Macalester College Geology Department

The evolution of grasses and grass-eaters: Insights from the fossil record of plant silica
with Caroline Strömberg (University of Washington)

Monday, April 14
4:00 PM
Olin-Rice 100

Grasses (Poaceae) are an extremely diverse clade, with unrivalled ecological and economic importance. Their rise to ecological dominance during the Cenozoic is thought to have fundamentally changed Earth's surface and influenced the evolution of a wide variety of animals, including humans. Over a century of research has been devoted to elucidating the evolutionary and ecological interplay of grasses and grass-eaters through geologic time, yet many questions are left unanswered. The main reason for this is the paucity of grass remains (leaves, pollen) in the fossil record. Strömberg will talk about some of her work using an alternative source of paleobotanical data, plant opal (phytoliths), to shed light on how the evolution of grasses and the spread of grasslands changed vegetation structure and faunas through the past 65 million years.

The Geology Department is saddened to report the passing of our friend, colleague, and long-term department-mate Jerry Webers on February 15, 2008. Jerry joined our department in 1966 shortly after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, and for the next 30+ years he helped to shape our curriculum and department culture. He was a passionate geologist and paleontologist, and an outstanding teacher. He was also a strong advocate of collaborative student-faculty research, and his model of scholarship lives on in the department. We miss him and remember fondly the field trips, stories, and adventures on the rocks both near and far. More information and photos can be found here.

Welcome to Dr. Kristina Curry Rogers, who recently joined us (and the Macalester Biology Department) as an Assistant Professor. Kristi looks forward to her new full time career as a professor, and she is presently expanding her curriculum to accommodate students interested in evolution and vertebrate anatomy. She will begin teaching on a full time basis in the Fall 2008 term. In the meantime, she is working up some new classes and catching up on various research projects related to dinosaur growth and evolution. Feel free to stop by her office (OLRI 115) and welcome her to Macalester!

Rebecca Terry won the Romer Prize at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Austin, Texas. The Romer Prize is awarded for "original and important research in vertebrate paleontology and a presentation of the highest quality at the annual meeting." Rebecca is currently completing her Ph.D. research in the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago

Dr. Sarah Titus, Carleton College, will present her research on Friday, November 2, 2007, in OLRI 250. The talk starts at 3:30 p.m. and is entitled "Deformation rates across the San Andreas fault system, central California determined from geology and geodesy."

Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.