2016 Wooster Paleontologists Field Trip

It was a beautiful day for fieldwork. Every fall I take Wooster’s Invertebrate Paleontology class into the field to collect specimens for study and analysis during the rest of the semester. It’s fun because these students have only completed two … Continue reading
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Summer Research Program 2016

We had a fun and productive summer research program again this summer!  We were fortunate last fall to be awarded an REU site grant from the National Science Foundation, so that enabled us to enlarge the program from the size … Continue reading
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Tiny athyridide brachiopods from the Lower Carboniferous of the West Midlands of England

These little brachiopods were also in the recent gift package from Clive Champion, our English brachiopod expert and friend. They tested my photographic skills, being too large for our photomicroscope and at the limit of resolution for my camera with … Continue reading
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Wooster Geologists begin the 2016-2017 academic year

The Wooster  Geologists have started the school year with our traditional Geology Club group photo on a fine late summer morning. We’re looking forward to an exciting time with healthy course enrollments and enthusiastic Senior Independent Study students. Dr. Meagen … Continue reading
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Mystery fossil solution — an oyster from the Middle Jurassic of southern England

Last week I gave my students in Wooster’s Invertebrate Paleontology course a fossil to identify (shown above), using any techniques they want. This was their first task in the course, so it was difficult for most of them. I hope … Continue reading
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A puzzle for my paleo students!

Every year I start my Invertebrate Paleontology course by giving every student an “unknown” fossil to identify. (Here is last year’s version.) This is not always easy since each student gets the same species from the same horizon and with … Continue reading
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Wooster Geology’s 2016 Annual Report

Thanks to the hard work, skills and dedication of Administrative Coordinator Patrice Reeder, our 2016 annual report is now available.
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First Deep Space Walk

In 1971 during Apollo 15’s return from Earth’s moon, astronaut Al Worden performed the first deep space walk nearly 200 000 miles from Earth to recover external service module film canisters that had mapped the lunar surface. Worden was able … Continue reading
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Another molluscan assemblage from the Miocene of Maryland (side two)

Last month we featured a fossil slab kindly donated by Dale Chadwick of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dale is an enthusiastic fossil collector with a very useful website for his favorite sites and specimens. I promised to show the other side of … Continue reading
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Trepostome bryozoans, burrow systems, and bedding features in an Upper Ordovician limestone from southeastern Minnesota

One of the little mysteries on the recent Minnesota research trip by Wooster students, faculty and staff is the origin of thin limestone beds in the middle of the thick shales of the Decorah Formation (Upper Ordovician). How did such … Continue reading
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