Future Challenges for the Earth Sciences
November 6 - 8, 2009

Welcome Yale Alumni in Geology and Geophysics. You are warmly invited to a special weekend in New Haven for alumni of the graduate and undergraduate programs in Geology and Geophysics

• see old friends, colleagues and mentors
• attend a major conference on the future of the earth sciences featuring department alumni as panelists
• tour the new 136-acre West Campus, straddling the towns of Orange and West Haven, to see the array of facilities available for medical and scientific research at Yale
• talk with current graduate students about their research at a poster session to be held in Kline Geology Laboratory
• explore Kroon Hall, the new "ultra-green" building for the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (and the most sustainable building at Yale) where our Saturday sessions will be held
• enjoy festive meals and receptions with fellow alumni in Geology and Geophysics from all eras 

 CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Friday, November 6 

REGISTRATION

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
   
Hall of Graduate Studies, Room 116
320 York Street
(between Elm and Grove Streets)
 

2:30 - 6:30 PM
   
Kline Geology Laboratory
210 Whitney Avenue, Ground Floor

PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS

10:00 AM - Noon
   
Bus Tour of West Campus

A guided tour of the new 136-acre West Campus, straddling the towns of Orange and West Haven, will highlight the array of facilities available for scientific and medical research at Yale.

Depart from and return to the Hall of Graduate Studies, 320 York Street.
 

1:30 -- 2:30 PM
   
Bus Tour of the New Haven Campus
(highlighting new construction and renovations)

Depart from the Hall of Graduate Studies, 320 York Street.  End on Science Hill at the Leitner Observatory or Kline Geology Laboratory (your choice).
 

2:30 – 3:30 PM
   
Tour of the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium
355 Prospect Street

Observatory director Michael Faison will lead our tour of this new teaching facility on Science Hill.
 

2:30 - 3:30 PM
   
Refreshments in Kline Geology Laboratory
210 Whitney Avenue

Relax with fellow alumni and revisit your old haunts in KGL.  Coffee, tea and snacks will be served in the atrium.

CONFERENCE

4:00 – 4:30 PM
   
Welcoming Remarks
Kline Geology Laboratory, Auditorium
210 Whitney Avenue  

Jon Butler
Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Mary E. Miller '81 PhD (History of Art)
Dean, Yale College

David Bercovici
Chair, Department of Geology and Geophysics
 

4:30 – 6:00 PM
   
Earth's Origin and Interior

MODERATOR
Karl Turekian
    Yale University
    
PANELISTS
Henry J. B. Dick '76 PhD
    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Karen Fischer '83 BS
    Brown University
Lawrence Grossman '72 PhD
    University of Chicago
Garrett M. Leahy '08 PhD
    ExxonMobil, Houston
Peter M. Shearer '78 BA
    University of California, San Diego
 

6:00 PM
   
Reception
Kline Geology Laboratory, Ground Floor
 

7:15 PM

Dinner
The Graduate Club
155 Elm Street (between College and Temple Streets)

Saturday, November 7

9 – 10:15 AM
   
Resources and Energy
Kroon Hall, Auditorium (Third Floor)
Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
195 Prospect Street
 
MODERATOR
Danny Rye
    Yale University

PANELISTS
Michael Oristaglio '74 BS, 74 MS
    Schlumberger Ltd., Cambridge, Massachusetts
Robin L. Petrusak '79 BA
    Advanced Resources International, Arlington, Virginia
Donald F. Schutz '56 BS, 64 PhD
    Geonuclear, Inc., Orangeburg, New York
Neil Williams '76 PhD
    Geoscience Australia
 

10:15 - 10:45 AM
   
Coffee Break
 

10:45 – Noon
   
Geological Evidence for Past Climates
    
MODERATOR
Mark Pagani
    Yale University
    

PANELISTS
Timothy D. Herbert '80 BA
    Brown University
Thomas Marchitto '94 BS
    University of Colorado
Stephen C. Porter '55 BS, '62 PhD
    University of Washington
 

Noon – 1:30 PM
   
Lunch
Kroon Hall, Knoblock Environmental Center and Lounge
(Third Floor)
195 Prospect Street
 

1:30 – 2:45 PM
   
The Climate System: Recent Studies and
Implications for Future Climatic Change
Kroon Hall, Auditorium (Third Floor)

MODERATOR
Ronald Smith
    Yale University
  
PANELISTS
Dorothy M. Koch '93 PhD
    Columbia University
Michael E. Mann '98 PhD
    Penn State University
Karl E. Taylor '78 PhD
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
 

2:45 -- 3:15 PM

Coffee Break
 

3:15 – 4:30 PM
   
Marine Life, Evolutionary Transitions to Land, and
Biogeochemistry of Oceans and Atmosphere
    
MODERATOR
David Evans '92 BS
    Yale University
    
Richard K. Bambach '69 PhD
    Smithsonian Institution
    Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Emeritus
Dana L. Royer '02 PhD
    Wesleyan University, Connecticut
Steven M. Stanley '68 PhD
    University of Hawaii at Manoa
John M. VandenBrooks '07 PhD
    Arizona State University
 

7:00 PM
   
Cocktails and Dinner
Union League Café
1032 Chapel Street

Sunday, November 8

9:00 – 10:30 AM
   
Poster Session with Current Graduate Students
Kline Geology Laboratory, Ground Floor
210 Whitney Avenue
 

10:30 - 11:45 AM
   
Terrestrial Life, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry
Kline Geology Laboratory, Auditorium

MODERATOR
Elisabeth Vrba
    Yale University
    
PANELISTS
Julia A. Clarke '02 PhD
    University of Texas, Austin
Kirk R. Johnson '89 PhD   
    Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Mark A. Norell '88 PhD (Biology)
    American Museum of Natural History
Krister Smith '06 PhD
    Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg
    Frankfurt, Germany
 

11:45 AM
   
Farewell Brunch
Kline Geology Laboratory
210 Whitney Avenue