Mark Wilson June 10, 2017

This summer Professor Mark Wilson and Independent Study student Macy Conrad (’18) were in Europe for geological adventures. Professor Wilson first attended a meeting in Vienna, and then traveled to Paris to meet Macy for her IS fieldwork in southwestern … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologists visit Saint-Émilion in southwestern France

Mark Wilson June 8, 2017

La Barde, France — On our last full day in southwestern France, Independent Study student Macy Conrad (’18) and I had a cultural visit with our host Paul and Patricia Taylor to the ancient town of Saint-Émilion. This town, set … Continue reading →
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